Workout Recap, Meal Plan, and the Beginning of Social Distancing

Hi everyone!

Well, in some ways it feels like a thousand years has gone by since my last post!  Since then, both the school I work at and the older girls' and M's school have shut down for the next two weeks, and nearly every concert/show/activity we had planned within that time period has also been cancelled, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

(this includes my Bach St. Matthew performance, sadly...)

It's a little surreal, and it has taken almost more work in these past few days to communicate with everyone regarding alllll these cancellations, and prepare for remote learning, than it would have been to just go on with our plans.  I have a few more days of planning ahead of me in order to keep momentum moving with my students over the shutdown, in addition to communicating with my fellow music faculty/staff at work, but after that, hopefully we will settle into a kind of new normal for these next two weeks.

I hope to keep updating here regarding our activities during this time of social distancing.  It feels like I will have a lot of time on my hands, but we have already made a huge list of things to fill the time.  As usual with any kind of break from school, I'm sure the time will fill in!

Here are some of the first few things we have done this weekend:

Family bike ride!

C has been wary about trying two wheels for a long time, but yesterday it finally just clicked for her.  She found her confidence and took off!  I'm so happy for her because she'll be much better able to keep up with the big girls without the training wheels.

We also made a banana cream pie since it was pi day (3.14).  It was the first time I've ever made one, and it turned out pretty good, I think!  I used my Culinary Arts Encyclopedic Cookbook which never fails me in the pie department.

Yumsters.  :)

I braved the grocery store on Friday because I wanted to get there before the weekend, knowing that everyone was jumping on the food hoarding bandwagon (luckily I already got my hoarding out of my system last weekend).  I have many thoughts about this whole coronavirus pandemic that I could elaborate on here, but for now I'll just briefly share a few grocery store thoughts.

1) It was sad to me that all of the things that I typically buy for my family were still available in large numbers-- things like whole grain breads and bagels, canned and dry legumes, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, and all-natural nut butters without added sugar or hydrogenated oils.  Of course all of our specialty allergy-friendly foods were well-stocked, but that makes sense.  I'm sorry to get on my high horse about nutrition, but maybe our collective American immune system would be stronger if we were eating more whole grains and fruits and veggies, and less white bread, processed packaged junk, and large amounts of meat.

Those breads towards the edge of the photo are the whole grain ones... allllll the white bread was gone.

Plenty of fresh fruits and veggies to be had!

Teddie's All Natural Peanut Butter FTW!!!

Also, all the organic fruit preserves we buy were well stocked but the shelf with all the high-fructose corn syrup jellies was totally empty.  :(

The meat supply was wiped out!

It also still breaks my heart that the most inexpensive options also tend to be the most unhealthy.  The relationship of income and dietary habits has been on my mind since reading Michael Pollan's book, and it was never more evident to me than at this time of crisis.  Healthy food for all would be something I would advocate, if I ever ran for president.

2) It broke my heart the most to see the crowds of elderly people, the most at risk for this virus, wandering around the store wearing their rubber gloves and fretting that their favorite kind of bread was gone.  Social distancing doesn't do much good if high-risk people are flocking to the grocery store in crowds, touching surfaces that have been touched by thousands of people.  I'm not sure what could be done to avoid this, but... well, if you have elderly neighbors or family nearby, make sure you're offering to grocery shop for them.  I'm hoping to do better about that myself.

Okay, on to the workout recap and meal plan!

Workout recap:

Friday, 3/6: 5 miles outside, 9'51" pace... I had to take L to an early morning orthodontist appointment, so I was out the door for this run by 5 AM!  Total darkness, but it was fun to get it done.

Saturday, 3/7: rest day

Sunday, 3/8: 4.83 miles outside, 9'46" pace

Monday, 3/9: 6.33 miles outside, 9'38" pace... remember back when I had a goal to run a 10K in under an hour?  Well I did it!  This day was a 10K completed in about 59:30 ish!!!  Not an officially recorded time, but still!  An exciting goal accomplished!

Tuesday, 3/10: this Fitness Blender workout, another awesome combo of upper body strength training and cardio, a little heavier on the strength training side which was perfect for me after the longer run the day before.

Wednesday, 3/11: 5.01 mile run outside, 9'55" pace... noticing a pattern that I'm always worn out and slow on my Wednesday runs... Tuesday is a long work day for me.

Thursday, 3/12: this Fitness Blender workout... HUGE burn in my core, with a lot of different exercises I had never done before.  Nice change of pace.  Good one!

Last but not least, our meal plan for this week!

Suppers:

Saturday: Soup Night... spicy peanut soup and broccoli soup

Sunday: mac and cheese, salad

Monday: subs, strawberries, chips

Tuesday: corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and Irish Soda Bread for St. Patty's Day!

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: veggie stir fry with peanut sauce

Friday: leftovers or order out

Lunches:

bagels

sub leftovers

dinner leftovers

shakes and smoothies

kale salads

Breakfasts:

oatmeal

cereal

eggs

homemade waffles or pancakes

Snacks:

hippeas

snap peas

made good bars

oyster crackers and cheese

tortilla chips and salsa

fresh fruit: oranges, apples, grapes, grapefruit, watermelon

fresh veg: carrots, cukes, sweet peppers

banana bars

yogurt quick bread

peach and pear cups

applesauce

I'll check in again soon.  I'm hoping and praying that you are all safe and healthy and peaceful in these uncertain times!