Juliana Moves

Hi! It’s been a minute. I finally started feeling better after two weeks of illness, and then I hit the ground running. At the same time, Patrick started feeling sick a solid 10 days after I would’ve initially infected him. Sleep was not pretty last week. Patrick was coughing up a storm and Alaska was having some troubles of her own.

Between my trying to get back into the swing of things and some super crappy sleep, I couldn’t be bothered to write a post. But I’m back! And I slept almost 10 hours last night. Hell yeah.

Here’s what I’ve been…

…Reading: I finished The Fury by Alex Michaelides. It was pretty good but not my favorite. I guessed what would happen! I think I’ve read too much Agatha Christie for whodunnits to really surprise me anymore.

I am still making my way through Soonish but I did start and finish Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser. It was very good! I didn’t fully understand the hype for the first half (it is a touch slow), but it really redeemed itself in the second half. The writing is amazing too.

Now I’m onto The Correspondent by Virginia Evans! I have a new stack of library books to get through. Between upcoming travel and pool days, I think I’ll manage it. 🙂

…Eating: CHERRIES CHERRIES CHERRIES! I’ve written about my love of cherries before, so this shouldn’t be surprising. I love cherries. They’re also $1.99/lb right now, so I am going to town on them.

It’s also finally tomato toast season! Ugh, another delicious summer snack. This is store bought sourdough with Duke’s Mayo and an heirloom tomato from the farmers market (+ cherries on the side, obvi). Put some salt and pepper on there and you have an amazing snack! In the photo above, I was having it as a pre-run breakfast.

…Looking Forward To: All sorts of summer activities! Sabrina and I are going to have a cycling adventure in Arkansas this weekend and I am stoked! You can read more about my gravel race further down, but I am having so much fun cycling this summer. I want to keep it up even as my running training ramps up again!

And on that note, after the 4th of July, I am kicking off ultramarathon training again! I am looking forward to some long runs in the mountains. I am currently on a waitlist for a 100 in October, but I’ve gotten good intel that I’m likely to get offered a spot. The plan is to train as if I’ll get off the waitlist. If I don’t, I’ll pivot to something else!

…Focused On: My gravel race! The Camp Michaux Gravel Grinder. I feel like I could’ve written an entire race report, but this will have to do. Yesterday, Derek and I drove up to Michaux State Forest in Pennsylvania for this race. Patrick was also supposed to come, but alas! Anyway, I was signed up for the short course. It was just shy of 24 miles, but had 2,700+ feet of elevation gain.

The roads were (mostly) much smoother than I expected, so I had a great time! There was one descent that was pretty rough and I fishtailed quite a bit. I fully expected to crash but I let Jesus take the wheel and somehow stayed upright. The rest of the descent alternated between me feeling like I was going to be thrown off my bike and feeling like I’d fly over the handlebars. I survived!

The course had two big climbs, but the second one was gnarly. I think it was 3+ miles long and had over 1,000 ft of gain. I used every mental tool in my toolbox to grind through it. I briefly considered stopping to take a break, but resisted the urge! The photographer was situated on both of these climbs, so I can’t wait to see how those turn out.. Lovely, I bet! LOL.

…Drinking: Protein smoothies! I am trying to get back on my protein smoothie grind. I want to ensure I keep recovering well from cycling, lifting, and running. I know protein is an important component of this!

…Listening To: The Atomic Habits audiobook. I wanted something different to listen to at the gym. Atomic Habits was available at my library, and I know people really enjoy it, so I figured I’d give it a try. I have to listen at 1.5x speed (classic) but I’m pleasantly surprised! Truthfully, I think I am pretty good at habit formation (because I’m slightly insane), but some of the lessons from the book are particularly intriguing. Especially the steps on how to break a “bad” habit. I’d recommend it!

…Trying: To not let summer sicknesses and crappy weather deter me from an amazing summer! Make no mistake, I’ve had an awesome time so far, but it’s easy to settle into the summer slump. When I need a good reminder of my summer intentions, I consult my summer mood board. Summer is too short to spend it inside! Drink some water and get out there – reminder to self!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a super fun 4th of July!

Love,

Juliana