Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

Archives for July 2019

Happy Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!!! It’s nice to reflect a little on the meaning of this mid-summer holiday. When we signed the declaration of Independence and claimed our freedom we also claimed  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

I hope we continue to strive to treat all men and women as equal and that we support everyone as the pursue their version of happiness.

We started the day with a hike in Boulder Canyon. After living here for over ten years we finally got to see Boulder Falls.

The falls were pretty incredible. Cannon loved seeing them.

Emmy, Cory and Humphry were there too, I just didn’t get a good photo of them. We then went to Betasso Preserve to hike a little further and enjoy some more time in nature.

Our friends and our neighborhood have big 3rd of July celebrations but I teach in the evening so we won’t be joining. We are planning on going to our city’s celebration and hopefully fireworks but sleep has not been going well for Emerald lately so I am not sure if we will be venturing out. The last couple years we have had parties and grilled out at our house.

Cannon loves having people over to our house and is always down for a party.

I hope you all have a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our country!

Cannon – 3 Year Check In

I can’t believe Cannon is officially not a toddler anymore and is considered a pre-schooler. He can communicate so much more lately and looks like a boy now instead of a baby. Cannon is very stubborn and likes to do things on his own timeline but he is also very capable and curious.

EAT

Cannon is still a pretty good eater but food is not as interesting as most other things. He would much rather play than eat and very rarely tells me he is hungry or thirsty. On most days Emerald will eat more than Cannon. Since Cannon is a healthy height and weight his doctor isn’t worried about it.

Like most kids Cannon loves treats including hot chocolate, cookies and popsicles.

Eating outside is always preferred to inside.

SLEEP

Cannon has now decided that he is not a napper. Once ever couple of weeks he will be so tired that he will nap but most days it’s just quiet time while his sister naps.

He is also still sleeping in his crib, he can clim out of it but usually chooses not to. He also seems to like it as a safe place so I am not sure when we will move him up to a big-boy bed.

GROW

So much advancement in the last 6 months and I know it’s about to grow even more when he starts school next month. We have potty trained and are working on being more independent.

PLAY

So many adventures this year already! In January we went to Moab for my half marathon. Cannon loved hiking and climbing on the rocks with his cousins.

Then in February Cannon took his first airplane trip to California to visit Disneyland. I can’t decide if he or I had more fun.

In May we took a road trip to St. George, Utah so Cory could race a half ironman. Cannon ran in the Iron kids race. One of Cannon’s favorite things to do is run. Every day he runs laps in our house, and loves to join me on my runs as well.

Apart from the big adventures Cannon loves nothing more than to be with his friends or outside playing in the backyard or at a park.

He’s also still a big fan of his sister (most of the time)

Past Updates

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months 

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

12 Months

2.5 years

What I Learned Doing a 50 Day Run Streak

I set out to run every day for 50 days and yesterday I met that goal. I have started a couple run streaks before, often coming back from injury to reestablish a run base but this is the longest streak I have ever done.

I finished up the last day with a celebratory run with both Cannon and Emerald. I pushed Emmy in the stroller and Cannon ran much of it with me.

These two are so much of my reason for running. Running is my break and escape from all of the rigors of motherhood, something I do that is for me. But it’s also something I do hoping to show these babies that you can chase your dreams, work hard and do some really cool things.

Some of the things I learned from a 50 day run streak are:

  • Setting my own rules made the streak possible. I wanted to be sure not to get injured or burned out so I set the bar low. To count for the streak I had to travel at lest 1 mile on foot. If that meant some walking or a family hike with some jogging to me that was fine. Some set their bar higher but this worked for me.
  • It was really hard some days and I didn’t want to run at 9pm when I was tired and had other things to do. But I did it for the streak and I was always proud when I did.
  • It really did set up good running habits. It is much easier to get out the door early in the morning when I have done it so many other mornings. All of my gear was easy to find and accessible since I was using it all so often.
  • 50 days really didn’t feel that long. After the first couple weeks the habit of running everyday became easier.
  • Active Recovery is a great way to avoid injury. Often when people are negative about run streaks injury is a main reason and I totally respect that. For me active recovery helped keep me moving and healthy for the 50 days.

Some days were glorious sunny runs on trails

Or chasing the sunrise in my neighborhood.

And a few were on the basement treadmill, late at night just getting it done.

The biggest surprise was that a 50 day run streak is addicting. I thought I would be done after 50 days. I thought I would be proud to have done what I set out to do and ready for some rest and to move on. But I am not, I am excited to keep the streak going for another 50 days and from there we shall see…..

Happy Running

July Goals + 50 Day Run Streak –> 100 Day Run Streak

Well it’s officially done, my 50 day run-streak ends today. I will talk more about what I learned by running every day for 50 days later this week but for now I know that I want to keep it going!

In June I ran 162 miles, in July my goal is to run 200.

After checking the calendar I realized that Cannon’s first day of school is exactly 50 days from today. It is blowing my mind that it is that close. I am a little heart broken that this time at home with him is ending so soon and that he is growing up sooooo fast. Cannon doesn’t have to go to three year old preschool so I sometimes question myself if I really want to send him. But I think he will love it and thrive going to school with friends. It’s only three hours a day four days a week so I will still get time to hang out and have adventures with him.

Given that I have 50 more days until school starts I decided it would be fun to keep the run streak going and add a few things on as well.

For the the next 50 days I will do the following every day:

  • Run every day (at least one mile)
  • Drink 100oz of water – Really want to focus on hydration during the summer
  • Write – I want to blog every day to really build on the habit and share the day to day balance of motherhood, work and ultra marathon training.
  • 10 minutes of core work – because two kids in less than two years.
  • Meditate

The last one, meditating is a new one for me, but it’s something that I am trying to help me focus on all the things I have to be grateful for, keep my thoughts in check and spend time focusing on my thoghts.

So here we go, from today through August 20th the plan is to do all five of these things everyday.

Have you ever done a streak?

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