sidebar | life and training 6.19 – 6.25
How to be neighborly: share baked goods!
I’m so glad the neighbor with whom I got tangled in the towing incident of a few weeks ago is a genuinely decent person – I wouldn’t have so much trouble if he were a grouchy “get off my lawn” type who dismissed the issue off the bat. I was refunded last week and decided to leave it at that. Could I have demanded more money? Probably, but I wanted to put the matter to rest at this stage, for my sake and for my neighbor’s.
As a thanks I swept by with a box of homemade doughnuts (you’ll see the recipe soon!), and last night he returned the container with a batch of still warm chocolate chip oatmeal cookies inside. What a nice little surprise! He also texted me a pic of his young son enjoying a doughnut. A simple little gesture that brought me quite a bit of joy. I of course obliged with a selfie of J and I devouring a cookie to prove they were received with gratitude.
On a different note, one thing that popped to mind this morning was how dangerous distracted exercising is early in the morning. I’m sure I’ve spoken to this before, but I don’t understand how folks feel comfortable blasting music through earbuds or headsets while out for a jog or walk in the predawn hours. Case in point – I was approaching an intersection when a garbage truck BLAZED right through their stop sign, showing no indication that he noticed me coming. I thankfully saw him accelerating out of the parking lot and stopped before I would’ve been in his path, but had I either assumed he’d brake for me or had I been consumed in music or a podcast, Flat Kellie would result. That thought’s pretty scary to me.
I live under the impression that drivers, especially early or late, either can’t see, aren’t paying attention, or don’t give a shit about pedestrians. This defensive line of thinking has probably saved my ass multiple times. Of course, if you’re injured by a driver chances are it’d be their fault in a court of law, but why risk life and limb just so you can point fingers at someone else? There are certainly ways you can lower your chances of being a victim.
My advice? Wear bright colors, look around occasionally for oncoming traffic (even if it’s far enough away, you never know if they’ll get leadfoot randomly), slow up when approaching intersections and you see a vehicle coming (even if it’s a stoplight, sometimes those bitches blaze right through reds), and keep at least one ear headphone-free. I’d also say to keep to sidewalks when you can, though if you don’t have one and there’s a bike lane available, that’s probably better than running in the middle of the road.
I really won’t tire of relaying my bits of running safety to ya’ll. Accidents can happen no matter what, but there are ways you can lessen your chance of injury or a fatal encounter with a vehicle. I think we should all take initiative to protect ourselves, rather than relying on others to keep us safe.
Anywho, off my soap box. Friday J and I went to the Rays game and had quite a good time – they won 11-3 and I got myself a fat soft pretzel to enjoy. Favorite part of visiting a ballpark. Other than the baseball part, heh. I’ve been quite the hermit lately so getting out was lovely – as was Sunday, when I met up with my mom for coffee. She’s been struggling with a neck strain for a bit and wasn’t feeling like going out, so it was relieving that she felt good enough to venturing to the coffee shop for a sip and a chat.
Next week is July 4th, which is wild. I’d imagine summer break for the kids is about halfway through at this point, depending on where you are, and what I call the Dog Days are approaching. I’m tired of the heat already and we have a good three months left of steadily awful conditions. I haven’t visited the pool as much as I’d like, so perhaps we’ll change that this week.
Speaking of July 4th – what would ya’ll like to see? I have a couple concepts lined up under The Fuck We Cooking This Week, but I’m always open to more if there’s something you’re really into for the occasion!
The Fuck We Cooking This Week?
…A cheesy pizza all tastebuds will enjoy.
…Saucy shrimp bowls (or a salad, not sure which yet).
…An indulgent ice cream treat for the 4th!
…An easy potato salad to enjoy at all your summer partays.
…The simplest pitcher tequila cocktail.
A Few Things I’m Digging
Brow gel…Nyx’s The Brow Glue is fabulous. It fills in beautifully and really does last for such an affordable piece. I don’t do my brows every day but like to give them a spiffing up on days I don’t work.
