June Runfessions

Time once again for another version of Runfessions with Marcia’s Healthy Slice. We unburden our souls and confess our sins, running and otherwise, then emerge clean as the fallen snow and light as a feather.

First up – I completely blew my diet this morning. I am supposed to be on a low-fat, no-added-sugar diet in an attempt to lower my cholesterol. Today is my grandson’s eighth birthday and he wanted to go to an all-you-can-eat buffet for breakfast.

Of course, when you’re a grandparent, that means you go to an all-you-can-eat buffet for breakfast. Not just any all-you-can-eat buffet, the biggest all-you-can-eat buffet in the world, if you can believe Shady Maple’s advertising.

I am not going to list each individual transgression, but let’s just say the worst was that cream-filled, vanilla-iced donut. Ugh! There go three months of hard work, down the sugar-and-fat coated drain.

After having my running curtailed for almost two years by injury, I must runfess, I am now attempting to make up for lost time. As anyone who has been doing races for any length of time knows, runners receive a lot of emails advertising races. My inbox overflows with these alluring notices.

All too often in the past few weeks, I have been succumbing to the siren call to toe the line. I want to sign up for all the races.

As a result, hubby and I have done four races in three weeks. I am loving the shorter distances, all 5Ks and 10Ks. Recovery time is much shorter, the after-party is more enjoyable, logistics are easy, and there is little or no travel involved. I have not written a race report on the latest one, Wheels and Wings 5K, but it will be coming soon.

I just got an email this week for a very attractive half marathon in Scranton, PA in September. It’s on a Sunday. The only problem is Hubby and I are already signed up for a five-mile trail race the day before. I am not sure if these old legs will tolerate back-to-back races the way they used to, but I am tempted to give it a try.

I must runfess I am glad my annual turn to host our runners’ club fun run is over. Members of our club take turns hosting our Tuesday night fun run. Hosts are responsible for planning the routes (usually three, five, and seven miles), then providing dinner and drinks for around 50 – 60 runners and walkers.

Last night was our turn. Bill and I share co-hosting duties with two other runners, Diana and Dave. Diana provides the location, setting up chairs and tables in her back yard amidst her beautiful gardens. She also provides the wine and paper supplies. Dave plans and marks the routes and brings the beer. Bill and I are in charge of the food.

This year we had many varieties of the typical unhealthy snacks runners love (including my favorite – Cheetos), watermelon, Caesar salad, Italian bread, baked pasta in a tomato, white wine, and cream sauce topped with roasted mixed vegetables and mozzarella cheese, and homemade chocolate-iced brownies (which I did not eat).

It was a lot of fun, but I always breathe a sigh of relief when it is over. Now I am a guest for the rest of the summer. I show up at a running party every Tuesday night with no responsibilities.

Finally, I must runfess – I love this photo. It reminds me of how far Hubby and I have come from the days when we fell in love as college freshmen. We met in calculus class. Bill was too shy to speak to me, so he asked his friend to break the ice. His friend approached me with a witty line (something like “What’s your major?”), and the rest is history.

To see this picture of him riding bike with our five-year-old grandson makes me think of all the changes we have been through together to get us to the happy point we are at right now. Who would have thought that the music-loving guy with shoulder-length hair would have turned out to be such a loving, patient grandfather, riding his bike with his little grandson?

Thank you for joining me for another month’s Runfessions. Come back next month when I will once again unburden my soul.

My family and I will be visiting my sister and her family on Cape Cod next week, so I will not be posting anything until July 7. Have a happy and safe 4th, everyone!