Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

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Archives for December 2013

December 31, 2013

A Look Back at 2013 in Photos

As I wrote about in my last post 2013 was not my favorite year. Looking back is still fun and while the day to day was a little stressful there were some big sparkly moments that were great and I am sure in a few years I will remember the big highs more than anything else. So here’s a look back at 2013:

January started out with our traditional News Year Day Hungover Half (my families self run half marathon, so fun)
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And a trip to Miami to run the ING Miami half marathon
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February was pretty mellow with lots of training on snowy trails and time on the trainer
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March took us to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate 10 years of being together.
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As a happy accident Ironman Los Cabos was running while we were there and we got to watch the race, probably my favorite part of our vacation.
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In April we took our first long training weekend in Moab and had a blast!
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May was running our second open marathon togetherDSCN8128.JPG
And had me headed to Baja Mexico for work
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June was fun and exciting with lots of training, my mom’s first triathlon and a half ironman for me.
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July started with a trip to the Oregon Coast, one of my favorite places in the world.
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and finished with lots of climbing mountains
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In August we raced Ironman Boulder 70.3 to PRs for both Cory and me
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Then Dad and Cory took third overall for relays at Boulder Sunset triathlon. They took third even through dad did the bike AND run! I was so proud. Mom took first in her age group but I didn’t get a photo =(
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September was a great month, Cory took 8th overall and first in his age group at the Denver Trail Half Marathon
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Then we all headed to Lake Tahoe for my second Ironman, while it was difficult I am proud that I finished!
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October was pretty low key running lots of trails, one half marathon and a work trip to Ohio
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November came and went quickly ending with our traditional family Turkey Trot
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December didn’t have any racing for me, but lots of food, family and fun.
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We end the year on an upswing with a new job for Cory and putting our house on the market to move north. Packing isn’t my favorite but I am so excited to get into a new house, new city, new start.

Happy New Year everyone, have a safe fun night!

Posted by bethcurtis 3 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorized

December 26, 2013

Transitions

Well hello! Its been quite around here with my focus on Christmas, family and other life changes, but we will get to all of that. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season celebrating with their families. I Had a wonderful Christmas that left my little heart bursting with joy and love.

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I will admit that 2013 hasn’t been the easiest year for me . Nothing tragic or unmanageable, just more stressful than past years so I won’t shed a tear to see it go and start fresh in a week. I also have had a few significant changes in the last couple weeks, it feels like a great transition to 2014.

I haven’t really talked about it here to respect my husbands privacy but he is the most open and honest person I know so it wasn’t really necessary. Cory was laid off from the company he was with for over seven years in May and diligently searched for a job for over seven months, about two weeks ago he finally heard that he got a job that he really wanted, it was the best Christmas gift we could have asked for.

After Cory started his new job with a hellish commute to Boulder we finally decided to put our Denver house on the market so we could move out of the city. We still love our little 1928 tudor house but finally agreed that it was worth it to move to make commuting easier for Cory as well as having some more modern luxuries (AC, decent closets, master bathroom, storage, etc). The biggest reason we would like to move is lifestyle, we really like to ride our bikes out the door of our home and run on trails. This is hard to do in the heart of Denver so we are looking to move closer to Boulder back roads with great trails. I am very excited about this change but getting our house on the market and selling it will take some work. Showing a home with three dogs and a crazy schedule would just not work so we will be moving out in a week and a half.

Another big change for 2014 will be a new coach for me. I really love my former coach and will still work with him in group workouts but I missed the boat to individually train with him again this year. I gave up the expense of a coach after Ironman Lake Tahoe, but after Cory found a job and a lackluster fall of self coaching I was in the market for a coach again. Not surprisingly a lot of coaches in Colorado are full up with it being so late and so many local athletes signed up for IM Boulder. So I researched and thought a lot about my options and I think I have found the perfect fit. I am very excited and think this change will be really great for me, sometimes a change is just what I need to push me out of my comfort zone. I will let you in on who my new coach will be after we sign all the docs and get going but I am ecstatic to get to work with her.

A lot of new things coming in the next month or so, new schedule, new coach, new commute, new home, new gym, new neighborhood, the list goes on. So 2013 will end on an upswing that will hopefully propel us into a wonderful 2014.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying some time off!

