A few years before the pandemic, I decided I wanted to build a home gym. For the first time in year, I had space for one - the kids no longer had "toys", preferring instead to be on electronics or out with friends. I was tired of paying for a gym membership, and even though the gym was less than a mile from my house, I had a hard time finding time to get over there as my work life got busier. And of course, I've been so glad to have it during the pandemic. Here are the five things I use multiple times a week... (This post includes affiliate links) Bowflex bike - This is the newest addition to my home gym. I've had a "deskbike" for years, but I finally bit the bullet and chose a spin bike. I'm not big on attending classes (in … [Read more...]
February Runfessions: The Longest Short Month Ever
You know how short weeks at work often feel longer than a normal week, just because you still need to do the same amount of work in fewer days? Well, February always feels that way for me and this February was no exception. It's been... a month. I'm joining Marcia to runfess my sins (and maybe do a little "lifefessing" as well.) I must runfess that I couldn't help myself and when Runner's Club registration opened for MCM, I jumped on it. It's currently virtual, but in order to run it in person if it should switch, you have to be signed up for the virtual. I don't actually hold out any hope that an in person race will look like it did in the past, but if Beer Geek and I are both vaccinated, I'll be happy to run any version. Maybe this … [Read more...]
Throwing back to ZOOMA Bermuda
A year ago, we were only just beginning to get inklings of what was to come. Coronavirus was just beginning to make the news and the average American had no idea that the country would basically shut down in a month. In fact, my first real understanding came when some of our ZOOMA Bermuda medals got stuck in China because things were shut down there. Despite that, our race weekend in Bermuda was AMAZING and I can't wait to do it again in 2022. ZOOMA Bermuda officially kicked off with a packet pick up at the Fairmont Southhampton. Like many of our events, it was sponsored by Goslings, who provided gift packets with the makings of Dark and Stormies. So tasty! Next up was a trip to the Crystal Caves. We gathered as a group and … [Read more...]
January Runfessions: Month 13 of 2020
I can't believe we are already at the end of January! It's been a jampacked month of work and kids and house stuff and, sadly, not a whole lot of running. But I have high hopes for February on the running front... Today I'm joining Coach Marcia (you know she's ZOOMA's coach, right?) for some 'fessions. Runfessions and lifefessions ahead... We are only a month into the year and I must runfess that I'm already struggling with one of my goals. I signed up for Run the Year 2021, with a plan to run 1200 miles and walk the remainder. This month I haven't even hit a combined 100 miles yet. (In my defense, Michigan was way slippier than I expected). I do have to run a 25K this weekend (I NEED the pint glass), so I'll break 100, but I have … [Read more...]
Kicking Off 2021 with a Big Ole Cup of Coffee
I'm not one to stay up super late on NYE, but ironically, last night I was up late thanks to insomnia. Thank you 2020 for one last kick in the teeth. So, I'm up a bit later than normal and sucking down caffeine like it's my job. Seems appropriate to hook up with Deb and Coco for a coffee date. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that normally I spend December wrapping things up here on the blog and setting up my goals for the next year. Last year was so weird that I just couldn't seem to wrap (ha!) my head around it. I'm pretty sure I didn't run a single in person race. I ran a ridiculous number of virtual races, but I never got more than 4 miles from my house in any of those races. I even ran a 50K in 2 mile loops near my … [Read more...]
Last Coffee Date of 2020
2020 has been a year of major ups and downs. In some ways, it's been the hardest year of my life, but there have been some really amazing things as well. Beer Geek and I got to go on vacation in Bermuda before the world shut down and we celebrated 25 years of marriage. Jones graduated high school and got a major scholarship to college. Shoo finished middle school and is actually doing surprisingly well with online high school. So, when I struggle to not slide into darkness, I have to remind myself that not everything sucks. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I continue to struggle with running. It's not the actual running that's a problem - it's the motivation to do it. Once I'm out there, running itself is usually fine. … [Read more...]
