sidebar | life and training 2.28 – 3.6

Sunday, I celebrated J.

Around Christmastime, I booked a nearby “glamping” AirBnB for a little lakeside retreat over his birthday weekend. We stayed in this adorable, renovated camper with a detached bath house, nestled beside a big swimmable lake within a pretty upscale neighborhood. We weren’t so off-the-grid that we felt isolated, but just far enough to exchange traffic hums for birdsong. The camper provided all the home comforts, from a mini kitchen area to Wifi and TV, and, most importantly, protection from bugs.

Saturday evening I kidnapped J and took him to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and drinks, then being the old shitbag I am I collapsed in bed by 8pm, though I slept like hell due to a big cramp in my neck. I woke up Sunday morning and sat for awhile waiting for the sun to rise – though this neighborhood is very safe and quiet, it’s also ridiculously dark. I strolled about for my usual Walking Sunday 5k, came in for coffee and a snack, then made us waffles out of a mix I packed up in several separate jars.

Midmorning we ventured on the water in the AirBnB canoe, paddled a bit over 2 miles in the sunshine. I’m glad we didn’t wait for midday since the air grew hot and the wind picked up gloriously, so even though the humidity was down, straight UV rays may have been unpleasant. A quick errand, lunch, and a round of “Ticket to Ride” before cake and coffee and J’s urge to get in a quick nap.

Final evening activity? Beers (hard kombucha for me, gave Flying Embers a whirl and it was actually pretty good!), grilling, and a big ole fire by the water. Charred some zucchini and mushroom skewers, corn on the cob, and a big hunk of halibut for me and prime rib for J. I retired a bit before he did, but he saw to the glowing, fading embers until around 10:30. Then a moth got into the camper and scared me shitless. I’m pretty sure I smashed it at one point in the night by accident.

The morning of our departure I ran and scrapped up a circuit workout on the lawn, cooked a big old veggie frittata on the induction cooktop, and soon enough we were in the truck and lugging ourselves back home. Honestly, even though we didn’t travel far, this side trip was really well needed and appreciated. I think he had a nice time, too.

What Do I Actually Eat?

On Instagram, I like to share reels of my daily noms to offer a glimpse at my typical diet. While I do eat everything I post on FMG – these recipes also supply J and I’s lunches and dinners for the week, sometimes longer if I’ve gone real wild – I boast a pretty varied range of foods that can be pretty damn simple by comparison. So no, I don’t eat brownies or cookies all day. I enjoy them in reasonable portions, though. Occasionally, in unreasonable portions, cos that’s life, yo.

Here’s a meal-by-meal breakdown of what I munch on.

Breakfast…Egg whites, vegetarian bacon or sausage, toast or raisin toast with avocado or butter, fruit cups, protein oatmeal with fruit and peanut butter, the occasional omelet, protein shake with banana and frozen berries and peanut butter.

Lunch…Leftovers (often fish with some type of pasta or potato), vegetarian burgers or “chicken” nuggets, salads with whatever dressing I have lying around, cauliflower rice bowls with a protein and veggies.

Dinner…The good stuff you see on FMG: if the dish doesn’t have a solid protein source, I often add vegetarian chicken or fish. Hence, a variety of pastas, rice bowls, the occasional pizza, curries, loaded salads, soup and bread. A HUGE variation from night to night, but I always include a vegetable or two and a protein.

Snacks…Apples and peanut butter, yogurt bowls with fruit and nut butter, a treat like banana bread or whatever baked good I have around, coffee with heavy cream, One protein bars, Wheat Thins or chips or veggies and hummus, a small bowl of protein oats and peanut butter, toast with peanut butter and fruit.

The theme here? Variety. I like to eat well but I like to have fun – such reflects how I approach recipe development on FMG. I love healthy dishes and simple meals, but I also make room for creamy pastas and tacos. Makes life more fun than shoving kale into my maw 24/7!

What I’m Up To This Week

Testing…A simplified cheesecake, a decadent St. Patrick’s Day-themed dinner, a big salad to balance out the former, and a delightfully easy and flavorful sheet pan salmon bake.

Finishing…My online school application. Writing this here to keep myself accountable! I stopped at the “How Will You Fund This?” page because I got stage fright.

Buying…Fresh flowers. Need more color on our stairwell since my vases have lacked arrangements in quite some time. Right now I have some pale blush roses but I’d imagine I’ll need some new buds soon. I’m hoping the ranunculus come out soon!

Baking with…Bananas. Once again I trolled my nanas and left them to blacken on the counter, so I’m scaring up yet another banana recipe to share at some point. Maybe something with caramel or white chocolate?

A Few Things I’m Digging

Cauliflower…Trader Joe’s sells bags of fresh “cauliflower of many colors” and I just love the variety! I’ve never seen them in the fresh produce, just frozen, so I had to swipe some to try. I do notice a bit of a difference of flavor between white vs. purple vs. green. I roasted the caulis with a simple blend of olive oil, salt, and pepper for a couple lunches.

Protein waffles…Enjoying the Vans Power Grains Protein Waffles for afternoon snacks lately. They’re less whey-flavored than Kodiak and awesome smothered in peanut butter and berries.

