Friday, June 24, 2016

Runfessions: June Edition

I cannot believe that it is already time for my June Runfessions. But isn't that how it is with summer? It just goes too fast! Anyways, if you haven't runfessed before, let me tell you that it is the best feeling in the world. Runfessions, hosted by Marcia's Healthy Slice, is that once a month opportunity to get everything off your chest. No judgements. Pull up a seat. We're all here for you. It feels good.

So what am I runfessing this month?

Forearm stand fail!
This week I finally got up into forearm stand unassisted. I was so excited! Between Becky's training and Marcia's pushup/plank challenges, I'm getting stronger and I love it. But I runfess that it took me 4 attempts to do the pose and once I finally got up I held the pose for what felt like a minute but was actually about 2-3 seconds. As you can see by the title photo above, I had a few tumbles too. Glad I was the only one in the park that morning!

Forearm stand success!
About 2 months ago, the check engine light came on in my car. My neighbor, who is a mechanic, checked my car and told me that I needed a new catalytic converter. He said it would be under warranty and I should take it to the dealer. Easy peasy, right? Wrong... Long story short, 2 visits and about 6 hours of my life that I will never get back and my car isn't fixed. Those appointments were to "diagnose" the problem. The story now is that the part is "backordered". I'll spare you the details of the rigamarole I went through to get to this point. I runfess that I am going to keep my car until it dies. Whether it's for a repair or to buy a new car, I think there is nothing more painful that walking into a car dealership.


I runfess that for my most recent giveaway, I was so relieved that the winner was a runner. It seems that every time I host a giveaway, there are certain folks that always enter. When I chase their links, it seems that all they do is enter giveaways. What do they do with the prizes? Sell them on ebay? It makes me mad. But I can write about it today because I'm pretty sure that they aren't reading this post! After all, I'm not giving anything away. Oh and by the way, if you are commenting on a post for a giveaway entry, take the time to read the post to see what is actually being given away. I had multiple people comment on how much they couldn't wait to win the "compression socks" when in fact I was giving away compression pants.

Trolls...
I runfess that yes, I've succumbed to Facebook's lure to "boost" a post. I've made no secret of the fact that the blog book club posts get little to no traffic on social media. I have several loyal book club members and I am so grateful for them! Recently I've had 2 authors of excellent running related books reach out to me. I want to give them a big boost! But how can I grow the book club if my posts get no views? So I paid to promote the book club. It was truly amazing how $10 gave my book club post over 2000 views. And brought a whole bunch of new readers to the blog and to my Facebook page. I'll do it again.


Last week, I saw a patient whose mother is running the Chicago marathon for the first time. She asked me a lot of questions. Talking with her made me feel a little sad that I'm not running it this year. But I runfess that if someone offered me an entry to run, I'd do it. But that's all fantasy. In reality, this week I made the decision not to run the Rock 'N Roll Chicago Half Marathon. My foot is really bothering me. I'm going to bonus runfess that I am really tired of having plantar fasciitis. That's the only whine I'll do but I had to put it out there. No advice please. Just needed to get it off my chest. I'm going to keep the mileage low and head back to the pool.

Damn straight...
What do you have to runfess? Any bonus (aka whinefessions)? 

I'm linking up with Marcia's Runfessions!












I'm also linking up with Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia for the Friday Five! Five runfessions, right?

80 comments :

  1. Runfession Friday is one of my favorite blog-reading times. Always fun and interesting, and with your great humor, a double dose of laughter. Only you would post your epic fail before the mighty victory in your quest to achieve the hardest yoga poses.

    I had never thought about that aspect of contest. It wouldn't occur to me to enter something in which I was not deeply interested or invested. I seldom enter anyway, figuring the chances are slim, but I did want those compression socks....I mean pants.

    I wondered why your book club notice kept appearing. I'll make a point to visit more often. I do read all your reviews, etc. even for those books I haven't had a chance to read. I'll up the traffic and work on sharing on my page as well.

    The kick ass meme? That should be your personal poster. You kick ass every day in every way.

    I sent you my walkfession whine privately. You're right: something just saying something to a trusted other is all you need. Whining allowed. Approved. Encouraged. We're in this together, pal.

    Have a great weekend.