Posted by bethcurtis 5 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorized

December 3, 2013

Gift Ideas for Runners

Gift Ideas for Runners
1. Lululemon Speed Tight *cozy – I resisted buying Lulu for a long time, it seemed ridiculously expensive. That went out the window when I finally got some shorts as a gift and I realized how much more comfortable Lulu is than other brands. I even ran Tahoe’s marathon in Lululemon Capri’s, they were amazing with no chafing, love them! These tights are lined and perfect for winter, I wear them all the time.

2. Smart Wool gloves that have touch screen capabilities that are great for Garmin operation as well as instagramming your favorite trail

3. Petzl Headlamp great for evening runs when there is little daylight, or if you have an ultra runner on your list the NAO is supposed to be amazing.

4. A foam roller can be the difference between a PR and an injury, I have had my trigger point roller for years and it hasn’t broken down at all. Now if I could get someone to do the rolling for me…..

5. A Garmin 910XT is a great watch for any triathlete or runner, I have the 410 and it’s great but even with a full charge it has died on me, the 910 offers more battery power.

6. Everyone needs to hydrate on runs, even in the winter, this Nathan Hydration Vest makes it easy.

7. Give your favorite runner a nice way to display all the race bling!

What’s on your list?


Posted by bethcurtis 4 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorized

December 3, 2013

Training For a Hot Race in Winter – Four Months To Go

In (a little less than) Four short months I will be toeing the line at Ironman Los Cabos. It doesn’t feel real yet, it’s NEXT year, it will be warm, it’s a triathlon, and it’s clearly not triathlon season in Colorado (hello lowof -8).

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But 4 months is not a lot of time and will go by quickly, I need to keep my focus and eyes on the prize. I try to think about warm(isn)aqua ocean water, palm tress and margaritas.

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My training plan is very similar to my last two ironmans, I am just hoping that I won’t have to spend too much time on the trainer and treadmill (I will run in snow but ice is another thing). The new things I hope to start incorporating some heat training. I have done a little research on how to train for a race in warm conditions over winter. Starting in January I will start:

  • Going to hot yoga to get my body used to moving in the heat
  • sitting in the sauna after swims for increasing amounts of time.
  • No fan or open windows while on the trainer
  • Overdressing for runs

Other than that I think I will just have to gut it out. Regardless, I am excited to head to mexico to race towards the end of a long, cold winter.

Have any additional tips? Have you ever races in the heat after training in the cold?

I haven’t really but I did train in the heat to race in the ridged cold in Tahoe, I guess that doesn’t hep me here.

Posted by bethcurtis 3 Comments
Filed Under: Ironman, Ironman Los Cabos

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We are having so much fun learning to ski as a fam We are having so much fun learning to ski as a family! Ski traffic I could do without 🫠
✨2022✨ I can honestly say this was the best ✨2022✨ 

I can honestly say this was the best year of my life. So many adventures. I am loving the ages of these kiddos and cherish our time together. 

Very unsure if we can top this in 2023 but we are sure going to try!
We hope you had a merry little Christmas 🎄 We hope you had a merry little Christmas 🎄
Winter hiking is just so magical. Definitely not h Winter hiking is just so magical. Definitely not hating winter this year! ❄️
We kicked off the holiday season by visiting the N We kicked off the holiday season by visiting the North Pole and seeing Santa! 

The kids had so much fun and it was way cuter than I was expecting. They said it was better than Disneyland 😂 @northpolecolorado
Happy Halloween!!! Cannon really wanted to be To Happy Halloween!!! 

Cannon really wanted to be Toad from Super Mario this year so we tagged along. 

Scroll to see 2021-> 2020 -> 2019 -> 2018 -> 2017 -> 2016 🎃
We finished up our tour of France with a couple da We finished up our tour of France with a couple days in Disneyland Paris. I love Disney Parks and visiting Disneyland Paris was a dream come true. We had such an amazing time on our entire trip. 

