Hocus Pocus

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:

https://www.thephoenixmarathon.com

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.

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  Bone Haus Brewing

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  Cuttings by Prisoner

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  Cabo Wabo

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  The Mirage Casino & Hotel

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  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.

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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.

May the Force Be With You

Could I really start this entry with any other title? I know it's not quite May 4th yet but, when Star Wars is thrown into the mix, you know I'm in. We're going to switch it up here a bit. Instead of going through my workouts from last week, let's talk about something exciting! Some of you may be friends with me on some social media platforms and know this already but for those who don't, I hit a big goal for the month of April!

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  March - 43 miles

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  April - 106 miles

I set a goal of running 100 miles. Now, this goal may or may not have been fueled with earning a gift card to Smartwool (it was) but I haven't hit this milage in quite some time. Some people asked me, "so what are you training for?". Nothing! Absolutely not a damn thing. I'm just running to run. I know I've talked about this before but I'm more focused on running for endurance and joy rather than trying to be fast and kill myself by trying to hit x:xx/min miles. If you feel forced to do something, is it fun anymore? Take a few steps back and ask yourself what your 'why' is.

So now that I was able to check that off the list, what's in store for May? Build up all of the strength!

Truth bomb: I really only picked that meme because it has a cat in it. Really though, I gave the strength program, LIIFT4, all of the credit in the world for keeping me on top of my game while I was down and out from my injury over the winter months. And I did that all at home with a boot on! What's your excuse? Now that the tables have turned and my cardio stamina has risen, it's time to focus again on building up strength and making sure my core remains strong. Maybe I secretly want to get super jacked and yolked out (I do), who knows. Steroids aside, I'll be following Body Beast for the next however long I do it. This is seriously the bro of all bro programs Beachbody has ever released but if you don't like to mess around with your weightlifting, then bingo, you've hit the jackpot. I mean come on, who doesn't get a little cocky while doing bicep curls in front of a mirror and seeing that vein pop? Don't worry, I'm not quitting running. I'll just be dialing down my miles. Running is something that most people can achieve but the foundation of a strong runner involves much more than just lacing up your shoes and either heading outside or pressing start on your treadmill. Lift those weights, girl (or guy)!

Now that you know my plan for the next month, let's talk about my other favorite thing in the world: food! It's time for a new recipe share. My husband and I are big Indian food fans. He actually spotted this one as I was scrolling past one of my other new favorite recipe websites, 'It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken'. Queue the buttered cauliflower:

I know what you're thinking and no, it doesn't look appetizing at all. I promise you, however, that it's freakin' delicious and super easy to make. I had never cooked with garam masala but man, not only does it make this dish, but it also smells great. You can eat it with either some naan or rice! I would suggest cutting the cauliflower smaller than I did so it's more tender. I get pretty impatient if I'm hungry so it came off the stove quicker than it should have. Just being transparent! I'll link the recipe here. Do you have a favorite recipe? I'd really like to try it! Leave it in the comments below!

Well, folks, I wish I had more for this week but that's quite honestly it! We'll wrap it up there. Don't forget to check out my 'Wine of the Week' page that gets updated every Wednesday!

Building Momentum

Going into week 4 of training, I had one thing in mind: crush it. My coach had set a new pace to hit on my speed workout, I was feeling the strongest I had ever felt, and I was also hitting all of my nutrition goals (according to My Fitness Pal, anyway). The weather was all over the place this past week; From the most rain I feel like we've had since we moved here all the way to snow. Yes, I said the big 's' word. My friend texted me Thursday evening with the words "Go outside" and I knew that only meant one thing.

