Weekly Good Things 2024 - Week 15
28 miles in the woods, Good Things, and the Weekly Meal Plan.
Hello! Hello! Welcome to another weekly episode of Good Things where I give you a peek into my everyday life during the week, and roundup my good links, ideas, books, and more.
On Thursday afternoon, I unexpectedly found out that I was going to be running a 30 mile trail race in Blue Hills on Sunday.
The race was TARC Donāt Run Boston 50k/50M Ultra, and I had signed up at the last minute to the bottom of the waitlist, primarily to live vicariously through pre-race emails. The waitlist was several dozen deep, and the race was already filled past permit limits, so how I ended up running on Sunday was really quite a surprise to everyone.
To be clear, Iāve not run an Ultra before, and the longest distance Iāve done is a very slow marathon, but I do have a base of daily activity, and some recent all-day moving and standing activities (hello, a half marathon of walking in Disney!) and some recent ten milers under my belt.
I figured that at worst, Iād spend a few hours enjoying myself in the woods until I wasnāt enjoying myself anymore. Instead, I spent the entire day out there, got 28 miles under my belt (which technically was a DNF ādid not finishā, because a few bonus miles of getting lost had me off track for cutoffs ā but hey, Iāll take it!) After a few hours of pouring rain at the end of the day where I was *still* smiling, I managed to cut things short and roll in with a smile on my face well exceeding my own goals for the day!
A few wild things of note:
I didnāt listen to anything the entire day and was totally engrossed in the trails, nature, and saying hi to lots of dogs. It was a very nice āresetā for my brain.
The next day I was up and running ā minimal soreness. I did slightly overdo it cheering at the Boston marathon for a few hours ā but all in all, my body feels oddly good?!
I was expectingā¦ to get this out of my system, but it was so pleasant overall that Iāll do it again, and am thinking about what my next adventure like this will be.
I was also expecting to be miserable or hit some sort of āpain caveā at some point during the race, which also just didnāt happen? Had I been out there outside of a formal race with permit requirements, I probably would have just kept going!
š¢ Iām not fast, and spent arguably much of the race hiking (very) slowly. The trails were all through Blue Hills, including all of skyline which is pretty technically challenging and lots of steep rocks. (I have a mild fear of heights, which combined with a love of adventure, makes things entertaining!)
Ultra runners are really something else. I rolled up to kick off the race at 6am, and there was a guy there running a technically challenging trail raceā¦ in Crocs. (He was āonlyā doing the 50k, because he needed to get back to teach his 5pm yoga class.)
Hereās the two part map. I had it laminated and took it with me to navigate! There was a corresponding two pages of trail instructions, and I also used All-Trails to stay on course.
If thereās any lesson from all this, Iām thinking: what other ludicrous things are out there for you to experience?
š§ What would you try if you knew you could not fail?
This Week in Good Things
š” The Sun! Weāre experiencing some glorious spring weather! Loving the bright yellow forsythia in the neighborhood!
š Natural Phenomena and Collective Experience. While I experienced a small amount of FOMO not traveling for the eclipse, I did enjoy watching it at home. I also appreciated not getting stuck in hours of traffic driving home from up north!
š„³ 6 month old Michael āPoundcakeā starts solids! My favorite Texan baby has kicked off a new grand adventure ā solids! Weāre all having a blast watching him try new sensations like apple! avocado! bananas!
š¤ Working on things you arenāt good at! I overcame some fears and recorded a podcast episode with my friend Rebecca! I get anxiety about stumbling over my words in conversation (my brain speed is usually running at 70 Knots, which makes speaking coherently sometime challenging!)
More Good Things:
š Reading: feeling like a broken record here, but Iām still working my way through the 1200+ page book series The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson.
šŗ Watching: Usually I have baseball on in the background (although I love listening on the radio!) but this week Iāve been totally engrossed in my book!
š Dog Walks with Friends this week we played with Bayou, who lives around the corner, and Zeke. (Bertram also turned 9! Which is a great reason to celebrate!)
āļø Porch season has arrived! Starting mid-April, I try to spend a few hours a day outside on the porch! (Bertram is also a big fan.)
š Good Acquisitions: a tax refund? (Just thankful I got it all finished and done!) Iām holding back from getting myself a Ninja Creami because I *really donāt need one*. But boy is it tempting?
šø Flowers of the Week: Iām loving the spring blooms outside. This weekās flower share were gorgeous peony tulips! I ended up getting a second bouquet from my friend Somchay who generously shared hers before heading out for the weekend so they wouldnāt go to waste!!
š¤£ Memes and randomness of the week: the mayorās office sent out a message reminding people to protect themselves on the marathon course near city hall from some aggressive geese // OJ Simpson died āĀ as an elder millennial, this felt particularly notable // low meme week! (Iāve been trying to be practical and rest my swiping thumb!)
The Weekly Meal Plan:
Weāre already a few days into the week, and Iāve yet to meal plan or food shop. (I rely on my Sundayās for the bulk of my planning, and I blame the woods and adventure!) For the past few days Iāve been eating bits and bobs, so Iām looking forward to getting back to normal here.
Wednesday: Corn and burrata ravioli with chicken thighs and tomatoes
Thursday: Rice bowl with salmon, edamame, pickled ginger, seaweed, kewpie
Friday: Chicken drumellas and broccoli
Saturday: Takeout!
Lunches: Salmon with peppers and artichokes, lamb vindaloo, tadka dal and yogurt, tuna melts, egg salad
Snacks: Yogurt and berries, yogurt with lemon and nuts, soft boiled eggs, cottage cheese, cheese sticks. Turkey Chomps.
Treat options: I definitely need to re-up here! Assorted treats in the freezer, some Girl Scout Cookies. (Iām hoping to bake a honey cake!)
š„ Good Eats from this past week: Pesto pasta from Eataly. Rice bowl with salmon and edamame. Kebab rice bowl with yogurt and tomatoes. Broccoli with Bulgogi. Oreos at the 20 mile aid drop during the race.
What are you eating this week?
This is 9:
Previous Years:
Something I really enjoy doing is flipping back in my journal or my blog to the week of the year over the past several years. When I write it out in a list like this, it feels like a nice accomplishment!
2019: Good Things Week 15
2014: The week in food
2013: Homemade Cashew Butter, A stack of cookbooks, Romesco Sauce, Lamb Mechoui and Moroccan Carrots (my award winning dish!)
2012: Tea Project
2011: Supernatural Everyday
2009: Strawberry Crumble, Spring Dinner, Summer Stuffed Peppers, Mandarin Thyme Cocktail
Thatās all for now! Hope you have a great week!
xo, Sam
ridiculously impressed with your ultra run through blue hills.
we were already in Vermont, and so how could we not drive a quick two hours through the back roads to get further north into the path of totality. awesome and worth it. i had no idea eclipse chasing was such a thing and was not at all prepared for the traffic home.