About Me

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Runfessions - Recent Reality Checks


When is the last time you had a reality check?

For myself, there have been ample opportunities as of late. Reality checks are actually good for us...they keep us humble and, often times remind us that we are human and not without fault.

For example, here's five recent ones:

Have you gotten your runner's glow on lately? 
It has been a very hot and humid summer in Iowa (and elsewhere as well). Now, I love the heat more than most runners, but I shall runfess that even I have been "glistening and glowing" more than usual. It's been happening before, during and after most of my runs and races. 

Recently, when I finished the Midnight Madness 15K (recap HERE), I felt (and looked) like I had been sitting in a deep vat of water. We finished the race around 9:30 p.m., and my clothes were dripping (quite literally). We hung out at the post-race party for a while, and arrived back home just after midnight. Even after an hour-long car ride (sitting on a thick towel, none the less), I was still a drenched mess. On a whim, I weighed myself with (and without) my wet race outfit before my shower...let's just say two pounds of perspiration had taken up residence in my race gear. I know, EWWWW!
#sweatequity
Running (partially) naked for the win!
I was in Chicago last weekend for the Rock'n'Roll ReMix (recap HERE). I knew the GPS would be less than accurate with the plethora of tall buildings (and occasional tunnels), so I left the Garmin back in Iowa (I did have a simple stop watch, but no GPS). Also, since there was a big blogger meet-up happening, I anticipated I'd be running (and chatting) with some fellow blogging friends, so I left the Ipod back home as well. 

Jinx! 

I wound up running both the 5K and the half marathon races solo. The 5K route was pretty narrow, so it was just easier to do my own thing than to try and squeeze in between all the other runners along the lake front path. Then, on Sunday, I wasn't able to find (or reach via phone) any of the other half marathon racers from our blogging group at the very crowded start line. Did I mention there was almost non-stop rain during the half marathon as well?

Amazingly, I have to runfess both races went well for me despite the less-than-desirable race day conditions. I didn't know I had it in me to run that kind of a distance without my own music, but it really was no big deal. Granted, there was lots of beautiful Chicago architecture to keep me distracted from the rain, and there was plenty of music along the route. There was constant crowd support and a pretty amazing Blue Mile on Monroe Street. No complaints. No regrets. I even managed a 7th place AG finish (out of 120) in the 5K. Maybe I should run naked more often, huh!


5K (above left) and 13.1 (above)...no Ipod = no problem ;-)
Keeping that glass half full
I took my first solo AmTrak train to Chicago, and it was an interesting endeavor. Not only was the train 2-hours late getting me to Union Station, it was not equipped with Wifi (as had been promised). Fortunately, I had forgone doing a Friday post, so I didn't have to burn through much of my data by reading/commenting/replying to others' posts (which would have been my plan had I actually published a Friday post). I also had brought along a spiral-bound notebook, so I was able to get several future posts drafted by pen and paper. A bonus? The notebook had a lot of hand-written drafts of old posts...let me runfess, it was fun rereading some of my older material from a few years prior.
All aboard! Destination:Union Station
Keeping things in perspective
At the recent Midnight Madness Road Races, I placed 5th (AG) in the 5K and got a bronze (AG) in the 10K. Both of those races were challenging because they happened back-to-back on an especially hot summer evening. Also, it was a 5K looped route, so those of us running the 10K had to run it two more times after the 5K finished. Imagine my surprise and elation to later learn I had also placed 2nd for the 15K (combined distance)! Then, upon further investigation, I saw that there were only two gals in my age group that did the entire 15K. How's that for a buzzkill! I did finish ahead of several younger gals, so there's that. I runfess, though, that I'm still happy with how the evening played out. My finish times were quite decent considering the circumstances, and I cannot control that there weren't more "old gals" in my particular age group. Onward!
I had to work for this bronze baby
Finally, as many have seen, there was a pretty epic blogger meet-up over the weekend at the R'n'R. As much fun as it was, though I gotta runfess...it just left me wanting more ;-) We had a lot of rain to deal with, but we had a lot of laughs, numerous hugs and fabulous conversation. Oh, and we also got to run on the streets of Chicago!

