This month has flown by as I madly juggle all of the balls I have in the air. Some days I predict things will completely fall on my head, but most of the time I manage to pull things out. As we approach the first of the fall ZOOMA races, I'm only mildly in panic mode. But it's the last Friday of the month and time to join my buddy Marcia in the runfessional. I have to runfess that this is the worst training season I've ever had for a marathon. I just can't find my ability to care. At least in the past, I've at least been trying. Maybe because it's my fifth MCM, which means I get into Runners Club when I finish. I think I might be suffering from a case of senioritis. I must also runfess that I've totally given up on a training … [Read more...]
Here we are, runfessing again
I swear it was just yesterday that I was runfessing about my lack of running in June and here we are in July and I'm still not running much. I must runfess that I have no real excuse not to run a lot of miles - my ankle/heel is probably 90% pain free and even more so when I massage it and foam roll. I've even done some icing lately after the few times I've run this month. I know, who am I? I must also runfess that we are now down to 93 days before the Marine Corps Marathon and the last double digit run I did was the half marathon in New Zealand on July 1. Between work, the weather, my son's econ class... I can't seem to get my runs in. I really need to start training. OK, even more than that, I really need to start caring about … [Read more...]
Do you have to run to make a runfession?
Seriously, I feel like I've forgotten what it's like to run 5 or 6 days a week. Now it seems like I'm running 5 or 6 miles a month. Sigh. Runfession #1: I think I ran fewer than 50 miles in June - 30 of those miles were at Ragnar. That's right - more than 75% of my miles were run in one 36 hour period. Runfession #2: I was lucky in that my foot did not hurt when I ran at Ragnar, but I must runfess that I would have run my miles anyways. Thankfully, an amazing friend set me up with a pain preventing protocol (seriously, I've never spent so much time icing, massaging, rubbing essential oils, foam rolling, etc after a run in my life) and I was able to keep the pain to a dull roar when walking and it didn't hurt to run. Runfession … [Read more...]
Runfession: I need more endorphins
I must runfess that I haven't run in over a week. Yeah, I'm not even going to preface that runfession with anything because it pretty much says it all. I've been using my exercise bike and lifting weights and *some* walking - all of which means I'm fit and strong. It also means I'm about to lose my mind. I'm thankful that I don't have anything too stressful going on (just normal life crap like a cat with a UTI and too many end of year activities), because I'm pretty sure I'd just have to run through the pain otherwise. I must runfess that to take my mind off of not running, I'm starting to pack for my trip to Colorado and it's 90% Skirt Sports. Yeah, my trip involves the Skirt Sports Retreat, but it also involves hiking and brewpubs. … [Read more...]
All my runfessions are “racefessions”
How are we nearing the end of March already? I feel like we have been in the middle of winter all month and now suddenly April is days away. Of course the fact that it has felt like winter for much of March this year might have something to do with it. As we roll into April, I've suddenly realized I have a big deal race coming up in mid-June - my first ultra Ragnar. My horrible lack of running this winter has me a bit panicked and played a part in my runfessions this month. I runfess that I'm running my first timed race. And it's a trail run. That will probably be muddy. Why yes, I am going out of my comfort zone. I signed up for the three hour option of the Rise Run Shine race. If I run more than 13.1 miles, it will count as another … [Read more...]
It’s too hot for a February Runfession
I think that Mother Nature is suffering from hot flashes this winter. I'm used to a few random "I can wear a skirt and maybe a tank top" days, but it seems like we've had more than normal. And even when it's "cold", it's late fall cold, not winter cold. We haven't even had a real snow yet. (Watch, now March is going to be a mess.) Because the weather has been so iffy, I runfess that I shifted my runs around and made a rookie mistake. I moved my long run to Wednesday to avoid the rain on Thursday and Friday. I was supposed to do 10 miles, but completely crashed and burned at 6.5. Why? Because it was 80*. Homey don't play dat in February. Hell, Homey don't play dat in June! Because that run sucked so much, I runfess that I have … [Read more...]