October Visit to the Runfessional: Exhaustion
It's that time of the month again - time to confess all of our running/fitness sins with Marcia over at Marcia's Healthy Slice. I must runfess that I have been meaning to write more than twice a month for a while now, but I'm finding that I'm definitely suffering from pandemic brain. I only have so much focus in any given day and I'm pretty much done by the time I actually have time to write a post... I must runfess that I ran both a 50K and a marathon this month and still only barely managed to break 100 miles. I was horribly undertrained, so "ran" might be an exaggeration. I will post an actual recap soon, but let's just say I'm happy to be done and hella surprised that I was not sore after either race. I did, however, manage to … [Read more...]
July Runfessions: Surviving the Humidity
How on earth are we at the end of another month? I mean, I'm never a fan of Virginia in July, but I can't believe it's already over. It was a busy month, but in a totally different way than normal. I'm joining Marcia for a few runfessions to close out July. I must runfess that I have been in hot pursuit of the 1000 mile pin for the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee. While I'm generally not a "virtual race" kind of girl, this one has been hugely motivational for me. I get up every day and cover at least 8 miles. Pretty much every single day. Since I don't run 8 miles a day (pretty much ever right now), I've become a walker. I've always only been a walker if I was going to a destination. Now I wander around my neighborhood for miles … [Read more...]
Runfessions of a Run from Home Runner
Here we are, a crazy number of days into Virginia's Stay at Home order. Today, the Northern Virginia area began Phase 1, which means more things will be open at reduced capacity and with masks required in establishments. To be honest, it's not really going to change my behavior (we are super careful), including that I will continue to run the majority of my runs right out my front door. But I do have some runfessions, so I'm linking up with my buddy Marcia to share them with you. I runfess that I never really got into Virtual Races. I always had enough real races on the calendar that I didn't need them. I still don't LOVE virtuals, but I've registered for a few. Everything I've registered for has had one thing in common: the money … [Read more...]
Tips for Running a Virtual Race
It's now been 2 months since races started getting canceled. Two months of not getting that motivation that races provide. Two months of missing the social interaction of running with (possibly 1000s) of your best runner friends. Naturally, runners are looking for something to fill that need. At the same time, organizations are trying to bring in income or fulfill the promise they made to provide a race or, unfortunately, take advantage of the situation. Yes, I've heard rumors of fake virtual races out there. So, here are my tips to have a successful virtual run. Choose a legit race. OK, maybe you didn't get a choice because the virtual is the option given to you for a canceled race. But if you are looking for a new race, there are … [Read more...]
The Week I Ran ALL the Miles
If you've been around these parts for a while, you know I thrive on doing crazy things. I've never quite crossed over to an ultra runner or even a consistent marathon runner, but I love to do things like Ultra Ragnar (6 runs instead of 3) and multiple marathons or half marathons in back to back days. So, it should come as no surprise that I jumped on the Yeti 24 hour ultra. What may be a surprise is that I did that on Tuesday and then on the weekend, I jumped on another challenge - 42.5k in 42 hours. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I was not in any way trained up for either one. But when have a I ever let that stop me. For those who don't know, the Yeti involved running 5 miles every four hours for 24 hours, basically 6 runs … [Read more...]
Runfessions of a Stay at Home Runner
Funny how when I was actually a stay at home mom and runner, I never actually stayed at home. That is so not the case anymore - I've literally run every day for the last 30 days without going farther than 2 miles from my house. So what kind of runfessions might I have with such a small running area. I'm joining Marcia from Marcia's Healthy Slice to share... I must runfess that I never thought that I'd start a run streak when I was under "stay at home" orders, but here I am. It's actually working great for me because it helps with my mental health and it gets me moving every single day. And since I'm running most of my runs super close to home (short runs are on a quarter mile loop...), it's nice to only have to run for 15ish minutes … [Read more...]
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