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August 2018 training recap

August 2018 training recap

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The eighth month of the year is behind us, incredibly, and in my household anyway, we have already returned to the thick of it with school beginning and all the other concomitant obligations and priorities. It’s sorta like going from zero to 100. I almost forgot to write my July training recap — and then completely forgot to post about it on instagram or fb — but the world kept turning, so here we are.

BTS

 

she *loves* it

What to say about my training in August? To be honest, not a whole lot. The name of the game was recover from racing TSFM, and it took the better part of the month to get there. I’m still not quite sure why it took my body so long to recover from SF — you’d think that after doing more than thirty of these things, I’d be able to predict it a little better — but it did. It was peculiar only because I knew my training had been solid going into the race, and post-race, I didn’t have any new or residual niggles or injuries come up; instead, it was more just a feeling of total exhaustion, of sludge that seemed to populate my legs and never really leave for a long time. Meh. It translated to a month of my almost-lowest volume this year (121.2, exactly half of July’s), but I sure felt like I needed it. I inadvertently took an entire week off (coinciding with a trip to Disneyland), only raced once (“raced”) to help field a full women’s team for XC, and it has been just within the past two weeks that my legs have finally been like oh yeah hey what’s up when I’ve tried anything beyond just GA or recovery paces.

you can’t exactly tell we’re at Disneyland, but we were, and it was hot as hades

Having a “down” month in running right at the end of summer was pretty refreshing. I’m so glad I decided against pacing at the Santa Rosa Marathon at the end of August — for once,  I had some foresight, yay! — because it was nice to have a bit of a break after the marathon and not try to rush my recovery, like I had to last year. In the four weeks of August that I wasn’t running a whole lot, not only did my fam and I head to Anaheim for a little getaway, but the girls and I also enjoyed the rest of summer by doing things around the house (bunkbeds!), playing tourists with my sister’s neighbor’s family who was in town for a few days, and gearing up for a packed year of Girl Scouts stuff and lots of other activities that completely escape me now but that are super time-consuming (but also super fun and mega-rewarding).

Santa Cruz Boardwalk fun with friends (naturally, we’re playing a game that involves toilets)

 

hiking fun with her GS troop

 

first swim meet in her new AG

The end of the month marked a “soft beginning” to CIM training, though it likely won’t begin in earnest for a couple weeks still. I’m excited to return to the race — along with a bevy of my teammates and buddies from other teams! — and to train through the gorgeous autumnal weather in SJ (which usually equates to “cool and crisp in the morning and summer-like in the afternoons”). We’ll throw in some XC action into the mix, plus maybe a couple road races this fall, and December will be here before we know it.

descending from MP and into the fog (PC: Janet)

 

taking it all so seriously with Janet and Meredith (PC: Janet)

Racing: Just the Santa Cruz XC Challenge in mid-to-late August. I haven’t gotten around to writing a RR about it, and it’s like three weeks ex post facto by now, so suffice it to say that I probably won’t. (You can read last year’s recap and imagine it was pretty similar this time around). The course was the same or very similar to last year, and we had a much bigger team turnout than before. It was a warmer day, I still wasn’t feeling recovered from SF, and I ended up running about 2 minutes slower (bah) than last year (and in the process, sorta lost a toenail). No matter; it’s a pretty course, and I love the opportunity to see my teammates and other buddies. It’s always the company that makes this stuff so enjoyable and memorable.

Wolfpack love! and Robin love, too! and desperately hoping I don’t trip on any_one or any_thing (PC: WRC)

Running: Basically all easy miles and just a handful of trail runs in August. I went back to MP for the first time since January, and it was just a few weeks after part of the hills had caught on fire. Sadly, some of the hillsides were still very black and a bit apocalyptic (and even still smelled smoky). On another weekend morning, Janet, Saurabh, and I hit ARP, and my nose exploded 2.5 miles into the run, which was … amusing.

at ARP: yay running is fun!

 

(literally seconds later) go ahead, guys! I’ll, uh, catch up!

 

back in business! (PC to all: Janet)

Reading: Eh. I think I mentioned it in July, but I started The Handmaid’s Tale and didn’t get too far with it. Same goes for Brene Brown’s Braving the Wilderness. Very surprisingly to me — since I say that I don’t particularly enjoy reading fiction anymore — I picked up Crazy Rich Asians at the library and just had a blast with it. That said, I have zero desire to see the movie — I’ll do one or the other, but never both — but definitely would recommend the novel if you want something fun for a change. Since finishing that, I began Ben Rhodes’ The World As It Is and am making my way through it.

