Weekly Wrap Up

Trying to get back into this whole blogging thing...a belated weekly wrap-up of life events from last week! (June 10 - June 16).

Weekly Workout Summary

Monday: 30 min power vinyasa yoga podcast at home (from Yogadownload.com).

Tuesday: Rest.

Wednesday: 3.7 mi @ 11:06 pace. Outside in the morning. Struggling to get outside for my runs recently, so I was glad I got out there, even if it was slow.

Thursday: Rest.

Friday: 3.5 mi @ 10:45 pace on the treadmill in the AM. Followed by a strength session.

Saturday: 60 minute detox flow yoga at home (again Yogadownload.com. Bought a subscription recently--thoughts to come!). This was a really good sweaty flow.

Sunday: 6.2 mi @ 10:48...on the treadmill. Woomp woomp. And honestly, this makes 3/4 of my last "long" runs that I've done on the 'mill. Not ideal. I just don't do well in the heat/humidity and just refuse on principle to run in the rain. Snow and cold? Sure. But rain is miserable and so is the mugginess. Maybe if I was training for something it'd be a different story, but for now, this works!

Not my best week, but fairly typical as of late. Just having a hard time getting motivated lately to really push-push-push every day. But I am pleased I'm getting in some morning workouts!

Notable Eats

Dan and I did loaded baked potatoes for the week--cooked up a bunch on Sunday and ate them all week long. I made tempeh to go along with it (Dan did BBQ pork). Really tasty!

Please note that those chives are from my haven't-killed-it-yet chive plant on the porch.
Coughdon'taskaboutthebasil.

Saturday's eats were quite notable as well, as featured below!

Life Events

Saturday featured pretty much all my favorite things in life: the farmers' market, the pool, finishing a good book, date night with Dan, and way too many desserts.

I visited the Falls Church farmers' market for the first time--oh man, was it awesome. I had only been to other local smaller markets, but this is the real star of the show in NoVA.

Also, there were fresh, made-right-in-front-of-you doughnuts. Amazing.

With a toppings bar to boot. Oh hello caramel. 

Here's my haul--not a ton, but a lot of veggies and some eggs and cheese! It appears that berries aren't quite in season here yet--only saw one or two vendors with them and they were pricey. I'm hoping it is the case that they aren't quite here yet...hoping I didn't miss the season!

For lunch I cooked up some farm fresh eggs. It was crazy how orange the yolks were.

And the afternoon featured lots of pool laziness, reading on the porch, and sweating it out with that 60 min detox flow referenced above. Awesome afternoon!

Porch chair boat. Please excuse the extremely dorky PJ shorts with words on them.

Topped with an equally amazing night. Went out to dinner at the new(ish) Matchbox in Merrifield. Dan and I had gone once before and loved it just as much this second time. Just a really nice relaxing date night featuring delicious food!

Eager beaver.

Handsome date!

Why yes, we did share that dessert trio featured in the bottom right.
Yes, it features more doughnuts.
No, I don't want to talk about how many doughnuts I had that day. 

I told Dan at the end of the day that it seriously felt like my birthday. It was a day full of relaxing things I love and delicious eats.  Great Saturday!

A Simple Solution to the Internet Problem?

I've only been doing it for a little bit...
But I think I’ve found a super basic way to help myself not stay on the internet all night long: I’ve been keeping my laptop/laptop charger at my desk. This seems so stupid, I know. But it is really working!

My desk is in our “den” aka office, which usually is just where Dan hangs out when we are doing separate activities (he has a whole big computer set-up in there and likes to play games/tinker on it). I usually take over the living room, with my laptop plugged in there, where our big comfy couch and TV are.  Well this usually results in a lot of inertia--it feels difficult to get off the couch and why would I, when I have everything I want to do within arms reach (TV and internet). If I’m watching a TV show, my laptop is right in front of me when I finish, so I just naturally go on to internet reading as the next activity. 

