It's definitely been the type of week where I didn't know what day it was. I spent all day Saturday thinking it was Sunday. I even ordered my groceries and didn't realize until after the fact that I had another day to take care of it. Oh well, what's wrong with being one step ahead of my non-existent schedule?
Week 3 is checked off the training calendar. I think the most significant workout was my Fartlek on Thursday (6/9). It was somewhat of a pyramid workout, increasing the time with each section. We had 3 x 3, 2 x 2, 1 x 1, and then back up. I ran the longest hard effort I have in forever, a total of 4:00 minutes. Doesn't sound that long to many but running that to as close to 8:20-40 as I can is a mind f*ck in itself. I completed the workout and patted myself on the back as I always do. You see, I run solo 100% of the time now. I know people who run in the area but there are some roadblocks in the way: I'm not comfortable being around people yet and they are a heck of a lot faster than I am. I do what my coach tells me and that's enough for me. My introvert self is happy being alone in my own element with my audiobook in-ear. Right now, I'm in the middle of Matt Fitzgerald's "Running the Dream" and it is fantastic. Resonating with this one is easy because it's set in Arizona and he's running with NAZ Elite, a team of amazing runners who run for Hoka One One, including the queen of Flagstaff, Steph Bruce. All of Matt's books have been a hit in my library. If you are into audiobooks, might I suggest checking out Libro.fm. You can select a local bookstore and when you purchase a book, they get the payout. I know Kindle is the end all be all of all things books nowadays it seems but hey, let's keep the little guys open. And support your local libraries!
Anyway, back to running. So my knee was talking to me this week. Yep, you guessed it. The same one that gave me trouble last year and put me in physical therapy for four months. I still do my exercises religiously and take more time than I ever have with recovery movements, icing, and Epsom on a weekly basis. Nothing is perfect forever, though. The soreness comes and goes. My therapist told me I wouldn't be completely pain-free but I'd be much better than I was and I definitely have been! I don't mess around with any weird sensations, soreness, or pain while I think most runners "walk it off" or slap some KT tape on anything to mask whatever may be developing. I didn't spend over $400 (per MONTH, and yes, that's with insurance) in therapy to just mask the pain. I communicated with my coach on Friday that it wasn't feeling too hot. I had a bike workout that day, which was good. Biking doesn't bother it. She gave me the best advice, as usual. Saturday morning I opted to bike instead of doing my long run that would have involved some hard efforts in the middle. Normally I'm completely fine with this, however, I was really looking forward to this workout. I sucked up my sulking face and did the same efforts on the bike which turned out to be harder than I thought they'd be. Never underestimate cycling. It will truly kick your butt. Sunday's are very much a relaxing and "do absolutely nothing" days around here. I cook a big breakfast, we drink our coffee on the patio, and typically read the rest of the day until dinner. My weekly long Epsom baths have been Sunday afternoons and they've been the BOMB! I throw in some peppermint oil to clear my head and it's just.....a vacation in my bathroom. Maybe one day we'll have one of those fancy soaking tubs you see in mansions. Either way, it's Monday. My knee feels much better. Rest will not kill you. Listen to your body. You won't lose fitness taking a day or two off or switching workouts.
I wanted to close out today by sharing something I tried the other day. So, I'm a coffee snob. I'll admit it. I don't drink frap's from Starbucks. I don't really like any frozen type of coffee drink. I don't put 10 pumps of whatever in my cup. I grind my beans fresh every morning after measuring them out to a specific gram. I have an expensive coffee machine and a fancy burr grinder. Roll your eyes and shoot me. We make coffee at home every day so its paid for itself. I used a basic Mr. Coffee drip machine for the longest time then graduated to a Keurig. When I met my husband, he used a french press. I had no idea how to even operate it. Here we are now, some 8 years later, and I want to be the world's best barista. I applied for a job at Starbucks hoping to just learn how to use a proper espresso machine. While I typically drink my coffee black, I've been craving a flat white lately. If you aren't familiar with that drink, it's basically some espresso with a lot of milk. Being vegan, I wasn't sure how it'd be with almond milk. We also don't have an espresso machine (oh but do I want one so bad). I watched a video of a lady making one at home just using a french press. I thought to myself, "I'M TRYING THIS." Here's how it went....
This is our electric kettle. I heated up some water.
This is where the beans are poured in for grinding.
I set the machine way down to get a very fine grind. The benefits of a burr grinder are the multiple grind settings.
I threw some milk in a cup and microwaved it on and off until it reached a temperature of 155 degrees F. Milk has to be a specific temperature for it to foam otherwise it's total crap.
