A Very Productive Week

By | May 3, 2020

remember last week when I said I was going to move the AC so I could sit under my desk? Yeah, that turned into a completely rearranged room to create a living room and home office. Side effects: No longer staring at a wall, desk is away from window for if & when I need to put the AC in the window. Pics to come when it’s straightened up enough to be presentable.

very odd precision

is green drink really cooking? Probably not. Unphotogenic frozen berries were added to the mix

pulled pork, yet to be tasted

yummy Sunday breakfast

This week could also have been subtitled adventures in cooking. Some of you saw my pancakes experiment on Wednesday night. Proud to report they were delicious even if not models. I also crowd sourced the decision and ordered an Instant Pot. If I’m going to actually cook, I don’t want to be limited to the microwave. I like the idea of the sides it opens up and I can make artichokes! They-and salmon/sushi-are the foods I’m missing most without restaurants. So we’ll see where this goes.

***

This week was a wonderful Zoom-filled week. After work with friends on Friday who I see far too infrequently, even BCV,  Saturday afternoon with many of you and Saturday evening with some friends I met over SVU some 15 years ago. Situation is FAR from ideal, but there are some Life Is Good moments. Human connection is essential.

***

April was my worst step month in a very long time. Did it surprise me when I realized I wouldn’t hit 300K for the first time in forever? Yeah, and it stung a little, but I know resting the knee and social distancing were way more important in the long run. Unlike the first year when I quit #GoTheDist out of frustration, I’ve learned numbers don’t define success. I’m still debating dropping my Fitbit goal to 10K as 12K isn’t as realistic as it once was. We’ll see.  Pleased to say I got back to back step goals this weekend for the first time since this all happened I’m pretty sure.

The knee? Well, it’s been hit or miss but I think it’s getting better.

Weekly Run Down with Kim and Deborah: in which there are actually runs. Plural!

  • never miss a Monday: I tried to run, but the knee wasn’t ready so I had a post-storm walk, which felt good. As has been the theme the last few weeks, tulips. Lots and lots of tulips.
  • Tuesday: beautiful day and I wanted to go out. Decided to walk to and from Central Park and run the bridle path. It was… OK. It hurt, but not insurmountably. Plan was originally one lap of the bridle path loop, but at half a mile out, I decided to just double back via Fred Lebow and call it good.

 

avenue of manicured trees outside the Met

 

  • Wednesday: I’ve been frustrated at how hard it is to get step goal after work with only a walk for coffee in the morning. As it’s been lighter earlier, I decided two a day walks would be good & necessary for steps and sanity.

Rainy day ninja

  • Thursday: about those steps? Windy rain, but I still got outside. I loved this coat when I bought it, but I am ready to be DONE with it for the season.
  • Friday: I decided to try running again. I was going to leave the Garmin home since I knew it would be maybe a mile. But on the other hand I wanted to know how long I could go before I felt discomfort. .43 miles vs. .25 earlier in the week. Progress! And yes, I wish I’d gone seven more seconds.
  • Saturday: I had no plans for this run. I got out later than I wanted because I turned off the alarm after unsettled sleep all week. I knew the East River would be too busy for my comfort zone so I headed toward Central Park. Unlike earlier in the week, I decided to try running there too. I stopped along the perimeter wall to stretch my calves and then headed toward the cushion of the bridle path. Apparently everyone thought it was going to be too crowded and went elsewhere as I was able to run the reservoir with no crowding at all. I was very surprised that this turned into a 5K. Unlike earlier in the week with lots of stretch breaks, the only stops were to drink because drinking while moving was hard even before a mask was involved.  This run had me feeling really strong and reminded me why running for no good reason was accomplishing nothing.

up with the birds

  • Sunday funday: it was going to be nearly 80 and I knew the Park would be beyond my comfort zone later so I went out with the birdwatchers and had a nice looped walk through the ramble. Such a pretty and quiet area. Leg felt good after two days running, but it appreciated the break and increased stretching. This photo? An accidental same spot as Marathon Monday. Cannot believe it has been six months. It feels simultaneously longer and shorter. Plans for the rest of the day include a book and my fire escape before watching the Lortel Awards tonight. I love them and really wish I was there tonight. Always a fun evening.

This was overall a good week.

GoTheDist:

  • 235, 252 steos
  • 99.71 miles run/walked
  • 19.31 miles run

When I realized on May 1, that I’d run 19.31 miles on the month I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish I’d seen that sooner to find .7 more, but not sure I could have done that this week. I 100% could have found .3 miles to walk though.

