sidebar | life and training 9.18 – 9.24
Boy oh boy, do I love September baseball.
I don’t know if any of ya’ll are fans of baseball like me, but if you are, this September gameplay has to get you riled up in some respect. Everything is just so damn close, at least insofar as the Wild Card races. The AL is a tight knit clan of the Rays or Orioles (being realistic, probably the Rays), Rangers/Mariners/Astros, and The Blue Jays all huddled together trying to figure out their seed.
The way I’d love for the AL to turn out is the Rays winning the division, the Orioles (who already clinched top WC seed along with the Rays, depending on how gets bumped from the AL East crown), Rangers, and Blue Jays (would love to see the Mariners take the West but it ain’t looking so hot) in the Wild Card games. Astros begone. Fuck that team.
I just love how the Astros got swept by The Royals this weekend. A 100 loss team. So beautiful.
I took a friend to the Rays-Blue Jays game on Saturday, which turned out to be the only game the Rays won that series. The whole affair was ugly: I think both teams were trying so hard to lose, but in usual TB dramatic fashion the Rays eeked out a walkoff win. J was also there, but sitting a section over with one of his friends: those tickets would’ve been free for myself and my pal, but since we were unexpectedly seated by someone I kinda-sorta knew, I thought it might be awkward. New seats ahoy!
Sunday was spent trying to recover my voice and my energy from that late night affair. I screamed so much my already deep tenor dropped a few octaves. I visited The Day Job for a cuppa in the morning and sat a couple hours, one Airpod in, reading some baseball news, odds, and predictions. It was a lovely morning, a little cloudy with a pleasant breeze. Then basically drove home, made a snack for J and I, and rewatched that stressful final few innings to figure out what the fuck we’d just seen the previous night.
We put in for Wild Card tickets next week, and I am fully committed to a late evening and lack of sleep if it comes down to it. I’ve spectated a couple playoff games, including Wild Card game 3 in 2013 with Jose Lobaton’s iconic walkoff homerun – I will never forget that night. Playoff baseball hits different.
‘Twas a nice week, and I look forward to this week upcoming since I’ll be fresh off a 3-day weekend. I’m probably just in that indifferent phase that I always cycle through during bouts of extreme anxiety, so I’m not sure if I should be happy that my mood’s been more placid – it might just be preluding a future shitstorm. But hey, so long as I’m feeling steadier on my feet, I suppose I should take advantage and ride the wave as long as I can.
Oh yeah, and a grammar lesson for ya’ll:
The Fuck We Cooking This Week?
…A cheesy mushroom French bread pizza.
…A fun batch of autumnal bagels.
…Pumpkin pancakes!
…A comforting chili bake for gameday.
A Few Things I’m Digging
Pumpkin coffee…Trader Joes brought back their pumpkin spice coffee and I very much enjoyed a couple mugs on the cooler weekend mornings we had. A Spiced Pumpkin Latte sounds good about now, too.
Running shoes…Snagged a pair of the New Balance Tempo V2, one of my older mainstay shoes. Amazon has them on major overstock. I always recommend getting fitted for running shoes since I cannot give you a real recommendation, but I do like these and they’re worth trying.
Night snack…Lately, my mainstay evening nibble has been Siggi’s skyr, granola, and almond butter. A little protein, a little sweetness, a little cronch…ideal for me.
Shops & Wish List
Fashion
Target…Looking at some cozies to add to my arsenal. Liking these crinkled knit pants, cozy yarn shorts and tank (this collection will always be a favorite, I own some of last year’s pieces too), and I love the muted colorway of the seamless high rise leggings and the high rise pocketed leggings. These maple leaf earrings are precious.
Kitchen & Dining
Wayfair… Trying to figure out if this oval baker is what all of my scalloped potato dreams are made of. I’ve been wanting a handle-less baker for a long time but can’t seem to find one. Eyeing these Viski coupes – I love all of my Viski glasses thus far – and this copper mule set if they come back into stock.
Week in Training
Monday, 9.18: 9.17 miles, 11:47 pace + 10 minute mobility
Pretty sure I was metabolizing the booze from yesterday’s little bar crawl because my heart rate was SOARING. And I felt hungover by the middle of the run. But, not too bad otherwise. Took a quiet route and saw Mr. Ship pulling down the channel. Was a nice little run full of thought and problem solving.
Tuesday, 9.19: 4.07 miles, 11:31 pace + 35 minute full body
What a harried, wild day, but I was satisfied that I managed a short gym session after a very busy afternoon. The dew point was much lower today (70) and the run, other than my legs being shot, felt really good.
Strength:
- 2 x 8/2 x 10 ea. upright row 30/25#
- 4 x 10 triceps extension 35#
- 4 x 12 alt. lunge 50#
- 3 x 10 diamond squat 60$
- 3 x 15 kickback 15#
- 12/10/10/6 incline press 20/25/25/30#
- 4 x 12 underhand row 30#
- Core work
Wednesday, 9.20: 4.3 miles, 10:28 pace
Did a little workout this morning. Wasn’t great, wasn’t bad. Ran a mellow pickup mile then threw down 1.5 miles at “tempo” effort (9:24, 9:14 for the last .5). Still very sad how slow the paces are, but it is what it is. I got the work done at least.
Thursday, 9.21: 5 miles, 11:26 pace
Kinda forgot what day it was so I ended up running longer than I really had time for. Oh well. Got it done, didn’t get to work late, so it’s fine. Very humid and sticky morning but not bad overall.
Friday, 9.22: 5.28 miles, 11:21 pace + 30 minute full body
I did not want to get to the gym after work, but kinda glad I did: broke up the afternoon and I felt vaguely productive! Run in the morning was pleasant enough, too.
Strength:
- 4 x 10 front squat 60#
- 3 x 12 ea. skullcrusher 15#
- 4 x 10 straight arm pulldown 37#
- 4 x 8 ea. overhead press 20#
- 2 x 15/2 x 12 sumo deadlift 60/70#
- Core and mobility work
Saturday, 9.23: 10.06 miles, 11:44 pace + 10 minute mobility
Very nice morning, I just felt tired and wonky. Can’t even use being hungover as an excuse. I did break in a new pair of New Balance Tempos, however, which were an old mainstay training shoe for me before they got discontinued. Much nicer on my leggies than my old goofy pairs.
Sunday, 9.24: 3.25 miles, 11:33 pace
Couldn’t resist the nicer morning so rounded out my week of running with a short little trot. Felt good, except for my allergies.
Total running mileage: 41.1
