Keep On Keeping On

Today is the beginning of week 4 of basically not leaving the house. No going to the grocery store. No going out to eat. Hell, I even just drive the car out of the garage only to put it back in after going around the block to make sure it still runs. How are we getting food if I'm not going to the store? Delivery, when it's available, which seems to be never nowadays. I pretty much order multiples of whatever I can get of the essentials: almond milk, bananas, apples, eggs for my husband. I have a plethora of chickpea cans, which has come in handy to make hummus and "egg" salad sandwich spread. We even started making our own almond butter!

 

Why I never did this to begin with blows my mind. If you have a high-powered food processor, you can do this too. Bake 3 cups of almonds at 350 for 10 minutes. Let them cool for a little, at least until they aren't hot. Throw them in and spin it around. It takes a little while to really get it to the creamy consistency so be prepared to have some patience. It's much more rich than the stuff we buy in the store, mainly because there's no oil or any other added ingredients. I probably just saved myself $20. Holla!

 

My husband is a pro Redditor and found a link to a local service who supplies food from local farms. It's like "farm to table" but to your house. Your Farm Foods has been a life saver. I revolve all of my meals around whatever vegetable I plan on cooking. Plus, to have access to different types of potatoes, onions, and even beans is awesome. I also scored two loaves of fresh baked sourdough. Makes me feel good to support the farm families and I plan to keep ordering from them even after this whole pandemic is over with. 

Okay, but what about running? It's still happening! I started week 7 of training today. The (now virtual) race is still on. The only time I leave the house is to go for a run or a walk with my lovely other half. I've pretty much stuck to the surrounding neighborhoods as much as possible with the occasional route through our little town area to say hi to the shelter cats. I haven't been on the trails in a few months now. While this would typically make me sad, I'm surprisingly okay with it. I'm okay with it because I think people are being morons and overcrowding outdoor spaces like our trails and parks. The last time I checked, being outside doesn't make you immune. You can't social distance yourself when you're on one of the most popular hikes in the Phoenix area. It's like watching the news in the summer and wondering how many people they had to airlift that day from Camelback because they didn't take any water. I saw someone post the other day basically pleading with the Phoenix government to keep the trails open because "we need them". But we really don't. They'll be there when this is all done, which won't be for a while because of non-compliance. If you ask me, you are part of the problem if you find yourself driving into a park or trailhead and decide to carry on even if other people are there. You can easily go outside of your own home and run on the road by yourself way away from other people. Some will say "well that's not what I do!". Guess what? It's time to make a new normal for the time being. Phew! As you can see, I've been a little red in the head lately about this. Social media has made me literally scream from the stories I see of people still running in groups. "Look at us social distance running together!" as they stand apart. No. Just stop. Your group can wait. Your health cannot. Flatten the freakin' curve already. /rant

Virtual racing is huge right now and it actually makes me super stoked. Some will say it's a joke and always has been. I beg to differ. It's funny because the other day I reminded myself that the first race I ever did was a virtual race and then I did another one right after that. 

If I remember correctly, this was in 2014. It was a 5K and a 10K. I remember being so proud of myself for running a 10K. Back then, I think it took me well over an hour. Little did I know I'd crush my next go round in 2017. You know what's awesome about virtual racing? Lots of things. You can wake up whenever you want to. You have your own private bathroom (depending on where you run), no getting on a bus, no drop bag issues, no crowds, no getting annoyed at that one person you knew lied about their pace to start earlier. I actually would love to do more virtual races in the future. I think it still gives those something to work towards. I know many need the atmosphere of cheering crowds, crossing the timing block, going through the finisher chute, but I guess I've come to be grateful for whatever, at this point. I'm about to run for 12 hours around my block. Is this what I wanted for my first ultra? No. Am I not going to take it seriously because I think it's "not really a race"? NO. It is a real race and we're really doing the damn thing. All I want to say is, keep on keeping on. Run as if virtual races were now all that we had offered to us until forever. Create your own atmosphere of encouragement. I told my coach today that I'm falling back in love with road running. Back in February, I told myself I was so over this. That would be my last road marathon. Never again. Yet, here we are, in a situation none of us could have predicted. I've become grateful that I have two feet that can carry me for miles. I appreciate the open road. I have new goals that are getting fired up in my brain that don't involve trails or ultras. Guess I'm going back on my word. A new pair of Hoka One One Clifton 6's showed up today. Guess that means more road miles. Guess that means I'm still making myself feel like a champion no matter what the future brings.

"Never give up something you can't go a day without thinking about." - Winston Churchill

Times Like These

"It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again..."

I figured it was appropriate to start this entry with a Foo Fighters song for two reasons. The current circumstances of probably every one of us are totally off schedule and we're learning to adjust to a (hopefully) temporary normal. The second being that I had tickets to their upcoming 25th-anniversary tour and it's been postponed until December. That really put an imaginary dagger in my heart but it's definitely for the best. 

Before we go way into that rabbit hole, let's glance over how training was last week. Strides were the magic word for week three and I loved every minute of it. It's been quite some time since I've done an actual prescribed workout of any type of help with speed or drills. When my coach put it on the schedule, I was so amped up! Strides aren't anything long but to really get your legs fired up for those short bursts just feels so good. Here's a clip from Friday's run which was probably the most consistent, pace-wise.  

We had a real s-show of weather during the week. It rained for roughly four days. Wednesday (3/11) was met with some light drizzle, to begin with, followed by a downpour as I got halfway into my strides and drills. I don't have access to a treadmill anymore so not going out isn't an option anymore unless I opt for biking instead. You never know what race day will bring. Don't be afraid of a little weather. 

I started week 2 of the Argentina series on my bike. This endurance ride was quite the challenge and boy did my legs start talking to me. Once you finish those last few minutes before the cooldown, it's like that fire just grows and grows! It's definitely been a great compliment to my running.

So yeah, about this crisis we're living through right now. Crazy, ain't it? I've seen some majorly disappointed people on the internet after races getting postponed and canceled. I mean we're talking major races, people. Boston, London, even the Barkley Marathon! While my race wasn't scheduled until May 2nd, I wasn't really holding my breath. Sunday, our governor put out a statement of limiting groups to 50 people or less. "Well, it's only a matter of time now," I said to myself. Sure enough. Sunday evening, I received word that my race has been postponed. Now, last year I dealt with my first deferment but this is totally different. While at that very moment I felt super upset/sad, I quickly shifted gears. This is for the better. I've definitely learned that you can't think of yourself in these moments of bad news after bad news. I texted my coach and told her I'll keep training and I'll run on my own on May 2nd if I have to. They are offering a virtual option so that's what we'll do. The actual in-person race did get rescheduled to July but twelve hours in that summer heat? I'm not about that. We'll still carry on and break so many barriers! 

We have a joke in our house right now and the saying goes, "Covid-19 is sponsored by Amy's". 

Amy's is really the only "premade" food I buy. That pizza is SUPER good, especially if you throw some vegan feta on it. The Indian-flavor burrito is my new favorite. I stopped doing my full grocery shopping in the store a while ago and now do delivery with Amazon Prime but decided to make a trip last Friday to Whole Foods myself. The cashier asked me if this was "doomsday prep" and I said, "Nope. This is a typical day!". She laughed. I don't believe in keeping major access amounts of food in your home. I never understood why people had pantries full of crap all the time but never ate any of it. I also hate the thought of wasting food. If you come to look at my fridge on Friday's, it's typically empty minus some beer or other beverages. Did I grab a few extra things that I otherwise wouldn't this time around? Guilty. But, trust me. We'll eat it all. As a runner, my metabolism works like a stage 4 Audi S6. You probably don't know what that means but it's a super-fast car. Just because we're being told to stay home doesn't mean you can't eat like a normal human being. I still have plenty of produce and am still eating my normal staples every day: oatmeal, almond butter toast, this new shake recipe that's THE BOMB. 

Yep, that's a quality picture I took with my phone of a YouTube video so I could remember it. I know, please give me an A for effort. Paula Findlay shared it and I don't know when I'll make something different because it's been super refreshing after my workouts. Side note: the word 'triathlon' keeps toying in my head. Future endeavor? 

I will share a tea recipe I tried today. In the midst of all of this sickness going around, you better be keeping up on that immune system. If you don't eat like an idiot all of the time, hydrate, and maybe get a little movement in, you'd be surprised how much you can fight off. I've incorporated turmeric into my daily diet almost every single day in the past 6 months or so. It's a great anti-inflammatory! I buy the actual root of it but you can also buy the pre-ground stuff in the spices section at your local store. A little goes a long way. I just throw mine in smoothies most of the time and add in a little pepper. That aids in the absorption of turmeric. I recently found this tea recipe and had been wanting to try it. I'm big into herbal teas and it's pretty great! 

It's super easy to make. You just need a lemon, ginger, turmeric, and a dash of cayenne or pepper. Heat it up, strain it, and voila, you have tea. Super easy, super cheap. I'll link the real recipe here. 

Well, for now, we carry on. I hope you do too.