Do you ever have those nights when you can’t mentally formulate a coherent paragraph, let alone a full blog post? That’s me tonight.

Let’s be real. That’s me 90% of the time that I try to blog. But at least tonight is Thursday, which means I can link up to Amanda and pretend my disjointed thoughts are intentional.

Random thing 1: A couple of weeks ago, when I went grocery shopping, I bought some pumpkin. Because I like to eat pumpkin in all the things. The cashier looked at the several cans of pumpkin on the belt and said, “Wow, that’s a lot  of pumpkin. Getting ready for the holidays?” I just said yes because I was embarrassed to admit that it was just my pumpkin for the week.

I stole this picture from here because I didn’t actually photograph my pumpkin. Also, it was not this much.

Random thing 2: Actually, this is related to the first thing. Why do cashiers feel the need to comment on my groceries? It’s worst when I go to Sprouts. Since I live in the boonies, I have to make occasional trips to the nearest Sprouts (an hour away) to stock up on things I can’t buy here. Every time, the cashier exclaims, “That’s a lot of bread/Larabars/coconut milk/whatever!” And then I have to explain that I live here, and have to buy it when I can, blah blah. This should not bother me, I know. But seriously, why do you care what I’m buying? Just ring it up.

Random thing 3: I think I’m addicted to Ed Sheeran. I cannot stop listening to him. I bought his newest album and loved it so much I had to buy the older one, too. And now I just have them constantly on repeat.

He even has a song for this post.

Random thing 4: I got a massage today. It’s only the second one I’ve ever had. It will not be the last. Holy cow, my legs feel amazing. Jordan had to pretty much force me to go, because I always thought massages were weird. So… I owe him.

Random thing 5: My students have discovered I have Twitter and Instagram. So… there’s that.

And this is my brain on Thursday.

Does it bother you when cashiers comment on your purchases?

What music are you loving right now?

I usually post training (or non-training, as is the case now) recaps on Sundays, but this Sunday, I had too much to do. By the time I got everything done, my options were blog or bed. I chose sleep and I do not regret it. Adding to   my lack of bloggng motivation was that I took a grand total of one picture all week. File that under “Things That Aren’t Surprising.”

Anyway, here’s how’ last week’s workouts went:

Monday:

Easy 4-mile run and 35 minutes of strength training

Tuesday: 

7 easy miles. It was beautiful and fallish and I didn’t bring my phone, so just imagine it. Afterward, I met up with old blue-tighted friend and the gang from 8-minute abs.

Wednesday: 

I met up with my friend Jaylin for five easy miles. She’s the one who got me into this whole distance running thing. We trained for and ran our first half together, and then she had kids and stuff so she hasn’t run one since. Her second half is coming up on Sunday– Rock ‘n Roll Denver. Makes me wish I was running it again this year, especially since Amy and Brooke both are, too.

Thursday: 

I thought I was running both weekend days, so I just lifted and did a quick  spin bike workout. Every time I bike, I think I should do it more because it kicks my butt.. And then I don’t do it more, and it kicks my butt again the next time. I am a slow learner.

Friday:

5 easy miles. and some abs. I took the week’s only picture on this run, because I thought the “rainbow” in this crop sprinkler’s arc was pretty.

Saturday:

My school’s home cross country meet was today, and they host a citizen’s 5k first. I ran the race, clocking 20:00 even. That’s exactly what I expected, since I hadn’t done speedwork since the marathon, and marathon speedwork and 5k speedwork are quite different. But hey, I won.

I spent a substantial chunk of the rest of the day at the race. Our education association does a water booth for the meet, so I filled lots and lots of cups. I didn’t get puked on, so that was the second win of the day.

Side note: When my school’s star runner finished, I asked him how he did (I was cup-filling and missed his finish). He said, “We were just running easy since regionals is next week. I ran a 17-something.”
(image source) Oh. How slow of you.

Sunday: 

I told Jaylin that I’d meet her at 6 for a hilly long run, but I’m a crappy friend, so I bailed. I’d been fighting a cold, and I felt like extra sleep would do me more good than 11 early miles in the cold and possible rain — especially since I’m not technically training right now. It was a good choice; I woke up feeling much better. Sunday was a rest day, per usual.

Totals: 29.1 miles, a little over an hour of strength

And there you have it. I’m still debating what to do with myself next, but I’m leaning hard toward Racing Underground’s winter series. It might be fun to actually train for a 5k (the first race) and see if I can find some fast-twitch fibers in my marathoning legs. And prepping for the next two races, the 10k and half, would help me build a solid base for marathon training…once I pick a spring marathon.

I can’t come up with a good way to end this post, and I’m tired. So I’m going to take a cue from some of my freshmen and just stop writing instead of writing a conclusion.

Have you ever bailed on a friend you were supposed to run with? Did you feel like a jerk? I did. But a well-rested and healthy jerk.

I always feel a little weird posting workout recaps when I’m not training for anything… Does anyone care what I do when my workouts don’t have a race-related purpose? <– That’s a legitimate question, not rhetorical.

Well, since I don’t have any answers yet, I’ll go ahead and recap this week for you… in case you do care.

Monday: Leg workout at the gym, then 3.8 miles on the treadmill, since we were under tornado watches and stuff. I planned to go 4 miles, but the stinkiest human I’ve ever smelled got on the treadmill next to me, and I honestly could not stand to be on there for .2 more miles. Seriously. Bad. 

Tuesday: Easy 4-mile run and upper-body workout

Wednesday: 7 miles easy

Thursday: Leg workout and 4 easy miles.

