Week 19: I hurt my back

I'm fine now, though.

I’m training to run the TCS NYC Marathon this year! This newsletter is a weekly recap of the highs and lows of training, and my best efforts to stay mentally and physically healthy through it. This is week 19/36. 

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This is my latest Antarathon drop to date. (If you spent the whole day waiting around for it… sorry?) I do have a very real, very training-related excuse.

Tuesday, I had a level-7.2 mental breakdown. I had gotten the okay from PT the evening before to start incorporating some run/walks into my week. I had done my silly little physical therapy exercises and warm ups. I was ready to do my silly little deadlifts at the gym. And then I immediately threw out my back.

Logically, I knew this was a very minor setback, and that I would be fine in a few days. (Spoiler alert: I am now, indeed, fine, and I did do those runs.) But the tweaked back, coupled with not enough sleep and an enraging morning of work, led to, naturally, a spiral about aging, strength, competence, and general insecurities about my body. Why am I getting hurt all the time? There’s no way this is the same late 20s as this, this, or this. 

I called my mom who reminded me that, first, I am being objectively ridiculous comparing myself and my lifestyle to that of Olympic athletes. Fair. And, second, that injuries do happen at that level. Constantly. Sometimes in ways that end careers. I’m very lucky to be able to move my body at my leisure and because it’s fun and I want to, and for no other reason beyond that. 

Then I consulted my group chat of friends from my old MMA gym who I consider fitness role models, and they reminded me that doing the workout is a small part of the picture and that hydration and sleep are equally important—pillars we all know but I’ve really been neglecting. 

This is a very long-winded way of saying I decided I’d rather sleep than stay up too late to write last night, and so that’s what I did.  

How I’ve Been Training:

• Sunday: Vinyasa yoga (gr8)

• Monday: Cycle class + PT (did a 1 mile run/walk!)

• Tuesday: Lower body day (I hurt my back)

• Wednesday: 2.3 miles run/walk (cool)

• Thursday: 1.7 miles run/walk (nice)

• Friday: 1.1 miles run/walk (luv 2 run)

• Saturday: Nothing

Miles run: 6 (!!) 

Got the ok to start adding back some run/walks, and the game-changing tip I got from PT was to focus on a cadence of 170 bpm or higher. This unfortunately meant listening to Blinding Lights by The Weeknd and Speed Drive by Charli XCX on loop. 

What I’ve Been Eating:

I made turkey burgers for lunch on seedy farmers market bread, a throw-everything-into-a-pot pasta (that resulted in me eating a whole can of beans and half a pound of mushrooms in one sitting), and a sweet potato breakfast hash.

aforementioned sweet potato breakfast hash

I ate literal bags—plural—of nacho cheese Doritos from my work kitchenette because they are my weakness. Milky-sweet horchata from 787 Coffee, pastries and cookies from Plowshares and Silver Moon, garlicky shrimp and patatas bravas from Pil Pil, ice cream from Van Leeuwen, and bruschetta pizza from Mama’s Too. Also: popcorn at Bad Boys: Ride or Die, and tacos from Street Taco after binge-watching season 3 of The Bear (if you’ve watched it already, please talk to me, I have thoughts).

My favorite meal of the week by far was my friend’s annual Pride dinner on Friday. He made smoked salmon toasts, chips and guac, ratatouille flatbread with hot honey, spinach salad, a braised lamb ragu, summer corn salad, margaritas with a judicious amount of tequila, and a berry cobbler with whipped cream—all his own recipes! I felt like I had to be rolled down the stairs after.  

What I’ve Been Reading:

Still working on wrapping up Quaterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood by Satya Doyle Byock! It’s been a slow reading week as things have picked up with work. I hit my 12-book goal for the first half of the year which was a fun little checkbox to tick at the end of the month.