Happy Friday! Since it’s the last Friday of the month, I’m linking up with Marcia from Marcia’s Healthy Slice for Runfessions.
I’m also linking up for Friday Five 2.0 with Rachel from Running on Happy and Lacey and Meranda from Fairytales and Fitness.
Does anyone else feel like March just kind of flew by? Every Sunday I would think, “Is the week really over?” March was good month for me because I started training for the Brooklyn Half Marathon. I was really lazy in January and then in February I spent the whole month building up my base. I finally feel like I have a great workout routine and training has been going very well. Although a great month, I do have some things to get off my chest.
I runfess that I’m really loving Champion sports bras!
Two weeks ago I did a little bit of Spring cleaning, and that included getting rid of about half of my sports bras. They just weren’t supporting the girls anymore and I noticed a little extra bounce in my runs (lol). While I love the Moving Comfort Juno sports bra, it’s a little expensive at $60. I only buy that sports bra when it’s on sale, but lately I can’t find it on sale in my size! Enter the Champion High Support Racerback Sports Bra!
I stumbled upon this bra a few months ago and I really like it. It keeps everything in place and it’s very durable. I have washed these sports bras more times than I can count and they still look like new. They are also really affordable as well. I think it’s a good buy for sure.
I runfess that I’m surprised my half marathon training is going so well!
After living the boot life for most of November and some of December, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to train well for the Brooklyn Half. To be totally honest I do not have a goal in mind for this race, so I’m not really paying attention to my pace during the runs. I’m more focused on getting in quality runs and making sure I run enough miles. Running three days a week has been great. Granted I’m still in the early weeks of training, but I’m very happy with everything so far!
I runfess that Instagram is driving me bonkers!
Ever since Instagram changed from a chronological timeline to the new “algorithm”, I have pretty much hated it. I always feel like I miss posts, and that’s frustrating because I want to show support to my fellow runners and friends by liking their photos and engaging with them.
Last month I joined two Instagram pods. Basically an Instagram pod consist of 8-10 people that have similar interests (so for me it’s fitness and running). These people like your photos and comment on them in order to increase engagement on Instagram. The more your photos are “liked”, the more they show up in news feeds. I like these pods because it’s more about engagement and not about just gaining new followers. But even with these pods and trying to interact with more posts, I’ve noticed a decrease in my engagement. I don’t think people are seeing my posts, which might mean that Instagram changed the algorithm again – ugh! I really wish they would go back to the chronological order! I mentioned this to my friend Lora during dinner this week and she told me about “shadow banning“. She shared that post with me and it’s a really interesting read!
I runfess that I had a great time in Minneapolis this week!
I was in Minneapolis, Minnesota from Tuesday-Thursday of this week for a conference. This was my second time visiting Minneapolis and it was just as great as I remembered. It’s a really nice city with tons to do and do and the people that live there are very friendly.
While there, I finally got to meet Lora in person. It was such a fun time and I really enjoyed talking to her and getting to know her better. I love when running/blogging friends become friends in real life, and the food was super yummy too!
The conference was an all day event, but I was able to find a small window of time on Wednesday where I was able to get in a 5 mile run. It was nice to run through Loring Park and by the Walker Art Center. I love exploring new areas through running.
I runfess that NYRR pissed me off last week.
New York Road Runners (NYRR) puts on TONS of races every year. Since 2014, I have paid and run in 18 of their races (please keep this in mind while you read on). So back in December I registered for the NYC Half because I had guaranteed entry. I thought that I would have enough time to train, but by the time I felt well enough to start training, there wasn’t enough time. Since I had already paid, I still went to the Expo to pick up my bib and race shirt. On my way home I had the idea that since I had the bib, I would run the race virtually sometime in April. I emailed NYRR and explained all of this and asked if they could mail me the medal. I even offered to pay for the shipping of the medal. A week after I sent the email, I received a one-sentence email back basically saying “No” and wishing me luck with the virtual half.