Anyways, enough about me!
How about YOU? have you had any reality checks lately? Profuse perspiration? Running naked? AmTrak adventures?

I'm linking up with Marcia for the ever awesome monthly Runfessions. Please join us!

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

43 comments:

  1. Thats weird that you didn't have wifi on your train! Whenever I take it to NY it has it, although it isn't great. The blogger meet up in Chicago looks like it was so much fun!

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    1. All the info I had seen about AmTrak said the trains had wifi, so when the guy marking my ticket shook his head at me, I probably rolled my eyes rudely. Oh well. First world probs, right? It was kind of nice to have 5+ hours with nothing pressing on my roster ;-) And, it would have been great had you joined us in Chicago ;-)

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  2. Chicago is a great city to run "naked" in! I think my socks alone had a pound of water in them when I took them off after the 10k. It was ridiculous! I'll be smiling about our weekend for a looong time. :D

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    1. Agreed...my wool socks were saturated; I've never EVER experienced wool socks getting so wet! But, it was all in good (running) fun ;-)

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  3. Oh God, I've been riding trains solo since I was a teenager. Although we don't take a the train a whole lot anymore, and when I have in recent years, it hasn't been solo.

    I used to take the train into NYC all the time as a teenager. And in college, that's mostly how I got home. Although I did get rides with random strangers a few times . . . my how times have changed, but then you consider Uber (which I don't like & have only done once and not by myself).

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    1. The train ride itself was great, but it was just annoying for the 2-hour delay. Obviously, AmTrak didn't care that I had a race expo to get to (which I had to postpone until the next day due to my late arrival). Everything worked out, though.

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  4. I do some of my best post planning while traveling and I always keep a little notebook in my bag for ideas. It's quicker and easier to write them out old school sometimes

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    1. I think it's WAY easier to write things out than to have to finger-tip it on my phone. I always have a notebook in the car when we're on the road (the hubby is usually the driver anyways LOL).

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  5. I have been known to write a whole blog post on my phone when needed, like in the car when my hubby’s driving. I haven’t written anything by hand in ages! I’ll bet it was fun to read old post drafts. A lot of our lives is stored on our blogs!

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    1. I used to keep a hand-written journal (from the time I was in junior high), but the blog has kind of taken over. Obviously, there is not much personal stuff in print, but all the other stuff is there ;-)

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  6. I'm still scratching my head about the wifi on your Amtrak train. I often take Amtrak to Philly and while they do have wifi, it's horrible and I can never use it. But I've never heard of a train completely not having any wifi!

    I love that you went old school and used a notebook to draft some posts. I do the same thing when traveling. I just really like to actually write my thoughts down.

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    1. I prefer to write the notes, too. Once in awhile I'll do some bullet points on my blogger app, but it's much easier to have an actual keyboard than my phone when it comes time to do the actual posts...but I always have a notebook with me when I"m away from the computer.

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  7. I would have been super bummed about no Wi-Fi on the train. I travel by air once or twice a month and I get so much work done on the plane. It's rare, but every now and then there is no Wi-Fi. UGH. I've been sweating up a storm on my runs lately. I'm not sure if it's the weather or my age...

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    1. The sweat has been so real this year LOL I think it's just been so humid (more than usual) and there's nowhere for the moisture to evaporate to...

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  8. I runfess that there would have been no running and chatting on my part. Between my plodding pace and the rain, it was all I had to keep moving forward!

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    1. It certainly was my rainiest race....even worse than Grandma's 2015.

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  9. I LOVE that you still use paper and pen to write blog drafts! I do that too when I'm at work and want to make the most of some unused time (like between meetings and stuff).


    Totally unrelated note, but do you live near that jogger that went missing on Iowa? I heard about this on the news Saturday while I was on Florida and immediately thought of you

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    1. Yes, our daughter works with this missing girl (her town is about 20 miles from us). It's so freaky and scary....

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  10. I take the train solo often. It is annoying when it is late.

    My Half PR was naked. I debate whether or not I should race without a watch too.

    It was fun meeting you in Vegas.I definitely need another blogger meet-up?

    Montreal, anyone?