Ice cream…Now that I’ve tapped into homemade ice creams again, I’m loving them for my after lunch morsel. No Churn Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is a great way to start if you’re new to the no-machine-needed style!
Bento box…I wish I had a link to these, but in Target’s Bullseye Playground they’d been selling these adorable bento boxes for $3. It comes with a main layer, then a compartmented piece that fits overtop and which contains a little dressing container and a foldable spork. Adorable and so functional!
July 4th Cocktails
Looking for some good sips on Independence Day? Check these babies out!
For the DD/non-drinker...Watermelon Cucumber Agua Fresca
Shops & Wish List
Fashion
Target…A few new swimsuit drops in which I’m interested. Really like the pale green of this twist front bralette and this lace-up style. Love the idea of this one-shoulder top though I’m not so sure about white. I’m liable to spill snacks all over it.
Skincare & Wellness
Florence by mills…Interested in their Depuffing Eye Gel Pads, I always like a good eye mask when I’m having an allergenic day. Or, you know, crying. The Love U a Latte mask has really good reviews and the Mind Glowing Detox Mask (peel off? Fun!)
Week in Training
Monday, 6.19: 6.27 miles, 11:19 pace + 23 minute push
Gross contrast from yesterday’s nice rainy morning. No breeze, 80 degrees, sweated my balls off. I saw very few people out and none of them looked like they were having a good time.
Strength:
- 4 x 10 ea. OH triceps ext. 20#
- 1 x 8/3 x 10 bench press 60/50#
- 4 x 12 ea. bent arm side raise 15#
- Core work + 40 second deadhang
Tuesday, 6.20: 3.4 miles, 11:11 pace
Welp, Monday wove into Tuesday. It was HOT and a little spooky out: fighter jets from the air force base were flying loudly overhead at 5 am and a big building’s fire alarm was ringing – and talking, which was extra eerie. Was glad this one was over!
Wednesday, 6.21: 5.76 miles, 11:17 pace + 25 minute pull
I saw flashes outside my window when I was sitting doing my pre-run fucking around ritual, but it took me awhile before I actually looked at radar and realized there was A LOT of rain floating around. Welp. Headed out thinking I might dodge the storm since it appeared to be travelling north, but something must have cropped up right over the city because I got positively dumped on about halfway through. It felt wonderful, though. I love rainy runs (the lightning was intimidating, though). The temp dropped about 10 degrees and the wind was actually kind of chilly. Good workout gear helps since I dried off pretty quick once the deluge ceased.
Strength:
- 4 x 8 bent arm pulldown 37#
- 4 x 10 waiter curl 35#
- 4 x 8 rope pulldown 57#
- 4 x 10 around the world curl 15#
- Core work + 40 second deadhang
Thursday, 6.22: 3.33 miles, 11:24 pace
Fairly pleasant morning, dew point was 69 I think (nice) so felt much less oppressive.
Friday, 6.23: 4.49 miles, 11:08 pace
Felt weirdly sprightly and ready to trot when I got up (after my usual grumbling, that is.)
Saturday, 6.24: 7.14 miles, 11:29 pace + 25 minute legs
Oof. About 5 hours of sleep after a late night at the Rays game (they won, woohoo! Actually, they slaughtered, 11-3) so getting going was initially pretty rough, but I managed to get inspired at the very last part of my run since I saw a Mr. Ship rolling in! Haven’t been able to watch them dock in quite awhile, I think they tend to come in later nowadays probably due to scheduling/tides. Wound up running back and forth until the ship came into view. So pleased!
Strength:
- 4 x 11 ea. leg press 100#
- 4 x 15 ea. calf raise 110#
- 4 x 12 sumo squat 65#
- Core work + 40 second deadhang
Sunday, 6.25: 3.31 miles, 11:12 pace
Very still out but this run helped me wake up somewhat after a very grog, slow start.
Total running mileage: 33.7
