About Me

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Coffe talk? Chai chat? Call it what you will


Shall we gather together over a warm beverage? I'll be sipping a chai latte'.

Maybe we can chat about the latest race or tough training run (I have had both). Or, we could talk about this proverbial change of seasons (is it really autumn...because it kind of feels like winter, at the moment, in Iowa). How about we share a few laughs, as only friends would do, if we were huddled around an inviting table of friendly faces.

Oh, what WOULD we talk about?


Shall I start?

Well, first off, if we were having coffee, I'd share my concern about the future of my cycling fetish as the temps get colder. We do have a stationary bike, but if I'm being brutally honest, I sincerely don't see myself saddling up on that very much. For me, the big allure with cycling has not only been a great "flush-out" for my legs (following my long runs), but also being outdoors and seeing all the sights. We do have the bike set up near a television, so maybe I'll surprise myself. I wouldn't bet the farm on it, though.
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I certainly won't be seeing the sunrise from inside my house...
Next, I'd share the frustration I've had with this ridiculous weather. Seriously, how much rain does Momma N think we can withstand? It's not fun juggling the workouts around, and in accordance with, the (near constant) rain. We are embarking on our fourth continuous weekend with rain in the forecast. Hello? Some of us would like to get those last long runs done, preferably outside and not on the dear old treadmill. Just this past week, we've had rain almost every day (and received a fast four inches of the stuff Tuesday evening, all in a matter of a couple hours).
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Rain, Rain...you're being a royal pain...
I'd also share that I really can't complain too much about this current weekend's rainy forecast for Iowa, though. The hubby, the son, a family friend and myself are all road-tripping to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the Iowa football game. Of course, that means I had to get my long run done early (like on Friday morning...in the 41F temps, none the less).

With my impending long run on Friday, I purposely kept Thursday's activity at the minimum. That meant an early morning power walk was on tap...only there was a heavy mist in the air. After one mile, I white-flagged it and retreated indoors. Can you guess where this is going? In an effort to finish off the 2-mile morning walk, I reunited with Milly. UGH. I set the speed on 4.5 and put the incline on 3 and had at it. That mile took me all of 13.23 minutes, but it felt like f.o.r.e.v.e.r. Let's just hope I won't have to do that again for awhile.
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Yes, back on the 'mill...
Depending on how Friday morning's run plays out (will I run the full 18 miles on my plan? or will I stop at 15? or 13?), my Marine Corps Marathon taper may officially commence this weekend. If I cut the long run short, I will probably want to do one more long-long run next weekend. MCM is on the 27th, so that's three weeks away. YIKES! The #ish is getting real. **spoiler - I ran all 18 Friday morning!**
OORAH!
Finally, can I share one last piece of good news? Our Pennsylvania daughter is coming back to Iowa! She was offered a position at her company's HQ (45 miles from our driveway). She's been back a few times recently (for training), bought a house near where she'll be working, and will officially be an Iowa resident by the end of the month. Yes, I'm just a bit giddy.

So, that's it for my contribution to our #coffeetalk. What would you share? And, what would you be drinking?

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

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

 

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28 comments:

  1. How lovely about your daughter moving back, and she sounds very organised with the move already. We have had so much rain here, we're on holiday at the moment and while you can assume a UK holiday in Sept/Oct will be a little damp, it's been pretty epic. I'm glad I'm not training for anything right now! Best of luck with your last long runs!

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    1. Thank you, Liz!! The rain here has been crazy! Thankfully, it was dry (albeit quite chilly) for my long run this morning. Onward!

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  2. That's so great your daughter will be nearby! That would make me SO happy! Indoor cycling isn't anything like hitting the road, sadly but spin classes are fun.

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    1. My thoughts exactly on the indoor cycling....we all know how I feel about indoor running, I can't imagine cycling would be too much of a difference for me LOL

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  3. Awww, so great that your daughter will be closer to you again.

    I'll be running "long" today, too. Luckily I don't have to get out there early. We actually have a freeze warning tonight.

    I wish I could say I took it easy yesterday, but with having been home a couple of days & not really sure how long I'll actually be home, I had a ton of stuff to do. It was exhausting. I'm not sure that running long (only 8-9 miles, or whatever I feel like) is in my best interest today, but then again, I'm not sure if I'll be heading back down tomorrow (maybe not to next week, but possibly earlier), and it's the first time I've had to run this week. So I'll just get out there & see what happens -- and yes it's cool and very windy! But at least not raining.