We are trying to plan our next trip. Where is the best place you have ever been? Do you have a favorite trip? I would love to hear about it. My parents say that Ireland was their favorite so UK tops the list currently but Italy or Costa Rica are on the list too.
In our last couple of days in Paris we took a bus In our last couple of days in Paris we took a bus tour to see the major sights. Our favorites included walking the entire Champs-Élysées and climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We missed out on seeing the Catacombs because we didn’t get tickets early enough. c’est la vie, I guess we will have to go back 😉
A cousin reminded me that I never finished sharing A cousin reminded me that I never finished sharing our trip to France 🫠 better late than never! 

We spent our first day back in Paris with a trip to Versailles. We loved the gardens so much and particularly enjoyed Marie Antoinette’s little farm. The history here is incredible and the opulence overwhelming. We walked over 10 miles on our visit!
Before our long drive back to Paris we did the thr Before our long drive back to Paris we did the three castle hike in Ribeauvillé, France. We climbed up the side of a hill to three castle ruins from the 14th century. It was really fun to explore and a great way to burn some energy before a long drive.
While we were in the Alsace region of France we vi While we were in the Alsace region of France we visited the sweet little village of Riquewihr. Rumor says this was the inspiration for Belle’s village in Disney’s Beaty and the Beast. Can you see it? We could and kept singing Bonjour while walking through town.
After leaving Switzerland we made our way to Colma After leaving Switzerland we made our way to Colmar. This sweet little town in the Alsace region of France near the German border. We loved all the half timber buildings and winding streets. We had some great local food and wine. Colmar was a lovely place to get lost for an afternoon.
It was so exciting to see the Matterhorn in person It was so exciting to see the Matterhorn in person. The peak was never fully clear of clouds while we were there which was a little disappointing but it was still majestic . We took a cog train and gondola up then hiked about five miles down on the five lakes trail. It was a beautiful day and we got to enjoy lunch mid hike. We loved the little (car free) town of Zermatt. We enjoyed some fun Swiss playgrounds in town before dinner. I love Switzerland and it’s mountains!
With the last of our time in Chamonix we took a go With the last of our time in Chamonix we took a gondola and cable car up Le Brévent. We enjoyed hot chocolates and crepes at the top with views of Mont Blanc. 

Next it was time to drive on to Switzerland 🇨🇭
We took a cute cogwheel train up the valley in Cha We took a cute cogwheel train up the valley in Chamonix to Montenvers to visit the Mer de Glace  glacier. At the top you can take a gondola a little way down then MANY stairs to the glacier. It was sad to see the markers of where the glacier was in years past and how much it has shrunk. We did love exploring an ice cave that they dig out each year. We had to try twice to get into the ice caves as the first time it closed right as we arrived due to a storm. It was worth taking the train twice.
After riding to the top of Aiguille du Midi we sto After riding to the top of Aiguille du Midi we stopped half way down for a couple mile hike and a stop at a mountain hut for lunch. This might have been my favorite lunch ever. The views were amazing and the weather was nice. The mountains here are STUNNING!!! #aiguilledumidi #chamonix
We decided to spend a few day in Chamonix to explo We decided to spend a few day in Chamonix to explore the French Alps. The experience we were most excited about was taking the gondola up the 
Aiguille du Midi (highest cable car in France). You switch cable cars half way up so you can enjoy the views. The top outpost is incredible perching on top of the mountain. I’ve never seen anything like it! 

The day wasn’t completely clear but the views were still incredible. #aiguilledumidi #chamonix
After a long drive across the French countryside w After a long drive across the French countryside we landed in Annecy at the foot of the Alps. 

Annecy was such a pretty little town on the bank of a gorgeous turquoise lake.  We got to enjoy lunch at a canal side cafe, wander the streets, enjoy ice cream and playground hop our way through town. 

Very excited about our next few days in mountains of France + Switzerland.
We drove into the heart of France to visit the Go We drove into the heart of France to visit the  Gouffre de Padirac. A large cave system including an underground river. I don’t have many good pictures given the lighting and lack of patience. We loved climbing down into the cave and riding a boat along the river. Probably my favorite cave that I have visited. Kids loved all of it too and are so good about us dragging them along with us across France.
After leaving Mont Saint-Michele we drove to Loire After leaving Mont Saint-Michele we drove to Loire to visit Château de Chenonceau. It was stunning and the gardens were fun to explore. The history here is so rich!
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