Friday Morning's View

Un-fucking-unbelievable. I guess this is the first snowfall Fountain Hills has seen in over 15 years or something? As we drove through town Friday morning, there were tons of cars pulled over on the side of the road with people standing outside of them taking photos and selfies as if they had never seen the dreadful white stuff before. Sure, it's pretty, but only when it's seen far up in the mountains! Either way, we all survived the blizzard of 2019 and now, as I write this, it's 72 and sunny. It's as if our regularly scheduled program was interrupted by a paid infomercial that lasted longer than it needed to. Okay, enough about the weather. Let's take a look at our training recap numbers:

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  2/18 - Easy miles w/strides

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  2/20 - Fartlek

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  2/21 - Recovery miles

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  2/23 - Easy miles w/faster finish

Yes, three runs on the treadmill (dreadmill). I know I speak for many runners by saying running on the treadmill straight up sucks. With the rain and Saturday's post snow and cold temperatures, I wasn't about to risk unsafe conditions. Wednesday's fartlek run was literally gold. If I could frame every moment of that run, I'd hang it on the wall for everyone to see. If you remember last week's fartlek, it wasn't 100% great. I had to walk 4 of the 8 recovery intervals. I don't know what sparked inside of me but this week was money. Out of the 12 intervals, I only had to walk half of one; give or take, 30 seconds. After Thursday's recovery run, I did my scheduled yoga session. This time, it was in my living room since we had a lot of chores to take care of before our guests arrived. What better person to turn to for yoga at home than Adriene Mishler (Yoga With Adriene). She is a great yoga guide for those of you who prefer to practice at home. I'll be back in the studio next week. Fast forward to Saturday and it's as if I had just started running again. My body just wasn't in the game. We had friends come into town this past week so my sleep schedule was off, my eating times were off, everything was off. My 'fast finish' turned into intervals. I could have easily quit and went home but I stuck with it. You can't win them all. If you went through an entire training cycle without at least one run feeling terrible, then you deserve a noble peace prize. These workouts, however, are what turn us into stronger runners mentally.

Back to friends being in town. Our friends Kyle and Tania (my designer of all things pretty on this blog) flew into Phoenix Thursday night. It was great to have them here. It almost felt like we were home for a moment. I also love that we have a home large enough to host people now. We adventured to some pretty neat places including Biosphere 2 and went up to Jerome. Although we spent most of the weekend in the car driving places, it was great to spend time with them and see some amazing scenery that even Adam and I had yet to witness since moving here. We're big science geeks and Biosphere was spectacular. To think eight people spent two years inside it is incredible. I doubt the world will ever be as sustainable as it is capable of being because, well, humans are careless, but dare to dream! Sunday, we drove up to Jerome. It's all the way up at 5,000ft and the views are spectacular. It's an old mining town. We had lunch at The Bordello of Jerome. Its history is in its name! It really was a fully operating bordello for the men who mined. Hey, they needed some action too. Amazing food and I highly recommend stopping there if you ever venture up to the small town. I mean, how could you turn down a salad that looks this good:

Another great feature of Jerome is wineries! Well, to be more specific, wine tasting rooms. They don't grow the grapes up there but it was nice to try a wine that's from the state we live in. I learned that Arizona has a designated area for growing grapes to produce wine with. We hit up Cellar 433 to see if it would please our palettes. Spoiler: it did! They have two levels and even have beer on tap for those who may not like wine. I suggest heading downstairs, especially if Tony is serving. Down there, you will find a delicious Syrah as well as some other grand choices. He was super knowledgeable about all of their wines and serves each one in the perfect fashion. Don't even get me started with the views. You literally won't want to leave.

My recipe share for the week is a curry! Probably the simplest curry you could ever make so there really is no excuse not to try it. Amazing taste, not many ingredients, and the best part? It all cooks in one pot! Well, not including the rice. I cook my rice in a pressure cooker so it only takes 6 minutes but you do you! My biggest piece of advice for this one is to cut your carrots small. They'll cook more evenly and won't be crunchy. Don't cut corners by using unsweetened coconut milk either! If your grocery store has sad looking kale like ours does, spinach works just as well. As I said, it's simple, nutritious, and delicious. Peep the photo down below of the final product and click here for the recipe!

I swear, I'll get better at this photo thing. I had my DSLR out more this past weekend than I have in the past five years. Oh 50mm 1.4f, how I missed you.

That's all she wrote this week, folks! Next week is our final four workouts before race day. We'll see how performance improves and what the finishing result brings. I'll also share some of my favorite podcasts that keep my mind occupied while I'm pounding the belt on the treadmill.

