Happy Friday and welcome to the end of July! (Booooooo!!!!) Today I’m linking up with Marcia for the Friday Five 2.0 meets July Runfessions. I don’t have much to tell, but I do have a few things. Let’s get to it, shall we?
July Runfessions: Friday Five 2.0 Style
I runfess…
1. Training is tough.
Even though I’m only four weeks into training for Marine Corps Marathon, I feel like I’ve been training for months. Oh wait… I have. I’m likely feeling the effects particularly bad this week because I really haven’t gotten good, quality sleep and it’s catching up to me. While I’m in training I try to get about 8-9 hours of sleep every night. I know to some people that may seem like a lot, and I’m lucky if I get that many, but 6 hours does not cut it for me. Especially when I’m logging 35+ miles per week.
I’ve also been screwing around with my nutrition — and not in a good way. This seems to be derailing my longer runs so it’s time to get my butt in gear and really focus on getting enough calories to fuel my workouts.
Training is tough. ‘Nuff said.
2. Running is amazing.
I speak the truth. I really, really love running. In one of my training groups, one of my runners said she really hopes running becomes easy for her one day. I assured her it will. I distinctly remember when I started enjoying running. Yes, I still have bad days (uh, hello, Thursday!), but more often than not, I truly enjoy lacing up and getting outside. Do you remember when the switch flipped for you?
3. I wish my husband would run more with me.
We’re different paces and I run much farther than he ever has before so we’re not a super compatible running couple. But I wish he would run with me more because we always have so much fun together. I think when our kids are a little older and scheduling becomes a little easier, we’ll be able to run together more often. Can’t wait!
Love running with this guy and the pupper!
4. I don’t want summer to end.
I freaking love summer. I love everything about it. On the one hand, August whisks my kids back to school and we settle back into a nice routine. But on the other hand, August signals the end of summer. And that makes me sad. Because summer is amazing!
5. Fall programming is a challenge.
I’ve been working on a few projects for the fall (which I’m very excited about), but the more I dig into the logistics, the more I remember how difficult planning fall outdoor activities can be. I used to run a playgroup — it was a really big, active playgroup — and when I would post outdoor activities, we were always faced with what to do in case of inclement weather. The same goes for running/athletic activities. Granted those are easier to execute in the rain than a playdate with toddlers, but it’s still a challenge nonetheless. I think I have things under control finally, but for a while there it was a real head scratcher!
I think that covers my July Runfessions. I’m looking forward to my kids going back to school so I don’t have to run at o’dark thirty every day. I think that will save me most from sleep deprivation. But I will miss summer, that’s for sure.
Don’t forget to link up with Fairytales and Fitness and me for the Friday Five 2.0. August and September themes have been posted here. If you choose to link, please follow the rules — “five” format and read/follow at least two other bloggers in the linkup!
xo
TALK TO ME!
Do you run with your partner/spouse?
How many hours of sleep do you need to adequately function?
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64 Comments
It’s great that you recognize that sleep is so important to your training. I have really bad sleep habits and they are catching up to me! Summer is not my favorite time of year but I do love the early light, which already is not so early any more.
I loved the early (and late) light. I already miss long summer days and it’s not even over yet! Thankfully… 🙂
Sounds like we had a similar week, and probably for the same reasons!
7 hours is my sweet spot. 8 is better, but it’s rare. 9 is unheard of. I have pretty good sleep habits; it just tends to get harder as you get older.
Running is rarely easy for me & it took me a looooong time to get hooked on it.
I finally got 10 hours of sleep last night. Wahoo!!
Running isn’t easy for me — but I love it and I think that’s why sometimes it seems easier than others.
My son goes back to school August 14! WTH? There’s still so much summer left.
That’s early. We go back the 21st. But my daughter doesn’t start until after Labor Day! She’s in preschool so it doesn’t really count I guess.
I hear you on the sleep. I typically get 7-7.5 hours but with that I need a naps . I always feel a sense of sadness as summer winds down. The rapid passing of time is SO evident right now. Cannot even remember when that switch flipped for me with running. I’m just glad it did!
I love the seasons but they are a constant reminder of how quickly time moves. Except for when we’re stuck in winter. Then it just never ends… haha.
I used to be faster than my husband. Now he is way faster than me. le sigh
Lol. My husband has over a foot on me and his stride is at least twice what mine is. I will never be faster than him nor will I ever try!