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    1. The naked thing really was no big deal, at all. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was ;-)

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  11. I've always wanted to travel via rail. Other than the missing WiFi, did you like it?

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    1. Yes, the ride itself was great! There was a lot of leg room (much more than on an airplane!), and it was relaxing to have nothing pressing that I had to work on ;-)

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  12. I used to take the T into Boston when I worked there. I went through so many books, and I do wonder now if the trains are equipped with wifi. I enjoyed reading so much more.

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    1. I had a book along with me, so I read for awhile, too. A real book LOL, not a virtual book.

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  13. I thought I was extra sweaty after my run yesterday, but nothing like 2 pounds of sweat! I do sweat quite a lot for living in a drier place though. I call it my evaporative cooling system.

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  14. I take Amtrak a couple times a year, basically if we want to go to NYC and don't feel like driving. I get frustrated with the wifi! Our train had wifi but it was soooo slow on my lap top that it was basically like not having wifi at all. For some reason, the wifi on my phone was super fast. I have no idea what is up with that. Other than that, I have always enjoyed our train rides... mainly just the luxury of being able to zone out and not have to drive.

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    1. You are so correct...the luxury of zoning out was awesome!

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  15. I'm thinking running naked works for ya! The no wifi on the train might have sent me over the edge, but I love that you got some posts done old school. I runfess that I still like to jot down blog ideas in a notebook.

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    1. I like jotting down ideas "old school," too. I get really annoyed finger-tipping on my phone LOL

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  16. I think every time I do a speed workout I get a reality check, at least lately that's how it seems. I really want to get faster as a runner (obviously I need those speed workouts) but sometimes the speed just kicks my trash and I feel myself letting go easier.

    I don't have a garmin, I usually run without music, and I do carry my phone for "just in case" reasons but mostly I don't have that kind of gear. Maybe that's why speed workouts kill me haha, I don't have much of a gage on how fast I'm going.

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    1. I don't use my Garmin except for races (to monitor my pace at the mile marks & review my splits after I'm done)...and I sometimes use it for long training runs to keep track of my mileage (if it's a new route). I've never been much of a tech gal.

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  17. I did a long run with a friend yesterday morning. It was humid, and I was a sweaty mess when we finished. Unfortunately, I had made arrangements to meet another friend for breakfast and I didn't have time to go home and take a shower. I toweled off, changed clothes, and tried not to get too close to my friend (for her sake!).

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    1. I think the humidity makes the sweat so much worse...even my tech gear stays wet because the air is too damp for anything to evaporate LOL

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  18. Oh I'm sure looking through that notebook on the train was quite the walk down memory lane. Were there any posts that you had drafted ideas for that never got published onto your blog?

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    1. Oh yes...there were a few that never made it into print...I'm gonna go back and tweak some of them and (hopefully) get them published at some point.

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  19. Yeah, I hear you - we were so excited to learn that our team had won our division at Ragnar Richmond Trail a couple of years ago. Wait for it, wait for it... we were the only team in our division! ;-)

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    1. ha ha...yes, I know the feeling ;-) I was bummed at first to learn there were only two of us who had done the entire 15K in my AG...there were a lot who did just the 5K or just the 10K, though. But, in the end, I was alright with everything because I still had pretty good finish times for each of the races, and the combined time was nice ;-)

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  20. I just know there will be many more blogger meet-ups in the future! You did so well in those races, and can I just say, your outfits were fabulous! Especially love that turqoise top with the green visor :-)

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  21. I have never been on a train. I like to right out all my post on actual paper, It seems pointless to most because I do the extra step of written to computer but I like it

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  22. I would have loved to meet up with everyone! I'm dying to have an epic blogger meet up.

    I've always wondered how much I would weigh post long run. I'm going to try it one of those days.

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  23. The heat and humidity definitely makes it harder to run! I actually did a couple early morning runs recently and that helped to kinda battle that humidity, haha. I need to visit Chicago someday!

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  24. It has def been a hot summer in Houston! I feel like I need to change my clothes every few hours due to sweat!
    I am glad to hear your races went well without music!
    I loved running in Chicago and I miss it all the time!

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