Cornett Cellars

Cornett Cellars. If only that was a real company. It does have a ring to it, doesn't it? But so does "Corkscrews & Cadence", right? Maybe I just have a thing for the letter 'C'. Either way, today, I'll take you inside my wine fridge and see what's making it into the top spots of my stock list. While many of you know I have a soft spot for craft beer (I am from Michigan, after all), wine also has a place in my heart. I'm pretty fortunate to have family who shares the same passion and who have taught me some great things about the art of wine. Eating grapes is fun but drinking them is so much better!

Buying a wine fridge was one of the best things I could have done to not only have a place to keep all of my bottles but a way to store them properly. I keep reds in one and whites/Rosés in the other. My reds keep around 65-68 degrees while I keep the whites at a chilled 55. Do I sound fancy yet? Speaking of wine fridges, if you're curious about the one I have, you can check out this link for one that's similar. I love the dual-temperature feature. If you don't have a ton of room to work with, it's a space saver and you can have all of your favorite types of wine in one area at the perfect temperature! To have my own in-home cellar is definitely a dream, that's for true.

At this point, you're probably saying 'great, cool, can we get on with it?'. I was going to show you everything I have but instead of boring you with all that mess, I figured I'd just showcase my top three bottles I have. Oh, and I got on the ground to take these what I thought would be nice looking photos with my DSLR that I haven't touched in 27 years. That 50mm lens depth of field, though! Sorry, off-topic. Slight disclaimer: I am not a Sommelier but wouldn't it be damn cool if I was? Let's take a look:

Cooper & Thief // Red Blend // California

I use to pass up red blends all the time and thought they were just the worst. Who would dare blend things together and make them taste so good so bad? Boy, was I in the wrong. This is a red blend from Cooper & Thief out of California. Aside from a good Pinot Noir, I now spend most of my time looking for red blends that have an eye-catching label. Yes, almost 90% of the time, I buy my wine based on the label. It's a fun game! This, however, was not a personal purchase the first time it hit my palette. My aunt and uncle had brought it to our going away party back in November. They are truly my own, personal wine experts! I hope they're reading this (hi guys!). When first looking at the bottle, you read "aged 3 months in whiskey bourbon barrels". Excuse me, what? Have I died and gone to heaven? I wish I could put into words how smooth the taste is because it's incredible. With a slight hint of bourbon on your tongue and an easy-going aftertaste that lingers for a few just to leave you wanting more, it's definitely one you do not want to pass up if you see it on your local shelf. This is definitely my favorite wine to date, aside from Palermo, the king of kings in wine land.

Apothic // Rosé // California

Apparently, we have a theme of California going on here. My second choice for my top three is Apothic's Rosé. I'm honestly not a huge fan of sweet wines. When my husband cooked me dinner for the first time long before we even put any type of label on our relationship, he poured me a glass of Moscato. To this day, that's the only Moscato I will drink if I don't have a choice. Fast-forward to the present and you will find me being a little more open to these types of wines. Apothic is honestly one of the best go-to wine companies, especially if you're balling on a budget. Everything I've had from them is amazing. Their Rosé is probably one of the more refreshing I've had (aside from Homework by Peninsula Cellars). With its slight-berry flavor, it's a really great wine to drink on a warmer day. Keep it on the colder side (do not add ice to it, you amateur).

Peninsula Cellars // Detention // Michigan

Could I really go without having a Michigan wine in my current three? Probably. If I could have a list of my bottom three, Riesling would be in it and let's be honest, Michigan loves making that stuff (crap). I, however, do not buy it. Sorry! Currently, I have one bottle of Riesling that came in a wine club shipment and I think it'll be sitting for quite some time. Thank god for Peninsula Cellars and their amazing collection that includes reds! Detention blew my mind away the first time I had it at Michigan By The Bottle. Side note: if you are from Michigan and you've never been there, I suggest you stop reading this and find the nearest location. Join their wine club, too. Detention is a fabulous red wine. Don't let the "table wine" fool you into thinking this is basic. It does have a sweeter note to it but it doesn't overpower the taste. This is definitely a wine I will always have in my fridge.

There you have it. My current top three wines that I have on hand. I do have my ultimate favorites that I'm out of right now but those will have to be saved for a later blog post and another trip to Total Wine!

Cheers!