Workouts: 17 weeks until Bayshore!
M: 8 mi easy @ 9:12/mi (60F / 87%, rainy)
T: 12 x 400m. Started with 1.5 mi warmup (9:04/mi), then 12 x 400m intervals with 400m rest. It took me a while to find a bit of speed! Int paces (per mile pace): 7:45, 7:22, 7:41, 7:20, 7:19, 7:22, 7:19, 7:06, 7:04, 7:07, 7:02, 6:57. Then 0.5 mi cooldown at 9:31/mi for total of 8. I was aiming for ~7:15-20/mi so it was funny that I started out a little slow and ended a little fast (but reassuring I could generate the speed when needed!). 65F / 95%. Late afternoon (after clinic) –> 1 hr lower body strength @ training gym.
W: 7 mi easy @ 9:40/mi. Nice recovery run; 60F / 79%. Afternoon –> 1 hr mostly upper body strength and core @ training gym.
R: 8 mi total, 2 warmup / 4 MP / 2 cooldown. Warmup miles @ 8:51 / 8:48, marathon pace miles @ 7:56, 7:55, 8:00, 8:05, cooldown at 9:29 / 9:13. This felt great – cannot tell if fitness improving or it’s just the amazing novelty of being able to do speed in NON HOT WEATHER. 55F / 92% – felt so nice and cool.
F: 6 mi recovery run, 9:59/mi. 48F / 89% – “feels like” 42F!!! (I was actually kind of cold since I wasn’t running very fast!)
S: 13 mi @ 8:48/mi ave. I wore leggings for this one (!). I aimed for “long run” pace and felt really good doing it, throwing in one MPish mile at the end (8:15). I didn’t even need to stop for water, which was crazy (I did take 2 gels but my GU Liquid gels do not require water). 45F / 81% / “feels like” 42! Also did 30 min Peloton full body strength (Callie / Soundtrack Strength Club: Shrek).
S: Not sure! Probably some yoga and/or barre. (No running or weights planned)
TOTAL: 50 mi, strength x 3 (2.5 hrs total) – yay! I am meeting my strength goal and loving these cool weather runs. I savor every one because I know it won’t last.
Reading
LOVED this, and finished my 4th novel of 2025 (Books Page). Reading this after The Wedding People was amazing – both were 10/10 books for me. Trigger warning: plenty of sex scenes/sex-related content in this one. I loved the ending.
I am still reading Tim Urban’s What’s Our Problem and at the rate of about 15-20 pages/day will be reading it until mid-to-late Feb! I have an interview coming up for BOBW, so I’m also reading this! I will probably add another novel (I have The Spellshop and You Are Here in my library pile). Can I manage 3 books at once? Maybe because I will probably just pause on Urban until I’m done with the interview book and then go back!
Screen Time: Less than Ideal
Gah, what happened?
Hmm. This is one of those reminders that habit change is really hard and it’s not terribly realistic to expect change without changing some variable related to the habit! I am doing better with strength training because I found a totally new way of creating accountability and more variability (going to the strength gym). I cannot expect change in other areas just by wishing it. SO – need to either adjust my expectations or add some additional strategies.
On the plus side, I did not end up scrolling Reddit or anything terrible like that (I remain free of all social media, Reddit included, in 2025!). But on the minus I just got kind of sloppy with texting, checking whatsApp, checking blog comments, checking email, etc. It’s not the WORST because it’s still time limited (there are only so many things to check on those things!) but it’s also not the best because it still gives me that frantic/fragmented experience, undermines attempts to shut down completely, and I’d just . . . rather not.
This week I plan on more physical device docking.
(Yesterday wasn’t really a screen binge as shown – I did my Peloton workout by looking at the phone and I also had google maps on for quite some time driving to Palm Beach!).
Time to grocery shop + plan out next week! I can’t believe next weekend will be February!!!
9 Comments
I think the fact that a lot of your screen time was on the Messenger app is not a bad thing because that is how you connect with a lot of people in your life! Or at least that is how I feel.
I’m tempted to read Annie Bot, but I might be too much of a prude to enjoy it. I usually don’t read multiple books at the same time, but I’m currently reading several. I finished a nonfiction book yesterday called the story of a heart which is a book about a heart transplant from one 9 year-old to another. obviously, that was a very heavy read, but it was very fascinating as it went into the science and history of organ transplants I’m also reading another nonfiction book called white tears/brown scars. But I only read a chapter of it per day, so I can let the material sink in. Beyond that, I’m reading Long Island, which is the sequel to Brooklyn. I have another non-fiction book I need to start for book club on February 7 called all the living in the dead so I will probably slowly read that while reading a fiction book as well. so not typical for me to read multiple books like this and I don’t necessarily love it, but I had some library deadlines and book club deadlines and such instead of push me to read multiple books at the same time. But I don’t like to read multiple fiction books at the same time!
Lisa, I am a bit of a prude too but I loved Annie Bot! Might be worth taking a chance 🙂
Added Annie Bot to my tbr. I’m currently reading Long Island Compromise and enjoying it, so now I’m 3/3 on enjoying books for the year. Planning for an Adrian Williams lower body and *possibly* upper body workout today but it’s hard to get motivated since Dyl had her birthday sleepover last night and I’m kinda tired lol. You’re making me want to try a personal trainer, but I’m a little worried I’ll hurt myself. Yay for cooler running temperatures for you!
Ooh I’ve heard good things about Long Island Compromise. I will look forward to hearing what you think of Annie Bot! The training is very helpful in that . . . I know I will actually do it if I am paying someone and have an appt 🙂
I feel like the screen time app should be smart enough to exclude Teams calls, Google maps notifications, showing your plane boarding pass…in your screen time but alas…
I started the year under 90 minutes but have spent a lot of time stuck in trains in recent week.
I did start charging it in my home office. I’m very lazy in the am so won’t get up before I’ve had my first cup of tea, so I’ll reach for my book instead. I’m just about to finish the third book in the wolf hall trilogy (the final is 850 pages) so it’s working.
Have you seen the Brick product that locks distracting apps using a physical “brick”? I’m thinking of trying it.
I hadn’t heard of Annie Bot, but I’m going to look into it!
Screen time can be so insidious — when you cut it out in one area, it creeps back in in another. I deleted Twitter/X from my phone early this month and it has helped SO much in keeping me from endless scrolling… but I find I am on my computer / watching TV more often than before. I have channeled some of my old scrolling time into reading physical books, though, so I’m going to call it a partial win!
A couple of my runs were actually a little chilly last week! But, even at the end of my long run I didn’t feel depleted like I do in the heat.
Nice job on the strength work! I’ve been getting in some strength workouts again… not anything amazing, but better than nothing.
I loved Annie Bot too! It makes me want to start a book club to have someone to discuss it with 🙂