sidebar | life and training 8.19 – 8.25

Man, I thought of a fun intro for this post while I was running and of course forgot it immediately. Oh well… HI, GUYS.

This week was kind of a non-week. Nothing interesting really happened until Saturday. I worked, I ran, I lifted, I fucked around, I cooked, I ate. I went to the support group. I went to therapy. Got ice cream after. The end.

And now I’m trying to write this post but getting distracted by researching flights to Pennsylvania. FOCUS POCUS, BROCUS.

Wednesday I enjoyed another short study session with Little Miss Ba at Oxford Exchange. Love the chocolate chip muffin they serve and really can’t wait for September so I can indulge in a pumpkin cappuccino and maybe another seasonal treat if they have them. I cannot do so before September, though. Pumpkin in August is heathenistic.

Thursday I went through an interview to substitute teach in my county, which is kind of a thing to report, I suppose. Part of my Operation Get My Fucking Shit Together, and perhaps to find something I genuinely enjoy doing and opening a channel into a fresh direction in life. I’ve heard that the process can be unbearably long, though, so the payoff certainly won’t be immediate. It does feel good to make a stride, though, no matter how small.

On Saturday, I participated in the Cupcake Crawl 5K, my third in my summer sufferfest series. This race is tiny, about 270 people registered, so the field was very casual. The race started at 9 – I learned the park in which it takes place doesn’t open until 8 – so I was quite ready to throw out any and all expectations and just see what happened. Which I guess is how I’ve approached all of my 5Ks this year.

I woke up at my usual time, got in a 3 mile warmup run at home, then sat on my ass for several hours moping (I was in a shit mood) until I could leave for the event. I actually had never been to the park before: it’s quite sprawling, with some nice trails and lots of greenspace, and the finisher’s village was nicely set up but certainly not packed. I jogged a warmup mile with some strides, loitered in the shade, and let my nerves grow while I waited for the start.

We lucked out with the weather. It was certainly hot, more so than most non-Floridian folks could probably tolerate: 75 degrees, full sunlight, 73 dew point. But it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been.

I shot off near the front of the pack to avoid getting behind the inevitable slog of walkers. Immediately I found myself in the red and had to hang on for dear life the remaining race. I guess I paced my 5K well, certainly better than the first two. I didn’t go so fast that I crashed and burned, and not so slow that I had to play catch up and inevitably have a mediocre result. It hurt like hell from the get-go. Not many people spectated the race and the few volunteers watching the turns were very encouraging, clapping loudly and shouting positive messages. It was nice. I don’t need a lot of fanfare.

Mile 2 I scolded a pedestrian whose dog veered a little too close to my stride. The dog was just being a dog, but the owners were clearly not paying attention and let the little guy extend his leash. Not courteous at all especially when it was clear a race was happening. Beyond that, I don’t remember much of mile 3, except trying to clear the fog in my head enough to count down the remaining tenths of a mile, hearing a lady cheer me on saying only one female was ahead of me (I tried to react but I think I just gave her a really pained expression). Otherwise, yep, totally blacked out and went into survival mode.

I found one small final gear and crossed the finish line at a 6:59 pace. Took my medal, got a water bottle, and popped a squat next to the snack tent for a second to catch my breath. The guy manning the tent asked how it went, and I said it was “hot as fuck.” He got a laugh out of that.

I looked at my watch a few minutes later and was totally flabbergasted. 7:49?! Offically 7:45. I did not expect to sub-8 in those conditions, much less at all considering my training isn’t exactly optimal.

I ran into the dude who finished right ahead of me and we ended up chatting the whole time while we waited for the awards ceremony. We joked about wanting to steal the plant set up next to the awards rather than taking the prizes themselves. Both of us ended up winning our age groups – also, both of us got bumped up to 1st place since the folks ahead of us wound up winning overall prizes. Pretty cool. I hoped to find him on social media to keep in touch for later races, but the bro didn’t have any social media, so I told him the next one I plan to do in September.

Oh, and that post-race doughnut was fabulous.

This made me really think about how I need running friends. Granted, running friends who aren’t fucking obnoxious about it and don’t encapsulate the “running is my identity” crowd that makes me want to puke everywhere. I love my people but I don’t have really anyone who relates to that very important side of me. my mom and I agree that exposing myself to the race environment might help me with that. The interactions I have with people at the finish line are always rewarding, and I certainly need more of that in my life.

