Monday, August 29, 2022

Weekly Round Up: The Break Up

A weekly round up: eats, workouts, watches, and reads.  This week I made some delicious sesame noodles, broke up with running, and saw the perfect silly movie.

Eats

Headline #1 for this week's post-COVID news is that my smell and taste are mostly back.  I think maybe it's not 100% but both stepson #1 and I have a heck of a lot more than we had last week.

The best thing that I made this week was Jo Cook's sesame noodles.  I was trying to figure out what to make for lunch on Saturday and it was the magic combination of stumbling across the recipe at random plus realizing that I had everything that I needed to make it then and there.  I only made half a batch (2 servings) because I knew I would want it more than once but wasn't sure if I would want it four times.  This is definitely a "eat in four times in a row" kind of thing, so I'll make a full batch next time.  I mixed in some soy curls just to bulk up the protein.

Workouts

Headline #2 of this week's post-COVID news is that running and I have parted company.  I wasn't super concerned last week when I did my first post COVID run and it was dreadful.  I'd been inactive for 11 days and it's well known that COVID and running are not the best of friends.  But as I continued to experiment with one and two milers throughout the week and felt each one getting worse I was officially ready to call it a day.

Running has given me some wonderful times, but it hasn't been great for the past two years (here's my most recent rehash of our issues) and it's long past time to move on.  Stay tuned to find out if running and I are just on a break or if it's permanent - as I've said many times, each post is just a chapter and there's no way how to know how it fits into the context of the full story.

Running and I had one item of community property to dispose of, which was my registration to a half marathon in late September.  I found a friend of a friend who ran her first half last year and had been getting the itch to sign up but hadn't pulled the trigger yet.  BOOM registration transferred and I am free.

(Context for non-racing friends - races are usually cheaper if you register early for them, there's always a risk that races will sell out, and in good times it's helpful to be "committed" by registering earlier rather than later.  I registered for the half way back in January when I was certain that my buggaboos with running would have gone away by now, just as I've been certain that they would go away "in a few weeks" for nearly two years now).

So post break up am I sitting around on the couch wearing sweatpants with my face buried deep in a pint of Ben & Jerry's?

Nah, I'm seeing Someone Else.  I've been doing working my way through a bunch of Caroline Girvan full body workouts on Youtube and I'm going to step it up and try following one of her programs.  This one is six weeks of five 30-ish minute workouts a week and I'll follow each workout with a 1-2 mile treadmill incline walk to get my cardio fix.  Treadmill power walking makes me huff and puff and drip sweat just like running, but I've been surprised that my heart rate stays surprisingly low so that's the way to go right now.

The last thing to say about that: yes I will still be following and cheering for my IRL and Internets running friends.  It makes me happy to read your blogs and ride along on your fitness journeys, and I think I'll still be picking up tips to apply to my new fitness life.

Watching

Who wants a silly movie?  Game Night is the movie that hubs and I have been meaning to watch for some time now but it kept slipping off our radar.  This was exactly what we were looking for.

Reading

Nothing.  I finished The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark, which was excellent from page one to the end.  It feels like it always takes a while to find "the next thing" after a really good book.  

That's all I've got for this week!  Thanks for hanging out!


20 comments:

  1. Ah, Birchie, I'm sorry about the break-up. But I'm glad your head isn't stuck in a pot of ice cream!
    I love that you tried it. You persevered on your treadmill, sweated up your hills and participated in races. You did well! And as you say, it's not the end of the story yet.
    Your setup with Caroline sounds great. 5 x 30 minutes a week is a great way to stay fit and get that full body workout. Knowing you, you will never leave the fitness space. And that's the main thing!

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    1. Thanks Catrina! I've known for a while that I needed to change up my fitness but wasn't sure how. Now the path is clear. But I'm going to need more pictures from you than ever before to get my outdoors fix.