Soo…I think what annoys me the most is that I have done numerous races with the organization, including some pretty expensive ones (umm…$200+ for the damn marathon), and they couldn’t do this? I know of other race organizations that would have done this. In addition, if I had deferred my entry to next year, I would still have to pay for the race again! I’m sorry but I’m not paying $130 TWICE to run a half marathon, that’s insane. Don’t get me wrong, NYRR is a very organized and well-run race organization, but this still annoys me. Okay, rant over, but it just really irked me!
So that’s it for my Runfessions! I’m looking forward to April especially since it’s my birthday tomorrow – yup, I’m an April Fools baby 🙂
Do you have any runfessions for March?
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Lisa @ Mile by Mile says
Ive also been frustrated by Instagram. Sometimes I go a long time without being able to check it (by long time I mean like all day, lol) so I want to be able to scroll through everything and see what I missed! Thats an interesting article you shared!
kookyrunner says
Exactly. I really feel bad when I go to someone’s account and see that I have missed like two weeks of their posts!
Steff says
Dude that’s awful about them not sending you the medal. You paid for it! I just threw away a bunch of old sports bras too.
kookyrunner says
I thought so too, but wanted to make sure I wasn’t overreacting, lol
Marcia says
That sucks to get a response like that. I know NYRR is big and busy and all but still. Moving Comfort bras are great and all but yeah, I could never spill $60 on one. No way. I love Champion a well.
kookyrunner says
Yeah I wasn’t too happy about the canned response from them. If I can find Moving Comfort sports bras for $30 and under, I’ll splurge, lol
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says
I think the IG pods have helped my engagement a lot but some days more than others. I will never figure all of that out! Always feels good to get new sports bras!!! They have a lot of work to do
kookyrunner says
Definitely agree. I love IG, but trying to figure out all the engagement stuff gives me a headache lol
Meranda@Fairytalesandfitness says
Happy early birthday. I like that the bra has a snap closure. So many sports bras don’t and it’s such a pain getting them on and off.
kookyrunner says
Thank you! I like the snap closure as well. It makes it feel like more of a regular bra.
Judy @ Chocolaterunsjudy says
Wow, deferring means you have to pay the whole entry again? That is not right. I can understand why you’re unhappy.
I actually didn’t have a time goal for my last half. I don’t usually. I usually have to give my husband a window of time to expect me, but I also use the Road ID app & that really helps him. Although it seems to often stop after 11 miles for some odd reason, and then he starts to worry . . . .
kookyrunner says
Yeah, it’s really crazy! I don’t understand why they have that rule.
I didn’t know that Road ID had an app! That’s really interesting. I can tell my family and friends about that app for races that don’t offer runniner tracking. Thanks for the tip!
Nicole says
I can’t believe deferring means paying twice. That ish is cray.
I’ve never heard about the pods on Insta, that is such an interesting idea!
Coco says
I’m about to give up on IG but am going to try one more month. I just do t gave the time to spend on it now that it’s harder to find my people!
kookyrunner says
It’s very frustrating! I don’t think I’ll ever totally give up on IG because it’s my favorite social media platform, but it’s definitely becoming less fun to use.
Montana @ Pretty Lil Mudder says
I think that’s pretty shitty of them! I know there are lots of reasons why race organizations have the rules they do, but it wouldn’t be that hard to ship you a medal. And I hate when races don’t offer deferrals or transfers and also make you pay double to do it. It makes me less willing to sign up for that race the following year. A lot of things can happen when you’re a runner that you have little to no control over- so there should always be another option for runners!
That IG thing sounds cool- how do I find a ‘pod’?
kookyrunner says
I agree – I just wanted to share my thoughts here to make sure I wasn’t being ridiculous. The fact that you have to pay for the race again makes the deferal pointless in my opinion.
I found my IG pods through Facebook. One was through the Sweatpink ambassadors FB page, and another was through a fitness and blogger group that I am a member of.
Rachel says
OMG Kim. I would flip out on NYRR. That’s totally ridiculous. I now it’s a good organization but that sucks. 🙁
And i’m totally with you on IG. I haaaaated when they changed it and it wasn’t chronological anymore. Now I find myself “liking” photos that are like, two days old! It makes me feel like a bad follower and engager!!
kookyrunner says
I was going to write them back, but I know it won’t change the outcome so I just decided to let it go. Doesn’t mean I can’t vent about it though!
