sidebar | life and training 6.13 – 6.19

Howdy, happy Monday.

Not a huge swath of shit to report from this week. I had a rough time with recipe development, nothing seemed to go correctly until Saturday, where thankfully a pair of concepts decided to behave and turned out beautifully. I had to rework a big idea thrice and today I’m trialing my final rendition in hopes of coming out with something I love. Stay tuned.

This summer is proving a fairly quiet one. No big travels at hand, no blown out adventures, just enjoying a period of not marathon training and for myself attempting to shrink down to basic enjoyments. I want to spend more time poolside or splashing around, reading outside (for brief spurts, too hot to be out for long), going for walks, stopping somewhere for a cappuccino on a whim. Maybe just be a local a bit, you know?

Last week debuted my inaugural Foul Mouth Meal Plan blast, and I quite adored forming the template and sending it out to all of you. I hope you found it useful. I’m sure it’ll evolve into several manifestations over time, but I love having a publication that helps you simplify grocery shopping – I do all the work for you, basically, except physically buying the necessary ingredients.

What was your favorite recipe from this week’s meal plan? Mine was probably the doughnuts, or maybe the sliders. Depending on which way my cravings swing.

Bookshelf Edit

I felt inspired to curate my bookshelf since I haven’t dusted it in *ahem* three years, so I figured with the cleaning I might as well rearrange shit and make it look pretty. Below is a gallery of my inspirations for a clean, crisp layout. I’d LOVE to add more accents to the shelves, like vases or knickknacks, like these photos show.

Summer Cheeseboard Edit

Really hoping to get a new cheeseboard out before the 4th of July. Here’s some aesthetic inspiration for your own!

What I’m Up To This Week

Testing…Well, a couple redos. Ice cream sandwiches, loaded pita pockets, an easy yet to-die-for pasta (please don’t die for it), and a sweet and citrusy loaf cake!

Reading…Molly’s Game by Molly Bloom. I saw the movie awhile back and found it really fascinating, and the memoir just highlights even more so how disgusting Hollywood really is. Those people we often idolize are shrews. Very eye-opening to see how easy it is to get caught up in the perceived glamour of that lifestyle – I find it quite revolting myself.

Loving…Pixi by Petra’s Vitamin C Serum. Tried this out in lieu of my Versed bottle and I’m really liking the light, airy texture and faintly citrusy smell.

Buying…Comfy leggings for milling about the house. The compression of leggings is actually quite nice when I’m on my feet cooking all day. Love the colorways of these and hope to snag the black, olive, and heather rose at some point.

Drinking…Vanilla Bean Brulee coffee. J doesn’t love flavored coffees but I bought these beans awhile back and honestly enjoy them with a midmorning cookie.

Wanting…A beach getaway. Ironic since I live 25 minutes from the beach and don’t usually want to go, but a vacation inspired by seaside relaxation sounds really nice right now. Maybe a different perspective on the tropical horror show climate in which I live.

A Few Things I’m Digging

Cleansing towlettes…Been carrying around cleansing towlettes for whenever I need to feel less sticky from our godawful summer weather. I use Trader Joes’ miscellar wipes but I’m really curious about these from Yuni, meant for active people.

Doughnuts…Still can’t get over these Baked Blueberry Chai Doughnuts. One of my favorite recent goodies.

Movie…The newest Bond film No Time to Die was quite a ride. I think Craig was one of the better Bonds I’ve seen since his character actually has emotional substance. Really eager to see who’s up next in the franchise.

Goldfish…We FINALLY got our hands on the new Old Bay Goldfish. Specifically, four bags…Stowed a few away in our emergency bin and will probably buy more every time I see a bag to keep our active stock fresh. They’re really difficult to source so if you have any interest and see them, buy them immediately. Like four bags. Just in case.

Peaches…Peach season is arrived! While I find those little fruits the most stubborn assholes half the time, I just love the end result of a good peach dish. Working on a lovely peach menu to bring to you guys in the upcoming weeks! If I can get any of those assholes to work. Feeling curious? Start with these Smoky Peach Thyme Bourbon Twists!

No affiliate links, I’m not that cool.

Week in Training

Monday, 6.13: 3.1 miles, 11:54 pace + 57 minute back & biceps

Cruddy morning but the run wasn’t bad. My cadence got up super high during the run intervals, 185+, which isn’t really weird for me but I haven’t seen numbers like that in quite some time.

