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Thursday, September 26, 2024

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 MichelleReneeDarleneJenn and Zenaida for the Fit Five Friday Link-up.


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12 comments:

  1. I think your Thursday workouts qualify as speed sessions! You will be fine for your upcoming half marathon. You have been doing long runs consistently, too.
    Who knows, maybe you will surprise yourself with a PR on October 20th?

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    1. A PR would be fabulous, but I'm not banking on, LOL. Last year I came oh-so-close to a sub-2 (2:00:37), but I'd need sub 1:55-ish for a PR. We shall see what the race day brings me. The Thursday group runs have definitely upped my game a bit, though, so who knows?

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  2. Oooh I'm glad you found your earbuds! Sometimes I'll slip a credit card in a pocket instead of taking the time to put it away properly and the next time I need it it's not there. Yikes! I resisted music/podcasts on the run for a long time but now I enjoy!

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    1. At last I knew exactly where the ear buds were hiding (45 miles away, on my work desk). Not a crisis, but a small disappointment for a brief moment. I just put my phone on speaker, so I could listen to a radio station (and everyone else, on my route, got to enjoy it as well, ha!).

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  3. You have my blessing to take it easy on lower body strength! I always had a hard time getting strength work in with running. And since we're 'fessing, after I stopped running I had a little fling with strength training, but it didn't really take. It was just alright. It was only after I put other strength work back on the backburner that I started doing pushups, which I love. I see an improvement in my everyday functional strength from doing them. Improvements and benefits from doing squats and lunges? Can't think of any.

    Yay for well lit streets! That is something that I don't have where I live, and something that had me heading for the treadmill each fall.

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    1. I'm glad the push-ups are giving you great satisfaction! I've been doing them for a few years, and the progress takes a while to show, but consistency pays off ;-) My old neighborhood had some streetlights, but no sidewalks. I feel really spoiled with my new 'hood ;-)

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  4. Yeah, I'm also not enjoying these dark mornings! On the dark drive to school this morning, I thought about how many more weeks till me turn the clocks back... five? Grr.
    Fitting together strength and running is always hard! Especially lower body. I agree that at this point you might as well wait till after your race. Everything is going well, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

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    1. I agree, the lower-body strength work is really tricky when there are long miles to be run. Maybe if I loved the glutes/hamstring work a little more, it would be different. For now this is my reality, and my race is almost here, so it's in my best interest to keep doing what I'm doing until Race Day comes and goes.

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  5. While you may have lost some of yours strength training mojo, I have completely lost my run mojo.Hoping the cooler temps will bring it back.

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    1. I hope the cooler weather (when it eventually arrives in your area) will help with that mojo reappear. It's tough when it's missing.

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  6. I've definitely struggled with strength training. Our schedules have been challenging with sharing cars and working it all in. Turns out, I'll have some extra time coming up, so I can get back to it. It will probably be good for me.

    Fall brought a Category 4 Hurricane. We weren't in the path of the eye, but we did spend about an hour with tornado warnings going off (the funnel was nearby), loss of power, and some downed limbs. School was closed for two days, too. I prefer changing leaves and apple picking.

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    1. Helene sound like a monster! So sorry for all the damage she left behind.

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