I need more sleep, too! I wish my husband would run – period! Every few years he runs a few miles at a time with me and we have so much fun. I agree training is hard. I can’t believe NYCM is in less than 16 weeks.
That’s how my husband is, too. He’ll run up to 2 miles on his own but not really. I don’t want to egg him on because then he won’t run with me at all. But I want to be able to run like, 6 miles with him. 🙂
My husband and I do run together, mostly when we have a race planned. He could probably beat me in a one mile race, but other than that I always finish before him:) I try to get 8 hours of sleep per night, but sometimes it’s 6.5-7. Summer has flown by!!
Good for you! My husband doesn’t really run at all. Except when I force him into it. Haha.
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I agree, summer is absolutely amazing. Summer always flies by way too quickly, and I’m always sad when it comes to an end. I plan to cherish and make the most of these last couple of weeks of summer before the season changes.
Yes! Why does it go so fast, yet winter lasts FOR YEARS?! So not fair. 😉
My husband doesn’t run at all…and I still don’t know if I’m happy or sad that he doesn’t. I really like doing my own thing. I usually get around 7 hours of sleep a night, but now 5 weeks into my marathon training, I’m starting to feel the need for more as well. And yes…summer is flying by, but fall is my favorite time of year, so no lamenting for me!
I like fall. But I don’t like it because I hate winter. If it could just be summer and fall year round, I’d be good. 🙂
I totally agree with you on the sleep thing. Everyone is different of course but I have been not been sleeping well and it’s making me feel not myself. It’s hard to hit your workout goals when you are not well rested. That is one of my goals for the rest of the summer.
I finally slept 10 hours last night (after my two nights in a row of not sleeping at all). It was the best sleep I’ve had in a while. I need more of it!
I love summer. And it always goes by so quickly. Esp this summer since it had not been warm.
I am an awful sleeper. I am lucky if I get 6.
Running is never easy.I enjoy it. I think I like the challenge.
I agree, this summer hasn’t been very warm here. With the exception of one or two weeks. I feel like it’s been mostly cool and/or rainy.
Running is never easy for me either, but it definitely is more enjoyable than when I first started!
I need a lot of sleep and always have. Now that I don’t really sleep in anymore, it means I have to go to bed earlier. But on the bright side, that means I can get my run done early on Saturdays and have the rest of the day for errands and relaxing.
I’m the same way, I’ve always needed a lot of sleep. The need definitely increases when my miles increase! I could sleep 12+ hours if someone let me.
The end of the summer makes me sad too. We actually start school in August this year and we never did that before we usually start in September. But at least we get out in May next year. When do your kids get out of school for the summer?
My kids are out the second week of June. So we have Memorial Day and then two more weeks of school. There are some districts in our area that get out before Memorial Day, though.
Nice picture with you and your husband! My boyfriend is a much faster runner than me so we don’t run together often, but when we do, it’s a special time for the two of us.
I totally admire your marathon training – you are putting in work! Now that I’m getting back to training I’m seeing the fatigue start to kick in, lol!
Thank you! I wish I could run with my husband more often, too.
The fatigue is real! I’m super exhausted. I also think I have a mild bug, though, so that’s fun — and would explain the need for all the extra sleep!
I’m with you, I love Summer and it makes me sad to feel like it’s coming to an end. But I have a big vacation planned in the Fall so at least that helps ease the sting a bit 🙂
That’s exciting! Vacations are always a nice thing to look forward to.
I love running with my husband as well bit with young kids we don’t always get the chance. I also don’t want summer to end. For me, running elders easier the more I do it (and strength train = no injuries).
I agree, the more often I run the easier it is. Unless I’m exhausted, of course. 😉
Yes, I agree! Don’t let summer end!! summer forever!
Tell me more about this playgroup! It sounds like a really cool idea!
Right now, our fall schedule is packed with activities, from festivals to corn mazes… some even have me looking forward to a little cooler temps… but only for a minute.
I started the playgroup on meetup.com. It was just after I had my son and literally had no one to talk to! At one time we had about 150 families in it. It was a lot of fun. We recently moved the group to Facebook and it’s kind of reinventing itself. I’m a lot less active than I was when my son was little but it seems like there’s a new group of young families wanting to participate more. It’s a lot of fun!
My sleep habits are a constant struggle for me and not something I pay enough attention to. I need at least 7 hrs and I know I’m running at a deficit – no bueno!
I love running with my husband – he’ll try to join me for my long runs whenever he can.
That’s so fun! How far do you guys run together? I look forward to when our kids are in school so we can run longer together.
