March just blew by me--much like a lion, I guess. It's the last Friday of the month, which means it's time to runfess! It feels like we just did that, but here we are again. Of course, I've got a few things to get off my soles...much like the mud from the trails. Thank goodness Marcia opens the runfessional!
Let's get to it...
Can you believe it has been one year since the pandemic started? A year of masks. A year of social distancing. A year of fear. A year of race cancellations. A year of disappointments.
Think back to where you were a year ago when the rug was pulled out from under us. I was in Florida visiting my parents and getting ready to run a trail race in the Everglades. My trip was cut short and I DNS'd my race when I returned home to care for my son after a snowboarding accident in Wisconsin. The following week, we were locked down. It was, to say the least, a shocking turn of events.
It's been a tough year in so many ways. As it always has been for me, running was a gift and a bright spot in a year that was filled with turmoil. I want to share the 5 things I've learned about running over the past year. I've learned a lot of other things as well. Some good, some bad. But I'd rather focus on the good and running was all that for me.
I keep hearing the phrase: "I just want to go back to normal." But was normal always good? I like to think that maybe the downtime of the past year has given us all time to step back and reflect on what is really important in our lives. Hopefully, we've all made some positive changes in our lives. Running changed for me this year and I'm really pleased with how things evolved.
Disclaimer: I received a prerelease copy of A Runner's High from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This book is due to be released on April 20, 2021.
"To me, running is a grand adventure, an intrepid outward exploration of the landscape and a revealing inward journey of the self."~ Dean Karnazes, A Runner's High
When long distance running legend Dean Karnazes gets an opportunity to run Western States, a 100 mile race that he's run over 10 times, he admits to feeling 'terrified'. He says the last time he ran it, 9 years previously, he DNF'd. He says his body was 'wrecked', something that has happened to him many times in his running career. That last DNF, though, broke his spirit. He had unfinished business with Western States and entered the lottery, just like a mere mortal. When he learned that he was moving up the list, he decided he better start training for it.
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Let's sit down and catch up over a cup of coffee! I love our monthly coffee date--it's the one time of the month where we all share what's going on in our lives off the road. While I love to run, I do have other things to talk about. I'm drinking my usual Dunkin' with a splash of half and half and a scoop of GLG collagen. What's in your mug?
It's the end of February and I could not be happier. It's been a long, cold month, the pandemic rages on, and really, doesn't every day right now feel like groundhog day? I almost considered not runfessing this month, you know, same old, same old, but my soles are heavy and in need of absolution. I haven't missed a monthly runfession session yet. Thank goodness Marcia opens the runfessional on the last Friday of every month. And here we go...
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Let's catch up over coffee! I've got Allegro Organic Hardwired brewing; this bag of coffee benefits the National MS Society through the Team Left Hand's Bike MS Team. Bike MS is the largest fundraising bike series in the world. I do love me a cup of socially conscious coffee! Mine has a splash of half and half and a scoop of GLG Collagen.
Are we runfessing today? It is the last Friday of January, after all, and I runfess that I am happy about that! For those of us in Chicago, January is not usually a treat. The cold, wind, and relentless gray...it kind of wears a runner down. I guess I feel like with the continuation of the pandemic, this January the weather is merely a footnote. I runfess that I am enjoying the snow. But there is always something to get off my chest, so here we go:
