Friday, February 27, 2015

Runfessions February edition

It's the end of February and that means it's time for Runfessions! Marcia at Marcia's Healthy Slice hosts this monthly soul clearing...and let me tell you how good it feels!

Let's step into the confessional...allow me to unburden myself...unbury myself...after all, this is the polar vortex edition of Runfessions...

There's no problem too big you can't run away from....


I've wanted to run away more the past few weeks than I ever did as a child. There, I've said it. I've made no secret of the mama drama meter going into the red zone on a daily basis these past few weeks. I've cried more than I ever thought possible. Not being much of a crier normally, that alone makes me want to run away. Every morning, I wake up all puffy. When I go for a run, I've tried to keep running but I can't go forever. I'd like to keep going, but it's just too cold. This winter weather has been brutal and there seems to be no relief in sight. That also makes me want to run away. Living in the midwest is not for the faint of heart.


I'm channeling Jeff Foxworthy here: 
-You might live in Chicago when it is warmer at the North Pole than it is where you live.
-You might live in Chicago when you have more snow than they do in Anchorage. 
-You might live in Chicago when 20 degrees feels balmy. 
All true stories. 

Some math: Teenage angst + mother nature's revenge + perimenopause = I need an escape plan. Leaving on a jet plane for Florida in a couple of weeks. Don't know when I'll be back again...

Git 'er done...tomorrow


Got weeds?
And along these lines, something you all may find this hard to believe, but I'm a bit of a procrastinator. But winter seems to have frozen all my resolve to get much done. I've put all my energy into work, my runs, and my sons. Anything else is on the backburner. For example, bills that aren't on autopay have been sitting in a pile on my desk. I started getting collection notices, which served as a cattle prod for me, and so I paid those. My husband has been complaining about the state of my desk. I need to get up there and go through everything, organize the piles of papers that are taking over, much like weeds in a garden. I actually believe that bills multiply just like weeds. Of course, anyone who's seen my garden knows that I don't weed either. Maybe I can't blame winter for this one...

Rebel without a pose...

I've never been much of a rule follower. Well, let me clarify. I don't follow rules that don't make sense to me. I'm kind of a rebel like that. Remember last fall, when I went to do my long run for the Chicago Marathon and the bike path was closed? Yeah, right, it was "closed"...And in that spirit, I have to confess that when I'm doing a yoga video, I don't always do the poses the instructor tells us to. Sometimes it's a pose that I can't do, like Broken Toe pose. Yep, you sit on your feet with your toes curled under...ouch...
yinyoga.com
I've already had 2 broken toes, and I don't want more. Not that this pose will actually break your toes--I'm sure people with healthy feet find a lot of benefits in this pose. But I have issues with my feet and I'll do anything to avoid more time in the boot. So I'll do an alternative pose, like hero pose (kneeling) while the folks on the video are sitting on their toes. They're suffering stretching out their feet and I'm relaxing, opening up my hips. Ahhhh....
I actually really like this pose. 
Sometimes I don't feel like doing Revolved Triangle because my body doesn't like that pose and it makes me feel inflexible and inferior. Bad yogi. So instead, I'll do regular triangle. I don't know why, but changing it up makes me feel somewhat guilty. It's not like Christine Felstead or Rodney Yee are going to call me out on it.... from the TV screen no less:

"Hey Wendy, namaste and all but we're doing revolved trikonasana over here....what the hell are you doing? "

I wouldn't do this at a studio class. One time I was at a live yoga class and a woman in the front did her own thing the whole time. It was so distracting! And weird. I mean, if you don't want to be lead by the instructor, why show up? To me, that was so wrong, disrespectful, and inconsiderate. I'm sure the instructor wanted to say something, but it is yoga after all. Be where you're at. Ommmmm.....

Sign language...

This week on a particularly brutally cold run, I had a thought about my convertible mittens. You know the ones, that are gloves with a hood you can pull over to make a mitten? Let's just say I was out on a run and I saw one of the neighborhood ladies who snubbed me at a recent white elephant party. I could wave politely, right?

"Heeeyyyyy...good morning! Have a nice day!"