Once again I find myself runfessing…
How on earth is it nearly the end of January? This month just flew by and I'm not even sure that I accomplished anything. OK, that's a lie. I managed to spend way too much money on car repairs - in part thanks to rodents. Know what they told me at the dealership yesterday??? That the manufacturers use peanut oil on the wires in the cars. And I wonder why I'm constantly having to remove acorns and nests and repair things. Yay for environmentally responsible choices but it's awful for urban living. I joke that I don't take my Pilot in for oil changes, I take it in for rodent removal. Sadly, it's not a joke. Despite the automotive hit to my pocket book, I managed to convince Beer Geek that I should head to the Skirt Sports retreat this … [Read more...]
Final Runfessions for 2017
Here we are with three days left in 2017. It's the final Friday Five of the year and the final Runfessions. And I have to admit that I do have a few runfessions to share... As I write this, I'm 4.8 miles from 1400 for the year and 7.1 miles from 100 from December. I must runfess that it's kind of killing me that I can't make both work out to a nice number for the total. Obviously, I'll be running at least the 7.1 to reach my 100 mile goal for every month in 2017. I have to runfess that I haven't run a whole lot this month and most of it has been on the treadmill. I'm really enjoying the Faster Way to Fat Loss workouts (affiliate link), but they aren't conducive to getting an outside run in most days. I've been doing warmups and … [Read more...]
Post Thanksgiving Runfessions
Happy Black Friday to all of you who celebrate! OK, I know it's not a holiday and you won't catch me in any stores. So far, I haven't even bought anything online. I'm sure I'll breakdown and take advantage of a race discount at some point. After all, I don't actually have any races on the calendar after December 10! Crazy! November has been a bit of a crazy month, so here are my Black Friday Five Runfessions. Wednesday I got a personal email from a charity offering me a bib for the Chicago Marathon. I runfess that I seriously considered it for a short time. It's a group I have supported in the past and the amount was reasonable and, unlike Boston, I'd be happy to run it as a charity runner. But then reality set in and I turned it … [Read more...]
Time for some marathon runfessions
It's the last Friday of the month, so it's time to runfess the sins of October. Since the Marine Corps Marathon is fresh in my mind, all of my runfessions are related to that (or at least to the marathon distance). I runfess that within hours of finishing the marathon, I was considering running another one as a redemption race. I know I can do better than that under different conditions. Luckily, I very quickly realized that "Nah, I'm good" and signed up for Rehoboth Beach as a half marathon. I runfess that at the end of the race, I realized I'd done the whole thing on about half a gu, multiple half cups of Gatorade, and a mini Coke. No wonder I was dragging from about the halfway point. I run most of my half marathons without … [Read more...]
Runfessions of a Marathon Runner
Here we are, two months out from the Marine Corps Marathon. As seems to happen every August, I'm a little bit fixated on my training. Unlike last year, I actually feel like I'm doing a decent job on following my training plan. I'm not 100% on it, but I'm closer than I've ever been. So, I'm joining Marcia for some marathon training runfessions... I runfess that today is my birthday and I don't plan to run 47 miles to commemorate it. I'm not even sure I'll hit 47 miles for the week (although it may be close.) Instead, I'll run my 10 planned miles, spend all my birthday money on new Skirt Sports items, and then head out for dinner and beer with Beer Geek. I runfess that I have fallen in love with the Altra Escalante. They have even … [Read more...]
Runfessions are good for the sole
Or good for the soul. Something like that. How have we reached the end of June already? It seems like just yesterday I was packing for the trip with Beer Geek. Since then both kids have survived finals, Shoo graduated from elementary school, and Jones took a visit to San Diego with his grandmother. Now the boys and I are enjoying a week in Wisconsin. I have a feeling this summer is going to fly by. But it's the last Friday of the month, so that means it is time to head to the Runfessional. Marine Corps Marathon training has begun. Somehow I missed the first week and then I jumped to the 5th week. I should probably actually put the plan on a calendar so I at least know what I'm supposed to be doing. Otherwise I may find myself … [Read more...]