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  2. I love that awesome forearm stand!!! I have a small runfession...I'm refusing to acknowledge my "wonky heel" thing as a "PF" thing. Maybe it's legit denial, but it feels like a bump on my heel and has not spread to my arch (like last year)....and so far I've kept it that way. Since you're not doing RNR Chicago, does that mean you can make an appearance at the ultra? (you don't have to bring donuts) ;-)

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  3. Boo to the catalytic converter but yay for the forearm stand! PF seems so mysterious. The worst kind of running injuries. I hope yours mysteriously vanishes soon for good!

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    1. It has to disappear soon, right? It's been about 8-9 months now...

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  4. Whine away Wendy! I can't imagine your frustration about your damn foot!! When was RNR Chicago? Sorry you have to miss it. And that firearm pose makes me seriously jealous. Keep on being you! I enjoy the tidbits of your life.

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  5. So sorry to hear about your PF issues :( I'll be in Chicago for Rock 'n' Roll but I think I'll be downgrading from the half to the 10K because of my runner's knee (I'm still going to do the 5K the day before to get the remix medal).

    Totally hear you about the giveaway trolls! I have many that always enter my giveaways and I secretly hate it when Rafflecopter picks them as winners. Luckily runners have won my giveaways the past few months!

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    1. I would do the 10k but it's hardly worth it for me to have to go downtown, park, and pick up my packet!

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  6. Congrats on your forearm stand with no assistance! I am pretty sure I would fall on my head if I tried that! I'm sorry your foot is bothering you. I continue to tread cautiously. That is interesting to know $10 got you so many views! I have ACCIDENTALLY hit the boost post button but obviously since I wasn't going to pay anything I never followed through with it. But maybe I will at some point just to see what happened. Do you think the 2000 people are just rando strangers??? I'm driving my car until it dies as well! I love not having a car payment!

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    1. When I boosted the post, I was able to pick who would see the post. I picked friends/followers and friends of followers. It was really worth it.

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  7. It's good to know about the Facebook promote. I've always been curious if it would really be worth it.

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  8. aw, man. I'm sorry your PF is still giving you grief! congrats on the forearm stand success and love all the outtakes! haha.

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  9. I'm so so close to finally getting my unassisted forearm stand. Ironically if I hadn't spent the last 6 months in YTT I would have it haha

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  10. To echo some of the others, I've considered boosting posts before, but never committed to it (or I did, once, and it didn't really help). Glad that you had such great results, though!

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    1. I was really happy with the results. Maybe I won't have as much luck next time...

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  11. Congratulations on achieving an unassisted forearm stand! Your "fail" picture is adorable - I love it even more than the "success" photo. =) TOTALLY with you on the pain of walking into a car dealership and working through car repairs, period. It's the most painful, timesucking, awful process ever. I am also going to keep my car until it dies. WOW - thanks for the tip on promoting posts on FB! I didn't know it was that inexpensive to boost! There are some really weird folks out there in the blogosphere. I've heard stories about the strategies some of the employ to win giveaways! Sheesh, who has the time, right?

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    1. Apparently there are a lot of people with too much time on their hands!

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  12. I just bought a new car, so I'm there on pain. It was time, but I'd gone 3+ years without a car payment, and it's painful that I have them again.

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    1. I almost think that the car payments are less painful than the actual process of dealing with the dealership. It's almost like they expect to abuse you.

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  13. Giveaways are definitely an interesting thing when it comes to blogging. I haven't hosted one in quite awhile, but its interesting to see certain characters pop up suddenly when something is being given away.

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    1. I scanned some of the other SKINS giveaway posts and yep, same people who always find my giveaways.

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  14. I never thought about non runners entering a giveaway to then turn around and sell an item on Ebay. That would make me really mad. We don't do a ton of giveaways, and I rarely enter cuz I figure there are others who want to win more than me. That FB boost was huge. I had no idea paying to boost a post would give you that much traffic. Nice.

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    1. I had no idea about the FB boost either. I figured for $10, it was worth trying, right?

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  15. We don't do many giveaways anymore but when we did I was always happy when a blogger or Reader that we actually connect with won it. I know some bloggers actually choose their winners for their giveaways but we never did. We always used the Rafflecopter.

    I remember doing those arm handstands years ago when I was in gymnastics. I doubt I could even do it now!

