Juliana Moves

Happy May! It’s the best month of the year for multiple reasons. The weather is almost always great, this was when we used to get out of school, and… it’s my birthday month! Very important month, in my opinion. 

Since Falling Water, I have been enjoying some recovery time. I knew I wouldn’t have evenings full of running or training, so I made quite a few plans that kept me (and Patrick) very busy last week! It was all good stuff. I had a wonderful time. We went to a Washington Spirit game this week and did trail work this weekend!

As my energy has come back, I’ve been productive around the house and still finding time to chill and lounge around. With all this time on my hands, here’s what I’ve been…

…Reading: I just finished A City on Mars and am kind of sad it’s over! What a fun and fascinating read. Since my last “this week” update, I also read Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (4 stars) for book club and The Martian by Andy Weir (4 stars).

I’ve been slowly working my way through Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli and Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy. That one is… weird. It’s well written and interesting but also gross. I have a big stack of books from the library to get through, so I need to hustle!

…Eating: Fruits and vegetables! In the lead up to my race, I tried to reduce my fiber consumption because I’d been having tummy troubles when I ran. I was really looking forward to some fresh produce post-race! We’ve had salad, sandwiches, pasta, and tofu “poke” bowls. Yum. It’s also iced coffee season. Hallelujah!

…Wearing: Tinted sunscreen. Or, more specifically, Supergoop Glowscreen. After an ultramarathon, your body is sort of in shock and, for me, that means I get really unfortunate, pre-teen-like acne. I’ve been battling acne on my chin for an entire week! Right when one goes away, another zit pops up. Ugh. It’s driving me nuts! I’m not a big make up person, but I knew I wanted to cover it up at least a little. Enter: tinted sunscreen. It does make me very glowy, almost to the point of looking a little sweaty but I don’t care! Worth it!

…Listening to: The new Noah Kahan album. It’s so beautiful. My favs, apart from The Great Divide and Porch Light, are End of August (my true favorite, I think), Haircut, Dan, and Doors.I can’t wait to go to his concert in August! We just bought our flights today.

…Trying: To sleep as much as humanly possible. Yeah yeah, it’s good for recovery, but it also feels nice to catch up on sleep after a busy few weeks! I’ve been reading for a while before falling asleep. It’s been very peaceful. Patrick is also sleeping like a champ, which is a nice change of pace for him! 

…Thinking About: Training this summer. I had a great call with my coach on Friday, and it has made me all the more excited for what’s to come! Of course, I am taking 10 days off and I won’t be jumping back into ultra training right away. It’ll feel good to take some time doing lower mileage and more cross-training (hi, cycling!). After my last two MMT attempts, I felt okay mentally and then had what I called delayed onset burnout about a month. This year feels different! I don’t feel as antsy to get to running again, which is probably healthy, but I feel excited to be strategic in my training to come. Woohoo!

…Excited For: Summer antics! I can’t recall if I’ve written about this, but I printed out monthly calendars for April through September, specifically to populate them with all of our fun spring and summer plans and travel. It allows us to see what fun lies ahead and where we have opportunities for travel and other plans! My birthday weekend might be wide open for now… Beach trip? Camping? The opportunities are endless!

I hope you are all having a fantastic Monday so far. May your week be joyful and productive!

Love,

JN