Hi friends,

I’m writing to you from a new decade of my life! It was my birthday this week, and I am feeling grateful for this time to reflect on where I’ve coming from and where I’m going.

Our 6yo and 4yo were intent on making it my best birthday ever. They colored me pictures and tried to help me plan my own party—I was asked many times, “So Mom, do you want a unicorn theme or a mermaid theme?” Luckily I wiggled my way out of hosting and instead convinced them that going out to eat could be really fun. :)

On the running front, I don’t have any big news: Clayton’s still training hard. His workouts are big. He comes home tired. I feed him a lot of food.

We’re really tapping into Coach Eyestone’s phrase that “consistent competence brings eventual excellence.”

Right now we’re trying to stay consistent, even when it feels monotonous. And I’m grateful for the grace inherent in the word “competence.” We aren’t trying to over-achieve in any one area—just trying to do it well enough so that we still have the ability to do it again and again and again.

We had a snowy Tuesday this week, so Clayton “ran” part of the Boston course on his Wahoo treadmill. It was cool to see the elevation changes across the Newton hills.

We’ve got a good week of eats lined up! A few favorites and a few new things to try.

Take care,

Ashley

p.s. Episode 4 of the Boston Marathon Build docuseries will drop tomorrow on YouTube. Stay tuned!

Breakfast

Clayton runs twice a day, and his morning run is usually 10-12 miles. So breakfast is a big event! We aim for protein and lots of carbs, particularly carbs now that his training is intense. In addition to this week’s options, we’ll serve things like toast, hash browns, and granola each morning.

Lunch

Clayton usually eats big breakfasts (post morning run) and big dinners (post afternoon run), so we keep lunch time pretty simple. His typical go-to is turkey sandwiches with pretzels or chips. We’ll include a serving of tuna this week for omega-3s as well.

Snack

Our stash of homemade PB bars somehow got depleted . . . we fly through them so fast, and we’re all equally culpable. :) I’m excited to make another big batch this week!

I’ve made the last few rounds with vanilla protein powder, so I think this week I’ll use chocolate protein powder and maybe even add a little bit of cacao powder.

Dinner

Monday: easy mileage

This is a recipe we loved from Week 3. While I enjoy the novelty of new recipes, I appreciate remaking favorites because the process becomes faster and easier.

Tuesday: workout

Post-workout omega 3s! This is Clayton’s favorite way to have salmon. So excited for this one!

I usually get the refrigerated pesto from Costco, but we ran out and I wasn’t ready for a Costco run yet, so I tried a new brand from Walmart. The fam was really happy with the flavor of this refrigerated version.

I’ll serve these sweet potatoes as well!

Wednesday: easy mileage

Teriyaki ground beef bowls leftovers.

Thursday: workout

This one looks so unique and yummy! I’m excited to try it.

Friday: easy mileage

I’ll use the naan sold at Costco as the base for these. Looks so good!

Saturday: long run

One pan creamy shrimp and orzo leftovers.

Sunday: recovery day

Hot honey BBQ chicken flatbread pizza leftovers.