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  2. Birchy, I am here for you and your fitness journey! I am a strong believer in doing what makes you feel good, and if running isn't making you feel good and isn't making you happy, then TO THE CURB!!! There is a season for everything, and you know what, those workouts are amazing too. So good for you for figuring out what you need!
    Also also also, I get the best recipe ideas from you. I think I'm going to make those noodles. Do you think they would be good cold? I have all the ingredients but wondered if it would be a yummy cold salad thing.

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    1. I haven't tried the noodles cold, but I'm sure they will be fabulous at all temperatures. Enjoy!

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  3. I'm glad the break up is going well, but even more glad to hear that your taste is coming back! Woo! Those noodles look amazing.

    Speaking of silly movies: My husband and I recently watched The Lost City with Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock and we thought it was really fun. We did a LOT of laughing out loud.

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    1. Ooh you had me at Channing and Sandra. I watched the trailer and let the hubs know that we need to make space to watch it soon.

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  4. I'm so glad for you that the taste and smell are coming back! That's so great (I have a friend who got covid in the early days and hers are still all messed up, it's awful). Yay for food tasting right!

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  5. I'm relieved that your COVID symptoms are declining. Hopefully soon you won't even remember it! I think avoiding running if it doesn't work for you right now is a nice thing to do. Sometimes it's nice to do try something else and shake up your exercise regimen!

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    1. Let's be honest, I needed to shake up my regimen a long time ago and COVID gave me the final push that I needed. So far I'm really liking the new routine.

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  6. Well, that's a bummer on the running, but definitely not a fitness deal-breaker. I'm glad you have a new program to dive into, and I look forward to hearing more about it ;-) Oh, those sesame noodles look amazing! I'm glad your Covid hangover is lifting!

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    1. Exactly! I'm really starting to appreciate the world of non-running fitness. So much to learn!

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  7. But... but... Okay- you know best. It sounds like you have a good plan moving forward. I will just say ONE THING. As you know I'm trying Galloway's run/walk method right now and I'll post updates on how it works out. Maaaaybe someday if you feel like it, you could try it with me. No pressure! And not now. Just someday if you get the urge to run again (you never know.)
    Anyway- those sesame noodles sound DELICIOUS, and thanks to the trip this summer to the Asian market with my son, I have all those ingredients. I'm definitely making them soon!!! Glad your taste and smell are returning.

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    1. I'd forgotten about your son's cooking spree! It is really handy to have a pantry stocked up with a bunch of Asian cooking supplies. Enjoy the noodles!

      If running were an ex, I'd be at the stage in the breakup where I've taken all of his pictures off my social media and deleted his phone number off my phone BUT just on the off chance that I ever feel differently I will definitely use run-walk to come back!

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  8. Really what's most important is that you are active, enjoying yourself, and staying positive about things. And it sounds exactly like that's what you are doing. Power walking on the treadmill is an awesome workout!

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    1. Thanks Elizabeth! So far I'm having a great first week of my new fitness life and I'm curious to see how things will go over the next few weeks. I still love seeing your IG posts everyday and can't wait to hear about your fall marathons! And of course zebras!

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  9. Good for you, Beckett. Sometimes it's good to "break up" with something that does no longer work... maybe you and running will be back on, maybe not. It's good to try something else for a while. I always tell my non-running friends: find something that you enjoy. If it's not longer fun, find something else!

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    1. Thanks San! So far so good on the new fitness life.

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  10. So glad you are feeling better, have an appetite, and are regaining your senses. Whew.

    Also so glad you made a decision (for NOW!) about running. As you know, I had to break up with running due to health issues, and I confess that it hasn't been easy. When something is a big part of your identity for so long (not that I was a frequent racer, or even that good of a runner - I just loved it and wish I could still do it safely), it's hard to let go of it. I look forward to seeing how your journey evolves from here!

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    1. I used to love running so much too, and back then not running would have been unthinkable. It really was like a relationship that started great and then went south. I still like hearing about running but man, I didn't realize how done I was with it until I stopped.

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