Thursday, July 30, 2020

'fessing with the best of them


It's that time of the month and, yet again, there's plenty to 'fess about.

I know, I know...these are supposed to be runfessions, but I have a few extra 'fessions that need to be shared as well. After all, most of us runners have lives outside of our running shoes, right?

So, let's get started...

I must say, with the cancellation of the Air Force Marathon (I was able to defer to 2021), my zest for excessively long runs has diminished. I can honestly runfess that I'm totally alright with that, given the way 2020 has played out thus far. I'm still trying to get a long run done each weekend, but have no desire (or need) to go beyond the 10-mile threshold for the time being.


When I decided to bring back the weekly stair workouts (early June), I was pleasantly surprised the hubby wanted to join me.  Eight weeks later, I hubbyfess that he's been quite a trooper! A lot of these stair workouts have happened late in the day, after work, so the temps have been at their peak (ditto for the humidity). Recently, we've been doing 50 flights at a time, which translates to 900 steps. Fingers crossed this continues!
  

Although I've been consistently bike riding the past couple months, I gotta bikefess that I had been avoiding that first ride, on the hilly trail, out to the lake. In case you're wondering, it's a 14-mile round trip, and there are no less than 12 hills to do battle with, sandwiched within the "middle" 10 miles of the route. Finally, three weeks ago, I saddled up Gustavas and we had at it. Although those hills have not gotten any smaller, and I have had wind (there's that word again LOL) on every hilly ride so far, my body seems (somewhat) acclimated. I'm hoping to keep this routine up, on a weekly basis, for the remainder of summer. Fingers crossed on that one, too!


Speaking of biking, before I took on that first 2020 ride out to the lake, the hubby talked me into going on a 47-mile ride (recap HERE). Let me bikefess (again) that this was a major comfort zone violation...one that I was kind of dreading, but also excited about. It was a tough undertaking, in the heat of a hot summer afternoon. It's a rail trail, which means there's almost nonstop pedaling since there aren't any major hills to coast down (or climb). But it also was pretty empowering because it was my longest ride ever. In fact, there's a Bicycle Brew BBQ (44-mile round-trip) group ride on the same trail in a few weeks...and I think we're partaking (along with some friends). 
 
Back to the Chichaqua Valley Trail

As many know, our sweet little dog, Max, had surgery on Wednesday. He'd dislocated the kneecap on his back right leg (in technical terms, a luxating patella), which lead to a nasty ACL tear. He'll be fine, and good as new, after the six-week recovery ahead of him. We usually walk him twice a day, but hadn't been doing so due to his condition (as well as the excessive heat). Typically, walking with him can be annoying at times. There are numerous stops/sniffs/marks at almost every available lamppost, tree or fire hydrant...but I have to Maxfess, I really have missed those walks with him.


Lastly, another COVID cancellation has smacked me in the gut. Granted, it was not a huge surprise, but the Drake Road Races Half Marathon had been postponed (indefinitely) since late April. A small part of me was holding out hope that it would get rescheduled...but to no avail. Now, I have to racefess that I'm not sure when I'll do this (virtual) one, or where. Actually, I did run 13.1 miles back on April 19th, but I still feel obligated to run the "official" virtual (how's that for a play on words). I'm tempted to drive to Des Moines (an hour away) and run it on the actual race course (if I can remember all the twists and turns). Stay tuned...I'm not sure how this will play out, since there's also a 1-mile race (which I also ran virtually, back in April) that is part of a "double" challenge with the half marathon. I know, first world probs....

Didn't "officially" happen on April 19th...but now when?

Anyways, there's more to 'fess, but this is enough for now. July has kept me busy, even without marathon training taking place.

What's been happening in your world? Any runfessions that need to be disclosed? Even without many (if any?) races on the calendar, would you continue training, or doing long runs?

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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25 comments:

  1. Sorry about Max! Glad he is recovering now. Great job with those stair workouts. Exercising in the afternoon has been so tough lately with the crazy heat and humidity!

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    1. As much as I love the heat, I will admit it has been rather steamy in recent weeks LOL The stair workouts are great sweat-inducers, so I pretend it's the workout itself that is making us so sweaty and not the heat. Most of my runs, though, happen in the early hours, so I don't have to deal with as much heat/humidity.

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  2. Poor Max! I hope he heals quickly. Cocoa is still pretty gimpy--we're holding out hope that she heals up without any expensive treatments.

    That Lakefront 10 miler finally went virtual as well. I still need to officially run it, I guess, and I too have been contemplating running the actual course. This sure sucks, doesn't it?

