Thursday, October 5, 2023

A Coffee Catch-Up


Low and behold, it's already that time of the month. Time for a coffee catch-up, that is.

You know the drill...we all gather (virtually) around a (virtual) table and have some (virtual) chatter. It's crazy that September is in the rearview mirror and October '23 is already a week old. Time flies, right?

So, grab your favorite mug, cup, water bottle or stein, and let's have at it. I've got a few things to share with you all, so what say we get this party started.?

Anyways...

If we were catching up, over coffee, I'd start by telling you how my September played out. I've said it more than once, but I'm not much into topping the 100-mile mark (at least in terms of monthly running). Honestly, I've probably only crossed that milestone a handful of times, ever. That being said, had I known I was oh-so-close, I may (or may not?) have been tempted to add those two bonus miles, LOL. I'll never know, and I'm alright with that. Besides, it's quite liberating to not have that number messing with my mind.

If we were catching up, over coffee, I'd admit to banking a few more ZZZ's than usual in recent weeks. I can't help but wonder if those 98 miles (in the running shoes) could be a factor? Don't be too impressed...I'm still not getting the "ideal" 8-9 hours of shuteye most nights. I am allowing a few random (slight) sleep-ins, though, as needed. While that's all well and good, I gotta admit that I often feel more fatigued when I do get extra sleep. I know, it makes no sense.

If we were catching up, over coffee, I'd express my surprise over the 30 for 30 Garmin badge. This little baby popped up after my 11-mile run last Saturday. It was a challenge that I didn't even know existed. I guess all those 2-mile walks brought me more than just fresh air and fitness.

If we were catching up, over coffee, I'd tell you about my "Coretober Challenge." Core work is one avenue of fitness that isn't really my gig. I do it because it's good for me, and a strong core serves more purpose than just looking good, but I honestly do not enjoy doing the work. Although I do a lot of planking,  focused core work, often times, get neglected...so I'm doing daily core workouts for the month of October. Peloton has a lot of 5-minute and 10-minute core workouts, and I'm trying to hit 'em all. So far, so good.

Finally, if we were catching up, over coffee, I'd share a funny thing Barb and I did last weekend. We'd met for a long run Saturday morning, and both of us were decked-out in black University of Iowa tank tops. The thing is, we both were going to the Iowa - MSU football game that evening, and it was the blackout game (#FacePalm). The temps were balmy (umm, 92F), so it was going to be a hot game. I mentioned, jokingly, that we should just wash our black running tanks, after our run, and wear them to the game later. So we did. Problem solved. 


Okay then. That's all I got for now. Besides, I've had the floor long enough...your turn!

What would you care to share if we were catching up over coffee? 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.



I'm also linking this with MichelleReneeDarleneJenn and Zenaida for the Fit Five Friday Link-up.


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22 comments:

  1. Hey, at least you washed them!

    I got hooked on the Peloton core classes early on. There is so much variety and I really notice a difference in my cycling (better posture on long rides).

    I never follow the Garmin challenges or badges. I just don’t think to check!

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    1. I'm hoping these daily core workouts will ignite a fire (or something) to keep me motivated to do more core work.

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  2. Core work is something I do pretty routinely and when I stopped doing it when we were in Africa, it made a huge difference. I never see the Garmin badges! I don't even know where my Garmin is now that I wear my Apple watch. Ha!

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    1. I do core work somewhat routinely, but it's definitely easily procrastinated (or left out) if I'm short on time.

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  3. I do love a daily core as well and I do think they make a difference. I can use all the help I can get these days. Extra sleep has been one of my goals of late-under rated super power

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    1. I'm trying to be more mindful of sleep! It's just not a priority (my bad).

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  4. I'm a fan of the Peloton core classes - I'd fallen off wagon recently and feel a difference when I don't do them, so I'm back at it!

    Well played on the "blackout" outfits :)

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    1. It wasn't until I was running that I remembered it was the blackout game...glad I had the revelation to wash the shirt. It's a good thing tech fabric dries so quickly, LOL.

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  5. Ha, I like Coco's comment- at least you washed the shirts!
    Coretober sounds like a great idea. I don't do as much core as I should. I was doing planks today and I thought, "Planksgiving is coming right up!"... a challenge I failed miserably last year. Maybe I"ll join you in a version of Coretober.
    Nice job on the running mileage! i might have tried to sneak in those extra two : )

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    1. I think since I do so much planking I "allow" myself a lot of grace when it comes to focused core work. Hoping that will change this month!

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  6. I love when a badge pops up for a challenge that I didn't even sign up for. And thanks for the Garmin badge reminder - I never remember to sign up for challenges until a few days into the month. It's a good thing they're retroactive back to the beginning of the month. ;-)

    I don't love my core exercises, but I'm dedicated to do them since I have back issues.

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. The surprise badges are nice! Kind of a nice little reward for keeping active ;-)

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  7. I never look at Garmin - well I use it for races anyway.

    I don't put in much mileage each week so my months really hit 100 but while marathon training, this month it did!!

    I don't require a lot of sleep luckily because I never seem to get enough

    Coffee for me but I do love the Starbucks pumpkin cream chai!!.

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    1. I'm lucky I don't require much sleep, either...which makes it tough to get in the extra sleep.

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  8. Generally 8 hours is an average -- everyone is different. For me it's more about quality -- and sometimes (thankfully not too often) the quality sucks.

    LOL about wearing your black tanks to the game!

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    1. My quality of sleep has gotten better, despite the quantity. It seems I get my best sleep on the couch at night, when I nod off for a couple (or a few) hours before bed.

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  9. I love the idea of dedicating October to core work! I’ve neglected it over the last few weeks. Now I’ve restarted and wow! It hurts!! 😀

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    1. It hurts so good, right? Well, until you sneeze or laugh really hard.

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  10. I've been trying to get more sleep lately because my SO keeps telling me about all the research showing that people who sleep less die a whole lot earlier, haha. (Varying levels of success with this currently.)

    Good luck with the Coretober Challenge! I try to do a plank a day but it's definitely not enough, so I may be adding to that...

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    1. I know my sleep is jacked-up, but I honestly do not feel any noticeable effects of it. I naturally wake up before my alarm most days, regardless of what time it go to sleep.

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  11. Love that you just wore your tanks again! So smart! We have so much laundry for marching band with the show shirts being worn for the football games and then again for the competition the next day. I hate laundry. I've also been down for more sleep lately., I'm just tired.

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  12. Glad to hear you are sleeping more. It is very important so our body recovers. I have days when I don't get enough sleep and then somehow on the weekends sleep in later than usual. I feel really good when I wake up.

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