Thursday, November 23, 2017

Runfessions?


This month's Runfessions kind of have me in a flux...

If you caught my Thankful post earlier this week (if not, it's HERE), you all would know how full my heart is. It's really hard to find things to runfess about when everything is sort of on the up-and-up. There are a few things of recent, though, that I thought would be runfess-worthy, but I was surprised at how easily I just shrugged my shoulders at the situations.


For example:

Our annual Turkey Trot.
Now in its 6th year, this event has gotten bigger (and, dare I say, better?) every year. A neighborhood friend (who also is into fitness and running) and myself  "founded" this event back in 2012. We thought it would be fun to have a small local event to encourage people to get out and get some fresh air and exercise on what is usually a stressful day filled with lots of food. We mapped out a route that would encompass three distances (1-mile, 2-mile, 5K), and encouraged participants of every fitness level to join us. There were no registration fees, no event shirts, and not even a finish line to cross, but everyone was encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate to our local food pantry. We had maybe 30 people show up for that first Trot and we had a blast. Fast forward to the 2017 event...we had upwards of 140 people show up, with oodles and oodles of food to donate. WOW! We tried to organize a group picture, but people just kept walking up...and bringing more food. There were so many people, the group picture did not turn out that great because it had to be taken from so far away in order to squeeze everyone into view. I gotta runfess, though, that I love that pic anyways because it represents a fabulous hour spent doing something positive for ourselves (running and walking) and also something even greater for our community (food and monetary donations for others).
Image may contain: 1 person, smiling
Another successful Turkey Trot
Wednesday morning. 
As is typical, I was up and out of bed early. I had planned to do a short strength session (upper body) and had laid out my workout clothes the night before. I got dressed and went downstairs and did the exercises, posted a selfie, and did a bit of blog reading. It wasn't until I was headed to work that I realized I had completely forgotten to do my daily 20-minute cardio (usually a power walk through the neighborhood). OOPS. You know what? The sun still shown and the world did not end. I gotta runfess I felt ZERO guilt in accidentally skipping that (daily) early morning cardio... and I am quite alright with that.
at least the strength workout happened....
Our family's Thanksgiving dinner.
I love Thanksgiving! I usually host "the dinner" and honestly do not mind all the work that goes into preparing my house, my mind, and all the food. My parents joined us, as did my sister and her guy. Our Pennsylvania daughter is home for the week, and our son is on fall break from college. The kicker, though, was when our younger daughter woke up with the stomach flu, and the smell of the food did not agree with her. She had a fever, a headache, and no energy, so she stayed in bed and did not join us at the table. I did not even think of getting any pics of our dinner...no shots of the antique china (from my late in-laws), no family pics, and no group shots of us gathered around my grandmother's heirloom table. Despite the less-than-ideal setting, it still was Thanksgiving and the food did not disappoint. I'll just runfess that it was what it was, and I'm alright with the fact that our daughter had to miss out on it (she's not a fan of turkey anyways).
A sampling of our Thanksgiving feast
Black Friday.
I'm feeling kind of meh at the prospect of Black Friday shopping this year. I saw a lot of stuff that I like in the ads, but nothing that I absolutely gotta have. In other words, Black Friday FOMO is not really an issue (this year)...but I runfess that I still will probably head out Friday morning to snag a few good deals on stuff I really don't need.
Black Friday? Yay or No way?
Runner's World 40 Days of Awesome.
Hmmmmm. Every year, Runner's World magazine promotes a winter streaking extravaganza, where you commit to running at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day. It sounds a lot more high-maintenance that it really is, but I simply do my regular routine (running 3-4 days/week) and then run a simple, easy-paced mile on what would normally be the "non-running" days. I have done this for the last four winters, but I'll runfess to you all that I'm not feeling a strong sense of compulsion to do it this year. Since there's nice weather (unseasonably warm) in the forecast, I will start the Streak (technically, the Streak already started at the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning)...and we'll see how it goes. If I'm not feeling it, I'll bail. #staytuned

To streak or not to streak....
So, there you have it. My Runfessions are not too earth-shattering this month. Could it be that my Thankful post topped off my proverbial glass (you know, the #glasshalffull glass)? How about you? Do you have anything to runfess to the general (running) population? Ever skipped a workout and had ZERO guilt in doing so? Black Friday shopping? Streaking?

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

I'm also linking this with Meranda and Lacey and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0. 


32 comments:

  1. Happy Thanksgiving Kim ! The only runfession I have is that now my fall racing season is officially over, I am feeling lost. I have no race / running goals for the time being. I need something to look forward to and motivate me and just can not seem to find something. Yet. The whole black Friday thing has made its way to France, even if we don't have Thanksgiving. WTH ?

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    1. Seriously, Black Friday is in France? Wow. It's crazy...for the past 10 years or so, the "start" time has gotten earlier and earlier. This year, a lot of places were bragging about Thanksgiving Day afternoon start times, and ironically also were closing at midnight and planning to re-open at 6:00 (or so) on Friday. Yes, WTH.

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  2. Thats so awesome that your Thanksgiving event has grown so much! I think many people like the idea of doing something active on Thanksgiving morning. There were so many people at the Turkey Trot that I ran! Sorry your daughter was sick for Thanksgiving. Glad you still got to enjoy a good meal with your family!