My desk in the office, on the other hand, is separate from the TV and features a quasi-uncomfortable chair (or at least a chair that doesn’t invite me to sink into it for long periods of time like our couch!). When I go in there, it feels very “work” mode--sitting up straight, cleared off desk, etc. It definitely doesn’t feel as relaxing as the couch and living room, and the chair is uncomfortable enough that I don’t really want to stay in it for too long. Luckily, Dan doesn’t seem to mind too much that I’m crashing his party in the office. :)

Terrible picture of austere desk set up. The whole "desk" (large table)
+ chair set up cost literally under $45 from Ikea. Oh those crazy Swedes.

I’m not saying I don’t move the laptop in to the living room to settle in for an hour of internet-reading occasionally. But when I do, I’m making the conscious choice to do that, instead of just doing it because my computer is sitting in front of me and I finished up my previous activity. It is no longer my rest state--it requires effort! So it is easier to choose to do something else that requires effort (reading a book, cleaning, etc.) because I’m choosing between effort vs. effort, not effort vs. rest. 

Plus, by keeping the charger in the office, I’m self-limiting my time that I can spend on the computer because my laptop is super old and dies in 90 minutes, tops. Eventually, when I want to computer-game for an extended period of time (yes, I’m a nerd!), I’ll move the charger to the living room. But I’ll be sure to move it back when I’m done!

I’ve only been keeping at it for a little over a week, so we will see how it works in the long-run. But for now, this is a great solution. Creating self-imposed barriers to doing things I don’t want to do is maybe an odd way to go about building a habit, but it is working!

Weekend Wrap-Up
I failed on the pictures front, so this will be short. On Friday night, I went with my friend to Oyamel for DC Restaurant Week. It was really delicious, and I actually liked going for Restaurant Week, despite hearing negative things in the past about the whole experience. It was definitely crowded, but the service was on point (they knew they had to perform!) and the fixed style menu encouraged me to try things I wouldn't have normally ordered.

On Saturday, after my long run (details below!), Dan and I headed up to visit his sister, brother-in-law, and their NEW BABY in Balitmore. I hadn't seen the baby since the day he was born! He had grown so much and is just as a really cute age. Really enjoyed spending time with him!

We didn't get back from B-more until dinnertime on Sunday, so the weekend felt a little short/full. But full of fun and people I love, so no complaints!

Weekly Workout Summary: February 4 - February 10, 2013
Monday: 5 miles at 11:12. Pretty standard run! Crazy to me that 5 miles is now seeming not-super-daunting and do-able after work.

Tuesday: 20 min yoga at home. Ugh. I really wanted to go to yoga in the studio that night, but ended up getting held up at work. Bummer. I tried a new Yoga Download 20 min routine that I was just not feeling, so I didn't do a second one. Lamesauce.

Wednesday: 4 miles at 10:55. I only decided half-way through that this would be a "pace" run, so it probably should have been a little faster. Also notable was that I had originally intended this to be a morning workout, but failed miserably and reset my alarm when I woke up before it and felt terrible--and then ended up not falling back asleep. Don't you hate that? Lesson learned.

Thursday: REST. I'm trying out switching my rest day from Friday to Thursday, and so far I'm liking it. It gives Dan and I some extra time on a weeknight, and Fridays are actually kind of nice days to work out--not so bad to do so in the morning (the promise of sleeping in the next day), or at night, no rush to get home.

Friday: 3 miles on the treadmill, with 4x400 at 6.0-6.2 mph. This was in the morning! For whatever reason, the treadmill is seeming much more appealing in the morning (whereas at night I'll always prefer outside). Who knows, but if it gets me up, I'm fine with 1-2 treadmill sessions a week.

