You Can't Go Wrong with Strong

This week...I did a thing.

I stepped out of my comfort zone. Way out of my comfort zone.

I participated in a powerlifting meet at my CrossFit box. While I knew I was doing this for a while, I kept it under wraps because I needed to get my head around the idea. Seriously, I'm a runner! What the heck was I doing at a weight lifting competition? Well, when your coach is an Olympic-style weight lifter, you drink a little of the kool ade she gives you. The stuff she makes me do, the weight she makes me lift--it all makes me a stronger, better runner.

Trust the process, indeed.

No matter what you do, you can't go wrong with strong. I'll share more specifics about the meet on Tuesday's post. We spent our time together this week getting ready for the competition.

I Do Have a Few Goals for 2020

I really dislike sharing my goals. Putting it out there in the universe makes it seem so real, doesn't it? While I agree that telling people about my goals for myself helps me stay accountable, it also makes failure to achieve those goals that much more painful.

I learned that lesson with my first marathon in 2011. I signed up to run for charity, I posted it on Facebook, and I told everyone my plans. I even broke the cardinal rule of running a first marathon, which is to not set a goal finish time. The goal I should have set for myself, to cross that finish line, did happen, but not at all how I planned. In reality, I fell apart at mile 18 and ended up walking much of the rest of the race. It took me a long time to accept what happened at that race. 

I know a lot of you share your goals--some even give themselves grades on their progress towards achieving them. That's not me and for now, I'm going to keep this year's goals close to the vest. I'll keep you posted as I go.

The 10 Year Challenge

Did you participate in the 10 year challenge? If you are on Facebook or Instagram, you couldn't have missed it. People posted 2 pictures of themselves, a current photo and one from 10 years ago, side-by-side, to show how much they've changed. Some people called it the "How Hard Did Aging Hit You Challenge", which was enough to make me shy away.

There were also the conspiracy theorists who claimed that Facebook made up the whole challenge for their facial identification software. Considering how many photos people already post on Facebook and that a lot of users have been on the platform for over 10 years, I highly doubt 2 more photos are going to make a dent in what Facebook already has on us.

I didn't participate in the Facebook challenge, but I'm sitting here in front of a blank blog post and searching for things to write about. I didn't do a throwback post at the turn of the decade, so I thought it might be fun to look back on running over the past 10 years. Fridays are usually reserved for more personal posts on the blog, so thanks for indulging me.

New Year, Same Old Me!

It's a new year and I haven't made any resolutions or goals for 2020. I haven't chosen a word for the year. Instead, I'm just keeping on, rolling with the progress that I made as 2019 drew to a close.

If I were to make a resolution, it would be to actually train, not to just go out and run. I won't lie, I've been enjoying 'just running'. Junk miles, all of them. Kinda fun, though.

I do have some races in mind for the spring and if I want to feel good about how I run them, I'm going to have to do some training, including speed work. I'm mulling that over as we speak.

You know I'll do it. Ever the competitor, I'm driven by results. I've got a couple of weeks before I have to get back to work. For now, I'm just going to enjoy the ride!

NYD run in the woods

Staying on Track

As busy as it gets this time of year, I stuck to my workout schedule. I completely understand those folks who opt-out during the holidays. I mean, something's got to give, right? Since my workouts are what keeps me sane, I choose to let go of having the 'perfect' holiday. Yes, the tree is up and the gifts were wrapped. I even baked cookies. But while I picked up the clutter, I didn't do any major cleaning before the guests came over. That might bother some people, but we all have our priorities and having a perfect house is not one of mine. The only person who noticed anything was my dad, who pointed out how dusty my dining room chandelier is.

There's always that one person. I did offer to him that he could come over and clean it. He hasn't taken me up on that.

It was nice, letting go of a few things and I found that I really enjoyed the holidays this year! Plus, with the spectacular weather we've been having, who wants to stay inside and clean?

Saturday's run

All I Want for Christmas is Sun!

I don't want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need

I don't care about the presents

Underneath the Christmas tree

I just want the sun to shine

And to watch the temperature climb

My wish is only one...

All I want for Christmas is Sun!

Apologies to Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber but I just don't want to run in the cold and snow. 

The sunshine makes everything look better, doesn't it?

A Week of Surprises

I guess it's best to expect the unexpected--that way you don't get thrown off when things don't go as planned. This week was one of those weeks...

A Serving of Humble Pie

After last week's half marathon, I was feeling so good about running again. But the funny thing about running is that it keeps you humble. Don't ever get too confident--because the proverbial rug will get pulled out from under you. It's happened to me so many times.

This week, it happened again. While I would have loved to bask in the glory of my accomplishment, my body served me with a big old piece of humble pie. A half marathon isn't half of anything. Respect the distance, my friends!

Running with the Coyotes

Compared to the previous week, our weather normalized, the ice melted, and I was able to get outside and enjoy all of my runs! My big toe, which I injured last week after I slipped on the black ice, was still sore but didn't bother me on my runs. And while the title of this post may be a little bit of clickbait, I did have an encounter with a coyote on one of my runs. It's not my first coyote. No worries--you know those coyotes aren't interested in me. That little Yorkie I passed a few minutes earlier might want to go inside though...

