This or That....Juxtaposition in Running

For the past year or so, I've been participating in a weekly blog prompt hosted by Deb Runs. Every week for the Wednesday Word link up, she gives us a word to write about. Because I write a running blog, I am tasked with the challenge of using the prompt to write about something running related. Some words are easier than others. Last week's word, delirious, was a bit of a challenge for me but I made it happen.

This week's word? Juxtaposition. Does anyone use this word in everyday conversation? And how do I tie it in with running? Well, never one to back away from a challenge, I wracked my brain to come up with a post for this one.

Stampede 10k Race Recap

Another 10k? Why not? I'm embracing these shorter races where I can find my need for speed! Since this race takes place in the town where I live, I've run this one multiple times. I signed up a couple of weeks ago and made plans with my friend Sara to meet up.

And then disaster struck.

My Flow....My 5 Plank Flow

June has come to an end and so has Marcia's plank challenge. We started off in May with planks. There weren't any rules save for a daily plank and a post to Instagram. Some folks planked for time and others (ahem, me) got all creative with their planks.

Because does it really matter what you do as long as you plank? Planks are the single best exercise you can do for your core. Oh sure, planks are great for the upper body, but if done properly, there is no better activity to strengthen your core.

There was some good-natured banter between Kim from Running on the Fly and me, and a few other blogger friends joined in. There were planks with dogs, planks in dresses, and we even upped the ante with planking in different settings. It was really fun!

In June, Marcia proposed a push-up challenge. The goal was to get to 100 push-ups by the end of the month. And really, since a push-up is really a plank, a lot of us continued to post plank pictures. I hit my goal of 100 push-ups last weekend while I was on vacation. I won't lie--it was hard. But I'm glad I did it.

For my final day of planking this month,  I did a 5 plank yoga flow. I wish I could take credit for the series, but that goes to my yoga instructor. He had no inkling that I was in need of a fresh idea for the end of the challenge! We did this flow in class Wednesday and I headed to the park to recreate it. It was the perfect ending to a really fun challenge.

What Makes You Happy? Deliriously Happy?

What makes you happy?

Not just happy...but so happy you feel delirious? High? Euphoric? Living a dream?

I can think of a few things.

Ben and Jerry's Karamel Sutra.

Kayaking with my son this past weekend. Listening to music on my car stereo that my oldest son installed. Actually anything with my sons at this point!

Sunshine and a warm breeze. Time on the water. Toes in the sand.

An unexpected thoughtful gesture from my husband.

Petting the fur of my new little pup.

And a great run. In a beautiful place.

Although I've had a lot of runs that felt easy and joyful, my most memorable runs, the ones that have brought me that feeling of joy, that runner's high, have been after crossing the finish line of a marathon or a half marathon. There's something about running hard for a long period of time that makes me feel so complete.

Most recently, my most joyful race was that Big Sur Marathon. I know I keep referring to it, but Big Sur was THE marathon for me. It was a lifelong bucket list race. I fought so hard through my training--dealing with plantar fasciitis--to get to that start line. When Kristina and I crossed the finish line I was overcome by emotion. I didn't feel that euphoria immediately. It wasn't until later in the day after my husband took me out for lunch and a yummy victory beer that I started to realize what I had accomplished. That amazing feeling of savoring my accomplishment lasted for a long time after the race. I still smile when I think about the whole experience. In fact, today someone just asked me about Big Sur and it was like I was transported back to that day.

Pretty sure I was one of the happiest people there.

Ahhhh. The euphoria washes over me just writing about this. It's not like I ran fast or won the thing. But I sure felt like I did.

How often do we get to feel like this? Getting to live a dream come true?

This feeling of delirium, as it relates to running, feels almost like falling in love.

We do fall in love with running, don't we? Not the training so much, although I look back on all my marathon training journeys with fondness. There's such a sense of accomplishment to working so hard for 12-20 weeks, culminating in a big race.

What sticks with us, though, is the feeling of crossing the finish line.

Although I've run quite a few half marathons, some very memorably, crossing the finish line of a marathon is a feeling unmatched by almost everything in life.

Not only Big Sur but after crossing the finish line of last fall's Chicago Marathon, I walked around the marathon village in a daze. A happy, euphoric daze. I felt somewhat delirious. Sure, I just ran 26.2 miles in the heat. But that wasn't what made me feel delirious. I chalk it up to beating down those negative naysayers in my head that told me to quit.

Sometimes finishing is winning. And having your teenage son come to your race? That's winning too.

I can't ever get enough of this moment.

It feels amazingly good to have those races under my belt.

At this point, I am satisfied with my accomplishments. I am happy.

Deliriously happy.

What makes you feel happy? Have you ever done anything that has brought you that feeling of "deliriousness"? If that is even a word...

I'm linking up with Deb Runs for Wednesday Word, which is delirious! This was a tough one!

Also Wild Workout Wednesday! With Annmarie, Nicole, Jen, and Michelle!

And Coaches Corner! With Debbie, Rachel, Lora, and Susie!

