I believe in the Law of Exercise – if you do it often enough and try hard enough, it will get better/easier/you will improve at it. (This law keeps me going through multiple loooooong and arduous comebacks.) More (/smart) training leads to improvement. Times get faster and runs get easier and your PRs get faster, etc. etc.
I did another long run on Saturday. Bad news: the 14 miles FELT like 14 miles (despite the perfect weather it was a bit of a slog); Good news: I did not feel verge-of-death-tired all day afterwards…so I’ll count it as a net win and move on. The Law of Exercise applies to things other than running too! Specifically this weekend: rock climbing. I’m getting better at it!
You may remember that I started climbing again in October. I don’t go often enough – just once every week or two – so my progress has been relatively slow. But last week I did two days: Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon. And I’m happy to report that I am improving! The nice thing about climbing is that improvement is so obvious – either you make it to the top or you don’t. Climbing routes I couldn’t do a month ago are easy for me now, and I can consistently climb 5.9s! (This is not a climbing blog, so I won’t get into too much detail, but basically there’s a grading system rating each route, 5.0-5.14.) Climbing is a nice change of pace from running. It’s mentally and physically challenging, and works your whole body: arms, core, back, and legs.
Besides running and climbing, I did a few other things this weekend (I may be a mildly obsessive exerciser, but I try to keep some semblance of a social life going too!). Friday night was a going-away party for my friend and Swahili teacher and her husband at Stoney's (best wings I've ever had). Like all international-focused DC couples, the time has come for them to go abroad. Her husband is moving to Nigeria in 2 weeks, and she will follow in May! I want to go visit…Saturday afternoon 6x6 came over for some much-needed baking time. We made two things, both of which I thought were major baking fails, but actually turned out ok. Check back tomorrow for some St. Patrick’s Day green food, and probably next week for the most unreal bars I’ve ever encountered in my entire life (good thing they were a gift…otherwise I’d be 10 lbs heavier by now…).
Saturday night I met up with a friend for Ethiopian at Meskerem in Adam’s Morgan. We ordered:
It was delicious! The Misir Azifa is surprisingly cold and tangy and probably my favorite. (Ha, previous blogs tell me that I've ordered it before!) If you haven’t had Ethiopian food, I strongly suggest you do so ASAP!
Sunday was dominated by refugees (preposition practice time!), the aforementioned rock climbing, and dessert delivery.
And now it’s Monday…can I have another day of weekend please?