Long Drink…If you haven’t tried the Finnish Long Drink, it’s a super refreshing, gin- and juniper-based beverage that’s perfect for sipping while barbecuing or hanging by the pool.

Strawberries…Berry season approaches so I’m yearning to bake and mix with these gems as much as possible! Soon I have a really light and easy cocktail to debut featuring our triangular scarlet friend.

Mini waffle maker…I own the snowflake version of the Dash Mini Waffle Maker, and they tempt me each season with new cutout shapes. I brought my dude on our trip to make J’s birthday breakfast: super portable and unobtrusive.

Week in Training

Monday, 2.28: 6 miles, 10:42 pace + 51 minute shoulders & triceps

Felt really good this morning so I extended my run to a flat six! The weather’s been humid but cool in the mornings, which I don’t mind so much as long as the temps don’t start cuddling 70. Which they will soon. Sob.

Strength:

• 4 x 10 lateral raise 20#
• 4 x 6 chest press 70#
• 4 x 8 triceps extension 40#
• 4 x 16 alt. front raise 20#
• 4 x 10 narrow press 25#
• 4 x 9 chest fly 20#
• 4 x 6 press down 41#
• 4 x 8 pressup 45#
• Various core exercises

Tuesday, 3.1: 3.15 miles, 10:55 pace + 40 minute back and biceps

Initially figured to do a treadhill workout, but with the temps increasing I figured the gym would be really hot and uncomfortable. 60 degrees when I set out at 4:30, which was really lovely and the breeze helped too. I tried to reach as many bridges as possible on my route just to get a bit of an uphill stimulus.

Strength:

• 4 x 8 single arm cable pulldown 41#
• 4 x 10 ea. crossbody curl 20#
• 4 x 10 reverse fly 25#
• 4 x 8 curl 25#
• 4 x 8 straight arm pulldown 41#
• 4 x 10 incline hammer curl 20#
• 4 x 8 mid row 80#

Wednesday, 3.2: 6.58 miles, 10:38 pace + 50 minute legs

No part of me wanted to do this workout. I have days where I’m truly fatigued of marathon training and just want some normal, whatever-I-want structure. The results of my session reflected this rather dulled out mindset. Not terrible, but my heart was certainly not in it. 10 x :30 hill with a max speed of 5:54. I did average in the 5s for one of the reps, which was kind of cool.

Strength:

• 4 x 8 deadlift 130#
• 4 x 10 ea. single leg press 110#
• 4 x 10 ea. single leg calf raise 60#
• 4 x 10 ea. front lunge 40#
• 4 x 10 plie squat 110#
• 4 x 15 calf raise 160#
• 3 x 10 ea. hydrant to donkey kick
• 3 x 10 ea. leg raised hip dip
• 3 x 20 marching reverse tabletop

Thursday, 3.3: 30 minute elliptical + 50 minute shoulders & triceps

Pretty chill morning workouts, nothing fancy, but I hit a new bench press dumbbell max which was pretty sweet!

Strength:

• 2 x 10/1 x 8/1 x 7 military press 20# (shoulder was NOT having this motion so I had to modify)
• 4 x 8 bench press 30#
• 4 x 8 pressdown 37#
• 4 x 10 ea. single arm extension 15#
• 4 x 10 front raise 20#
• 4 x 8 lying extension 40#
• 12/10/8/6 face pull drop set 45/49/51/54#
• 4 x 10 weighted diamond pushup 15#
• 5 min core work

Friday, 3.4: 4.23 miles, 10:25 pace + 30 minute back & biceps

Nice little air quality advisory this morning, so what do I do? Choose to insert some strides into my run. Fucken brilliant. I definitely noticed the extra heaviness in the air immediately. I ran 6 x surge during mile 3 of my run and cranked down to 5:51. I honestly prefer running sprints uphill rather than on flat. I feel more in control going up.

Very quick strength workout due to lack of time, but still very effective! Supersets are great for days where you’re crunched but want to get a good amount of work done.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 row 35# SS 10 wide curl 20#
• 3 x 8 bent over front raise 35# SS 8 incline curl 20#
• 3 x 8 mid row 80# SS 12 reverse curl 15#
• 4 x 6 lat pulldown 80# SS 20 plank shoulder taps
• 3 x 10 ea. crossbody curl 20# SS 20 cross knee to elbow

Saturday, 3.5: 12.13 miles, 10:43 pace + 45 minute legs

Pretty crummy run, couldn’t breathe well even though my heart rate was apparently alright. My legs were heavy and lungs heavier. Wondering what kinds of allergens might be in the air right now or if I truly am asthmatic in some sense. Fueled with a Cafe Mocha Huma gel at mile 6.

Strength:

• 4 x 12 ea. cable leg extension 20#
• 4 x 10 narrow squat 100#
• 4 x 10 ea. single leg calf raise 100#
• 4 x 12 diamond squat 60#
• 2 x 12/2 x 10 leg press 160/170#
• 3 x 15 ea. side plank knee tuck 10# OH
• 3 x 15 toe tap 10#
• 3 x 20 leg drop 30# OH

Sunday, 3.6: 3.12 mile walk (47 minutes)

Total running mileage: 32.13