Eating: I had to put this on here this month because I had the impossible burger twice in August, once at The Counter and again at the Cheesecake Factory. I’m an unpretentious eater, generally speaking, but after being vegetarian for more than a decade (and being almost-vegan for most of that), experience has taught me that veggie burgers are not created equally. I had heard about the impossible burger and hadn’t thought twice about it, writing it off as a stupid gimmick, but when I saw that it was available at the aforementioned two places here in town, I gave it a try. It was good! I can’t really comment to how “meat-like” it tasted or its mouth feel (because let’s be honest, I don’t exactly remember what a burger feels like anymore), but I enjoyed it. For what it’s worth, the Counter prepared it medium well, and I think that tasted better than how CF prepared it.

Cooking: Probably like the rest of the running world, I picked up Shalane and Elyse’s new cookbook this past month and have enjoyed working through some of the recipes. I haven’t made tons from it yet, but everything I’ve made (the can’t beet me smoothie, the chicken cannellini bean soup [sans chicken], presto pesto, superhero muffins with carrots and green apples, and the black bean chipotle burgers) has all been delicious and other-people-approved.

Listening to: Courtney Dauwalter’s interview on I’ll Have Another was super entertaining, and she sounded like such a down-to-earth person in real life that it was almost hard to believe that the same person was such a fierce and formidable ultra competitor. I’ve continued to listen to the same IVF-focused podcast that I’ve listened to pretty regularly for the past year-plus, and I won’t give away any spoilers, but it has gotten super interesting of late. Just within the past week or so, I began listening to Lauren Fleshman and Jesse Thomas’ Work Play Love series as well, which I have enjoyed much more than I anticipated (and would highly recommend).

Annoyed by: Carelessness? Sure. Exhibit A: the whole fambam was in my van a couple weeks ago, with C driving, and we got rear-ended. We were stationary, and the car who hit us was going probably not much more than 10-15 mph. It was enough to make that horrible sound of metal on metal, and when it was all said and done, it cost more than $1k in repairs to my car. Fortunately — importantly — everyone was ok, but it was aggravating because the guy who hit us was 21 and driving without a license (and presumably, without insurance). Everything’s done and over and taken care of by now, and like I said, fortunately, no one was hurt, but seriously: it’s aggravating how careless (or selfish, or however you want to describe this type of behavior) people can be sometimes. 21 years old and without a license??? And still driving a car (that wasn’t his)?! Grrrrr….

Anticipating: Everything. Every day is a new adventure, rife with potential and endless opportunity. How’s that for motivation 😛

January 2018 training recap

January 2018 training recap

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Hot damn. January, you were fast.

Admittedly, I’m one of those people who actually likes the whole “new year, new you” vibe that comes with the territory of a new year, but I don’t particularly buy much into it. I’m of the mindset that if you want to make some sort of lasting change in your life, do it whenever you want; it doesn’t have to be a certain month of the year, time of the year, day of the week, or whatever. I mean, honestly, if you decide that you want to start running, there’s no reason why you can’t take that first step on a random Tuesday afternoon in April, ya know? That said, I do appreciate January because for a lot of people, it’s that kick in the pants, that “fresh start,” that they want/need to start chasing down big goals. It’s inspiring to watch and be a part of.

And yet … I didn’t really begin this year or this month with any audacious goals to speak of. After a very light month of running following CIM in early December, I knew January was going to be a return to business as usual: lots of commute miles with my kids, regular workouts, routine long runs, the SOP. Add to the running stuff a very busy month with my eldest’s school,  planning a big event for Girl Scouts, and lots of activity with her GS troop — it’s cookie season (yay!), but dear lord, it’s a labor of love — along with the usual life stuff, including potty training (which has gone really well, thankfully), and here we are, one month down and 212 healthy miles later.

part of this month’s 212 miles

Everyone’s busy, I get it, but when you’re a SAHM, it can be really easy to silo yourself away from reality and stay within the four walls of your home day in and day out. It has been really gratifying to feel like I am contributing in a very direct way to my community, to her school, and to the lives of many families right now, as cheesy or ridiculous as that may sound. Sometimes I wonder if I am shortchanging myself — personally and/or professionally — by staying home to raise my kids, but I think right now I’m at a bit of a sweet spot or at least approaching it. If December was mostly about resting and recovering post-CIM and post-holidays, January was all business, all the time, and an ongoing exercise in re-routinizing priorities again, both running-related and otherwise. It was a good month overall.