Strength:

• 4 x 6 preacher curl 75#
• 3 x 8 underhand row 45#
• 3 x 10 incline hammer curl 20#
• 3 x 10 straight arm pulldown 41#
• 3 x 10 ea. cross body curl 20#
• 4 x 8 narrow row 40#
• 3 x 10 ea. concentration curl 15#
• 3 x 10 bent arm front raise 30#
• 3 x 20 knee ins
• 3 x 10 ea. oblique bends 40#
• 3 x 20 toe taps
• :45 ea. side planks

Tuesday, 6.14: 25 minute elliptical + 1 hour shoulders & triceps + 1,300 yard swim (30:00)

Right when I got to the pool everyone left. Fine with me. Swam 500 straight in 9:37, then performed 8 sets of 25 kick/50 free. Felt lovely.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 seated press 25#
• 3 x 10 bench press 30#
• 4 x 6 ea. single arm extension 20#
• 3 x 12 ea. single arm bench press 25#
• 3 x 10 side raise 20#
• 4 x 8 pressdown 41#
• 3 x 12 narrow press 25#
• 3 x 20 alt. crossover press 15#
• 3 x 15 OH extension 30#
• 3 x 10 hammer front raise 30#

Wednesday, 6.15: 4.61 miles, 11:04 pace + 1 hour legs

I don’t know, but cardio is feeling better lately. My heart rate was really low during my warmup (near all 150s and below) and I didn’t feel any weird fluttery sensations or weakness. Even the strain of the intervals was rather normal! Ran 4 x 400 ending at a 6:52 average for one of them, with 2 minute walk/jog recoveries. Blisteringly hot, 78 at the start, but I was really happy with the sets!

Strength:

• 3 x 10 ea. step up with bar
• 3 x 12 sumo pause squat 80#
• 4 x 6 ea. SLDL 80#
• 4 x 10 leg press 180#
• 3 x 10 elevated narrow goblet squat 60#
• 4 x 15 glute bridge 60#
• 3 x 12 heel elevated plie squat 80#
• 3 x 10 front squat 60#
• 3 x 30 band step outs
• 3 x 20 ea. band lateral extensions
• 3 x 30 weighted deadbug 15#

Thursday, 6.16: 3.7 mile walk (56 minutes) + 1,100 yard swim (24:25)

Planned an extra recovery day since my previous one landed on Friday, and I didn’t want to go too long without a break considering how my running seems to be improving. Morning walk + afternoon swim made this less of a rest day and more just a relaxed training day, but it was well needed in any case. For the swim, I opted for a 150-100-75-50-25 ladder and finished up with 6 x 50 breaststroke.

Friday, 6.17: 3.12 miles, 11:51 pace + 1 hour upper body

Made up for the skipped strength day with a full upper body session. Oof, quite the burn! Run went well beforehand, averaged a 152 heart rate!

Strength:

• 3 x 12 alt. rotating curl 20#
• 3 x 10 underhand row 40#
• 3 x 10 seated extension 40#
• 4 x 8 narrow press 30#
• 3 x 12 biceps curl 20#
• 3 x 10 pressdown 41#
• 4 x 8 incline press 30#
• 3 x 10 wide row 30#
• 3 x 8 mid row 80#
• 3 x 8 skullcrusher 40#
• 3 x 10 straight arm pulldown 37#
• 3 x 10 bench press 30#

Saturday, 6.18: 5.41 miles, 11:01 pace + 66 minute legs & shoulders

Honestly don’t love combining shoulder day with leg day. I like focusing solely on legs for those sessions, otherwise it just feels disrupted – but had to fit both in considering my extra recovery day on Thursday. Run wasn’t fantastic, I think I got overeager with the 2 minute run intervals, so I’m likely going to step back and do a milder increase next week if I’m up for it.

Strength:

• 3 x 10 elevated deadlift 120#
• 3 x 11 side raise 20#
• 3 x 8 leg extension 160#
• 3 x 10 ea. single leg extension 50#
• 3 x 10 upright row 25#
• 3 x 8 ea. static lunge 80#
• 3 x 11 ea. balanced press 20#
• 4 x 15 leg press 160#
• 3 x 10 seated military press 20#
• 3 x 15 plie squat 60#
• 3 x 15 face pull 41#
• 3 x 15 ea banded knee drives 10#
• 5 minute core

Sunday, 6.19: 3.54 mile walk (54:00)

Total running mileage: 15.28

Total swimming yardage: 2,400