How to Meet Other Runners

Recently on Facebook, a 'chain' post has been circulating. You may have seen it. It's called the '10 day Running Challenge' and runners are 'nominated' by other runners to share 10 days of photos from a memorable day in your life of running. I don't normally do these things but I thought it might be fun--at least for me, lol-- to share some memories from my years of running and racing. No one that I've nominated has taken me up on the challenge, though.

A friend of mine from high school, who I admire greatly and nominated for this challenge, sent me a message. She wanted to do the challenge but told me she doesn't know any runners to nominate to the challenge. She told me her New Years' resolution is to find some running friends.

It sounds so trite. But I totally understood where she was coming from. In the past, none of my friends were runners. I was used to running alone. I'd go to races alone and see groups of runners cheering each other on and celebrating together after the race. For introverted extroverts like me, meeting new people isn't easy. However, over the past 10 years, I've met other runners and have found a nice balance between my love for solo runs and the desire for socializing at races. Plus I needed people I could talk to about running!

How can runners meet other runners?

Marcia, Renee, and me spectating at the 2019 Chicago Marathon

The Glass Half Full is Frozen

For the past couple of weeks, while the Midwest has been immersed in an early winter, I've been running outside, sucking it up like the warrior I claim to be. Heck, on Wednesday, I even followed my own advice from my post on Winter Running tips and layered up, completing a 6 mile run in subzero windchills. Because that's how we winter warriors roll. Trying to find our own sunshine, even when the skies are gray and there's snow on the ground.

Feeling Good!

Another great week of running and CrossFit. Guys, I don't want to jinx myself but can I just say it: It feels good to feel good! Who knows how long I can ride this wave--RA is always lurking in the corner, but I'm going to ride this wave as long as I can. I'm continuing to increase my miles in preparation for the Schaumburg Turkey Trot Half Marathon, which takes place in 3 weeks.

Sunday's 3 miler, which was slow and a bit painful!

Don't Call it a Comeback

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Don't call it a comeback, I been here for years
Rockin' my peers and putting suckas in fear
Making the tears rain down like a monsoon
Listen to the bass go boom...
~LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out

I returned to long-distance running with this week with a run in downtown Chicago at the Hot Chocolate 15k. Happy to pin on a bib for a distance longer than a 5k--my last long race was in January--but I'm not calling it a comeback. Let's just consider it getting back on track.

I Haven't Got Time for the Pain

Carly Simon sang it back in the 70s. Kimberly "Sweet Brown" Wilkins updated it and is forever immortalized on a meme.  I tweaked it to fit my week. I had a rheumatoid arthritis flare this week. Fortunately, the flare was brief. Because I don't have time for pain!

It's been a busy week! Let's get right to it.

It was a Week of Mishaps but the Running was Good

Returning from an escape away is always tough. If only life could be that much fun all the time, right? If only every day could be filled with blue skies and sunshine...friendship and wine...boating and laughter...

Reality bites. I rode the wave (pun intended) for a couple of days. The good vibes carried me through my first day back at work. But by Wednesday, life took over and once again my feet were firmly back on the ground. Even the weather took a turn, bringing blustery, rainy, cool conditions which lingered through the week.

I had a few mishaps during my workouts, too. I think my body was tired. Being the stubborn warrior that I am, I kept on moving. Was it the right or wrong thing to do? Not sure. I do love to move my body, though. Even when my body pushes back.

Got Runfessions?

It's the end of the month and you know what that means, at least for us running bloggers. Yep, it's time for runfessions! Do you runfess? Marcia opens up the runfessional on the last Friday of the month so we can cleanse our souls. Or our soles...

We Fun SO Hard!

I'm a little overdue for a weekly recap--but when you read my post, you'll understand why! I'm resting on the couch recovering from an incredibly full and satisfying week. Sometimes life fills you up and makes you realize how truly lucky you are. This past week was one of those weeks. It was also my birthday week. I received some very good career news and I had some really good runs.

To top it all off, I headed south to visit my former Weekly Wrap co-host and waterskiing partner in crime, Holly. We were joined by the lovely Teresa for some fun in the sun, some running, and shenanigans. Who's old? Not us! Our motto for the weekend: We Fun So Hard!

We did!

Crushing the Backup Plan

This year, I've become all about the backup plan. It's hard to let go of what you were, at least for me. I always pictured myself as a goal crusher. This year, I've become a backup plan crusher. I'm not saying this is a bad thing--it means I'm listening to my body and doing what feels good. Crushing the backup plan has become a lot of fun. I'm not training for anything, so along with running, now I'm getting to do all this cool stuff.

Maybe the backup plan is becoming the plan?

That's More Like It...

With cooler temperatures come better runs. It's true that those tough hot summer miles do lead to better runs in the fall. I had a fast 5k this week and I'm going farther. That is more like it!

I was running so well this week that I reconsidered running the race I committed to DNSing--the Naperville Trails Half Marathon on Sunday. Reality kicked in when I woke up Friday morning in a world of hurt. Sore from my daily RA stiffness coupled with DOMS from CrossFit, it made me realize that I'm nowhere near half marathon ready. I was sad but not stupid. I could run a half, but at what price to my body? Committed to staying healthy, I listened to what my body was telling me and made good on my promise to DNS this one.

Desperately Seeking Endurance

Another week, another recap as I continue trying to push myself to get out of this running slump. Maybe it seems like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth when I say I don't care about running far anymore yet complain about my lack of miles. Maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better about my running struggles.

Bottom line: I just want running to feel good again.