cooking – Raising Little Seekers

This past week of training was tough. Last week, week four, I called the “no quit zone.” If I wasn’t so determined to NOT quit, week five might have been the week to do me in. It wasn’t so much the physical running as the mental game–mustering the motivation to run in less-than-ideal weather, and honestly just fitting the runs into an already crammed schedule. The mental load was a lot, and I don’t want to sugarcoat this process or give the false impression that it’s been easy.

The week started with an easy 30-minute run on a rainy Monday morning. I don’t mind running in the rain, generally, but I am hoping for an improvement in these cold, windy, and overall dreary weather patterns we’ve had lately. Next was a 45-minute intervals run, which I knew would be tough but I was pleased with how strong I felt. Then came the hard part. I couldn’t figure out where to fit in my next 30-minute run because my next two mornings were going be jam-packed with making and baking sourdough for my cottage bakery plus the early morning weather was set to be very cold and very windy. I had to get the run in before my long 75-minute run on Friday, though. Saturday I had to get my son to a karate tournament early so I wasn’t fitting a long run in that morning! After agonizing over when to tackle that 30-minute run, I finally decided to try to squeeze it in Wednesday afternoon after book club and hair appointments with my girls and before my son’s karate class; soliciting help from my oldest with dinner that night. It was supposed to be an easy run, but it was one of the harder ones I’ve had. I had worked out that morning–completing a 45-minute bike & strength bootcamp (one of my favorite forms of working out that I can also do indoors early and in the dark, unlike outdoor running) and had a busy day of sourdough prep, homeschooling, teen girl book club, and haircuts for my daughters. I thought the run would be a nice way to get fresh air and clear my head but it ended up feeling rushed and the weighted vest I’ve been wearing caused more severe chafing on this particular run. It was painful. I took Thursday off from running and only did some conditioning strength training and an easy cycling class. On Friday I had my long run and was aiming for 7-7.5 miles in a 75-minute window. But I didn’t plot my route ahead of time and didn’t count on a pretty steep hill I ran into on a road I had never been on before. I decided to give the vest another try and wear it differently but the chafing came back with a vengeance so the run only granted me 6.5 painful miles. By the end of the week I felt exhausted and defeated. Thoughts like “this isn’t working”, “this isn’t the right time of life for me to train for something like this”, “will it ever warm up or NOT be windy on a run?!”, and “I can’t do this” flooded my head.

But, I’ve already passed the “no quit zone” as I said, so here we are! I’m thankful that the vest issue is fixable. I’m ditching it while running for now. I still think it’s great for walking and increasing strength for push ups, etc, but it’s the bumping that occurs while running that is causing the problem. So, so long! I’m grateful that my bad ankle is holding up well. It talks to me sometimes after a speed run but on long runs it really does okay and doesn’t hurt after. I’m also thankful that my husband and kids are stepping up to help out where they can and are encouraging me. I’ve enlisted them to put together my playlist for the race and I can’t wait to listen to it and guess who added which song. I’ve been nervous about the mental aspect of the race and if I’ll be able to keep myself motivated without a coach encouraging me in my earbuds like during the training. I think having a playlist made by my favorite people will help!

This week, to alleviate some of the stresses of last week, I’ve written out my training schedule and am determined to stick to it, no matter the weather. If a run doesn’t go as planned because of the wind and rain, so be it. The mental strain of trying to save my runs for the best weather days of the week is just too much. I keep telling myself that the weather is bound to turn at some point! Running without the vest will be liberating and I hope to see an improvement on my pace. My long run this week will be 90 minutes and I plan to plot my route beforehand so I don’t get surprised by more unexpected steep hills. Some hills are fine, but I don’t want too many–I’d like to be able to keep a somewhat steady pace to really practice for the race. I already know that my training route is more hilly than the race route, so I am well-prepared in that area. My friend and I are celebrating her upcoming birthday by getting massages and lunch–so I will be primed and ready to get a good 9 miles in during the 90 minute run! I’m more confident that I’ll be able to achieve this goal without the vest and if my route is planned ahead of time.