Saturday: 8.5 mile long run at 11:10. Woot! New PDR. I was running into the wind for the first half, so instead of doing a loop like I normally would, I turned around at half way to enjoy the wind on my back. Haha, that was definitely the way to go. I felt good on the run and even at the end (maybe all that wind?)--like if you really wanted me to, I could probably go another 1.5 miles for 10. Which means training is paying off!

Sunday: Unintentional rest day (Baltimore visit!).

Total mileage: 20.5 miles.

Happy with my running this week, but I really need to be better about getting to yoga and doing strength training. I know they ultimately help my running and help my body recover faster!

Louis C.K and the Superbowl

Louis C.K.

On Friday night, Dan and I went to see Louis C.K.!

We didn't get to see his tummy though.
(Not my picture: source)

Dan had gotten us tickets for my birthday--the tickets sold out super fast apparently, so we were lucky to get them! He was performing at the Kennedy Center. I had never been there before--very fancy! So fancy that we couldn't take pictures in the show hall, bummer.

But I took one in the entry hall. So many flags.

Me looking way too eager at the Kennedy Center.

He was phenomenal. I didn't quite know what to expect--I had never seen a comedian of his magnitude live before. So funny! Definitely go see him if he comes to your area.

We also got dinner beforehand at one of our favorite restaurants back in Rosslyn (where I used to live): Piola! Such a random place, sitting in the middle of a bunch of offices, but it has the best happy hour. Strong, big, and inexpensive rail drinks at happy hour ($5), a happy hour that goes until 8 pm, and free passed appetizers that are super good (think mini slices of pizzas and Italian sandwiches, etc.). And they have truly amazing pizza. So good I forgot to a take a picture until we were packing up the food to go, oops.

Ugh that grey bar...sorry, need to figure that out.

Such a nice date night!

Superbowl
We hosted a mini-shindig at our apartment for the Superbowl. Notable since it was the first thing we had ever hosted at the apartment. Also I think this was the first event in my adult life that I hosted that went beyond "pregame" and actually provided food. It was fairly small--only three people plus us*--but I felt a little stressed about it! Just wanted to make sure the apartment looked nice and that everyone had fun.

*It was supposed to be four but a friend came down with something at the last minute. We missed you LC!

My attempt at being all Martha Stewart-y with a set up bar, etc.
Foreshadowing some amazing-looking brownies on the table...

We kept the menu easy and low-key. Lots of snacks: salsa/queso/guac with tortilla chips; carrots and hummus; and boring-type cheese and crackers (my usual cheese preferences were deemed "too fancy" for this type of gathering, which was fair).

Snacks. I regretted (accidentally) putting the carrots in the orange
bowl and the queso in the yellow one. Not Martha.

Then we ordered pizza and wings to come for some real-food dinner. And then we had brownies for dessert!

This is the best-drawn football brownie you will ever see.
Definitely Martha.

I was pleased with how it went! Everyone seemed to get along, though I failed to take any pictures of people. I suppose that means it was fun!

Weekly Workout Summary: January 25 - February 3:
Cutback week! (Explanation). Fairly light week compared to what I've been doing lately.

Monday: Rest day. I drove for four hours (grad school apps-related travel), and for whatever reason (likely: seat positioning), driving makes my knee feel tweaky. Plus I just didn't feel like exercising! So I took the day off.

Tuesday: 75 minute power vinyasa class at my usual studio. They ran a Groupon deal this week that was open to current students (!! rare), so you'll probably be seeing more of these soon!

Wednesday: 4 miles @ 11:19. First run since my Saturday 8 miler, and my legs felt like lead.

Thursday: Quick 30 minute at-home yoga session and core work.

Friday: 3.3 miles - adventures in morning workouts. I did this on the treadmill and included 4x400 speed pickups ranging from 6.0-6.2 mph.

Saturday: 5.2 miles @ 11:12.

Sunday: More rest. Though I think cleaning totally should count.

Total mileage: 12.5.  Back to normal next week! Also, total January mileage: 76.1. My highest ever!