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  16. I runfess that most of my cardio is coming from cycling these days, and I'm loving it! I just needed a little break from running for my body but I can't go without cardio, so I got on my bike (I've been a cyclist for awhile now, but that's been more cross training than the major focus) and I'm enjoying intervals and hill repeats, and my body is feeling good! (And it's a great way to handle this 90-degree heat!)

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    1. I did most of my "cardio" for Big Sur on the bike trainer and in the diving well of the pool (pool running). It's ALMOST as good as running. Almost.

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  17. I'm sorry to hear about your car and foot issues. Hopefully things get better. Congrats on the forearm stand, I'm pretty sure if I did that without a wall I'd fall over. I love the book club! I've discovered so many great books from your reviews. I'm totally blaming you for the new book shelf I need to accommodate them.

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    1. I'm glad to fill your bookshelf! I really search hard for just the "right" book for the book club. It's great that so many people are writing about books!

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  18. I know what you mean about randos popping out of the woodwork to enter giveaways...and you know they don't even care about the prize, they just want to win something, anything. Ugh to them.

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  19. All I have to say is that the "Check Engine" light was such a pest for my husband's car for months. It would just randomly come on and every time he took it in, they suggested a new fix. UGH! Anyway, sorry to hear the foot still aches!

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    1. Well, as long as the catalytic converter is covered by warranty, I'm good with getting it fixed.

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  20. I runfess that I'm not much of a runner these days. Zero motivation and no races on the schedule anytime soon. And I'm not injured, so I can't even blame that! I am enjoying lots of time on the bike, so I'm not a total slug.

    Hope that PF clears up soon.

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    1. Glad to hear it isn't just me who is lacking in the motivation!

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  21. Congrats on the forearm stand! That is awesome! I rarely run contests but I do remember doing a giveaway once and found out after that the person who won was a serial contest enterer. It did bug me a bit because I would have preferred it go to a reader who actually enjoys my site, but oh well. And the car, man I feel your pain there too. I had booked my car for maintenance online BUT had also specifically put that I was responding to the recall. When I brought my car in they said, oh you'll have to come back for the recall. We need to order that part. When I informed them I had clearly put that in my maintenance request they said "Oh, you can't schedule recall appointments online. You have to do that over the phone." I was really annoyed and told them how much of a waste of time that was, and that they should then clearly have that on their website. I mustn't have been the only one who complained because the next time I went to make an appointment they had that info in big red letters across the screen.

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    1. It became clear to me with this experience that warranty work is not a priority for the dealerships. They must not get paid much from the manufacturer.

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  22. Great job on the stand! You had great form too! I can not do this, well maybe on a wall, maybe. This made me lol about the giveaways, Holly and I have talked about this too. What do these people do with all the prizes? Great tip on FB. If we only knew the formula FB uses to decide which posts get all the views, it would be so much easier, but then again we wouldn't pay for it either.

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    1. I never thought I'd pay to boost a post but I really want to help these authors! And grow the book club. I was pleased with the response to my last book club post. Stay tuned!

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  23. UGG! I have had some of those giveaway winners too- drives me crazy!!!!!! I haven't done a FB promotion in awhile- I may try that again and see if it does increase my blog views or not :) My car is 6 years old.......I may drive it until it blows up or you and I can go car shopping together!

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    1. Only if we have a few glasses of wine before we go to the dealership! Can you imagine?

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  24. Once in a while, I manage to get into forearm balance for all of 2 seconds, but I'm scared to do it away from a wall.... bravo to you. I didn't know you can pay and boost something on facebook?? I runfess that I have a little left foot injury, and I know I should take some time off running, but everytime I don't run for 3 days, I go crazy and run again... and the pain comes back... I know better... I should just take a whole week off at least... but I runfess that it is doubtful I'll do it.

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    1. I hear you on taking time off. Here I sit in a beautiful place (I'm at my parents Wisconsin lake house) and I should skip the run...but there's no way I'm passing this one up!

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  25. Look at you in the handstand! All the time I've been taking yoga I've been afraid of doing the crow bc I think I will fall. Yesterday an instructor showed me the baby crow and I did it! It felt great. I hope to work up to the handstand too. Bummer on the foot. I feel you!