And all the while smiling and waving, if I were to happen to raise the business finger under the cover of my convertible mittens...who would know? Just me, right? I love things that are multi-purpose--here we have hand warmers and passive aggressive all in one handy dandy innocent looking mitten. It's all good. I think I just found a silver lining to living in a cold place. And come to think of it, there's that whole face mask thing...just think of the possibilities!

Too bad, you warm climate folks will miss out on this one.

And just so you know, I only thought about doing this. So tempting, but I kept all my fingers together. It was just too darned cold...
Or you could give someone the peace sign. Privately, under the hood...



Such bad thoughts. Time for my penance. Not sure what that might be. I do have to work today...I think that sounds like punishment enough.

What do you want to confess? 

And be sure to head over to Marcia's page and see what everyone else is sharing...



















I'm also linking this with Jill Conyers' Friday Fitness link up! Because sharing is caring....







28 comments :

  1. Excellent! I SO need a pair of those convertible mittens now. Except I'd wear them at the gym! Thanks for linking up!

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  2. Ha Ha HA! You crack me up :-) You write much like I think <3 I ,too, must confess that I'm somewhat of a rebel as well. Not in terms of breaking my law-abiding citizen thing, but it terms of not being a conformist (you know my thing with running shoes, right?). I think it's good to question the "norm" and challenge others to not just go along with the crowd, especially if the "norm" makes ZERO sense. #mythoughts Happy Friday :-)

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  3. Ohhh…I want to try that glove trick and I know just the neighbor to use it with, too! So funny about the yoga through the TV; I get that one. And so sorry about the mama drama. i'm convinced teens put parents through it so that we're ready to let them leave the nest when it's time, right?

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    1. Oh, trust me, I'm ready to let him leave the nest. But sadly, he needs lots of guidance. Too bad he doesn't realize it!

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  4. Oh boy do I need your gloves for the older runner couple in my neighborhood who will NOT acknowledge my greeting in any way. Not a nod, not a wave, not a smile (absolutely not). The other runners and walkers in my 'hood are super friendly. I just don't get it.

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    1. I see those people sometimes...what's so hard about saying hi?

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  5. I have those gloves, and may or may not have flipped off several people, LOL!!

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  6. HA! love your confessions! Spring is around the corner and March is going to be a better month!! I can feel it!!!! and yes us warm climate people I guess are missing out on the convertible gloves- in fact if I had those on people would automatically assume I was up to something! have a great weekend!

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    1. Waiting for that warm weather to come! Coldest February on record.

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  7. Hmm I can definitely think of a few people I could use those gloves with! ;)

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  8. I want to confess that I was supposed to start doing a "clean eating" thing this week but got totally sidetracked by gummi bears! Ugh. My kryptonite.

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    1. Oh, that whole healthy eating thing? Not going so well for me these days.

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  9. I do not envy moms or living in the Midwest. Those gloves sound great. Even if you thought of doing not so great things with them...ha.
    My fingers always get so cold. I need ones that turn into mittens. -L

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  10. I just got a pair of running mittens that actually keep my hands warm. I'm going to try that trick! You had a lot on you mind when you wrote this. Have fa fabulous weekend friend!

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  11. LOL.. boy did I need to read this before I tackled the rest of my day. Thank you for the chuckle. I love the glove thing :) I'm NOT a procrastinator but when I get stressed I tend to put things off. Time to tackle all of that stuff today! Thanks for the confession. I'm with you on the yoga poses (but I don't do my own thing in class unless she says modify and I modify). But I've never done a totally different pose until I got lost and didn't know what they were doing ha.

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  12. Those gloves look great! It has been ridiculously cold this year in DC too we are not used to it all. Always love your sense of humor!

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  13. Hahahaha, love the mittens..you should have given them the middle finger!

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    1. I'm always one step behind on that stuff..I didn't think about it until she drove by!

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  14. Sorry you've been having such a rough time. Parenting teens can be rough. And yikes on the bills, I have a few that are not on autopay and they scare me! I try to pay bills the same time every week so I don't forget.

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