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Thursday, April 23, 2020

RUNFESSIONS? I got a few...


Runfessions?

Oh, yes. I have a few things to share.

After all, it's good for the soul (and both of my soles).


This is always a fun post to write... actually, it practically writes itself. Care to join in? Do you have some running-related 'fessions to bring to the table?

Let me begin...

I must runfess that I never expected all these virtual races to be so motivating. As many know, I've been doing 5K time trials on Mondays for my #nevermissaMonday gig for the past four weeks now. But can I runfess that Momma N has not cut me a break in my quest for progressively faster finish times? I have had cold temps (for a couple) and wind (for all but the first one). The 5K I ran this week, though, gave me a glimmer of hope that I still may be able to swing some faster finishes. None the less, as much as I loathe racing the 5K distance, I have a new respect for it.
nowhere close to a PR, but faster than the previous week's windy 5K
Coming clean, let me runfess I had a blatant selfie bust this week. I had returned home from my Monday 5K, and was trying to get a pic of  myself in a perfect tree pose (in the street, how's that for irony?). Just as the timer was ready to snap my pic, there comes a car...right behind me. Needless to say, my perfect "tree" wobbled and the driver gave me a strange look.
Well, that was awkward
At Judy's suggestion, I took a quick rainbow walk over lunch on Monday. The goal was to find all seven colors of the rainbow. I have to runfess, I gave up on indigo (that muddy purplish-blue that never got much attention in any of my art classes either). But, the other six colors were easy to spot in that quick 1/2-mile jaunt around the block.


Wednesday was Earth Day. Did anyone else celebrate or commemorate the day? I ran early in the morning (#5at5), when it was too dark to see much trash. Instead, I utilized my lunch #walk&talk (with Deborah as my witness) to pick up trash. Every little bit we can do, to keep our planet clean, helps. I gotta runfess, though, those gloves left my hands smelling like latex until the next morning (despite several hand-washings with scented soap).
I hugged a tree, too
Another virtual race that I embarked on was the Grand Blue Mile. This 1-mile race would have taken place Tuesday evening, on the streets of downtown Des Moines. Even though I was still in recovery mode from Monday's 5K, I mapped out a similar 1-mile route to run (complete with two left turns at the approximate distance marks as the actual race course).Holy crap. Do I need to runfess how tough a 1-mile race is, especially for one who is not naturally gifted with speed or finesse? I didn't think I'd be able to beat last year's 7:23 (and I was right). After all, last year I had a slew of progressive 10K races under my belt. This year, I had the previous evening's 5K. I was able to run a sub-8:00, though, which was quite satisfactory, considering the lack-luster spring I've had in terms of racing. First world problems...
 

So, that's the brunt of my April Runfessions, at least that's all I'm sharing. Despite the COVID-19 craziness, things really aren't too bad in my little corner of the universe. Believe me, I'm grateful and am not taking anything for granted.

How about you?  Got any runfessions to share? Any Earth Day happenings? Ever done a 1-mile or 5K time trial?



I'm  linking this with Marcia for the monthly Runfessions link-up.


I'm also linking this with Meranda and Lacey for the Friday with Fairytales and Fitness link-up. 

By the way...are you following me on social media? You can find me at these various platforms:
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38 comments:

  1. I will runfess that I am getting PRs all over the place and finally beating (pre-marathons) 2016 Me who held all the strava segments ... but I would give it all up to run with my lovely friends again. And to be able to run during the day after eating rather than going pre-breakfast, which limits the distance I can do. Great pics and selfie fail, love the rainbow one!

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    1. ha ha...the selfie fail was too funny. I'm glad I was able to document it or no one would have believed me LOL

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  2. Well done on the 5Ks and 1-miler! I have never raced a 1 mile - I imagine that must be very tough.
    Haha, the ever elusive indigo!
    What a great idea to pick up trash! I think I might do that too.

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  3. I runfess I didn't even realise it was 1) Earth Day or 2) Runfessions time again :D

    I have never raced 1-Mile and mostly I don't "race" anyway - sometimes I run really hard to the point I think I'm going to throw up and then hope that it's a PR in the end :D

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    1. Well, truthfully, I use the word "race" quite loosely. I'm not going full-out-run-til-I-puke, but I'm definitely running hard LOL

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  4. Nice job on your rainbow, Kim! LOL about the car & your tree (glad he didn't plow you down).

    Wednesday we had extreme wind, rain, sleet, hail. Luckily it was a rest day. But there have actually been a few nice days to run this week (in between a lot of not so nice days).

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    1. We've had some beautiful days, too...but the wind has been psycho!

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  5. Good job on the trash pickup. I runfess that I'm allergic to latex --a hazard of working as a nurse all these years--and I can't use those gloves. Actually, we don't use them anymore because so many people are allergic to latex. And like you say, it's hard to get it off your hands.