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    1. We were hoping Max's condition would self-correct, but it didn't. UGH. At least we know he's on the mend, but it has already been a challenge to keep me off the stairs or from jumping onto the couch, even with hi leg all wrapped and immobile. Yes, all things racing really suck right now...no argument!

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  3. Chester had a severely luxating patella fixed when he was 9 MONTHS old. Just shouting cause it was always something with him, sadly. And I know how much $$$ that costs, too. Poor Max. Sending some healing vibes! Later in life he strained both ACL#s at different times, but luckily little dogs can often heal from them without much problem & he did.

    Kudos for pushing out of your comfort zone & going long on Gustavus. Nope, I have zero desire to run long (obviously).

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    1. The vet assured me the kneecap issue is rather common, not painful and "usually" self-corrects. But, not with Max. I think he's just so active, he aggravated it beyond the self-repair option LOL And, yes, it was expensive!!

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  4. Oh no! Poor Max! I'm glad he's on the mend.
    Nope, I would most definitely not be pushing through long runs if there was not a race coming up that required them. Thanks for fessing!

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    1. I don't mind doing the 10-mile runs on the weekends, but the idea of going any further is a hard pass. It is weird to not be training for a 26.2 event, but it's also kind of refreshing to not have that hanging over me.

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  5. Congrats that your husband is still doing the stair thing! 900 steps after work in the heat is quite an achievement.
    Love the photo with you two on the stairs!

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    1. Yes, I'm glad he's still stair-running with me, too. It is kind of a sick addiction, though, doing all that intense work in the heat of the day...but that's also what is fun about it ;-)

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  6. Oh poor Max hope he is feeling ok and getting some good TLC! I think it's really great that your husband is on board with your stair climbing and biking. Still cannot get mine to do anything with me. Do you run up and walk down?

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    1. I'm glad the hubby is staying consistent with the stairs, too! We don't really "run" up the stairs, but we definitely are going faster than a casual climb. We are taking things easing gong down. It's easy to get dizzy going down after having just gone up LOL, and these steps are "longer" than a typical stair step, so they require a longer stride.

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  7. That photo of Max :( I hope he continues to rest up and heal.

    I love that your husband is doing the stair workouts with you - that's so cool! I runfess that I also have no desire to run long at this point - the 7 miler last weekend was tough so that's an indication to me that I'm in no mood for long runs, lol. I will probably try to get back up to double digit runs once the weather cools down.

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    1. When I brought Max home yesterday morning, he was pretty lethargic and looked so sad! He perked up around lunch time, though, and has been acting much better. I just feel bad that I can't explain any of this to him...

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  8. I'm going to have a very busy fall with 2 halfs and a 10 miler, presumably all of these will be virtual. You're right, as runners we do things official virtual! I stopped doing long runs in May and I'm just starting to ramp things up again. I've found that I need to drop mileage from time to time when I start feeling burned out. Get well soon Max! He is going to be very happy when he's cleared to go on walks again.

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    1. It's good to scale back the mileage (or even just the "long" runs) from time to time. I think our bodies do much better when we give it some variety (in miles and workouts). IT's been almost three weeks since we've walked Max...it's been so hot, and then he jacked up his knee a couple weeks ago. We were hoping the knee would self-correct, but that didn't happen.

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  9. Oh no, poor Max! I hope he’s recovering well and will be back out walking with you in six weeks without any issues. That picture, though! He looks so sad.

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    1. Max is doing alright, but it's hard seeing him partially immobile ;-( He can get around fine, but the gimping is painful to watch.

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  10. That picture of Max! Poor pup! I'm glad he's on the mend.

    How awesome that your hubby continues to run the stairs with you.

    And, great job sticking with double-digit runs. I admit to having no desire to run long - can't remember the last time I ran 10!

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  11. I do 10 on the weekend but only if I have company...so far so good.

    I can't imagine biking that far...doesn't your butt hurt??

    You're lucky to have your husband on board with exercise.

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  12. Isn't great when our husbands join us in our fitness goals?
    That Bicycle Brew BBQ sounds like fun!

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  13. Aw, poor Max! I hope his recovery goes smoothly! Our beagle had two ACL-ish surgeries and PT afterwards —who knew? I love seeing you with your bike!

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  14. Poor pup! Hope he heals well. I admit I signed up for the virtual MCM trifecta, so I guess I'll be running all the miles...

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  15. Sweet Max! He looks like such a trooper in that photo!

    Even though everything is being canceled, for the most part, I keep going. One day, we will have races again and then I'll be ready!

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  16. Love all your themed fesses. Glad Max is on the mend.
    Chichaqua made me chuckle -- some naming similarities in Iowa and New York. Need to look at the patterns of native migration that led to these.

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