BANG!

at the starting line
the apartment is now CLEAN, including the bathroom, replete with new, non-mold-encrusted shower curtain! every stitch of laundry has been washed, sorted, and put away. next week’s workouts are written in my planner, meals are set and shopped for, and my email inboxes are relatively pared down, filled only with must-responds and action items.

I AM READY FOR THE NEW WEEK, BITCHES.

BRING IT!

marathon musings
i will admit it: i’ve been a very fickle runner recently. i was supposed to be training for a 5K, but i couldn’t find a race i really wanted to run and those efforts sort of fizzled. as a result of the planned training, i did get in a decent amount of speedwork this summer, but i’m pretty sure i’m not in sub-23 shape.

someday, maybe i’ll work on my 5K. but right now? right now all i want to do is a december marathon. and i think i am going to give it a shot. i have several months of a much lighter work schedule coming up, so the timing is perfect. there are 2 races on the target date i have set — december 12 — that are fairly local and look enticing.

i know my track record is bad, so i’m going into this one with a bit of a different attitude. i’m not even going to sign up for the race until it gets much closer to the time — and if i am having any sort of pain or intolerance to the longer runs, i’ll stop. immediately. i am going to use a much more minimal program than i’ve ever considered before —

more on training details to come, of course

. . . and i’ll just see where the training takes me. i miss the challenge and structure of the marathon buildup, and the satisfaction of working towards a tangible goal. with a lower mileage program, i don’t think that i’ll really be spending that much more time running than i’m doing now. i really can’t think of a good reason NOT to try this.

reader question
loreejo writes: “when you say a recipe is on the sidebar….I’m somehow overlooking it. help!”

hi loreejo! i’ve had this question a few times before, so i thought i’d clear it up in case anyone else was wondering. i put the week’s recipes up on the sidebar under the doin’ time: upcoming creations header. however, i do update those weekly, typically on sunday nights, so if you are looking at an older post, the recipe will no longer be there! so it’s my fault for misleading you and i apologize!

what i really need is a separate doin’ time page, but blogger does not allow me to do anything that fancy, unfortunately. so instead — feel free to email me any time you would like a recipe and i can send you the link! alternatively, google the name of the recipe + “everyday food.” that will usually bring it up!

LARA invasion
i wrote to larabar a couple of weeks ago, asking to sample the new flavors i’d seen on others’ sites: specifically, i was DYING to get my hands on a PB & J, and my local whole foods doesn’t seem to think this is a priority.

i was thrilled to get a response, and kind lewis said he would send me the bars! i nearly died when a heavy box arrived with my name on it, carrying not just the new flavors, but an entire LARABAR LIBRARY!

what to do with a surfeit of rainbow-colored LARABARS?

put them in rainbow order and admire them, obvi.

also, eat them. aside from possibly angela’s glo bars, LARAs were already my favorite. i love the pure tastes of the flavors and the extremely pared-down ingredient lists. they are a non-messy way to eat fruit and nuts on the go at work, which is always a bonus.

josh already snagged the chocolate coconut, but i have warned him not to lay a finger on my precious PB&J or tropical fruit. i can’t wait to dig in! thank you, lewis!

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8.23.09

workout: 40 minutes elliptical + weights
– 2 x 12 pushups
– 2 x 12 squats with ball, 10 lb weights
– 2 x 12 lat pulldowns, 55 lbs
– 2 x 10 walking double lunges, 10 lb weights
– 2 x 10 tricep pushdowns, 15 lbs
– 2 x 12 seated rows, 40 lbs
– 2 x 15 bicycle crunches

sadly, my weights routine is stagnant. jess, help me! i need a 20 minutes-or-less routine that is easy and will help me with injury prevention even if i only do it twice/week. i also would like a body like leighton meester. you know, while you’re at it.

doin’ time: first, i started off my evening with this brew:

i savored it, celebrating my victory over dirt + disorder with this appropriately named beer. folding laundry while buzzed = my version of living dangerously.

i was able to check off two recipes in one as i made vietnamese steak sandwiches (involving the recipe for lime-marinated flank steak, then built into sandwich form.

i thought the use of whole wheat hot dog buns as sub rolls was pretty ingenious, if i do say so myself. served on the side is a slaw made from bok choy, carrots, and apples. i was excited to get to use the ‘shred’ function of my food processor, something i had never done before!

reading: WILL RETURN. today.