Something I’ve noticed in a lot of personality-driven newsletters I subscribe to is that the author often sprinkles something in at the beginning about how their “life is so crazy right now,” and then hides the details of why their life is so crazy behind a paywall. It’s annoying, and lazy marketing if you ask me! Do I really want to fork over the cost of a cup of coffee to find out why a non-celebrity’s life is so crazy? Not really. Sometimes I do though and I hate myself for it. I once paid $5 to learn that a person I’ve never met bought a house. Cool.
I bring this up because my first thought when drafting this newsletter, which is meant to be a recap of the previous month, was that FEBRUARY WAS SO CRAZY!! (Paywall.) But no, my life is not chaotic. Pretty much all I did in February was work, take care of my child, run, and see friends and family. It felt like a lot in the moment, and I did take the baby on a cross-country flight. She’s a good baby who can occupy herself with an empty bag of wipes and the mallet of an xylophone for a shockingly long time, so it was fine. I live a blessed life that’s full but not crazy.
February was my highest mileage month since August 2022. I’m in the early weeks of marathon training, so my runs are getting longer and more demanding. The one thing that does feel very chaotic is how to fit my runs into my schedule. There are a lot of admirable parents out there who run at 5 am before their kids wake up. I did that on my first day back to work because I needed the emotional boost of exercise that day but it just didn’t feel like a habit I could rally around daily.
Instead of running at the crack of dawn, I have a schedule that I aspire to follow. Aspire being the key word here because I’ve never actually pulled off a full week of following it. My vision is that I run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the time between the baby going to daycare and my work day starting. It’s tight but doable! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I go to the office so I either don’t run or I run at the crack of dawn. On Saturdays, I run with the baby in the jogging stroller. On Sundays, I do a long run while she’s taking her morning nap.
The run I’m most consistent about is the Sunday Long Run (SLR), the timing of which tends to line up perfectly with the baby taking an epically long nap after her morning swim class. The M/W/F runs are all over the place, and on days that I’m able to squeeze them in during that precious hour before signing on to work, I usually forgo my post-run shower and spend the day stewing in my stink. It’s gross but manageable in the winter. (Will have to rethink this approach when it gets hotter.) The run that has never actually happened is the Saturday jogging stroller one because the baby hates that thing. One day we’ll figure that out.
As a result, Saturdays are my wildcard run day. I kind of hate to leave the baby on the weekends when she’s not sleeping, which is why the baby napping/mom running combo is *chef’s kiss.* Instead of not doing my run or forcing her into the jogging stroller, I’ll leave her with my husband, my mom, or one of my sisters. I try to think of this time as an opportunity for her to bond with other people who love her. Mom running is making her life fuller! What a win. And no one likes a baby hog, ya know?
I hope I didn’t bore you with the minutiae of my running schedule, but I think a lot of you reading this are also figuring out how to prioritize running with the rest of your life. It’s hard! My advice is to have a schedule that grounds you but to be flexible with it (but not TOO flexible that you put everything else first), and to remember that you’ll always feel better after exercising.
Baked Good of the Month
I haven’t eaten any new and exciting baked goods in the last month, but I have become partial to Trader Joe’s frosted toaster pastries. They have a thicker crust than regular Pop-Tarts, and they actually get stale if you only eat one and leave the other in the open package, which I think is a good sign. It’s convenient but freaky that regular Pop-Tarts can sit out for weeks and not taste any different. Outside Magazine recently published a relatively in-depth article on Pop-Tarts as pre-run fuel; read it here.
Running Shoe of the Month
One of the running shoes in my rotation is the Saucony Endorphin Speed, a cushioned shoe designed for speed and tempo work. The key difference between the Endorphin Speed and a race day shoe like the Endorphin Pro or the Nike Vaporflys is that these are made with nylon plates, not carbon. Carbon fiber plates are the defining feature of super shoes—not only do they makes shoes extra bouncy, they also make them expensive and delicate. Which is why I like to do speed work in a more durable but still light & bouncy shoe, like the Endorphin Speed. Runner’s World sums up the difference between carbon and nylon plates better than I can below (full article here):
If you’re looking for an easier way to try plate inserts while committing to something less costly, it’s worth taking a look at nylon plates instead. While they are heavier and not quite as responsive, they can help you warm up to the feeling of having that support under your feet.
Nylon-plated running shoes also tend to be more durable overall (though the plates themselves might not be), and they feel more versatile and less aggressive than their race-oriented counterparts.
Run of the Month
I went on a few lovely flat runs while in Los Angeles last month, including a 12-mile one along the beach in Santa Monica. Nothing fancy, just some nice 60 degree temps and partly cloudy skies.
See you next month,
Elaheh
I made a banana yogurt loaf twice this month. And also Hawaiian Roll French toast, which isn't baked per se, but the main ingredient was baked at one point.
Great read as always, Elaheh! We need to have a talk about your baked goods, though.