Friday: I decided to bail on my upper-body workout (more on that in a minute) and just go for a run. I did stop at the gym as I passed, though, because I left my sunglasses there on Thursday. And they were gone. I am not happy. They’re my favorite, and they were a gift, so they’re way nicer than anything I’d ever buy for myself. I know it’s my fault for forgetting them, but seriously, people, don’t take stuff that is not yours.

So I left the gym, and I was mad, and I was not paying attention to my feet, apparently, because I ran .2 miles and fell on my face. Literally — I was afraid I’d have a black eye. Luckily, my face is a little tender but not bruised. My knee is not so lucky.
I’m bad at running.

Anyway, I got up and ran another 3ish miles for a total of 4, so obviously I was not actually hurt.

Saturday: 10.1 miles. I love fall running.
I may or may not have tried every Instagram filter on this picture until I found one that demphasized the still-red mark on my cheek from my little run-in with the sidewalk.

Sunday: Rest

Totals: 31.9 miles running, 1.5 hours strength

I learned three things this week (besides the obvious “‘pay attention to where your feet are”):

One, this weight-lifting plan is not going to work for me. I’m just not a four- to five-days-a-week, leg day/back day/chest day type of girl. I’m more of a two- to three-days-a-week, lift-everything-and-do-it-quick-so-I-can-go-run-again type of girl. So while it may be a great idea to lift more and focus more on getting strong, I just don’t like it, and I’m probably not going to stick with something I dislike… especially when the gorgeousness that is a Colorado October is just begging me to go running. So I ordered this book:

(because I didn’t win it in Christy’s giveaway). It should give me some new workouts that are designed for people more like me than like Bodybuidling.com’s typical audience.

Realization #2 is that I need to clean my diet back up. I haven’t been eating terribly the past several weeks, but there have been zucchini and pumpkin breads in the teachers’ lounge,  pieces of candy from J’s classroom stash when I’m waiting for him to be ready to go home, a big spoonful or three of peanut butter while I’m cooking dinner, a bowl of cereal after dinner (even though I’m not still hungry), and, especially, stress eating the past few weeks…. all those things are starting to add up in the form of tighter pants, pimples, and a general “blah” feeling. I don’t need to do anything drastic, but I do need to rein it in and clean it up again.

The third thing I learned/realized: I need a goal for the winter. Since my marathon was so early, I need something to motivate me over the next few months, until I choose and start training for a big spring race. I’m considering Racing Underground’s winter series. I did the Yeti Chase a few years ago, and I enjoyed it (Okay, I really liked the homemade banana bread at the finish…). And while the bulk of my marathon winnings should go toward a new washer and dryer, it wouldn’t hurt to spend a little on race registration, right?

I’m not sold on that series, though. There’s also the Winter Distance Series. Or I could just pick one race at a time and not have to commit to a series. I can’t decide. Help me, readers…

What should my short-term goal be??

And to return to my earlier question… do you care about reading my weekly workout recaps when they workouts are unfocused?

Remember that time I wrote a race recap and then disappeared for two weeks without even responding to the comments on said recap? Yeah, sorry about that. (FYI: They’ve all been responded to now). The last couple of weeks have been busy with a capital B. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Work: Last week was Homecoming week, and it was c-r-a-z-y.  I took over as student council adviser this year, which means that I was in charge of all the Homecoming activities… which meant that I was at school from 7 a.m. until about 9 p.m. every night last week. I am an old lady, and that wore me out.

These are two of my students (I can use this picture on the interwebs because you can’t tell who they are). Those are full-body spandex suits. Yep. Homecoming week.

This week, I’m desperately trying to catch up on all the grading and planning that got pushed aside last week. I have a nice little Saturday planned: run, coffee, grade, grade, grade. I’m hoping that by Monday, I’ll be all caught up and things will be a little more normal.

Running: The week after the marathon, I took five days  off, just walking with one day of elliptical. I tried to run the Thursday after the race (which was on a Sunday), and after one block, I felt like I was back at mile 24. So I took another couple of days off. Last week, my goal was just to fit in something, so I ran a little and lifted a little and was happy with that. 

A hint of fall colors on Saturday’s run

I decided that, since I don’t have any races coming up, I should probably focus on strength training. I started a 12-week program from bodybuilding.com. It’s four days of lifting (two upper, two lower), so I’ve been running to the gym, lifting, and running home (total of 3-4 miles) on those days. I don’t love lifting, and I’m already missing the longer runs, so I might have to find a new system… especially since this is my favorite time of year to run. 

Life: What’s that? Just kidding. One of my best friends, who moved to California after college, was in Colorado for work last week. We got the old gang back together for dinner last Sunday (and were too busy talking to take a picture), and it was SO NICE.

In other news, Jordan’s birthday was this past Sunday. To celebrate, I made him chaperon a Homecoming dance on Saturday night. I’m such a nice wife. His parents took us out for dinner on Sunday, and they bought him an ice cream cake, so at least someone is nice to him.

Blogging: Great news: I finally got accepted as a FitFluential ambassador! I’m pretty stoked about it. I know Brooke did, too. Exciting stuff! Now, to actually blog/tweet/Insta regularly so they still want me….

And that’s my lately in a nutshell. Here’s hoping I’ll be around the online world more now!

What have I missed in your lives, friends? Any news/races/posts I can’t miss? I’m going to have to click a lot of “mark as read’ buttons in Feedly or I’ll never catch up, so let me know if there are any must-reads!