sidebar | life and training 12.23 – 12.29

Goodbye, Cruzita. I love you.

Saturday evening I bade my 2014 Chevy Cruze a fond, emotional farewell. I’d owned that lil car since her conception in 2014, and in the days leading up to her inevitable trade-in I found myself FAR more sentimental than I expected. Cars really do take a piece of our hearts, if we’ve experienced them long enough. They have personality and grit. I can somewhat understand the obsession some people have for one particular model – by and large, we spend so much time in our cars that we kinda mold ourselves into their interiors.

Cruzita was giving me all the signs, though. Her coolant system was slowly disintegrating, her catalytic converters were shot. She was tired, and ready for a quieter life. I couldn’t keep driving with fear that something else would go wrong – minor or major – and couldn’t justify continuing to put money into her repair instead of using those funds towards something sturdier down the line.

Many a time leading up the end I strolled by her, touched her hood, and couldn’t help but start to cry. Fuck, I’m crying right now writing this! We’d been through tears, trauma, a roadtrip to Atlanta, two major hurricanes (and some less intense ones), countless daily commutes and Target runs, two accidents, plentiful scuffs and scrapes, trips to the car spa, three different homes, four different jobs, two or three manufacturer recalls (ha), so much rush hour traffic, over bridges, under overpasses, down highways and city streets, shared space with several passengers…10 years together. What a lifespan!

But, she was eager to retire. So, Saturday evening, I gave her what she wanted, and introduced Roly Poly to the family.

Roly Poly is a 2022 Corolla. She’s smart, silver, and very cute. Her price dropped $1400 Friday night and I knew this would be my shot to score a car within my budget. I made an appointment and drove over Saturday afternoon to haggle her down – which was actually a FAR easier process than at the first dealership I visited earlier in the week, who kinda treated me like junk. Not to brag, but I think my sparkling credit did the trick. I talked her to well below my budget!

And really, that’s that. I waited over an hour to get to the financial manager, but once in his office the process was very smooth. Signed some papers, said goodbye to Cruzita, sobbed, and officially welcomed Roly Poly into my life.

That was the big event of the week, after Christmas of course. The holiday itself was rather quiet and relaxing. On Christmas Eve my sister, mom, and I enjoyed our typical feast of appetizers. Look at that spread! We more or less sat around and watched a couple movies, made fun of my sister’s pronunciation of peanut butter, and finished the night with their traditional dance to Rocking Around the Christmas Tree. It was sweet and memorable, as they always are.

Christmas Day is often a slow day for us. Even though we weren’t necessarily in recovery mode, the big day itself is low energy and focused just on chilling out, opening gifts, and later, dinner. I enjoyed an omelet and an Eggnog Chai Cinnamon Roll for breakfast.

After some dilly dallying I drove out to reunite with a friend I hadn’t seen in 5 months. It’s strange when you meet up with someone you’ve kept in contact with throughout your separation – I half expected a little more emotion, but also felt as if it hadn’t actually been that long since we’d seen each other and it was “business as usual” upon greeting him. We stood outside and talked for about an hour, I threw a box of cookies at him, and then drove out to mom’s.

Unboxing gifts, snacking, and napping characterized the afternoon. For dinner I made the most EPIC seafood boil! I’d never had one before, hence never tried to make one, and wow dudes, I am a convert. We did potatoes, corn, crab legs, and shrimp (the wrong sized shrimp, but shrimp nonetheless) with a spiced garlic butter poured liberally overtop. I’d love to do another boil eventually with all the fixings: vegetarian sausage, lobster tails, properly sized shrimp, etcetera. Huge hit with the family.

Sunday I enjoyed a little pre-birthday celebration (yes, today is my birthday!) I buzzed off my undercut and we then visited Market at Edition for a swanky little dinner. The weather deteriorated in the evening and it was very clammy, rainy, and windy, but the food at the hotel bar was fantastic. I started with an old fashioned and enjoyed a saucy eggplant parmesan as my main. So good. The pomodoro sauce was just outstanding.

I turn 31 today. I don’t know how today’s gonna go. I’m just trying to be very present and intuitive, enjoy whatever arises, and hopefully later spend time with the people I love most. I think I’ll be happy if good food, cake, and laughter are involved. The older I get, the more simplified my expectations become: there’s little more important to me than good company, even if that good company is myself. Right now my mood is pretty stable, though a little sad, as I always become once this day arrives. Because then it’ll be gone, with many months in between the next attempt.

Merry belated Christmas, Happy early New Year, and joyful days to come, I hope. Be well, friends.

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…A festive sparkling cocktail for NYE!

…An easy weeknight pizza.

…A little Valentine’s Day preview in the form of brunch. Hehe.

