The week that was:

• Cooking — I made blueberry swirl blondies — a recipe from the new Snacking Bakes cookbook; cauliflower potato bean soup; chicken breasts with miso-garlic sauce (which were supposed to cook at 500 degrees and as such set off the fire alarm); taco pasta; "superhero" muffins; tomato and white bean soup with lots of garlic, with grilled cheese sandwiches; and molasses cookie bars with coffee glaze — also from Snacking Bakes. Also a fair amount of prep-work for the upcoming holiday.
• Dining Out — I got a Krispy Kreme donut after Friday's running class — it was disappointing. I scored a "surprise bag" from Bible & Sip via Too Good to Go — my first time suing the app that lets restaurants sell food they'd otherwise throw away. For $5 I got about $20 worth of cream puffs. No complaints. We ate at Los Tacos No. 1 on Friday, with a stop at Oasis for dessert. Kin got bagels from Absolute Bagels on Saturday morning. On Sunday, we ate at Shukette, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Chelsea. It was delicious. I picked up a loaf of sourdough at Breads Bakery which will become stuffing on Thursday.
• Reading — I finished Hanson’s Marathon Method; I started Candy: A Century of Panic and Pleasure; Kin and I finished Matthew Desmond’s Poverty, By America; we started Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry. Damn, it is breaking my heart. So eerie listening to him narrate his memoir. Also some good insights into, perhaps, how addiction gripped Isaiah
• (Podcast) Listening — Hidden Brain, Barbell Medicine, Burnt Toast, Set the Pace
• Exploring the City — We went to the "Furry Friday" at the AKC Museum. Poppy had her photo professionally taken. On Sunday, we went record shopping in the West Village. Kin is very good at getting vinyl jazz.
• Biking — I biked 11 miles — my farthest yet — on Monday. I'm adding 10 minutes per week to long rides — "progressive overload."" I also rode to and from the gym on Tuesday and Thursday.
• Yoga — I did 30 minutes of yoga on Monday. I typically do 45 minutes, but as I'm biking more, I don't have time for a long session. I'm also trying to do at least 10 minutes of yoga/stretching daily, particularly after I run. I've noticed a steep decline in my mobility — I think it's partly due to all the running, but partly due to simply doing less yoga.
• Lifting — This feels better lately. I've added more top sets for my squats and deadlifts, and I've swapped out overhead press (hate it) for doing bench press twice a week. I got the "yips" on deadlifts and on bench, which is a topic I need to write about for Second Breakfast, I reckon
• Swimming — Ha, there's rarely anything to report here. I'm no better, no worse than before — probably because my training is utterly unchanged
• Running — I started group training with NYRR, and much to my shock I was put in "group 1" — the fast group. Wednesdays are "turnover" day, focusing on short but fast intervals — we did 8 x 400m, and it utterly destroyed me. Fridays are "tempo" day, so longer distances at a slightly faster pace than we'd run our easy runs. We did 4 x 8 minutes @RPE 6.5 with 30 second pick-ups at 7.5 RPE. I am definitely the slowest in group 11. Running spadework twice in one week was tough tough tough. On Saturday, I did 5 miles and on Sunday I did 10 — Central Park again, where the hills are getting easier. I have my last race of the year coming up in a few weeks, so I want to make sure I'm in good enough shape for it (it's a 15K) and that I can tackle the hills better. (Thankfully the race course does not include the Harlem Hills. Even so, Central Park is nowhere near flat.) I would say I ran too fast on Sunday as there was a 4 mile race going on alongside me — and in places I found myself unconsciously matching the racers’ pace next to me.
• Racing — I had my first "DNS," as I didn't show up to Saturday's 10K. The race was on Governor's Island and I'd have had to have left the house shortly after 6am to have arrived in time to catch the 7am ferry, then wait for a couple of hours before the race started. Yeah, no thanks. Not even the promise of donuts at the finish line could get me there, particularly after starting the running classes.
• Second Breakfast — I published a recipe, an essay, and a weekly news roundup. I also prepped the pieces that'll go up this week, including a survey for readers on how things are going, six months in. I'm toying with the idea of cutting back the amount of content I'm putting out. I don't think everyone can possibly read everything. But I feel so obligated to work, particularly for those who are kind enough to actually pay me to do so.