I’m so glad I took the rest day yesterday! I was flying today! I was at the upper end of my power targets, which were ~ FTP (180 watts for running.) I averaged out at 173. I nailed my cadence! And I want to point out my speed: I was below 10 min mile pace average (because I reined back as directed on the 10 min rest intervals…however, I did have the energy to blow through them) but look at that 6:57 min mile max! I also nailed both tempo blocks exactly at 9:18 min mile pace!

This was our first time running into downtown from home, and I am so beyond overjoyed about the spot where we now live!!! It’s about a mile to Baker Park, literally a straight shot from the complex, through some of my favorite (and safe) downtown neighborhoods. We used to walk/bike this side of town during the pandemic. We finally got our wish of living in super close proximity of downtown, without the hassle (traffic, noise) of downtown itself.

I took a bunch of photos of the neighborhood. The sidewalks with the big trees are Motter Avenue. It’s an older neighborhood with smaller pretty rancher-type houses - exactly the kind of house and neighborhood I would love to live in…it’s a block from the apartment complex. I can run through that neighborhood now!

Carlos doesn’t like how small the new apartment is - it’s about 200 square feet smaller; it just has an inflexible layout that doesn’t go with our furniture, and not a whole lot of storage space. I personally prefer smaller spaces: they’re easier to keep clean, and I like a more minimalist lifestyle. I don’t like “stuff” and clutter. I can expand when I have room for it, but a lot of times we (general “we”) end up hanging onto things that we don’t really use or need, simply because we have the room for it.

So I personally have been having a ton of fun figuring out how to maximize the space we have. We’re not replacing all our furniture so we’re making do with what we have in a creative way…it’s coming out quite cozy. My favorite part of the house is the master bedroom. It’s literally a third of the apartment! Will post pics once everything is finished.