Despite the busy week and the training discouragements, a lot of good things happened! Here are some pics!…1-4) It was “Spain” week in our homeschool and I had so much fun making food I remember eating when I studied there in college. I didn’t use a recipe for the Spanish tortilla, paella, or flan–just pulled from my memory. My host mom would shake her head at my miserable flipping of the tortillas (see first photo) but it was still fun to try to show my kids how it’s done like she showed me! The churros were the biggest hit, though. 5) I facilitate a book club with my oldest and three of her friends. I seriously love hanging with teens and hearing their thoughts on deep subjects. I take them to a local cafe and treat them to drinks and pastries and we discuss our book. It is truly a highlight for me. 6) The girls got haircuts and Emmalyn (age 9) went short! The style looks super cute on her. 7-8) Our youth group had a karaoke competition Saturday night and Abby and her friends did AMAZING! After the competition they opened the floor to anyone who wanted to sing and Emmalyn sang with a couple other young girls with their big sisters backing them. It was adorable and so fun to watch. I love watching teens have fun and be ridiculously creative when they are given the space to be. Randy and I had a truly fun night with them. 9) Eli (age 7) came in second place in kata during his tournament on Saturday! He’s a purple belt and already racking up more trophies than he has room for.

Wish me luck on getting those 9 miles in later this week!

Finished off week 4 with the first 60 minute run of the program. My goal was to get in 6 miles during that run but I only covered 5.5. I was pretty bummed but also tried to give myself grace because I was running against strong winds most of the time (yay for early spring in New England) and I was running on tired legs. I don’t ever plan to do all four of my runs for the week in four consecutive days, but that’s what ended up happening last week due to weather and scheduling conflicts. So it was my fourth run in four days and the wind was not in my favor. But I got it done.

I’m calling this time the “no quit zone” because I feel like here, at the end of week 4, is where things are getting tough. The novelty of the training program has worn off. The runs are getting longer overall so it takes more mental fortitude to get out and go. And my body is feeling it. There is soreness and blisters and lots of athletic tape. But I’m also learning that not only can I run on tired legs, but I can push my pace at the end of runs. Continuing to strength train regularly, cycle, stretch (something I often struggle to fit in), and incorporating epsom salt baths twice a week are helping! The weighted vest is becoming somewhat of a hassle as it’s caused some sores where it “hits” me in the front of my chest during runs. If you’ve ever watched The Office–I feel a little like Andy on the “Fun Run”! 🙂 BUT, I’m planning to continue wearing it to train, just not on my walks until after the race and I can let myself heal. Then it will just become something to wear on walks and hikes and probably not for regular runs after this. Next week I have some easy 30 minute runs, a 45 minute interval run, and a 75 minute run to close it out. My goal is to get 7-7.5 miles in during that run. I’m not dreading it. I’m actually looking forward to it! And I can sense the morning temps rising just a little which makes me smile. Running in 3 layers and gloves is getting a little old.

Lots of pics to share this week! It was “France” week in our homeschool. Our focus this school year has been world geography: ecology and cultures. It’s science and history combined and it’s been so fun to “travel” around the world. I’ve tried to make at least one dish from each country we study but for France, I wanted to do so much more! I have Ina Garten’s “Paris” cookbook so it was my companion all week. Not everything is pictured, but we made baked eggs and herbs, omelettes, and French toast for breakfasts. And of course, crepes! I made Julia Child’s “boeuf bourguignon”, a provencal vegetable soup, croque monsieurs (basically a ham sandwich with a gruyere sauce on top), and tried a new recipe for sourdough baguettes–still needs work! One of our absolute favorite desserts is creme brulee so it was really fun to make it again! I like to tell the kids about the first time I ever had it in Paris and didn’t know what it was at the time but loved it!

baked eggs & herbs — the kids have requested we have this more often!

A few more pics from an animal-filled week… I brought the kids to New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth, MA to meet an injured hawk and take a microscope class. It was really fun! Reminded me of Animal Adventures in Bolton, MA; another place we like to visit. For three weeks in a row, we have been trying to get chicks to add to our chicken flock. We currently have 12 egg-producing chickens and want to add 6-8 more chicks this year. But the poultry industry has been hit hard lately and chicks are scarce and in high demand. We struck out twice by being too far back in the line when the farm store opened. But the third time is a charm! The kids and I waited in line (with our camp chairs) for 90 minutes Friday morning and got four chicks (the current customer limit). Abby and I plan to go back one more time to try for four more and then we’ll be done for the year. Wish us luck! After last week, I decided to go for my long run when we got home which was a physical test. I was nervous about running after drinking my morning coffee (a latte, at that). Ha! I generally prefer to run first thing in the morning, after eating maybe half a banana at most. But I pulled it off so I plan to do my 75 minute run this Friday after getting our last four chicks. It’s good prep for race day since the race is at 9:00, not 6:00 when I generally run. After a fun night out in Boston with Randy Saturday night, I am ready for week 5!