I brewed a mock "espresso" in the french press. It actually wasn't too bad and after a few stirs, it had some crema. Crema is the layer that sits on top of the espresso, typically a light brown color.
I poured the hot milk into the french press and proceeded to foam it. This is done by literally moving the filter up and down for about 30 seconds. You can feel the milk get thicker.
I was super surprised that it actually did indeed create a decent amount of foam for non-dairy milk.
Yeah, I know, no fancy cup art here. You then pour the milk on top of the espresso. It wasn't half bad!
It was a fun little experiment. One day I'll have an espresso machine. In like 10 years because they're a million dollars. We typically buy our coffee local from Press Coffee. I like supporting local coffee businesses plus, they roast our coffee just a few days before it arrives on our doorstep. Pay attention to your roasting dates. It makes a big difference.
Okay, I'll get off my coffee high horse. Enjoy your week.
If you haven't seen the movie Hocus Pocus, can we even still be friends? I feel as though that's something someone who shops regularly at Target would say. Then again, that store is really speaking to me right now.
When I looked at the date today, I realized two things: I haven't written in over a month and I haven't run in over a month either. If you've been here since the last entry, I communicated that I'd be taking a mild writing hiatus because, well, I wasn't running, and I was about to do some traveling. Let's recap that, shall we?
The week after I got the news that I'd be benched from running, I was clearly devastated. I have never had a 'DNS' in my books. But you know what? Life goes on. I could have been stupid, ignored the pain, and kept going like most runners I see but I wasn't about to make things worse. I could have also still raced but that would have also been stupid. So, let's like, make a smart decision for once! For the love of taking care of your body! I made a promise to myself that I'd start my new life in Arizona with a clean slate, do all of the things I should be doing that I didn't before (warm-ups, stretching, foam roll, don't be an idiot) and I was keeping up with that promise. I even fell in love with yoga. My half marathon is officially deferred and now I sit with a credit that's good for two years whenever I decide what race looks good to me. Oregon is looking pretty legit (Mt. Hood) but, again, let's not jump the gun. We still have one race in the books that's officially 16 weeks away. Shameless plug:
So, what's happened between then and now? The family came to visit. We hung out around town for a few days and then set our GPS to Las Vegas for the weekend. We took in the sights, we ate good food, and we drank many beverages.
Bone Haus Brewing
Cuttings by Prisoner
Cabo Wabo
The Mirage Casino & Hotel
You know what this is
One of those things is not like the other. After Vegas, we flew to Michigan and stayed for a few weeks. If you aren't aware, Michigan is my home state. I spent the last 30 years of my life there (that makes me sound old, I'm only 31) and while I miss family and friends, I can't say I miss living there. From wheels down, the traffic was atrocious. My good friend, Tania, bless her heart for being so patient and driving to get us but also taking us to pick up Jet's for dinner because what else would you get when you haven't been home in 6 months? Also cats. Lots of cat time because I like to treat it as free therapy.
Again, one of those is not like the other, but Dori is my granddog so she counts too.
Michigan was Michigan. Normal, crap weather 80% of the time. The humidity was high and the days were gloomy. My body felt as if it hadn't gotten sleep in a month and craved some natural Vitamin D. Let's be honest, I was eager to get home so I could start physical therapy and get things moving.
Going to a new physical therapist made me nervous. Not because I haven't done it before but because I was so used to going to the same person. It's hard to create a new, trusting relationship with someone you've never met before who you hope will carry you across the finish line pain-free. Thankfully, I absolutely love my new therapist. He is not only professional and knowledgeable but holds a good conversation and makes sure I'm having fun but also analyzes my form the entire time. We're now two weeks in and my knee is feeling good. Even after days of being on my feet all day, I wake up expecting it to hurt and it doesn't like it used to. While I'm not assuming I'm in the clear, all signs are pointing in the right direction. I've learned things I haven't before. Aside from the existing overpronation I deal with, I apparently also have fairly flat feet. Who knew? Time for a new analysis for shoes! And, let me tell you, I'm treating my home exercises as if it were a new religious practice to ward off evil spirits.
For now, we wait. We practice patience. We read. In fact, I just finished this book:
Super great read! I'd put it up there with Kastor's 'Let Your Mind Run'. It kept me entertained in a busy Detroit Airport while watching people go nuts over Chick-Fil-A (is this really still that popular?) or seeing Gate A76 find out their flight got changed to Gate A6, which happened to be on the entire opposite side of the terminal. That'd be a good speed workout.
Things are back to normal. Early morning alarms and eating normal food. Now it's just a matter of getting cleared to run again. For now, we wait.