Belated Weekend Wrap-Up and Hands of Fire

Weekend Wrap-Up
I wanted to post this last night, but was a bit incapacitated due to the Hands of Fire Incident of 2013 (we'll get to that in a bit).

This weekend ended up being busier than I expected, which was fine by me! Nice and social, mixed in with cough, mumblemumblethree grocery store visits. I don’t want to talk about it. But since grocery stores/shopping for food is pretty much my happy place, it was a good weekend!

On Friday night, Dan and I went for a pre-movie quick meal at Mosaic District. He hit up Chipotle, but I opted for Sweetgreen! I hadn’t been to the new Sweetgreen located near me yet, and I had forgot how much I liked it. I had their Chic P salad, which was quite tasty and filling. Too filling for movie snacks! Bummer. We saw Django--it was absolutely awesome. I liked it way more than I expected it to. It dealt with the tricky subject with appropriate gravitas/respect, but still kept it feeling like a fun revenge flick. Definitely go see it!

Why do my pictures have that grey line? Friends!

I met up with some girlfriends in the city on Saturday night. We had fun catching up over dinner and drinks. They are two of my closest friends but unfortunately live far enough away (Maryland!) that it’s tricky to see each other as often as we would like!

And then some terribly drunk man hit on us,
and we made faces like this.

Not amused, dude. Although a little amused.
Amused enough to take photos. 

And then Sunday was full of football (ughhhhh Patriots), grocery stores, and general laziness.

Weekly Workout Summary
I’m really enjoying my “training cycle” thus far [sidebar: I always feel the need to put anything that a “real” runner would say in quotation marks, as if because I’m slow/relatively new, running terms don’t apply to me. Well, that’s stupid. I’m going to try to stop doing that!]. Running four times a week seems to be helping my speed/endurance.

Monday: 3.5 miles @11:37. I hadn’t slept super well the night before and remember just feeling pooped/not wanting to run. I was proud I got out there anyway!

Tuesday: Tough 75 minute power vinyasa flow class. My upper body was sore for days after this.

Wednesday: 5.3 mile tempo run--middle 3 miles at 10:29 pace. This felt comfortably hard, like tempo runs should!

Thursday: 3 miles  @ 11:06, followed by a 20 minute yoga podcast. I’d typically do strength on Thursdays, but my arms were still beat from the yoga class. So I did more yoga, which counterintuitively made them feel a bit better!

Friday: REST.
Saturday: 7 miles @ 11:15. This wasn't too bad! A little boring because the "Wait Wait" podcast I had queued up was just re-airs from previous shows, but I made do.

Sunday: 40 minutes at-home yoga (2 20 minute yoga podcasts). I use the free 20 minute Yoga Download ones because I’m cheap. I like doing one faster paced power vinyasa flow followed by a stretchy flow (for this one I did Hip Opener #2).

Today’s Workout
More yoga, bam. 75 minute power vinyasa class. Either I'm seeing improvements or the new instructor went easier on us this week than she did last week.

Today’s Eats
Ahhh Hands of Fire 2013. Okay. So I tried to make this recipe for stuffed poblano peppers (discovered when featured on Rachel's blog), except substituting pre-cooked lentils for the ground beef (I'm a vegetarian).

This recipe obviously involves some poblano peppers, which are a fairly spicy but not crazy spicy pepper. And I've cooked with them before just fine. Same thing with jalepenos--obviously I don't touch my eyes, but as long as I wash my hands with soap it is usually fine.

Well apparently this batch had the most RIDICULOUS HELLFIRE CAPSAICIN known to mankind. My hand (that had seeded the peppers) was burning so ridiculously bad. To recap, here is what I tried (per the advice of the internet) and did NOT work to remove the pain: milk (provided temporary relief but went away after 30 seconds), soap + water, dish detergent + water, lemon juice, acne face wash with salicylic acid, rubbing my hand (briefly) with olive oil, and mayonnaise.

