Chatting & Chai & a few Runfessions

It's that time of the month...again.

Are you ready for some chatting? Over coffee (or, in my case, chai)? What say we throw in a few Runfessions...you know, just to keep it real?

I'm always game for a (virtual) meet-up with like-minded people. Here's what I'd share if we were having a (virtual) coffee gathering...


First of all, I'd have to runfess that my Spring races (and their finish times) kind of took me by surprise.  Technically, according to the calendar, Spring is not over by a long shot, but my racing is on hold until June 1st. I'm happy to be done for a bit, and I'm happy with all that I accomplished, but especially proud of the fact that I did it on my own. I didn't really have a specific plan because I had a variety of race distances. I just tried to pay attention to what my body was telling me, in terms of speed work and rest. I got really lucky, though, in how things fell into place in April (after the three speedy 10K's in March). The Cherry Blossom 10-miler was a natural succession (in distance), followed by the Drake half marathon...and then the 1-miler was a significant finishing kick a few days later.

Secondly, if we were chatting over chai, I would runfess, with vigor, that the DOMS are no joke. That delayed onset muscle soreness hype is NOT hype at all. There were a few instances of the DOMS after some hill sprints, and brief "flares" after some races. But that itty bitty Grand Blue Mile took a serious toll on me. Granted, there probably were a few DOMS at play from the hilly half marathon a few days prior, but it took me almost a solid week to feel DOMS-free following that intense 1-mile race. Who would think 7:23 minutes of running could wreak such havoc?

Next, over chai, I'd remind you that I vowed to keep things on the down-low (for the next couple of weeks), and I'd runfess that I have been doing just that, albeit (somewhat) begrudgingly. I am still running a few days each week, but I'm keeping the mileage low and I'm foregoing any intense speed drills or extensive HIIT workouts during this recovery period. I came up with a mini workout that I've been doing on the daily; it takes less than 10 minutes to complete from start to finish and works my entire body for a quick, sweat-infused session:

Maintenance On The Daily:
-10 push-ups
-10 burpees
-10 push-ups
-10 stair flights (double-stepped)
-10 push-ups
-2:30 minute side plank (on elbow, 1:15 each side)
-10 candlesticks

Fourthly, as we sipped our chai, I'd runfess that my April mileage was really on the down-low, as well. I was a little surprised by that considering most of that happened before I declared this recovery period (Destination:Downtime)  to get me through the two weeks before my relay. How does a grand, monthly total of 67 miles sound? Oh well....I'm totally good with that.

Finally, I'm not sure what's happening to me, but I'd runfess that I have kind of morphed into a filter freak. I seem to go in phases where I don't filter any pics (because I want a "real" representation of what I actually look like) and then I start getting creative and go a little overboard. What can I say? Some filters really enhance the image. The colors pop. There's more depth. The pics look more like art. Sorry, not sorry.

Anyways, those are just a few things I'd chat about (along with the crazy weather and my yearning for summer). 

How about you? Anything you'd runfess? Would you be drinking coffee, chai or something else? How did your April play out? Any fun races on your roster, in April or coming up soon? 

 Since it's the first weekend of the month, I'm linking this with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date.

I'm also 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. 

 

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