Showing posts with label runfessions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label runfessions. Show all posts

Sunday, July 26, 2020

Runfessions over Coffee

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

What a month! 

For the past couple of months, I feel as if I have started every Runfession and Coffee Talk post with that same statement. Just when we thought things were getting better, that we had things under control...nope! 2020 seems to be hell bent on showing us that we most definitely are NOT in charge. It's been a wild ride so far. I guess we need to just strap in tightly and hang on to our masks for now. Who knows what's next?

Today is one of those Fridays where the worlds of Runfessions and the Ultimate Coffee Date Collide. Let's chat. What are you having in your mug? I'm finishing up my jumbo tub of Dunkin' Donuts coffee with a spoonful of GLG collagen and that generous splash of half and half, of course.

No half and half in this cup

If we were having coffee, I'd runfess... earlier this month, I received this mug and flowering plant from one of my families that I see in my clinic. It was a complete surprise and I didn't do anything special--the mom said she just though I needed a pick-me-up from the stress of dealing with the pandemic. Since going back to work after being home for 6 weeks earlier in the pandemic, I have gained a new appreciation for my job and the families I get to care for. 

If we were having coffee, I'd runfess... that I've been cutting back on blogging this month. I just don't feel inspired. It's hard to come up with things to write about when there aren't any races. I'm not going to post just to post. I am continuing with the Weekly Rundown as a way to journal my training and also to stay connected with the runblog community.  


If we were having coffee, I'd runfess... my amusement at the response of some runners to the Garmin outtage. While you all know I'm a data gal--I like to see my distance and time-- IMHO, it's all just for fun. It's not like we're elite runners here. I had to laugh because I got an email this week from Strava that someone beat one of my segments in Wisconsin. I had no idea this was a THING. Ok then!


If we were having coffee, I'd momfess... my youngest son is taking a gap year from college. He's a chemistry major and all but 2 of his classes and labs are going to be online. What a tough time to be a student. He was hoping to intern in a lab this year--that is not an option right now. I'm fine with him taking the year off, living in the house he's renting with 8 other guys (yikes) and working, waiting for a vaccine so that he can resume classes and labs in the classroom. Hopefully, he'll resume his studies next year.

And that's a whole other thing..

If we were having coffee, I'd cleanfess... I spent Sunday afternoon purging the boys' basement playroom. Ok, yes, my boys are in their 20s. It needed to be done. I get it. But mamas, tell me how hard it was for you to go through all your kids' playthings? My husband helped me for a while and I did ok. We dragged several large bags to the curb for the garbage pickup. There's still work to do. But I am glad it's done. 


If we were having coffee, I'd dogfess... Crazy Cocoa continues to limp on and off with that leg injury. This pup loves to chase her ball and that keeps aggravating the injury. Does that sound familiar, my running friends? I think the only solution is to put all her balls away so she can rest and heal completely. She's taking her doggie motrin. I wonder if my TENS unit would work for her? How to get the electrodes to stick to her fur... hmmm...

Ruff life

If we were having coffee, I'd musicfess... that I've been listening to..gulp...Taylor Swift's new album, folklore. Now before you think I've completely lost my mind, her new release is unlike anything I've ever heard from her. It's more like indie pop/folk than the anthemic earworms she's released in the past. After watching her documentary, Miss Americana, I looked at Taylor Swift in a whole new light. This album seals that impression. 


If we were having coffee, I'd runfess... that I didn't read any running related books for the blog this month. I do have Kilian Jornet's newest release in my iPad, but I just wasn't feeling it. I did read other books this month--in fact, I had to let a few go as per usual all 5 of my holds came in at once from the library! Here's a synopsis--you can find my full reviews on Goodreads. 