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    1. With all of my allergies, I'm surprised latex didn't show up when they tested me. My skin is hyper sensitive to everything...but sunshine ;-)

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  6. I runfess I'm not into virtual races, but that could be because I've got Scooby as my running partner. I've really been focusing on my strength more than running. Maybe that will change when the weather gets nicer. LOL at your photo shoot. I bet the driver was wondering what that idiot was doing in the middle of the street. ;-)

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    1. ...and that driver was not there five seconds earlier when I assumed the pose LOL

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  7. That's a hilarious photo bomb! I can only imagine what the driver was thinking. Haha! Glad the virtual races are so motivating for you. Thanks for linking!

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    1. The 5K's have been a good motivator. Normally, I would not be doing 5K time trials this time of year...but this spring has not been like any other LOL

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  8. Kim, you are inspiring! You run the 5k time trials, the sub-8:00 minute virtual mile race, pick up trash on your lunchtime walk and can do a mean tree pose in the street, no less. Way to go, sister! I was enjoying the virtual 5Ks that we did but I am glad they are over now. Have a great weekend!

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    1. The UN-Canceled Project goes for two more weeks...I don't know if I'll continue with these Monday 5K's after that or not...stay tuned...

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  9. Nicely done on the trash pick up! No PR's over here just taking it easy on the runs. Still need to do the rainbow run/walk. Have a great weekend

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    1. 5K PR's are so tough! Add in the wind and it's a serious mental game...

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  10. Nice job with all those 5ks! I'm also not a fan of racing those. I don't really know why - probably because I don't want to run that fast for that long. lol

    Trash pick-up pro-tip: use doggy poo bags instead of gloves. Some of those are scented and they're certainly not going to leave your hands begging for mercy like latex does.

    I really like the idea of the rainbow walk!

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    1. Great tip on the doggy bags! The smell of the latex was almost making me hurl LOL

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  11. So glad the virtual races are motivating! I did want to let you know after the #19for19Challenge, I've been continuing that since Day 1, so I'm now past 30 days! It's nice to get outdoors for at least a little bit each day during this time in particular. I have definitely wondered about others seeing me trying to get the perfect posed self-timer pic. Lol. :)

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    1. Glad you're staying active!! The timed selfie pics are so tricky! The car in the pic wasn't there 5 seconds earlier...it just came from out of nowhere LOL

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  12. I may sign up for a virtual race because I don't want this year to be the year I didn't earn a medal....lol any suggestions for a summer one?
    I wanted to do the rainbo walk and then forgot about it. I should do it this weekend. Thanks for the reminder. -M

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    1. Thankfully, I have a couple medals already (from January and February races). I haven't looked too far ahead to summer yet...

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  13. My speed has really declined.Not motivated. But I am more active than in the past. Lots of walks and lots of run/walks.

    It could be worse.I am healthy.

    Someday I will even race and care about speed

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    1. YOU are quite active,I think! Maybe this reprieve from racing will give you a chance to explore other activities. You're doing a lot of walking, so that's a good thing!

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  14. All the props for your weekly 5ks. It is HARD HARD HARD to race that distance on your own without a race course to back you up. All I can say is that I pity the fool who gets between you and the finish line on your first real race after the quarantine;-)

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    1. Ha ha ha!!! You crack me up ;-) The 5K, for so long, was just a 3.1 mile "fun" run that I didn't take seriously. Trying to "race" it, though, is a whole different game. And, like you said, it's even harder when there isn't an actual race happening. It's been a good test of mental strength ;-)

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  15. That photo bomb is too funny!

    I love the way you've been cranking on the 5Ks lately - all of my run have been of the easy variety, but I'm starting to feel the need to mix it up a bit.

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  16. Don't you just love when you get photobombed by a car? LOL

    I'm glad that the virtual races are motivating you. I say anything that helps us stay active is a good thing. I'm having a hard time finding virtual races that benefits charities (that give a bulk of the money to charity) which has been a little disappointing for me this week.

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    1. I agree...we need to find what motivates US (individually) to sty active. I'd prefer to support a cause than just run for my own benefit.

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  17. I got indigo!!!! I was super happy about it, too!

    We made a yummy veggie quiche for earth day and watched some really cool animal documentaries. We always used to do beach cleanups, but obviously, that was a no go.

    I always try to wait for cars to pass when I am taking my selfies. I always wonder what the drivers must think lol.

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    1. This car totally took me by surprise...it wasn't there three seconds prior to the timer...just saying ;-)

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  18. Oh my goodness, I hate getting caught taking selfies. And I must say, you got caught spectacularly! LOL

    All things considered, a sub-8 1-mile time trial is great - congrats! I suspect that having others running next to you last year helped with your speed.

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    1. Thank you, Debbie ;-) The 1-mile was tough on my own...it (overall) went pretty fast, though it seemed like it took a lot longer as it was happening LOL

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  19. LOL at the selfie fail. I've had a few times when my neighbors gave me strange looks as I tried to jump in my front yard...

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  20. The 5K challenge is such a great idea! Crazy how the weather has been so all over the place, but regardless, you are doing fantastic!

    I should have done something for Earth Day, I'm actually ashamed I didn't really do anything special. We usually have a big expo at work each year and it was of course cancelled. I was thinking of trying plogging sometime - the nice thing is that it's MUCH cleaner nowadays with fewer people outside!

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