Ended the week with a soup date at mom’s. I made broccoli cheddar – not my best work, but it was good.

I hope next weekend I find a little more adventure. I’ve been rather drab lately and my schedule has been whack in some respects, but I’m planning some sort of outing on Saturday at the very least. Might spiff up my attitude a little bit. Aaaaand I have two cupcake vouchers to exchange. Friday treat, mayhap?

Take care of yourself, this week and every week, friends.

The Fuck We Cooking This Week?

…A cozy soup because I’m impatient for fall.

…One last ice cream because it’s still fucking summer.

A Few Things I’m Digging

Breakfast sandwich…My favorite easy morning combo lately: fried egg, tofu “bacon” (made a batch for a BLT lunch prep sandwich), and tomato, with a sprinkle of everything seasoning, on a burger bun. Fast, simple, and high protein.

Shops & Wish List

Fashion

Pro Compression…Can’t really call these “fashion” but they’re the socks I wear for running, and I need a restock since many of mine are old and getting hole-y. Love the ice cream cone and fiery skies patterns.

Skincare & Wellness

Prequel…Interested in this new-to-me brand, particularly the Lucent-C vitamin C serum and the Universal Skin Facial Solution.

Pacifica…Still interested in the Future Youth serum and might pick up the Glow Baby vitamin C booster serum again as well since I’m near out.

Week in Training

Monday, 8.19: 6.5 miles, 10:30 pace + 15 minute lift

Little race week speed session to sharpen the legs. My warmup felt miserable – just extremely tight and uncooperative limbs – but once I got to the faster section my stride opened up and I felt pretty good! 2 mile warmup, then into 400m (1:56), 300m (1:21), 200m (:52), 100m (:24), and a cooldown.

Strength:

• 4 x 8 deadlift 100#
• 3 x 8 narrow press 25#
• 3 x 1 ea. Turkish getup 10# (totally butchered these so I need to work on it)
• 3 x 10 pushup (5 regular/5 diamond)

Tuesday, 8.20: 5.52 miles, 10:52 pace

I’ve been remembering to take my Xyzal again in the evenings and it seems to make a difference. Certainly doesn’t totally mend the problem but I was less stuffy and congested. Easy miles felt pretty good.

Wednesday, 8.21: 4 miles, 9:38 pace

Activation workout to get the leggies turning one more time before Saturday’s 5K. 2 mile warmup, 1 mile push (7:54), 3 x 200m (:51, :52, :51), 2 x 50m sprints to reach a top speed of 5:24 pace. Hips are very tight but I felt strong overall and it was nice to see some 6:xx paces in the 200s!

Thursday, 8.22: 5.58 miles, 10:45 pace + 13 minute lift

Super stormy out of nowhere this morning, so after walking outside to a huge flash of lightning I nope’d out and headed to the treadmill. Very sleepy, sloggy miles. Got in a quick gym session after work, nothing too strenuous so to not compromise my race Saturday.

Strength:

• 4 x 12 OH reverse squat 30#
• 3 x 10 incline press 20#
• 3 x 10 ea. row 35#

Friday, 8.23: 3.24 miles, 10:48 pace

Just a tiny run to wake the legs up before Saturday’s race. Not too bad feeling outside, the breeze felt slightly refreshing actually.

Saturday, 8.24: (CUPCAKE 5K) 3.07 miles, 7:49 pace

Welp. Smashed my old personal best right in the face. My GPS visibly kicked out during mile 2 (I did not drop a whole minute in my pace at any point) and another person’s phone picked up an accurate measure so I’m thinking my watch is to blame for the discrepancy. 7:45 was my official pace, 1st in my age group, 5th overall woman and 11th overall among both genders. I think I blacked out during mile 3 because I don’t remember anything except a sheer will to hang on…and having to scold a woman whose dog got a little too close to my path. And this race started at 9am! Can’t believe how well it went and how I was able to grit my way through some very intense pain. Not gonna lie, though, definitely not sad that this is my last 5K for awhile!

Sunday, 8.25: 5 mile walk (1:17:37)

Total running mileage: 32