# matches "3 miles", "5k", etc
    distance_regex = /
                        (?:   \s|\A )             # beginning of string of after whitespace
                        (   \d+ (?:\.\d+)?   )    # match integer or float
                                \s?               # optional whitespace
                        (   m\.?                  # unit possibilities
                              |
                            m\.?i\.?
                              |
                            miles
                              |
                            k\.?
                              |
                            k\.?m\.?
                              |
                            kilometers   )
                         (?:   \s|\Z|\.|,              )         # legit pattern endings
                    /ix

##

# matches "22", "33:04", "1:04:03", etc
# note: could be considered an over eager pattern. it also matches: "90:04" (90 minutes, 4 seconds)
    colon_time_regex = /
              (?:   \s|\A                   )       # needs to be at the beginning of the string or after whitespace
              (?:   (\d?\d):                )?      # hours part
              (?:   (\d?\d):                )?      # minutes
              (     (\d?\d)                         # match seconds but ...
                            (?!                     # be careful not to match other parts of the sentence ...
                                    \s?               # optional whitespace
                                    (   m\.?          # like distances ... eg 3 miles
                                          |
                                        m\.?i\.?
                                          |
                                        miles
                                          |
                                        k\.?
                                          |
                                        k\.?m\.?
                                          |
                                      kilometers   )
                            )
              )
              (?:   \s|\Z|\.|,              )         # legit pattern endings
           /ix