Rewind, Reset, Recharge

Greetings from the North Woods of Wisconsin! This post comes to you from one of my favorite places in the whole world, the beautiful Door Peninsula. My parents have had this lovely vacation spot since I was a little girl. I love to take time away from the craziness of life and just unwind here. It always feels like coming home.

Can I stay here forever?

Did I ever need this little getaway! All the stress of the last couple of months--my son Matthew's leg fracture, the new puppy, and other assorted annoyances--has really started to take a toll on me. You know I'm feeling overwhelmed when the mere idea of getting in the car and driving 5 hours to my favorite place exhausts me. But here I am and my arrival felt like a balm to my soul.

My oldest son and husband had to stay home to work, but Matthew, Cocoa, and I have been enjoying our time away in with my parents. Prior to our trip, I took Matthew to the orthopedic surgeon and pleased with the healing she saw on the x-ray, she took his cast off and put him in a boot. She told him he could walk on his leg and that he should swim. Walking has been painful for him. He's still using his crutches. On Friday he and I took the kayaks out and since it is so stony at the beach in from of my parents' house, we paddled across the bay to the sandy beach. Actually, we did it twice. Both times, Matthew walked in the sand and swam. It was the happiest I've seen him since he broke his leg.

Cocoa wasn't so fond of the kayak. We left her home with my parents.

Saturday morning, Cocoa woke me up at 5:30 to go out. I was tired but I got to see this:

After a few cups of coffee, I felt more awake and readied myself for a run. It was a gorgeous morning with a light breeze and a temperature of about 75. Instead of heading into the little town where my parents spend their summers, I headed up the hill to the bluff park. This hill rivals the hills of Big Sur. Even though I was tired, I vowed to run to the top and I did. The view was my reward.

The waters of Green Bay are just beyond where I'm standing.

I continued on my way to the bluff. Another beautiful view. And a clean latrine. I headed back home, savoring that downhill.

Tree pose on the bluff overlooking Green Bay.

Sunday morning I woke up to rain. Cocoa woke me up at 4:30 to go out but I brought her in the bed with me after our trip to the grassy patch. We both promptly fell asleep until 7. By then the rain had stopped. I hemmed and hawed about going for a run, but I wanted to visit my other favorite path that takes me deep into the woods.

A feast for the senses.

I stopped by the rocky shoreline to do some yoga.

I finished off Marcia's push up challenge with 100. They weren't easy today. My arms were tired--probably from the kayaking-- and I had to break the push ups up into small sets. My furry coach made sure that I got them done.

Since it was another gorgeous day, Matthew and I went kayaking on the bay again. The water was unusually calm and we paddled over to the bluffs to explore the caves. I've never done this, and Matthew really enjoyed himself. Even though he fell in the water trying to get back into his kayak. It wasn't that cold...

Tomorrow we drive home and it's back to reality. I'm grateful for these little getaways to rewind, reset, and recharge. 

Do you take time off to get away from everyday life? What kind of activities help you renew?

I'm linking up with Tricia and Holly for their Weekly Wrap! And with Angela and Ilka for the Sunday Fitness and Food Link Up!

How was your week?

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?

Music to Get Lost by

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I love to run to music. Actually, music makes everything better.  I have a heinous commute to my job and music makes the drive tolerable. Recently, my oldest son updated my car stereo to a Bluetooth (no more tickets for talking on the phone while driving!). I've always listened to music in the car, but now with my new system listening to my favorite tunes is a special kind of pleasure. Road tripping takes on a whole new meaning when you have the right songs to pass the time.

The same thing goes for the run. With the right song playing through my earbuds, I feel as if I can fly. I have playlists for normal runs and for speedwork. For a big race, I make special playlists full of my current favorites. There are certain songs that just make me want to set the pace on cruise control. Those are my LSD* songs. Running slow is a challenge for me. The right music helps me pace myself on those long runs.

My only prerequisite for my long run songs is that they have to be familiar to me. I like to sing along sometimes. I also like to mix it up with new music--so if it has a good beat and I can run to it? Sure, why not?  Eclectic much?

Yep, I'm that runner.



Caveat: It's important to stay alert, especially if you are running alone. But there is nothing better than the right song to move you down the road or trail. If you're hurting, there's nothing better than singing to help the pain go away.

Plus you can ponder the lyrics.

Scaramouche, scaramouche, can you do the fandango?

I didn't name this blog Taking the Long Way Home for the fun of it. I like to get lost on the run.

What are your favorite songs to get lost to? Do you like to sing along to songs on the run? What do you think scaramouche means? What was Queen thinking?

By the way, I had the 45 RPM of this song when I was in 4th grade. Let that soak in...

If you want to check out this playlist, follow me on Spotify!

*LSD=long slow distance. What did you think I was talking about?

I'm linking this post up with Deb Runs, who hosts Wednesday Word! Today's word is lost. See what everyone else says..

I'm also linking up with the ladies at Wild Workout Wednesday! Annmarie, Nicole, Jen, and Michelle host this fun gathering of bloggers!

And Coaches' Corner! Do you think the coaches let their trainees run with tunes? Ask Debbie, Susie, Lora, and Rachel!