It was been a pretty eventful 10 days, starting with waking up in Minnesota to a 10-below wind chill the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We had gone up for her brother's birthday and I'd seen in the forecast that it would be a brisk 9 ABOVE on Sunday morning, so had planned to long run in long johns. But 10 below ... even I have my limits.
On Tuesday we got a text from the grandkids en route from Chicago: Is Thanksgiving going to be TOTALLY vegan? Well, I'm not going to rain on anyone's Macy's parade, so I went to Whole Foods and got a 12-pounder. Brine, rinse, roast, baste once, carve, make gravy ... honestly, it's the second easiest Thanksgiving item to make (the first is uncanning the jellied cranberries into the serving dish). They said it was delicious.
On Thanksgiving Day I paced my wife to her first-ever 5K finish, with three grandchildren also running. Considering she had a mitral valve replacement in August 2017 it's a real achievement for her. After decades of walking most every day, she's getting a real kick out of jogging, but she has no interest in adopting my nutty lifestyle, which now includes two hours a week in the unheated garage doing elliptical. (I think half the reason I love this elliptical is that we found it on the street ... but it is pretty great to walk out of the house and 60 seconds later be working out to a podcast or Youtube.)
Dave and Allen - I think my break will be somewhere between 1 and 15 days, but I will take one after this current cycle which ends in late January. Unless, that is, I decide to compete in the Butterworth Indoor Relays in Wichita ...
MG, I don't see the harm in sugar or even oil in very modest quantities. If you're planning to eat plant-based for a long long time, then enjoy it. You're saying no to dairy and meat, say yes to sugar and oil. I will say I've cut out stir fries, mostly because the bride has gotten tired of them, and I've reduced the oil in my breads and when making popcorn. But these are tweaks. We're making a permanent shift and aren't looking for weight reduction, though I'll admit I'd really like to get her LDL under 100 and that's why I'm reducing oil where I think it won't reduce flavor.
I'm base training for a 10K in late January. I'll run an underground 5K in a couple of weeks. After that there's a 9K in Newton, Kansas, I might run in lieu of a hard workout.
Su 11/18 - Long Run in MN (after the mercury reached 20) - 7 miles easy then 1.5 miles tempo
Mo 11/19 - 30 minutes elliptical
Tu 11/20 - 3.75 miles easy then 2.25 miles tempo + 15' elliptical
We 11/21 - 6 miles easy + 45' elliptical
Th 11/22 - 5K + 45' easy run
Fr 11/23 - Fartleks 7 x 1 minute hard + 2 minutes easy; also 30' elliptical + circuits
Sa 11/24 - 8 miles easy + 20' elliptical
Su 11/25 - Long Run (before the blizzard) - 6.5 miles easy then 2 miles tempo
5:45 of running but 9:10 total training for the week, 10% at medium/high intensity.