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    1. We live in a fairly small-sized town (population 10,000), so the fact that there were that many people showing up (and most of them ran the 5K instead of walking the shorter distances) was amazing. #humbled ;-)

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  3. Like your daughter, I was not feeling well yesterday--I think mine was due to my meds (I take them Weds night). It kind of surprised me because I don't usually feel badly the day after...I did eat and push through it but boy was I glad to go to bed last night!

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    1. UGH...being sick on Thanksgiving is not good timing. She finally came downstairs after we'd had our dinner, and camped out on the couch (with a bucket nearby). She even had a slight fever, but is feeling better this morning...so far...

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  4. Ugh so sorry your daughter was sick on Thanksgiving. I failed to take a single pic as well and I'd planned to get a whole family shot. Turkey duty for 20 kind of swept me away. That's so great your trot has grown so much!

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    1. Our family pic will hopefully happen tomorrow or Sunday.....

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  5. Sorry to hear your daughter was not feeling well for Thanksgiving, but at least she was home for it. I am not a big black Friday shopper. Nowadays you can get the same deals online instead of fighting with the crowds.

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    1. I don't mind the crowds, mainly because now I wait until Friday morning to head out so Most of the crazy people are gone by then LOL

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  6. Ugh, that really stinks to be sick like that when the food smells go on all day! Hope she's feeling better! I don't do much on Black Friday - the last time I went out and shopped like crazy was back in the late 90s. haha! I've never done that Runner's World streak. I like my rest days too much. :)

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    1. The daughter is feeling better...still not 100% better yet, though.

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  7. Me too. no family picks...

    Never done a run streak. I might in the summer but it's too much trouble to get on all those layers for one mile. And I don't run everyday.

    I am thinking of boycotting Christmas. No one really needs anything. Bah Humbug.

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    1. I don't mind the layers for just a mile...it gets me outside (and keeps me away from the 'mill)

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  8. I love that you organize your own 5K! What a fun idea and glad you had a great turnout

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  9. As much as I love to shop, I have zero Black Friday FOMO. There are rarely good deals, and when there are, they're just as easy to buy online from the comfort of my own home.

    I don't mind the cooking, but the cleaning? That really does get to me. Lola also had her dental this week and that added a certain layer of stress -- it was 90 minutes away from home just that morning, and of course we had to go back to pick her up in the evening. Everything worked out in the end.

    I hope your daughter is feeling better -- turkey lover or not, that sucks. Almost no photos, though, just far too busy hosting & cooking.

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    1. I agree, the cooking is not as much work as the cleaning...ugh!

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  10. I love that your annual Turkey Trot has grown year after year!

    So sorry to hear about your daughter and I hope that she feels better soon!

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  11. Thanks to years of working retail during high school and college, there is absolutely no FOMO for me on Black Friday. With that said, I runfess that I was at my local running store at 4 am to buy a new pair of shoes this morning.

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    1. ha ha ha ha! It's hard to pass up a good deal on running shoes!

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  12. What fun and how cool of you to have started your local trot?! I love that it's so casual and people still participate. Bummer for your daughter being sick for Thanksgiving. No fun.

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    1. Our Trot has weathered the first six years, so I think it's here to stay. I'm considering trying to find a sponsor to help us with shirts...an optional purchase for participants, but the proceeds would go to our food pantry

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  13. I think it's awesome that you started a turkey trot and that it's growing! So sorry that your daughter was sick on Thanksgiving - hope she's feeling better soon!

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  14. So amazing that you had so many runners this year!!! Good for you!!

    I'm sorry your daughter was sick. That's never fun. One year I had traveled to DC to see my brothers and I ended up having the flu on Thanksgiving (not the stomach kind). I was in bed all day with a really high fever, bordering on delirious. I drove home that night with my boyfriend (now husband) because I worked in retail and had to be home to work the next day. I was so sick that I drove all the way to Cleveland but endd up calling off work anyway.

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  15. I'm sorry your daughter had the stomach flu. Yuck. :(

    I love all the prep and cooking for Thanksgiving, but next year, I may need a break. We will see.

    I also love that you and your friends actually founded a turkey trot! How fun and incredible! It must be amazing to see the group (and donations) grow over the years. What a legacy!

    I was really thinking about trying to run every day between now and Christmas, but .... meh. And I already missed today. I am not a big fan of daily running, so I'm really going to have to get myself into it if I do it in the future.

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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  16. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, sounds like a lot of run with that crowd!! I was definitely
    the same "meh" today about Black Friday, is I totally get it!

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  17. Ha ha, love the runfessions! Sorry for your daughter though, that's a real bummer. Hope she's on the mend now!

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  18. I'm sorry to hear your daughter was ill on Thanksgiving! I hope it doesn't spread through the family! I'm very thankful my MIL still hosts Thanksgiving and enjoys cooking the main meal. The rest of us just have to fill in a little bit. And clean up.

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  19. I've definitely missed workouts that were originally part of my plan...sometimes I get upset about it but lately I've let things slide as much as I can. Sometimes it's just not worth being upset about!

    Sorry your daughter was sick on the holiday. Still it had to be great to have everyone together!

    And congrats on another successful Turkey Trot!

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  20. I think that picture of the race participants is awesome! I am amazed in the number of people that showed up-AWESOME!!! I hope your daughter is feeling better.

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