I was in so much pain that I finally just called Poison Control. They recommended two options: 1) rubbing alcohol, which, if it works, should take away the sting immediately. 2) Soaking the hand in oil (any would do, I used canola) for a prolonged period of time, upwards of the 30 minutes, occasionally massaging the oil into the affected area. Quite unfortunately, the rubbing alcohol did not provide the immediate relief. It seemed that capsaicin had really settled in. So I did the oil thing, which finally provided relief after 45 minutes. It was still in a bit of pain, but not pain in a needing to constantly run it under cold water way, so I was able to fall asleep. Today it was tingly but not in pain.

PSA: WEAR RUBBER GLOVES WHEN DE-SEEDING HOT PEPPERS.

So anyway, the meal. It was decent. I think the pepper just hadn't cooked enough? Next time I would pre-cook the peppers for a bit. I'm sure the recipe is much better as it is intended to be made (meat!).

Out of season tomatoes blocking the view of the pepper.

Today's leftovers were WAY better than the first batch yesterday, since I re-heated it in the microwave, softening up the pepper. And I topped it with avocado instead of out of season tomato. Much better!

A Fun Staycation

This Weekend
I'm writing this on commercials as I dorkily cry along to Biggest Loser, so it'll be quick! I've made good progress on implementing some of my January goals so far this month--I'll do a check-in later this week.

Dan and I had a great weekend. On Saturday, we got the opportunity to stay overnight at a hotel in DC and go to one of our favorite restaurants! Long-ish story, but my mom ended up gifting Dan and I with a hotel night and gift certificate to Graffiato for Christmas, which was super nice and generous!

The hotel was in Woodley Park (near where I used to live when I lived in DC!), so we went to one of my old brunch favorites to start our Saturday--Open City. I had some super delicious post-run eggs, toast, and hash browns (my favorite!), plus a pancake.

After brunch, we walked over to the zoo. We didn't stay too long, but we saw several cute animals--highlights were the pandas and elephants.

Adorable panda eats adorably. 

The pandas cracked me up for some reason. They were moving so...humanly? I kept saying they reminded me of a person dressed in a panda suit.

Adorable man with adorable panda!

That night was the real star of the show--Graffiato! I failed at taking any pictures of the food. I highly recommend the burrata salad and cauliflower, and Dan recommends the pepperoni dip and pizza (he had the Porky's Revenge).

Nice view across the table!

I had their version of a pisco sour--tasty but rich. 

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the luxurious room and comfy beds. This morning we had a delicious brunch at the hotel and headed back to VA. Overall it was just a great mini "staycation"--great note to end the holiday season on! Thanks Mom!

Weekly Workout Summary
Monday: pre-NYE run--4 mi @ 10:57.

Tuesday: 4 mi tempo run with lots of geese. This felt doable!

Wednesday: 35 min yoga. I used one 20 minute power yoga/vinyasa style podcast from YogaDownload.com, and then did a few videos for more stretching style/hip openers.

Thursday: 3.3 mi @ 11:11 outside, and then I circled back to the apartment gym for a quick and dirty strength routine. I don't remember all of the exercises, but it covered most of the major muscle groups and included lunges, planks, lat pull downs, push ups, etc.

Friday: REST.

Saturday: 6.2 mi @ 11:20. This felt tough while I was doing it, but I stayed strong mentally and pushed through a bunch of hills. I'm still kind of wondering how the heck I'm going to do 10 miles in April...but plenty of time to build!

Sunday: Another quick yoga at-home session--35 minutes again, similar split to Wednesday. I actually have been enjoying these at home yoga sessions and plan to incorporate them into my routine. But it will feel good to get back to the studio on Tuesday!

Total weekly mileage: 17.5 miles.
Overall I was really pleased with this week! Felt great to jump back into more frequent running--honestly, I think the more I run the easier it feels (within limits, I'm sure). On to the next!