  • The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorp is an unusual coming of age story between 2 misfit teens who develop an unlikely friendship. It's crazy and quirky in all the best ways. I completely enjoyed this one!
  • Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan is the story of a friendship that develops between a naive, young college student working as a nanny and the unhappy mother of the child she is caring for. Both characters make a lot of mistakes and do a lot of growing. This was very well written--I felt all the emotions as I read it. 
  • Sea Wife by Amity Gage takes place on a boat as the family leaves land to cruise across the Caribbean. The wife has emotional issues and the husband is in debt to an investor. The story is told journal style in alternating narratives, which would seem annoying but works really well. I could have done without all the sailing details, but the domestic drama as well as the descriptions of sailing through a few storms made me turn those pages!
  • Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West is set on Chicago's south side and is the story of a young girl, left to live with her violent father after her mother is found murdered. There are multigenerational background stories of domestic violence throughout the book, which helped provide context for the story. It's just so sad. And so good. 
  • The Vanishing Half  by Brit Bennett is my favorite read of the month. This story of twin girls, raised in a small southern town where only light-skinned black people life, was just fascinating to read! Both twins leave home; one marries a dark-skinned black man and the other lives life as white. It's interesting to see how this all plays out and yes, worlds do collide.
Finally, if we were having coffee, I'd runfess... to this continued pervasive feeling of sadness, helplessness, and loneliness. I wish people would stop being so ignorant about wearing masks and preventing the spread of the disease. I hope for an end to the violence that mars the protests happening in the cities. I hope for an end to the hateful rhetoric on all sides. It is so ugly in our world right now, isn't it?

What would you tell me over coffee? Any 'fessions? Read any good books this month? Will you listen to Ms. Swift's new album? Are your kids going back to live classes, studying online, or a combination? How are you feeling after 5 months of this pandemic?

I'm linking up with Marcia for Runfessions and with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date.








Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Bad Attitude Runfessions

Another month, another bunch of runfessions. Not a month goes by without me needing to cleanse my soles. Thank goodness Marcia opens up the runfessional. I can't wait to be absolved.


Thursday, May 28, 2020

Dirty Runfessions

Get your mind out of the gutter. What did you think this post was about? All month I've been training on the trails. It's been muddy, sloppy, yes, dirty. Very dirty. So much so that I have to hose off my shoes every time I run.

The runs might be solo, the venues virtual, but the runfessions still pile up. It's pretty amazing that I can't get through a month without needing to runfess my running sins. Thank goodness Marcia opens the runfessional every month. I get to cleanse my soles and start the new month fresh.

Don't judge me for any of this. Let he who is without transgression cast the first shoe...



Friday, April 24, 2020

Quarantine Runfessions

I thought March was long, but how about April? April has been indeed the cruelest month. All month we've been quarantined at home, stuck inside most of the time because it's cold and snowy and rainy.

That doesn't mean I don't have anything to runfess! I've still been running and working out, which has been about the only thing that's felt normal this month. Marcia has opened the runfessional--and not a moment too soon. Let's get right to it.



Friday, March 27, 2020

Runfessions: Socially Distant..but not alone

What a month it has been and it's not over yet. March blew in like a lion and it's probably going to blow out like one too. Wish it would take this damn virus with it. 

As you might imagine, with such a challenging month, there's been a lot of miles run. I have a ton of runfessions to share. Marcia is opening up the runfessional today. It's always been virtual, so we don't even have to worry about social distancing. 


Friday, February 28, 2020

Runfessions: February

Hooray for the opening of the runfessional! Even though February is the shortest month, there's no shortage of runfessions (and some crossfitfessions) for me.

Do you runfess? Marcia opens the runfessional monthly and cleansing the soles never felt so good!


Friday, December 27, 2019

My Top 7 Runfessions of the Decade

The month is drawing to an end and the year is drawing to an end...heck, the decade is drawing to an end. That can only mean one thing...a super-duper retrospective of the best runfessions of the decade. Marcia graciously hosts Runfessions and I am always so grateful for this monthly opportunity to cleanse my soles and my soul.

Ok, a quick runfession before we get started...I runfess that I've only been runfessing for 6 years! In fact, I've only been blogging for 6 years. But hey, it's the end of the decade and I've accumulated enough runfessions to fill an entire decade! In reviewing these old posts, I runfess that I enjoyed looking back and catching up on those runfessions. I also learned that I have some house blog cleaning to do. Old link-ups? Whatever happened to those blog hops? Remember those?

I'll get to that blog cleanup eventually! But today, in the true spirit of Auld Lang Syne, let's runfess!



Friday, November 29, 2019

Black Friday Runfessions

Doesn't this feel like the longest month ever? With 5 Thursdays this month, I thought Thanksgiving would never come. Hopefully, all of you survived your day with your loved ones and are now recovering from your food coma or hitting the Black Friday sales. Me, I'm at work because illness never takes a day off.

