Feeling Good

I really love this mantra

2024 goals. For now

I am SO tired of gyms pushing skinny, especially since that was way more to do with diet. And there’s nothing wrong with skinny — it frequently is what “feeling good” is, but that’s so limiting a definition for feeling good and really like Crunch’s campaign. They’re also encouraging folks to pick a card that resonates, or write you’re own. I identified with parts of some, but not completely with any, so I wrote mine. It’s not a new goal. I said it before 2018 Fred, and my handwriting hasn’t improved since then either! 😉 Maybe 2025 goal

In the mean time, linking up with Deborah and Kim for a look at this week which ended up as very gym heavy one:

• Monday: no idea. I don’t even have anything in my camera roll to give me a hint as to what I did. Oops. Feels very Monday though.
• Tuesday: 20 minute time trial. I actually had the best laid plans of doing this before a morning meeting, but that didn’t work out for a variety of reasons. Just like last year, it was slower than the Penguin, but I’m OK with that. Warmed up for the penguin in a way ten minutes on the treadmill didn’t. Plus there’s no adrenaline for a treadmill run! Usually good about pairing treadmill / cross training with some strength work but it was absolutely pouring and I wanted to get home before it got worse. This as a gym run meant I could try my new ASICS. Felt a little different to the blue ones, but just a lace issue as by the second run on Thursday they felt like the clouds I love in the blue.
• Wednesday: mild-ish (for January) and I really wanted Crumbl so I walked there from the office. Sometimes a walk is a great cap after an office day.
• Thursday: office run group was a schedule casualty and I didn’t feel comfortable running solo by the river where it made sense to do the prescribed workout, so gym it was. I was a little off on the paces, but think I hit the workout well. (Also, exactly the same as last year).

return of #CariCooks

happy runversary to me

• Friday: off.  Had been a busy week and was glad to be working from home for some major catch up. I realized both my mushrooms and my chicken broth were about to expire – enter risotto. There’s something about cold weather and cooking. I haven’t cooked as much as I did during 2020 and as a result, my spices aren’t as fresh as they could be, but this was a yummy lunch. I did finally go downstairs to take out the trash and pick up my mail, because I knew this was there. Happy runversary to me! The 15K/10M is probably truly my favorite, but there are so few of them. Plus there’s something to this rhyme, and I really do love the Half distance. It’s hard to tell even in person, but the hearts are purple. Not a Swiftie, but I am an 80s child and I love me some Little Words Project.

weekly Fred check in

Chase all the waterfalls

Hi Flaco

moody skies

and all the mud

• Saturday: this ended up as a kind of cut back week for no reason other than 24 miles to start/mark the year thanks to a holiday Monday and celebratory mileage wasn’t sustainable. While we didn’t have the shorts weather that some of you did, we also didn’t have the wind and snow and it was definitely mild for January. Mild.. and muddy. I never care about pace on a long run, but today was exceptionally so as there were two errands in the first mile and then I got distracted by Flaco, the escaped Central Park Zoo Owl who now calls the park and Upper East/West Sides home. You don’t need to be a birder – you just see the groups and the lenses and you’ll find a new feathered friend. I didn’t intend to run the Loch but was feeling a pull to nature and waterfalls and…  yay. Also ran into a friend who was walking with her husband. The plan was 6 but I ended up at a little over 5, which was just fine and I picked up another .2 or so running from the gym to dinner and then home because by then it was too cold to walk in run clothes.   I don’t think those sneakers will ever be truly clean again.
• Sunday: Part of the reason I chose Crunch was how close it is to my apartment and the office. That came into play today when I had a nice chunk of time before watching too much football and made good use of it. 20m row, 25m strength, 20m recumbent bike and 10m pilates core. Felt good to be mildly active. Really trying to be more deliberate about my strength work, but the pilates ring may have just maimed me so we’ll see what tomorrow and Tuesday look like!