sidebar | life and training 9.20 – 9.26
Welcome to Sidebar! An aside from cooking, where I get to chat endlessly at you without spoiling the food. Things I like, things I want to like, things I don’t like, and things I want you to like. Plus, my usual training log. A bit like my normal Monday posts where I cover my weekly runs and such, except with a stack of other mental paperwork through which I can sift. Perhaps you’ll find some of it informative, or humorous, or inspiring. Perhaps you’ll think I’m even more full of shit and off-putting than you already did. Either way, this feature is a more casual approach to a blog post, and I’m gonna swim with it for awhile.
Musings and Meanderings
J and I attended our first Rays game since what, 2019, on Wednesday afternoon. We chose a 3p game since I’m an old fart and go to bed at 8, so a 7p game wasn’t exactly practical. The Rays actually clinched a playoff berth that game and no one knew until the 9th inning when the PA guy made an announcement about it. Even some of the players were not keyed in to that stat. Humorous.
Saturday night, not with my attendance, the team clinched the AL East division and won’t have to play in the sudden death Wild Card Series. Pretty sweet for a team comprised of ragtag scoundrels picked up, as J’s dad says, from the player depot.
Right – if you’re new here, I’m an avid baseball fan. I worked with two minor league squads for a couple years before peacing out due to the rather boring nature of baseball personalities and the dull-witted writing style I was forced to adopt. I know journalism comes with greater flexibility as the rankings increase, but I’m impatient, and found I didn’t like that industry enough to stick it out.
Seasonal guides launch
Assuming I’m not a doofus who loses track of time, I hope to have the first of my quarterly seasonal guides up for grabs on October 1! Obviously the inaugural writeup pertains to fall: some lifey tips to ride out the season, grocery shop efficiently, and a few recipes you won’t find on FMG. I will soon have a signup form available once I figure out how to create the proper email blast format. It’ll be free, too. I bet you like free.
Any requests? Drop them in the comments! And here’s a little preview if a view of the aesthetic gets you hyped.
A couple things I’m digging
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Overnight Mask… I can’t speak for anyone with sensitive skin, since it is a glycolic acid-based product, but my skin is obscenely soft the following morning, particularly when I finish with a dab of their marula oil atop. I’m not using the metaphor that my face is softer than a baby’s butt, because that’s nasty, so let’s say it’s like rose petals. Cue romantic background music.
Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Bread... And really any kind of quick bread. Tomorrow I’m testing a biscuit recipe involving brown butter that’ll pair with yet another dope dish I’m starting when I return from mom’s tonight. J’s run club friends destroyed the pumpkin bread. You ought to try it. Please? Please?
Margaritas… All sorts. They might be my favorite cocktail class to mix. Right now I’m obsessed with the Spiced Apple Cider Rosemary Margarita and the Blushing Ginger Grapefruit Margarita. Do I need to make a pumpkin one? I think I do. I probably do. I do.
Old Kinfolk issues…I don’t like the hotsy totsy style-magazine facade Kinfolk adopted more recently, but the initial 10-12 issues or so were absolute gemstones as far as how they shaped my perception of and practice in life. I’ve been shouldering inspiration from these older prints and reminding myself what’s truly valuable in existence, rather than getting stuck in the whirlwind material expectations life tosses at us.
Cooler weather patterns…Sure, low 70s/upper 60s and sweatball mornings still dominate our forecasts, but honestly? 73 beats 79 and a 70 dew point feels worlds better than 78. Has summer finally shown itself to the door? I sure as shit hope so.
Week in Training
Monday, 9.20: 12.1 miles, 10:47 pace + 40 min strength
My last true medium long run of this cycle! It felt weird prancing around for only 12 miles as opposed to 14-15. Yes, those couple of miles make a huge difference in my time perception. This went pretty smoothly after Saturday’s 22 miler, so no complaints there.
Strength:
- 4 x 10 alt. curtsy lunge SS 6 jump squat
- 4 x 8 row
- 4 x 6 ea. split squat
- 4 x 10 calf raise
- 4 x 8 ea. overhead press SS 10 bent over front raise
- 4 x 12 stir the pot
- 4 x 10 ea. band leg extensions
Tuesday, 9.21: 6.25 miles, 10:44 pace + 33 min elliptical
I only did 33 minutes because the “quick start” function stops after that point. Leave me alone with your personal neuroses. I wanted to swim but the pool was unexpectedly closed due to a pump malfunction. Not exactly sanitary to swim when the filtration system isn’t running.
Wednesday, 9.22: 11.37 miles, 9:19 pace + 45 min strength + 1,250 yard swim (25:27)
60 minute pace run to kick off the day. I wore my new Saucony Endorphin Pros with the hopes that they’d feel good enough to use on race day. LOVED them. They remind me of the New Balance 1080s, which I adore, except much lighter and springier. I averaged 8:37 for the pace miles and felt energetic the whole time despite the ridiculous humidity.
I swam a straight 1,250 yards – that was really all I had in me time-wise and inspiration-wise. My average pace rounded out to 2:02, which I’m fine with.
Strength:
- 4 x 8 ea. single leg hop
- 4 x 10 stability ball bench press
- 4 x 10 triceps extensions SS triceps pulse
- 4 x 8 toe-raised squats
- 4 x 4 weighted lunge matrix
- 4 x 15 leg drops
- 50 bicycle crunches
Thursday, 9.23: 21.53 miles, 21.5 mph cycling (1:00:00) + 1,500 yard swim (30:57)
Good 90+ RPM spin, nothing new, averaged 122W for the session. I enjoyed my swim for awhile until a massive headache churned and the pressure from my goggles made it much more pronounced. I swam 1,200 yards straight (24:02), then 4 x 50 fast, 100 cooldown.
Friday, 9.24: 6.25 miles, 10:32 pace + 3.45 miles, 10:08 pace
Final double run! Both went well, the humidity dropped massively by 11 when I embarked for my second trot and the dew point only read 68. My legs were pretty tight from the first run and immediately standing for 5 hours during my work shift so I was glad the run lasted only 35 minutes.
Saturday, 9.25: 18.26 miles, 10:25 pace
What a glorious morning! Not perfect by any stretch, but even the slightest drop in temperature and dew point lowers effort perception, and I slammed out some good steady paces with minimal interruption in my heart rate. Stoked on this effort and even more stoked that it’s my last long run for awhile!
Sunday, 9.26: 5.28 miles, 11:21 pace
Penultimate Slow Run Sunday of Chicago 2021 training. Averaged 144 bpm and felt really good, the a nice breeze greeted me on the return trip which helped wick away some of the sweat via 90% humidity.
Total running mileage: 63
Total cycling mileage: 21.53
Total swimming yardage: 2,750
