It’s the last Friday of the month so you know what that means – Marcia has opened the Runfessional. I’ve got a couple to share so let’s dive in, shall we?

While I have never been a fan of in-person Black Friday shopping, I’m all-in for a good online deal. And this year, I runfess that I’ve been swept into the madness earlier than usual when on Wednesday night I joined my sons in their quest to buy the new Xbox X series. Apparently, this game console sells out as fast as it’s re-stocked, so when we got wind that there was going to be a supply available on Walmart’s site Wednesday evening, we had multiple laptops ready. It was a furious 5 minutes of page refreshing, and just when I thought I’d scored one, I got to the final screen to confirm my order only to be told they were sold out. What…in 5 minutes?!

I runfess I was more annoyed than my boys. Bots – 1, Us – 0.

Source: Getty Images

Let’s hope I’m more successful with my search for a new laptop!

I have two virtual races left for the year – a 10K and a half marathon. I have no worries about the 10K, but runfess I’m completely dreading the half marathon. When I signed up it really seemed like a good idea at the time, but now…not so much. I had thought about splitting the distance over a couple of runs, but the race requires a time submission via their app or a GPS watch. Ugh.

I continue to be completely enamored with my Peloton, but I runfess that my tush has not fully adapted to the bike seat. I will be adding this gel seat cover to the shopping cart today. (Affiliate link).

Any runfessions to share? What are you shopping for today?

Hard to believe that we’re at the end of another month already! Marcia has opened the runfessional and I’ve got a few things to share, so let’s get started, shall we?

October Runfessions

Now that I have the Detroit virtual half marathon behind me, I runfess that I am seriously questioning my decision to commit to the BAA virtual half. While I’ve been enjoying my running, motivating to run 13.1 miles is still a challenge.

I runfess that I have fully embraced using 4:1 intervals – they were key to getting me through my virtual half and I’m now thinking that I may just stick with them indefinitely.

It’s probably no surprise that I am loving my new Peloton bike – but I runfess that I’m loving it so much that I’m struggling a bit to find a balance between wanting to do all the rides and running.

These initial rides on the bike have been fun, but I runfess (bike-fess?) that they can also be very humbling. I had presumed that I’d be able to just dive into the classes. So after a couple of “beginner” classes, I decided to jump into the non-beginner Alicia Keys class, which would have been fine if I didn’t let my ego get in the way and just rode hard…within reason.  But I didn’t – instead, I pushed to keep up with the suggested cadence and resistance. I was hanging on until the instructor called for us to get out of the saddle…yeah no. I tried and that lasted a hot minute. Note to self, those beginner classes are there for a reason!

So tell me, do you have any runfessions to share?

Here we stand on the final edge of the summer…and what a summer it has been! Seriously 2020 is the year that just keeps on giving, isn’t it?

I’m so glad that Marcia has kept Runfession link-up going – I have a couple of things to share before we move into a new month and new season.

In July, I runfessed that I was not ready to return to a gym or studio yet. Well, I runfess that not much has changed my feelings on this. I canceled my gym membership shortly after making that runfession, and now with the days winding down on the freeze on my OrangeTheory membership I’ve made the decision to pull the plug and cancel this membership too. Perhaps at some point down the road if I change my mind I can always re-join.

I runfess that now that we’ve had a brief taste of fall with some cool mornings last week I have absolutely no tolerance left for this returning humidity.

I runfess that instead of quietly stressing about my current running slump, I’m just going to let it go. I’ve been feeling pretty “meh” about running lately, and while I’m definitely up for a daily workout, I’ve caught myself on more than one occasion feeling like “I should run” vs. “I want to run”. Nothing good comes from “shoulding” on yourself so I’m letting that go…eventually the desire to run will return.

I runfess that I’m more than a little impatient waiting for my Peloton bike delivery. Believe it or not, I ordered it at the end of July and it’s not scheduled to deliver until October. I have heard that some people are getting their bikes sooner so I runfess that I may or may have called to check on my order status a couple of times.

OK so tell me… any runfessions to share?

Thank goodness it is Friday! Did anyone else feel like this was the week that would not end? Well, not only is it Friday, but it is the last Friday of the month, which means Marcia’s opened the Runfessional…and I have a couple of things to share…

July Runfessions

OK so as you can guess from the title of this post, let’s start with the obvious. I runfess that I am really not enjoying summer running this year. The heat and humidity have been in overdrive leaving my desire to get out for anything longer than a quick 3 or 4-mile run pretty much non-existent.