    Oops, enough about me. My guess is you'll hang up those biking cleats til next spring. Will be interesting to see what develops!

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    1. We'll see what happens with the cycling as the temps continue to plummet. I honestly cannot see myself logging too many miles on a bike that goes nowhere LOL But, I may surprise myself...the whole cycling, in general, took me by surprise this summer.

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  4. Please send some of that rain, we're so dry. Today is supposed to be our first cool day with tomorrow's low in the 40s and I cannot tell you how excited I am for tomorrow's run. A million years ago I used to do all of my cardio on a stationary bike and now I don't know how I got through it.

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    1. Want our rain? It's all your's for the taking ;-) The temps were in the low/mid 40's this morning for my run. I was curious if I had the right layers (because I've never done a long-long run in such cold temps), but it felt good.

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  5. That's great that your daughter is moving back home with you! It is always nice to have them come back to the nest (at least fora little while). Hope your long run goes well today and have a fantastic weekend in Ann Arbor. I've never been there but hear it's a great college town

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    1. I've been to Ann Arbor a few times, but never to the Big House! I'm looking forward to it, especially now that I got my 18 miles done ;-)

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  6. What is interfering with your cycling? Rain? We are in a drought after a wet spring. We had almost no rain for months.

    Yay on your daughter moving close to home! I was just saying to a friend that we want our kids to fly but make their nest close to home. <3

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    1. I went back and edited my post slightly...I'm having doubts how much cycling I'll be doing once it gets too cold outside. I'm not a fan of indoor equipment ;-(

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  7. That's great that your daughter is moving back. I think our mom is happy that we both live fairly close. I've lucked out lately and there hasn't been any rain in the forecast for me lately. It hasn't felt like much fall weather here. It think it will skip fall and go right to winter. It still feels like summer right now.

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    1. I've been able to switch a few of my runs around, so it hasn't been a total game changer. But still...when there's long runs to do, and we keep getting rain on the weekends (when I usually do those long runs), it's not ideal.

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  8. So happy that your daughter will be closer to you - that's so exciting!

    As you know, the weather here has been unpredictable to put it nicely, lol

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    1. I think we've all had psycho weather recently. We need a weather re-do.

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  9. oh Kim! I'm so happy for you that your daughter will be back near you! that is the best news!!

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    1. Thank you!!! Yes, we're really excited to have her back nearby. It's hard to believe it's been over three years that she's been in Pennsylvania!

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  10. Awesome that your daughter will be nearby...it is hellishly raining here...and this is one of the biggest festive season for us...all the plans are getting spoiled as 'Momma N' is not stopping crying...

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  11. Nothing more frustrating than bad bad weather sucking the enjoyment out of training.
    I hope you manage to do the full long run. Enjoy the taper!

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  12. I'm really not understanding this weather either... 95 degrees one day, 67 degrees the next, nonstop rain the day after...

    I hope you have fun in Ann Arbor, and yay for your daughter coming back!! :]

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  13. How wonderful that your daughter is moving back to the area!

    The weather has been all over the place! I really wish Momma N would make up her mind!

    Have fun in Ann Arbor :)

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  14. Very cool that your daughter will be close by. I hope my girls stay close.
    Do you go to work after your 18 mile runs? I'm pretty sure I'd be planning an afternoon nap. :-)

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  15. So exciting to have your daughter moving closer to home! As for the bike...I have a smart trainer that I put my bike on in the winter. It is amazing!! It connects to my iPad or iPhone and I virtually ride courses on it...BEST thing ever...Christmas is right around the corner Kim ;-)

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  16. I'm afraid my biking outside days are numbered as well. I need to stop by the bike store and pick up some winter biking gloves because my fingerless ones just aren't going to cut it! Starting this week, I'm free on Wednesday mornings for five weeks to join Bill and his 5AM bike crew for rides. I just hope it doesn't get too cold.

    We are in the middle of a pretty severe drought. Please send some of your rain our way!

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  17. Oh,man! Three weeks! That's so awesome!

    Our cycling weather is just getting decent here. It's so funny how different the regions are. I think I'm going to have some rainy runs in my future and I'm not super thrilled about it. Rain is my nemesis.

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  18. Great news that your daughter will be so much closer.
    Does your stationary bike have a name? If not, bet she feels left out compared to your other machines.

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  19. YEs, Finding the motivation for indoor riding can be hard. I think I am going to get back to spinning this winter and maybe look at investing in a peloton?

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