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    1. I don't know the baby crow! When I first started attempting crow, I put a bolster or a brick under my head. That gave me confidence to go into the pose, knowing I could fall onto the prop.

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  26. I love photo outtakes! Most of mine are of me staring at the phone in confusion. I think my next giveaway will be connected to the Weekly Wrap. At least we'd know it would go to someone who runs, or is active in some way! Stupid, stupid feet!!

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  27. Glad your Facebook boost worked!!

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  28. Three cheers for the forearm stand!! Hip hip hooray!! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! SO awesome!
    Also very interested about your boosted post results. Might have to try that...

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  29. great to know about the Facebook post boost and I am with you-I hate going into a car dealership!

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  30. Awesome job on your forearm stand! I always hope a real runner wins a giveaway that I host as well. Sorry to hear about your PF. I hope it goes away soon!

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    1. Me too! The good thing is that a day or 2 off the road and I feel like new again. Until I run...

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  31. I'll runfess that I'm dealing with my usual "I hate running in the heat", but I still have 3 half marathons to do this summer. When will I learn that I should just not race in the summer and early fall?

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    1. I feel you on that heat, but I don't know what's worse, bitter cold or steamy heat!

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  32. Yay on the handstand! Love the falling photo too! Those "professional" giveaway enter-ers is one reason I rarely do giveaways anymore. I bet they do sell on eBay.

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    1. I'm pretty picky about what I giveaway but I'm still surprised at the trolls.

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  33. Hahah...my "check engine" has been on for almost a YEAR....and my car guy said it's the actual 'detector' thats broken....so i put a post it over it. then the post it fell off. now i like looking to make sure it's on every time i get in the car. HAHHAAAaa.....
    Kudos on forearm stand. Next. Full hand stand. ;)

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  34. Congrats on your forearm stand. I am so uncoordinated. I am barely walk and talk.

    I hope to get my car forever too.

    I runfess. I love reading the your book reviews but have had time to read the books. Kinda like going to the gym.

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    1. I'm not coordinated at all, in fact, that is one of Becky's biggest challenges when she's teaching me a new exercise! But I am determined!

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  35. I love this post! I am with you on the giveaway accounts. I usually just select another winner if it's obvious that people are just in it for the giveaways. It seems like so much wasted energy!

    I saw your main image on Instagram I think, and it just cracked me up -- not because you're falling, because that's a bummer -- because so many people carefully curate their social media with the perfect images, and I loved that you posted your blooper!

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    1. It takes a lot of mistakes to get that one perfect pose. I'm sure not perfect. And it's intimidating when people try to make it seem like they are!

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  36. Sorry about the plantar faciitis,. I am with you on the giveaways, I want someon to win that is actually going to benefit, not just because they enter every giveaway known to man.

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    1. Thank you! Seems like I really struck a nerve with this one!

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  37. I hate going to the dealership too. I've had my car for over 10 years now and have no desire to buy another one unless I really have to. Mine came with a cassette player. :-) That sucks about the catalytic converter. Mine was stolen last year while my car was parked in front of my house. Luckily my neighbor is a mechanic and was to put in a new one. I had the same thing happen to me with my various giveaways. I love doing giveaways because they're products that I use and like and want to share with other runners but then I hate it when I verify/check entries and find that some of these people only enter giveaways just like you mentioned.

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    1. I've heard about those catalytic converters being stolen because they have platinum in them? Whaaat?

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  38. My ankle isn't nearly as bad as your feet, but I hear you. I'm tired of dealing with it too, even if it's only a nuisance.

    My car is 16 years old. I have no intentions of getting a new one anytime soon (God willing). Since I don't work, it has VERY low mileage.

    I saw that you had boosted your post -- good to know that it actually works! Hmmm . . .

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  39. Sorry to hear about your foot.
    I runfess that marathon training starts for me this week but I am not as motivated as I was for the first one ! It will probably be my second, and last one. Hope my body holds up.

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    1. I hear you. At this point, I don't know if I'll do another one either. Big Sur was really the pinnacle of running for me!

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  40. Congratulations on the unassisted headstand! that is waaay cool!

    I might be the only weirdo who reads the reviews, but never enter the giveaways... but it sounds crazy that trolls are out there just trying to win random stuff!

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