First World ‘Fessions

Just like that, it's time to hit the 'Fessional and come clean.

You know the drill...we take a few minutes to disclose a few "unmentionables," and our "soles" are cleared for take-off. Kind of a nice cleansing send-off to one month as we get ready for the next ones arrival.

Well, it should come as no surprise, I have a few 'fessions that need mention. None of these are critical, and none are life-changing. In fact, they're more of a First World Problem caliber...

First up, Autumn has arrived. Most know how much I’m in love with the summer season. In the Midwest, it’s far too short of a season because it seems to arrive late and ends much too soon. Day-1 of Autumn treated us to a 30-degree temperature plummet overnight. Yeah, triple yuck. I’ll weatherfess, though, I got over that heartache quickly when the temps hiked back up to summer feels-like conditions the very next day, and stayed for the remainder of the week. Thanks, Momma N!

after Day-2 of Autumn 2024's 70F run

Next, the diminishing daylight is a big No Bueno in my early morning world. Yeah, it’s my reality and I’ve learned to deal with it, but that doesn’t mean I have to celebrate it. The Noxgear vest sees a lot of action, but I need to runfess that I use it mainly for my early morning (or full moon) runs…and nothing else. Unlike my previous town, I now live in a well-lit neighborhood, with bountiful sidewalks (and limited street usage). If I’m just walking, my Knuckle Lights are more than sufficient. 

Another point of contention is the disappearance of my lower-body strength-work mojo. Admittedly, I’ve always preferred upper-body work, but I have been diligent with keeping my glutes and legs in decent condition (because I know it’s the right thing to do, LOL). I’ll just mojofess that I’m further procrastinating due to the upcoming IMT Des Moines 13.1 on October 20th. There’s sure to be some DOMS headed my way when I resume the glute/hammy strength work, and I’d prefer to not have any long runs hampered by the muscle distress. Humor me, tell me my strategy is legit…anyone?

still rocking the upper-body strength while the lower-body stuff is on sabbatical

Speaking of this half marathon, my training hasn’t been too stellar. I had every intention of doing occasional focused speed drills (back when summer was beginning), but those speed drills never happened. One thing I have been doing consistently, though, is going to the Thursday evening group runs. These runs are all-inclusive, and the group waits at every mile stop for everyone to catch-up. It's never been my intention to do these runs at any specific pace, but it seems like I get caught up chatting and don't realize I'm "tempo'ing" my pace until the run ends. Just last night, I ran the first mile (what felt like) easy-peasy, then one of the younger guys started talking with me in the second mile...and the run quickly became an unplanned progression run, LOL. The clincher is that I never felt like I was pushing my pace, and none of the phantom aches and pains of recent were present. Hmmm, dare I runfess that these impromptu Thursday evening tempo runs may suffice for the lack of intentional speed-training? 

Lastly, I did a real absent-minded thing this week. I've been doing a lot of walks over my lunch break, and I usually have my ear buds with me for musical entertainment. I also take my lunch most days, and I keep the ear bud case in the outer pocket of my lunch pack. It wasn't until I was halfway home that I realized I'd forgotten my lunch pack on my work desk. That meant that I didn't have said ear buds for Wednesday's post-workday run or for the Thursday morning cardio session/chat with Deb. After several years of running/walking/biking sans music, I musicfess that I've morphed back to the "other side." Thankfully, I managed quite nicely without the ear buds, but I'll be more mindful of being sure to grab all my goods before I leave the office from hear on out.

So, that'll do for now. I'm all 'fessed-out, and I'm ready to usher-in October with a (mostly) clear conscience.

Do you have any 'fessions to bring to the table? How's your fall season thus far: is it feeling like fall, or is it still summer-like? Do you ever go through phases where some of your strength-training takes a backseat? Do you take music along with you on runs or walks?

I'm  linking this with Marcia for the monthly Runfessions link-up

I'm also linking this with Michelle, Renee, Darlene, Jenn and Zenaida for the Fit Five Friday Link-up.

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