40 thoughts on “A Very Productive Week

  1. Deborah Brooks

    Look at all your cooking this week! I am impressed! I am not a green smoothie person at all. I have another good recipe for you tomorrow. You were productive this week, thanks for linking up. Nice to see you on Zoom!

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      I don’t know who I am with this cooking!
      I’m not always a green smoothie person either, but I had a week of not being able to find bagged salads or cucumbers so needed some green in my diet this week.
      Always great to see you on Zoom, so glad you two had this idea.

      Reply
  2. Judy @ Chocolaterunsjudy

    My Garmin has a really conservative step goal: 7400 steps. No idea why (actually 7420). I aim for 10k, and on running days I’m well over that, but I’m ok with the lower numbers sometimes too. Numbers do not definite us!

    I’ve only checked out our bike paths once. My neighborhood is boring, but the roads are wide. It can still be frustrating with wrong siders!

    So learning to cook will be one of your silver linings from all this. Not a bad one. 🙂

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      Definitely a silver lining!
      I don’t wear my Garmin except for runs, so yeah it has an odd step goal too. I’m not sure how Garmath works in that respect. My Fitbit is manually set and it’s probably time to drop it. It feels like giving up, but at the same time 10K+ isn’t bad either. I think I’ve landed on I made it 8 weeks failing short of goal, I can make it to “the end”, but we’ll see

      Reply
  3. Marcia

    You’re doing great with cooking! I do not have an InstaPot so I’ll be interested to see what you make in it. Glad the knee is letting you run longer and longer. Keep resting and stop as soon as you feel discomfort. It’ll come around. Your evening sounds fun!

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      My evening was so fun. There was an unplanned nap that happened too and it was delicious. The futon is newly positioned to catch the breeze and that’s going to be delicious come summer. I’m 100% listening to my knee. There’s no reason to chase anything else right now

      Reply
  4. Kim G

    I love how you have embraced cooking during quarantine! I love a good green smoothie and have a few each week. My go to combo is fresh spinach, water, ice, vanilla protein powder, half a banana and a handful of berries, normally strawberries.

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      Yep, definitely a strawberry person but that’s when I need the spinach to cut some of the sweetness. Otherwise it’s peanut butter/banana and maybe protein powder depending on whether it’s post-workout or just a snack

      Reply
  5. Michelle D.

    Great to see you diving into the cooking. I still don’t have an instapot, but I’ve seen others make some great looking dishes with them.

    Nice that you’re getting a little running in…slow and steady progress is the way to go.

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      We’re inching forward. Yay us.
      Crock pot was the gateway to the instant pot for me. I got good at mains but had no idea how to make sides.

      Reply
  6. Darlene S Cardillo

    Look at you. The cook!

    If I don’t run, my step numbers are pathetic. I sit at my desk ALL day.

    Hooray for 5k running. You’ll get there…wherever that is.

    I’m dong a lot of walking when I do my runs and just enjoying nature…as you can tell from the number of pics I take on my runs.

    ON to week 8…I may be home all summer. If I train online, it doesn’t matter anywhere.

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      This is part of why I go walk for coffee at least. I need something. It’s funny to see how some people track the weeks. I go by Fridays as that was our first WFH day

      Reply
  7. Coco

    Looking forward to following your Instantpot adventures. I make salmon in our toaster oven — just bake a 1 lb fillet for about 15 min at 400-425F.

    Yay on the home office improvements. I’m glad you’re still getting to Central Park — I love seeing your pictures and am so glad I squeezed in that run in February.

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      Instant Pot adventures is definitely the word for it! So far so good
      Glad you got Central Park and our schedules aligned for dinner

      Reply
  8. Beckett @ Birchwood Pie

    I need instant pot ideas, so let us know how it goes. I haven’t had a fresh artichoke in forever. I’m glad your knee is getting better. Step and mileage goals are all very well but the #1 goal is always to be painfree.

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      I’ve had artichokes twice. So so delicious and perfect in the instant pot. Otherwise I’ve just made risotto and hard boiled eggs. In this week’s post I added the cookbook a friend gave me. I’m mostly all about Pinterest right now.

      Reply
  9. Debbie @ Deb Runs

    Oh, I bet that .69 mile is haunting you. I know it would be digging at me and yet, why? It’s only a number.

    It’s great that you found plenty of room to run in Central Park. I guess you never know were people will be gathered.

    Have a great week!

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      I’ m trying to be better about getting to .5 or a whole mile so I don’t end up short, yet I ended at .4 today.

      Reply
  10. Wendy

    That is amazing you had so much room to run in Central Park! I wonder where everyone was. I haven’t been running with my mask or buff around my face. I have it around my neck if I need it, but fortunately, my paths haven’t been crowded when I go either.

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      I think midday in Central Park is a lot worse. I’m lucky to live close enough that going early is easy. When/if I ever run longer, they’re going to need to be weekdays as I think it would be too crowded by the time I finish.

      Reply
  11. Kimberly Hatting

    So great to see you yesterday! I have been loving all the beautiful flower pics…though, somehow< i seem to see them a day late on FB (?). Not sure how they're not showing up sooner on my feed. That's great about your Instant Pot. I have not joined that bandwagon yet…I'm a little scared of them LOL

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      social media timelines are so drunk. I’m glad we’re FB Friends (for many reasons) but especially because I almost never see your stuff on instagram unless I go to your profile directly.
      So far so good with the instant pot.

      Reply
  12. Liz Dexter

    I’m proud of your cooking! And it was great to see you on Saturday, I’m glad I join in with those. Two walks a day would be bliss – we’re still on one piece of exercise per day plus essential trips to the shops or pharmacy. So I can sort of walk the long way round to the shops to avoid the high street and encounters with more people, but I’d feel bad doing that to too much of an extent.

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      Yes, so glad you joined as it’s lovely to see you live. My morning walks are less exercise and more active erranding, but I want to try and make them more like exercise. Hope you got good news in today’s announcement

      Reply
  13. Jenn

    I love to see all the cooking! You’re doing great! I am so sick of making meals, and eating meals and worrying about meals. Ugh.

    I love all your tulip photos. They make me so happy.

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      I have a feeling that as soon as more of my local favorites open (hi, sushi!) all the meal prep is going to go down by at least 25%. I like the money savings though.

      Reply
  14. Montana @ Pretty Lil Mudder

    You’re doing better than me with cooking during quarantine! The first two weeks I was really into it then I just gave up and started eating stuff that was easy and quick haha. Turns out I don’t just dislike cooking because of the time it takes- I just dislike it period!

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      Yeah, this has been a pleasant surprise that I don’t mind it. We’ll see if it sticks when I can’t make risotto over a Zoom call. I definitely lean easy and quick and iI don’t think that will ever change. Imagine it’s too hot for you to cook most of the year?

      Reply
  15. Jennifer @ Fit Nana

    OMG, I love my Instant Pot!! Well, technically, I gave the actual Instant Pot to Thing 2 because I bought a Ninja Foodi which has the pressure cooker function. It also has the air fryer and does all sorts of other things. I use it ALL the time. There are so many great recipes out there to try! Nice job with all the cooking! How did the pulled pork turn out?

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      Someone else was just talking about the Ninja – I think it was Facebook though. The pulled pork was good. I bought a boneless one this week though as I think it’s more beginner friendly.

      Reply
  16. Lisa @ Mile by Mile

    Great job with all that cooking! And it sounds like you are doing the best you can to get out and get moving. It must be hard as you are trying not to aggravate the knee and to also stay away from too many people.

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      Avoiding people is relatively easy — most of my neighbors aren’t here. But it’s hard to want to walk/run far enough for exercise but not have the ability to jump on bus for the return. I’ll get there, eventually

      Reply
  17. Renée

    I thought I would like to have an instant pot and then took too long to decide and the one I wanted is no longer available… they are really hard to get here!

    take it easy with that knee… walking, running, whatever you need to do just take it easy. the last thing we need is to have messed up knees (I’m having a slight issue with my right one lately).

    I’m so surprised that central park wasn’t busy !

    good seeing you on Zoom! I feel so much more connected to you guys!

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      Same! I love talking to everyone live. Glad it works for you & Liz time wise.
      Good luck with your knee and foot.
      I had to get my instant pot from amazon warehouse. Target doesn’t have the 3 QT one and AMazon was sold out on new. Apparently everyone had the same quarantine idea!

      Reply
  18. Lisa @ TechChick Adventures

    What a lovely view of the reservoir! I’m a little bummed that my steps don’t register as much when I use my elliptical. For 3 miles on the elliptical I get only about 2 miles. It makes it hard to get my step goals on those days!

    Reply
    1. cari Post author

      Can you put your tracker on your shoe? I used to do that for the bike. Can’t rmeember if I tried it for the elliptical or just took the step hit. I’m not a big elliptical user so I’m not sure

      Reply
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