I runfess that I may have retreated to my treadmill for a couple of my runs recently to avoid the current heatwave.

I runfess that I am not ready to return to a gym or studio. My OrangeTheory studio opened 2 weeks ago and I opted to continue to freeze my membership until September.  As much as I love my OTF classes, I’m starting to watch the COVID numbers tick upwards again and it gives me pause.

On the flip side, I runfess that I have drunk the Peloton kool-aid! While I have been enjoying the Peloton app since the shutdown began, the current Pelothon 2020 Challenge has really helped up my Peloton enthusiasm. It’s given me a chance to check out new instructors and connect with members in the community, and I’m all in.

I runfess that I have finally convinced my husband to go with me to the local Peloton showroom tomorrow to explore getting a bike.

So tell me, what are you runfessing this month?

Happy Friday!

How are we at the end of June already? It’s the last Friday of the month and once again Marcia has opened the runfessional! So before we step into the second half of 2020, let’s take a moment to cleanse our soles/souls. 😉

I runfess that with every passing year my desire to run during the summer shrinks exponentially! Seriously, looking back I have no idea how I ever made it through Chicago Marathon training last summer!

Having said that I runfess that I have been thinking more and more about running another marathon next year. That means I’m either looking at late spring (May?) or late fall (like November late).

I runfess that I’m going to need to find a few more challenges to push me out of my comfort zone and to help keep my run motivation up. Don’t get me wrong, I will always work out and run but I can also see how easy it will be to fall into a running rut without a training plan to push me out of my comfort zone.

Technically I still have the Detroit Free Press Half on the calendar for October. Amazingly it has not been canceled. Race organizers recently sent out a survey to gauge runner interest. I runfess that it took a high level of self-control to not reply “What are you nuts?!” in the comments section. Instead, I checked the boxes indicating that I had no intention of being there and voted for deferment over virtual.

So tell me, what would you runfess? Do you have any races left on your calendar? Any good challenges to suggest?

Happy Friday!

It’s the last Friday of the month which means Marcia has opened the Runfessional and I’ve got a couple of things to share.

Mother Nature flipped the humidity switch this week and decided to go right for “oppressive” levels with a dew point of 70. I runfess that every year I say that I won’t whine when the warmer temps arrive, and every year I lie…this year will be no different.

I runfess that the new Adrenalines my boys got me for Mother’s Day have become an instant fave! Given that this pattern is a limited edition I runfess that I may or may not be stalking websites in search of an extra pair to store away.

I runfess that I have mixed feelings as things here enter “Phase 1” of re-opening. We’re still two phases away from gyms and fitness studios being allowed to open their doors, and while I was loving my OrangeTheory workouts pre-shutdown, I will admit that I am in no hurry to rush back. I runfess it could a summer of running and at-home workouts for me.

I could be spending a lot more time with the Peloton crew

So tell me, do you buy extra pairs of a favorite shoe? Are you embracing the heat and humidity?

While social distancing is disrupting some of our routines, runfessions on the last Friday of the month remains. Marcia has opened the Runfessional so let’s get started…

While I’m trying to not get sucked into “too much” television watching, I runfess that my latest guilty pleasure is “Little Fires Everywhere” on Hulu. I’ve only got 3 episodes left and I just don’t want it to end.

With the Berlin Marathon recently announcing its cancellation, I’m really starting to wonder if there will be any in-person races this year.  Surprisingly, I still have a 10M on the schedule for early June but I fully expect it to be canceled – and I runfess, I’m not really sure I’d be comfortable attending if by some miracle it were to take place.

That being said, I runfess that I need to train for something! While yes running is helping to keep me sane, my runs for the past couple of weeks have just been meh at best. I really need a target so I think it’s time to embrace virtual races or create some other motivating goal.

Do you think you’ll return to racing this year? What are you runfessing?

It’s the last Friday of the month which means Marcia has opened the Runfessional. And oh what a month it has been!

I runfess that there have been days, especially this week where I have just wanted to pull the covers over my head and not deal.

I runfess that I think the thought of having to stay inside has just made me crave outdoor time more than ever. On my non-running days, I have been going out for extra walks. So far, my dog is good with it…but we’ll see how he feels in another week or two.

I runfess that for as much as I love (and miss!) my Orangetheory classes, I’m just not loving their at-home workouts. I guess I really need the studio setting with the coach and all. However, ironically, I runfess that I am really enjoying workouts on the Peloton app. I feel like I’m cheating!

Have you tried any online studio classes? Anything you want to runfess?