Definitely agree with you – training is tough, especially in the summer! I feel like I’ve lost my love of running this summer and it’s frustrating me. I’ve technically been “in training” since February (Brooklyn Half, now Chicago) so I think I’m just feeling a little burnt out. I know it will get better though!
You and me both. I feel like we’ve been very parallel this year. I started training in January so I know how you feel. I’m not burnt out yet since I had a nice break after Grandma’s. But I’m definitely exhausted.
I’ve been fortunate to run all but 1 of my marathons with my husband. We are pretty evenly paced, (I may be a bit faster). 😉 But with young kids, finding the time for both of us to train has been our challenge.
And, I love summer! Not at all ready for it to end when I go back to work next week!
That’s so fun! I wish my husband would run marathons with me. But he’d smoke me. Haha!
Even though my summer kinda tanked immediately after the Grandma’s finish line, I still don’t want it to end. It doesn’t feel like I’ve really had a summer ((whomp))…..but, alas, I’m making do and not cooped up inside, looking out of a big a picture window. The hubby runs with me some of the time…but not at 5:00 a.m. LOL
I have no idea how you do 5 am runs. I’ve been doing 6 am ones lately and they’re torture. Not necessarily the run itself, but the waking up so early. I just can’t function!
When I first started running the best thing that was said to me was “most people don’t run long enough to stop hating it” and guess what it worked. Now whenever I start running again after a long time away I always remind myself about that.
So true!! I need to share that tidbit in my group.
I’m seriously hurting on the fatigue thing too… been getting up at 4:30ish so I can get to the gym to run by 5, then on to work. For some reason I’m getting to bed later than when I was running in the evenings.
Maybe because you think you have more free time so you stay up later! I do that sometimes…
My husband used to be much faster than me too, but now that we have a child, he’s put off running and i’ve kept training, so we’re nearly the same pace! Even better if he pushes the stroller. Even so, we rarely get out for a run together anymore, maybe 1-2 times a month.
Oh yeah, when my husband pushed the stroller we were much more compatible runners! But now our kids are too big for the stroller so we have to get creative and run when they’re doing other things like school or camp. 🙂
Oh my gosh, I wish I could say that I don’t want summer to end!! Actually, I love summer and don’t like it to end ….it’s just the freaking unbearable heat that I’d like to see go away ….far, far away. 🙂
The hubs and I run different paces as well. He tries to slow down for me but I still end up running just a few feet behind him (even at his slower pace) But I do love it when we run together!
It’s cooled off considerably here over the last week. I was personally really enjoying the heat! I really don’t like being cold.
That sounds like me and my husband. I’m always just a little behind even when my husband is essentially power walking. ?
I really don’t want summer to end, either, but I am looking forward to some fun stuff in Aug. My family is coming out to visit for my big 4-0 and I can hardly wait! We’re also planning a road trip at the end of Aug or early Sept to visit my husband’s family.
That sounds like a lot of fun!
Sorry I failed on the burpees today. I’ll make it up to you!
Great post! I’m glad I found your blog 🙂
I wish my boyfriend would run with me… we are also different paces so we always bicker when we run together 😉
Hope you have a great weekend!!
Lol, my husband thinks he has to stay with me when we run. I appreciate the sentiment but I don’t like holding him back so I usually make him go ahead. 🙂
My husband’s legs are so much longer than mine…he has tried to adjust his running pace to mine and it made his knees hurt. Also he prefers treadmills (???), so we hardly ever run together.
This is the story of my life… my husband tries to slow down for me, too, but his knees hurt! Lol! I finally got him to start running outside. He likes it much better but it took a while.
I’m with you on not wanting Summer to end! It seems like it just started. Training is tough, but I love following you on Instagram and you have been rocking it!!!
Thanks, Angela! It’s been fun so far. 🙂
[…] Wednesday was my 6 at 6 morning with some friends. We had a nice run and then I ran two more miles with my husband and Trixie on the trails. We had a blast. I hope we get to make running together more of a thing. More on that HERE! […]
I wish I could run with my husband … he doesn’t run at all 🙁 but I am getting everybody else in my family to start running LOL (unfortunately they’re all too far away to run with me).
Maybe you’ll convince him to run with you soon. 🙂
[…] this may be a telling sign, but I led into my July Runfessions with an eerily similar […]
[…] I’ve been struggling through my current training cycle. In fact, in my last two runfessions (July and August), I made mention of how difficult training was becoming. Burnout has been a constant […]