The first Wednesday of each month, the Deb from Deb Runs will be providing a word about which to blog. Kind of like a nice little blog prompt. Posts can be fitness or health related, but don’t have to be, so really anyone can play along. Just be sure to link up with InLinkz on Deb’s main post, and share the love by reading and commenting on other’s participant’s posts.
Today’s word is NIMBLE.
Of course, the first thing I thought of was:
So what does the dictionary say?
Nimble means…
to be quick and light in movement or action or agile.
That seems to apply to running. And I wish it applied to me.

I am the one with her feet NOT off the ground.(2nd from left)
I have tried to jump and at best, I can get a few inches off the ground…on a good day.
I have tried to run faster and be light on my feet. The biggest critique I get from coaches is that I am too heavy on my feet (yeah I do wear down my shoes pretty fast) and I need to lift my feet and be lighter.
It’s so hard to change… Stomp…stomp..stomp…
And agile?
Nope, definitely not agile. I have broken my ankle walking around ice and broken my foot while running a 5k.
But then I found this quote:
Boy does this fit the life of a runner!!!
It is rare when things go according to plan, right?
- sick or injured during a training cycle
- colder or warmer weather for a race than predicted
- hillier course for a race than advertised
- course that is long or one that is short
- high altitude, wind, humidity or other variables that are out of our control
- family or work interfering with training
- stomach problems during a race
- not enough water stops during a race
- not fueling properly for a race
- the race just didn’t go well for no reason at all
Have any of the above happened to you?
Were you nimble and did you go with the flow? Or did you end up miserable?
The picture above was from one of my worst half marathons. It was on a similar course to my PR (and in the same city). I had trained well and yet I sucked. I finished 20 minutes slower. No PR!!
Yet I loved the race!! (The champagne helped.)
I don’t expect that my half marathon this Sunday will be one of my better ones. But so what?
And since it is Wednesday, I’m also linking up with Nicole and AnnMarie and Jen for the Wild Workout Wednesday…
Happy Running! Does “nimble” apply to you in any way as a runner?
Yes we runners definitely have to be nimble! I can’t even count the amount of training plans that have not gone according to plan
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I always love those jumping pictures, but I am afraid to jump now, after my ankle surgery! I can’t even jump rope without a sharp pain, boo on that…but it also means I can never do a box jump again in my life, which I’m totally fine with, HAHA.
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Believe me, I’m afraid to jump too. I do it rarely and I can barely get off the ground.
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I haven’t had stomach problems during a race (not yet, anyway) and I don’t think I’ve never not fueled properly (nice double negative, huh?). All the other things have happened. And some have made my race miserable — I do not feel good dehydrated. End of story.
Pretty much the rest I can deal with . . .
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I would say the stomach one is the worst so you are lucky. Or maybe injury is worse… (but not as embarrassing)
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Definitely consider myself lucky not to have to contend with that so far!
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Love the idea of applying the words nimble in the way we adapt to life. I definitely can relate to that, I have never been more sick during a training cycle than this one and have had to adjust accordingly.
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Hope you are feeling better!!
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I agree about being nimble with our minds. If we can’t make those necessary adjustments, a miserable experience will ensue.
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How true.
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Yes, I am definitely the second kind of nimble…able to go with the flow (I’m the polar opposite if the light and graceful one that jumps over candlesticks).
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Seriously. You look pretty nimble to me. Those planks & yoga poses!!!
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I like this. I never thought of training or running as needing to be nimble but it makes perfect sense. I’ve had my fair share of just about everything on your list! Top things that come to mind are races with completely opposite weather of what was expected on race day… the worst!
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yup. happened to me last year in Fla – I froze!!
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I love that quote you found and like how you used it to tie our WW nimble into the racing world!
Thanks for linking up, Darlene!
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I’m not nimble in any sense of the word! But I continue to work at it.
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Yes you do. I am in awe of your yoga poses.
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I love applying nimble to a mentality vs. just the physical. We definitely have to be nimble. Otherwise, we’ll just be stressed when things doing go just-so! Also, what race gave you champagne at the end? I need to sign up for that!
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EAU Palm Beach in West Palm, FL in Dec.
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I think I can relate to all of these. Especially the water stop as I never bring water with me to races because I always think there is going to be plenty of water stops and sometimes there is not. I guess lesson learned, and I should start. But that is one more thing I would have to carry which I do not want to.
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I’m with you. I hate to carry water.
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