A Few Things I’m Digging

Christmas to winter decorating…This guide by Brocante, Ma Jolie is such a lovely resource for ensuring the wintertime magic isn’t lost post-Christmas. Think: cozy throws, soft lighting, and some sprigs of evergreen here and there. I hate taking down my holiday decor but it’s nice to see that I can keep shit comfy and seasonal even after the ornaments are packed up. Recommend reading if you’re in the same rut!

Pesto shrimp…A no-fail, cheap, simple dinner I enjoy is sauteeing whatever veggies I feel like (peppers, onions, and mushrooms commonly) with shrimp, and stirring in a jar of pesto sauce at the end. Serve with rice and boom, a few days worth of meal prep. No recipe here really but just wanted to mention a combo I quite like when I’m in a pinch.

Shops & Wish List

Amazon cart…I managed to burn down some candles so much that they’re stuck to my current tablerunner, so I think I’m going to get this pink one for now. Read good things about these butterluxe crossover leggings (love that waistband style). Want to try this vivid red gel food coloring for my next project. Accessories for Roly Poly: floor mats (these supposedly fit) and this cute floral steering wheel cover.

Kitchen & Dining

Target…Oh man, do I LOVE the Valentine’s collection that just dropped. Need these heart figural mugs, rose serving platter – I MUST get my hands on one – and like the idea of this pink cocktail shaker even though I’m more inclined to just use a jar. I also enjoy these heart bag clips, I never have enough for the 5,000 snacks I have open at any given time.

Home

Target…On the same vein, the Valentine’s home collection is lovely. This coffee and croissant felt duo is SO cute, I have a few similar ones on my bookshelf. Really like these squiggly tapers, perhaps for my dining table, these ceramic houses for my coffee table centerpiece, and cupcake pillow for my couch. Never too many throw pillows. Hehe.

Week in Training

Monday, 12.23: 7 miles, 9:54 pace + 20 minute legs

I haven’t slept well in a week and I’m definitely emotionally drained – plus I still don’t know how to pace tempo runs – so I’m trying to give myself some grace during these workouts. Ran less than what I wanted in a 2.5 mile span: 8:41, 8:43, 8:34. Perhaps when things slow down for me I’ll speed up on the road again.

Strength:

• 4 x 6 deadlift 110#
• 3 x 12 hip thrust 50#
• 3 x 15 sumo squat 65#
• 3 x 7 ea. split squat 40#
• Core work

Tuesday, 12.24: 5 miles, 10:22 pace + 20 minute back & bis

Easy run that I kinda booked for some reason. Monday’s foray at the dealership wrecked my energy and I passed the fuck out almost immediately, woke up totally disorientated – maybe that random adrenaline spike caused me to run faster today.

Strength:

• 3 x 8 row 35#
• 3 x 12 biceps curl 15#
• 4 x 6 lat pulldown 60#
• 3 x 10 hammer curl 15#
• 3 x 9 press up 35#
• Core work

Wednesday, 12.25 MERRY CHRISTMAS!: 6 miles, 10:05 pace + 23 minute lift

Not much sleep, didn’t want to get up, but felt okay once I was outside. The wind was brisk and kinda harsh so my workout was all over the place and not paced well, but that’s okay. 2 mile warmup, 600 (2:38), 400 (1:39), 300 (1:17), 200 (:50), 100 (:23). I slowed down starting at the 300 since that’s when I turned against the wind.

Strength:

• 4 x 6 squat 100#
• 3 x 10 ea. standing leg extension 20#
• 3 x 10 ea. pistol squat 10#
• 3 x 10 ea. stepup 15#
• 3 x 15 stir the pot

Thursday, 12.26: 5 miles, 10:32 pace + 2.49 miles, 10:03 pace

Returned home from Christmas festivities to find what I assume to be coolant splatter all over the engine bay. Real cute. Lil car was also leaking but that might’ve been the AC line…I’m over this shit. Both runs felt good though and I’m liking how my afternoon trots are turning into little grocery stops too!

Friday, 12.27: 3.5 miles, 10:30 pace + 20 minute chest & tris

Run felt a bit labored this morning, maybe the sleep deprivation and double got to me a bit – though I did manage a 2 hour nap Thursday afternoon which was enormously helpful.

Strength:

• 3 x 12 shoulder press 15#
• 2 x 10/1 x 12 bench press 50/40#
• 3 x 12 skullcrusher 15#
• 1 x 8/2 x 12 lateral raise 20/15#
• 3 x 8 triceps pushdown 28#

Saturday, 12.28: 11 miles, 10:41 pace

I am the worst about fueling and I really need to get on that during this training cycle – definitely felt myself dissolving a bit by the end of this. Nonetheless, an okay session, and I distracted myself by formulating a fake dialogue for when I head to the dealership to haggle a car today.

Sunday, 12.29: 4ish mile walk (1:01 ish)

My GPS was real weird today so I don’t really know how long or how quick my walk was, but I stuck to my usual route so I figure 4 miles is a good estimate.

Total running mileage: 40