I Didn't Have an Apocalypse on My Summer Running Bingo Card and Other Runfessions

This is a pretty dramatic title, right?

Just when it became safe to go outside without a mask--thank you Covid--people are donning masks again because the air quality is so poor in areas affected by the Canadian wildfires. That includes the Chicago area, where I live. Earlier this week, our air quality was so poor, it was the worst in the world. A few weeks ago, it was the East Coast that was affected. It's almost apocalyptic, viewing the landscape through a smoky haze. And it feels wrong being stuck inside during the best time of year. 

Life has not been dull these past couple of years, has it? Thank goodness for running.

Ok. it's time to runfess! On the last Friday of the month, Marcia opens up the runfessional and we are all invited to share our running transgressions. You know I always have a few. Let's get right to it, shall we?

I runfess... that I love nothing more than a good running story and recently I had the opportunity to share one from the past. Cindy Kuzma, a local writer, asked runners to share a running partner break-up story for an article in Runner's World. I shared my story from the past of a neighbor, the father of one of my son's friends, who started waiting for me at the end of his driveway as I ran by. After several weeks of this, I finally had to tell him 'It's not you, it's me' and yes, it was every bit as awkward as you might expect! Here's a link that you can access without the paywall. 

I runfess... to feeling burned out on training for my upcoming race in Leadville. Besides being nervous about the race, I'm just so ready for it to be over with. I miss running just for fun. This feeling reminds me of marathon training and it's one of the reasons why I gave up the marathon distance. I love to run. But when running feels like a job and it stresses me out, then it's time to reevaluate my plans. So along those lines, I'm sharing here that after Leadville, I'm not going to make any race plans for the rest of the year. I'll continue to do running events, like the run tours I've done with Erica and fun runs with Brooks and Fleet Feet. I've got the Brooks 'Hype Fest" coming up in August. I am planning to do the Mammoth Challenge in October again, but that's a distance challenge, not a race. 

I runfess.... that I'd been struggling to find runfessions for this post, but this week has been the gift that keep on giving. Sometimes that happens, right? I woke up Wednesday morning so grumpy and the smoky skies didn't help. I was hoping to run it off, but the air was smoky and gross. I did have to take my run to the treadmill and I had a surprisingly excellent run, which turned my frown upside down. But I don't want to have to do this again!

This week, I went to the pool on Monday at 830, which is not my usual time at all. I had the pool pretty much to myself, which was great. But I runfess... to being pretty annoyed by music that was playing very loudly. I guess if it had been music I liked, it might not have annoyed me as much. But it was a strange mix of jazz with an occasional pop song like Girls Just Wanna Have Fun thrown in. I could barely hear my workout even though I had my earbuds in. 

Also this week, I attended a Brooks/Fleet Feet Pride Run in the city. I'll share more on my Weekly Rundown post on Sunday. But I runfess... that I was a little surprised to watch my IG followers drop after I shared photos from the event. It wasn't a large amount, but it was noticeable. I wish they'd take the crypto folks, spammers, and 'military captains' with them.

What do you have to runfess? Are you affected by the poor air quality? Or are you team high heat warning? Have you ever had to break up with a running partner? Have you experienced burnout when training for a goal race? Do you unfollow people on social media when they post something you don't like?

I'm linking up with Marcia for Runfessions and with the ladies of Fit Five Friday: Darlene, Michelle, Jenn, Renee, and Zenaida.