back to biznass

A funny thing about the commute mileage with my kids: I put a challenge out there to A that if she rode her bike to/from school for 15 days in January, I’d take her to a salon and get her nails done. She was totally on board from the get-go and actually, pretty enthusiastic about it. We had been talking about goal-setting a lot recently (see above note related to selling GS cookies), and I know she loves to ride her bike, especially after school, but sometimes — like with any of us — the motivation can be lacking. I am not that parent who is adamant about my child being in particular sports or activities, “following in my footsteps,” or even sharing in my passions, but it’s really important to me to instill in my children what a healthy lifestyle entails: in this case, playing outside more often than not. When we’re run/ride commuting to school, we’re not going particularly fast or particularly far, but I think it has become an important and meaningful (and enjoyable) part of her day, and like a lot of us can relate to, she often says how good/strong she feels when she’s done. That’s money, man. The new added challenge has been to practice addition and subtraction on the fly, which is actually harder than I would have anticipated. (PS She hit her 15 day goal!)

I’m obsessed

Sunday is the my first race of the year and the first PA race on the calendar, a 10k in Sacramento, and I’m looking forward to it. I’m not really certain where my fitness is, but I’m willing to figure it out. The PA races are generally a good time, so I’m looking forward to seeing what my team and I can do. It should be fun in a red-lining, uncomfortable way. 

just a handful of us (PC: WRC)

Aside from the commute mileage with the kids, most weekends in January I posted my long runs on trails, and I think that has helped my mental and physical fitness along. Trails make me care less about my pace and more about time on my feet, and I think — regardless of technicality — they can play a huge role in preparing your body to be able to withstand the rigors and intensity of training, for marathons or otherwise.  Plus, it’s so pretty. 

Sunday morning sunrise service (PC: Janet)

 

Different place, yet still the same pretty (PC: Janet)

The yin to the LR on trails’ yang has been running in ovals during swim practices each week, and that, too, seems to be working advantageously for me. It’ll usually shake out to one night being easy ovals and the other being a workout, and selfishly, it works fantastically for me because it means I don’t have to endure a 3:xx a.m. wake-up during the week. I can usually run my workout (with no/an abbreviated CD, depending on the mileage I ran during the daytime) and still manage to catch the end of swim practice.

If variety is the spice of life, I feel like my January’s running is like a veritable spice cabinet… or something. Tenuous metaphor. It’s past my bedtime.

…and when the oval is locked up, adjacent parking lots will do

 

Bring on February!

———–

Reading: So many good books right now, some of which I’ve already reviewed here. If Our Bodies Could Talk was an enjoyable non-running-related read that I found completely endearing and entertaining; Steve Magness and Brad Stulberg’s Peak Performance was informative; and Joe Biden’s Promise Me, Dad left me bawling in almost every chapter. I’ve started another running-related book that I am honestly so excited to recap if for no other reason than I want more people to know about it and read it for themselves.

Writing: More, hopefully; that’s the goal, anyway. When I taught first-quarter, first-year college students writing, rhetoric, and discourse, I told them that writing is a skill that people tend to improve with practice. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll become the next pivotal American author, but you’ll probably find that writing frequently lends itself to lots of ideas and fodder for future writings. You write to … beget more writing, ultimately, even if you think your original stuff is trash. (It’s ok; we all think that). So often I say that I want to write more in this space, but I ultimately don’t. This year, my soft goal is to write something here once a week. I think I can do it and still be able to thoughtfully contribute to whatever the discussion is at the time (or not… I mean, who knows). I have tons of ideas; it’s just a matter of routinizing my writing as I have other areas of my life. 

Anticipating: The first PA race on Sunday and both my parents and my in-laws coming to visit in February. It’s going to be an excellent month.

Listening to: Nothing much, TBH; I kinda feel like I’m on a podcast hiatus and instead am just reveling in any silence that I can get.

Watching: Honestly, not much, again. Whenever I’ve had downtime this month, I’ve been more inclined to put away my phone and pick up one of the books that I’m reading. However, C showed me this awesome video from Burger King explaining net neutrality to people (weird, right?). If you haven’t watched it yet, go nuts.