I'm thankful for Marcia and her monthly Runfession Sessions. It's time to cleanse the soles and start this holiday season off with a fresh slate. Do you runfess? It's pretty painless...



Thursday, October 24, 2019

Scary Runfessions

It's scary how quickly the days pass by! It's also scary to think Christmas is only 61 days away! Thank goodness for running and all the stress relief that it brings to my life. I'm also grateful for the monthly runfessional, hosted by Marcia's Healthy Slice. As always, I have a few scary runfessions because that's how I roll. But the penance is painless and I can start November with clean soles. Although I'm loathe to say goodbye to the sand in my shoes...



Friday, September 27, 2019

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...



Thursday, August 29, 2019

Runfessions --August

Say it ain't so! We've reached the end of August and summer is winding down. I'm not ready! August was a busy month--I think I packed in as much as I could. No regrets about any of it, but I do have some runfessions. Because there's always something to runfess...

Let's head into the runfessional so I can clear my sole. Pun completely intended.



Friday, July 26, 2019

Runfessions July

Summer is just flying by! I've been having so much fun--in fact, maybe it's been a little too much fun! Thank goodness for Marcia and the runfessional. Just when I think I'm about to burst, around comes the last Friday of the month where we can unburden our soles. Brace yourself. I've got some good ones.



Friday, June 28, 2019

I'm Shrinking! and Other Runfessions

Wow, June is coming to an end! It's so hard to believe because the cool weather has lingered so long--it hasn't felt like summer. The heat is on now and just in time for the start of July. The end of the month can only mean one thing...that it's time to runfess. Marcia hosts this sole clearing linkup where we can share all our transgressions from the month. Go ahead and open up. It feels good!



Friday, May 31, 2019

Runfessions over Coffee

This May has felt like the longest month ever. Between the inclement weather and the never-ending cold and flu season, I am ready for summer. Since it's the last Friday of the month, it's time to runfess. Marcia hosts this monthly cleansing of the soles and I've been ready to head into the runfessional for a while now! Grab a cup of coffee and join me, Coco, and Deborah while we runfess over coffee!

Cocoa is a great listener. Plus she wants some coffee...

Friday, April 26, 2019

Runfessions: April

Can you believe it's almost May? We've had this prolonged cold season here in Chicago and I for one am super excited to welcome spring and warmer temperatures! With the end of April comes time for runfessions.

Do you runfess? I love this monthly opportunity hosted by Marcia where we get to cleanse our souls. If you don't have anything to runfess, then you're not a runner...



Friday, March 29, 2019

Runfessions: March

Wow, can you believe it's the end of March? The weather is still wacky--it was warm and now it's threatening snow. March is definitely going out like a lion. Good riddance, I say and bring on spring!

The end of the month also signals the opening of the Runfessional. Yep, it's time to runfess. Marcia hosts this cleansing of the soles and let me tell you, it feels good.

What do you have to runfess?

Everything I tell Cocoa stays in the vault.

Friday, February 22, 2019

Runfessions: February

It's the last Friday of February and that means its time for runfessions! Is it just me or did February just fly by? Anyways, Marcia has opened the runfessional, so let's head in and cleanse our soles...




Friday, January 25, 2019

Runfessions: January

January just flew by, which in my mind is a good thing! This month has been such a whirlwind that I cannot believe it's time for Runfessions again. I'm glad Marcia reminded us that she's opening the runfessional today. I needed to dig deep for some runfessions today, which is probably a good thing too, right?

This post reminds me of those days as a child when I used to confess my sins to the priest. Sometimes I had to think of sins that were worthy of a confession. Seriously. What kind of sins does a young girl commit? I'm sure he sat there listening to me confess about being mean to my sisters and thought: "yep, I'm living the dream". I wonder if anyone ever shares anything juicy in the confessional? Is a priest obligated to call the police if someone confesses to a crime?

Fortunately, I don't have any crimes to runfess. There were some shenanigans this month. But as with most lapses in judgment, it was all worth it...



Friday, December 28, 2018

Friday, November 30, 2018

Runfessions over Coffee: November

The calendar says the end of November but the thermometer says January. With almost a foot of snow on the ground, coffee sounds good, doesn't it? Last weekend, I brought my Badger back to Wisconsin and came home with some of the local grounds from Colectivo. I've got a pot brewing, so let's sit down and catch up over a cup!