Sunday, September 27
Today I worked a half day for Yom Kippur (technically it was a bit more than half a day, but Sundays always involve a bit of a backlog and I wanted to respond to all of the support tickets so Tuesday will hopefully not bee too hectic. I also went and bought an inexpensive keyboard (to be reimbursed by my company), so my home office set-up feels more permanent and much less ramshackle.
In the afternoon I went for a run. Originally I wanted to run 10km, but there was a headwind at the beach and I wasn’t particularly enjoying it, so I decided to “only” run 8km, with a few short walk breaks thrown in. I had none of the muscle pain from last week, so even though the run was slow, it’s definitely a step in the right direction! In addition, I just completed my 25th walk/run for the Great South Run Solo challenge!
In the evening, Lior and I went on a 5km walk. Yom Kippur in Israel has a special phenomenon–no cars on the roads. Instead, families take to the streets, even walking and bicycling on empty highways. We didn’t get that far from home, but being able to walk on streets normally jammed with traffic was a very cool experience.
Monday, September 28
A predictably low-key day, due to Yom Kippur. We chilled, I did a yoga class, that’s it.
Tuesday, September 29
Today was an eventful workday–I caught an error in our new support software, where players weren’t receiving our replies. Crisis averted!
In the afternoon, I decided to do another interval workout:
1.6km warm up 4 * (3min fast, 1 min slow) 1.6km cool down
Overall I ran 6km, including 2 extra minutes of fast running, and a bit less rest time. In total, it was 3.25km warm up/cool down, 2.25km fast, and .5km rest/slow.
Afterwards, I had just enough time to shower, change, and join a Pilates class. Yay for cross-training!
In the evening, I called my parents. My mom knows that Lior and I love tehina (tehina > hummus (but both are good), I will fight you on this), so she sent me a recipe for tehina cookies. We had all of the ingredients at home, so I made them! They were ridiculously easy to make, and although the picture makes them look crispy, they turned out great! Though next go-around, I will probably shorten the baking time by 30-60 seconds, just to be safe…
Wednesday, September 30
There is more and more talk of Israel extending the lockdown–a decision that would surprise nobody. It does mean that Lior and I would need to cancel a trip we have planned for mid-late October, and the in-person trail race I registered for will either be postponed (again) or cancelled. I’m also supposed to run a virtual race (based in Israel) in two weeks, and I’m crossing my fingers that they will allow for packet pick-up, so I can at least have that experience.
I had physical therapy today–for the first time, Hila did not do a deep tissue massage on my knee. My knee has been pain-free for over a month! The real test will come as I increase my mileage, but between my daily exercises and weekly PT appointments, I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ve found a way to address my knee problems on a long-term basis. Anyway, I’m very glad I was wearing workout clothes during today’s appointment, because even with the air conditioning running, I was sweaty by the time I finished!
Toward the end of the workday, my company offered a presentation by a nutritionist. It wasn’t particularly surprising–sugar is in EVERYTHING, processed foods are bad for you, and vegetables are good for you. Also, Israelis are the top sugar consumers in the world, and #2 (men) and #3 (women) for Type-2 diabetes. (Lior says this doesn’t make sense, as Mexico has the highest diabetes rate, yet did not have the highest sugar consumption among OECD countries.) My main takeaway from the presentation is that I could be worse! For example, I don’t put sugar in my coffee, I don’t drink soda, my main beverage of choice is water, and I’ve never been a big juice drinker. In fact, the only sugary drink that I consume on a regular basis is tonic–but don’t worry, it’s always watered down with gin. 😉
After work, I went for a run, and tried another interval workout: 1.65km warm up 6 * (2min fast, 2min slow) 2.35km cool down
I ran 8km in total, and it felt WAY better than Sunday’s 8km run! The cool down was longer because I knew I was running 8km, and by the time I finished the 6th interval, I was tired and decided to be done running fast for the evening. My next goal is to be able to run intervals the entire time I’m running along the beach, and then periodically increase my intervals and speed. My 8km and 10km PR paces are both slightly faster than 5min/km, and my speed intervals are currently around 5:15-5:30min/km. This means I have a lot of work to do in order to get back into PR shape…which is fine, since there are no in-person races in sight!
Thursday, October 1
I took a morning zoom Pilates class before starting work for the day.
As expected, the trail race I was supposed to run later this month has been postponed–either until December or until October 2021. Womp womp.
After work, I went for an easy 5K run. It felt good, I didn’t worry about the pace, and I enjoyed it! Afterwards, I stopped by the grocery store to knock out my weekend shopping without having to deal with the pre-Shabbat rush. #smart #responsible #adulting
Friday, October 2
Lior brough home jachnun for lunch, and I completed some grocery shopping closer to our apartment (and with short lines!) in the neighborhood while he worked. I planned for today to be a rest day, because I’ve increased my running over the past week or so, and I don’t want to overdo it!
Saturday, October 3
Today was a lazy day–I woke up at noon and didn’t leave the apartment all day. This rest day was due to other bodily reasons (not wanting to have any urgent bathroom stops on the run). Anyway, since my race was cancelled, I don’t currently have much of a reason to increase my distance, so it’s not the end of the world.
Total Distance: 32KM, challenge 29/25 Complete, 1 yoga class, 2 pilates classes, 1 physical therapy appt
This week felt a bit more regimented in terms of running and cross training, and it was nice! During the week, having this kind of extra structure really helps distract me from the fact that we are in a seemingly endless lockdown as our country fails to successfully address COVID-19…
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