I have the same feeling about IG. I feel bad when I’m liking photos that are like a week old 🙁
San says
What I hate even more is when photos from people that should appear in a chronological order (e.g. a before and after picture) might now not show up in the right order anymore.
Susie @ Suzlyfe says
I’m over all the new and different social media algorithms. There is a reason that I left high school behind! SO frustrating about the medal, but I am so glad to hear that your training is going well!
kookyrunner says
LOL, Instagram can kind of be like high school, you are so right about that!
Elle says
I cannot figure out the IG thing either and am seeing fewer and fewer posts from people I would really like to follow and more from ones I engage with less frequently. Sigh.
Have a great week of training… Barney knows! :0
kookyrunner says
I hope that they will make it easier to use or people may just stop using the platform all together 🙁
Michelle @ Running with Attitude says
I love the Champion sports bras too – I just can’t bring myself to pay $60 for a sports bra!
I share your frustration over IG – they’re really screwing up a good thing. I feel like I miss a lot of posts and know mine aren’t being seen as much. IG was my fave platform, but now I’m ready to throw in the towel 🙁
kookyrunner says
Me either! I feel like I can buy several workout shirts or shorts from Old Navy for $60!
IG is still my favorite social media platform, but some days it can be SO frustrating!
Gina says
Instagram has been wonky for quite some time now. Boo! I also do an IG pod and I love the engagement but it feels like a bit of a job… might have to get out of it soon! 😉 glad you had a good time in MN
kookyrunner says
Sorry to hear that you aren’t loving the IG pod that you are in 🙁 I think it all depends on the frequency of the posts. My pods only post once a day so it’s more manageable
Zebra Girl says
Coming to you via Courtney’s blog…so interesting about IG. I’m pretty new to it and can’t figure out the rhyme or reason. I really wish that I would have created a run only account. I do keep it run focused vs my FB. I hope I get to do a New York race one day!:) I think it was worth a shot emailing them for the medal!
kookyrunner says
IG was so much easier to use before they changed it from the chronological format – oh the good old days! lol
Anna @ Pipers Run says
One, I’m at I’ll in shock that March is over. Two – I love love love champion sports bras and have four of the same one, different colours. Hands down the best sports bra I’ve ever had!
kookyrunner says
I’m really loving them as well – it was a pleasant surprise to find their sports bras!
Kimberly Hatting says
Although the Instagram thing is annoying, I still prefer it to Facebook. My poor Running page is becoming a deserted graveyard because no one sees the posts. My husband’s birthday is April 1, too! Happy Birthday!!!!
kookyrunner says
Me too! I use Facebook for more of my personal stuff and use IG to post all about my running. Happy Birthday to your hubby!!
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running says
I’m glad to hear that the pods are working well for you and that you’re seeing results from the participation. Hopefully I’ll be able to better commit to participating in one in the future.
kookyrunner says
I think the pods are a genius idea. Now if only IG could at least try to make things better!
Mary Beth Jackson says
Happy Birthday! That is kind of poopy of them not agreeing to mail you the medal, you registered for the race so what do they care- ugh! I love those sports bras too- they are a great find especially for the money! Have a great birthday weekend!
kookyrunner says
Thanks so much Mary Beth – I had a great birthday! I agree, I am still a little annoyed about the whole thing with the race and the medal, but I know I need to let it go!
Nicole @ Fitful Focus says
Wow. I’m disappointed in NYRR! Let’s start a petition!
kookyrunner says
I know right?! I’s really surprised at them.
Toni says
Instagram has been tough lately but I still love it and definitely notice a different when I engage more.
kookyrunner says
Me too – I’m trying to set aside a little time each day to interact more in hopes that I’ll start seeing more posts from friends in my newsfeed!
San says
I love Champions sport bras, too!
Oh, and don’t get me started on IG… I’ve been going on and on about how much I hate that they changed the chronological order to some sort of algorithm! It’s bonkers! I mean, why not at least let everybody choose their preference?
kookyrunner says
Exactly! They should have at least given us the option to keep our IG newsfeed in chronological order.