Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

Archives for February 2020

Our Valentine’s Day 2020

When I was a kid I loved Valentine’s Day, I loved getting cards and exchanging them with friends. As I got older I didn’t NOT like it but it just wasn’t a big deal. When it was just Cory and I we would usually do something little or go on a getaway and it was fun but I didn’t like a day that ever felt forced. I much preferred getting flowers and a card on meaningful days from Cory.

A sweet card from Cory the morning before my first ultra

Now that we have our kids to shower with love as well it’s twice as much fun to celebrate.

Both kids had parties earlier in the week, Emmy with her neighborhood friends and Cannon with his preschool class.

We gave the kids their Valentine’s baskets and they loved them. It’s always so fun to see them excited about little things.

They were also very excited about the cinnamon rolls they had with breakfast.

Cannon had the day off of school so we hung out, made cards for our friends and family and we to a indoor playground.

For the evening it wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary except we did have some brownies. But other than that it was dinner together (very important to us), bedtime hustle, lots of books and extra snuggles because we love them so much.

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What did you do for Valentine’s Day?

Favorites for Feeding Toddlers

I thought I would take some time to share what has worked for us when feeding our little kiddos. Cannon is three and a half and Emerald is One and a half. We use all of these items with both kiddos.

Toddler, Favorites, Feeding Toddlers

Most of these Items can be found on Amazon and I will link them below. I also made a little video so I could talk about each item:

Straw Cups

Plates

Fork and Spoon Sets

Water Bottles

Snack cups

Lunch Bento Box

Stuck On You Bento Box and Cooler Bags

Silicone Cloud Mats

Marshmallow Mugs

Updates, Parties + Doctors

It’s been a few days so I thought I would update everyone on how we are doing. What we thought would be a routine cold has turned into something that will not go away for pretty much our entire family. I skipped the rundown this week because it is just so pitiful, I can’t run outside at all without wheezing and coughing fits. Short treadmill runs are all that’s happening and there isn’t anything ultra about it.

In happier news both kiddos had Valentine’s Day parties. They have been having so much fun with the holiday this year.

I love seeing Emmy with her little friends.

She is very silly.

Cannon had his class party but now has over a week off of school. This should be interesting to keep him busy with so much snow and frigid temps. After school I got lots of cuddles before heading back to the doctor. There is concern that after all the medication that things are not really improving so now we are waiting on further (and kind of scary) test results to come back.

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It feels like everyone is sick right now. Are you battling something?

Valentine’s Baskets for Kids

Things have been a little quiet around here as we still sort out what is going on with all of us health wise. I think there has been at least five doctors appointments and many many runs to the pharmacy in the last two weeks. More on that later but I wanted to share our Valentine’s Day baskets that we made for the kiddos.

We like to give them something fun and little to remind them how much we love them. It’s also just fun to have something to celebrate in the dead of winter.

I already had the baskets and I filled them with little things from the dollar area from Target. Below is a video showing all the details:

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What will you be doing for Valentine’s Day?

Stories From My iPhone – February 2020

Here are some stories from my phone:

This is what “rest time” looks like lately.

We are planning a mini remodel for a kitchen, it’s actually really hard for me to start to pick these things. I can’t really picture what this will look like in our house.

We are planning on completely redoing our island, new counters and painting the cabinets.

The best way to get Emmy to smile for pictures is to have her sit with Cannon. We were trying to get her monthly picture and it is always best if Cannon is there too.

We had high hopes for this Gyro Kit from Costco but it wasn’t great. It wasn’t awful but I don’t think we will get it again.

Cannon’s school has themed weeks a few times a year and it was plaid day this week, we missed spirit day and teacher swap day due to snow.

The kids are loving this new play kitchen we got for them from Ikea. I would love to update it, there are some really cute ideas on Pinterest.

[Source]

We will see when there is time for that……

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What’s new with you?

Friday Favorites – the M Word

Happy Friday everyone! It completely feels like Saturday today, Cannon had his school cancelled because of snow and Cory has the day off.

another snowy day

Cannon came with us to Emmy’s gymnastics since he didn’t have school.

Emmy has been loving gymnastics, I think we need to sign her up for another session.

Here are some favorites from the week:

Very interesting article from Katie Arnold in Trail Runner Magazine. Katie writes about motherhood and identity and it really made me think about my identities. Her book Running Home is really good too, you should read it.

https://trailrunnermag.com/people/the-m-word.html

This podcast;

Matt’s conversation with Neely was so so good. I am excited to keep listening for all the Olympic qualifiers.

Emmy’s new overalls from Old Navy They are made from sweatshirt material so they are cozy and warm.

And these Cran-Pistachio cookies from Betty Crocker are SO easy and SO good.

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What are some of your favorites from this week?

Running in Circles + Dreaming of Spring

This morning I broke my run up with two miles on the treadmill

and two miles outside with the kids before Cannon’s school drop off.

It was a little warmer this morning at 28 degrees so we enjoyed it as much as we could.

Do you do this as well with milage? I don’t think I would run to 6 miles after 5.12 but I have definitely ran past my house instead of stoping at 5.9 miles.

Emmy and I spent the morning visiting the homeland (Target) to pick up valentine’s for Cannon and Emmy. I am so excited that Emmy gets to exchange valentines this year. Last year she was only 10 months so we didn’t bother for her. This year she picked out Mini Mouse cards to give her friends.

After Target we spent sometime at a playgroup with friends. It’s so funny that last year Cannon was hanging out with his friends and Emmy was just along for the ride. Now Emmy is the one who goes to play dates while Cannon is at school. Everyone always tells you how fast things go with kids but I just never feel prepared.

After school pickup I made lunch for the kids and threw together a salad for myself. I put strawberries on it and pretended that spring is coming.

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Do you enjoy winter or are you ready for spring?

Winter is Here + Cookies

The past few days we have been hunkered down with our first big snow of the year. All miles have been short and on the treadmill.

Cannon actually had school on Monday but Emmy and I drove him due to the ice and blowing snow.

Emmy and I hanging out in the car waiting for Cannon to finish school.

We got about 8 inches of snow and it looks like winter finally decided to show up.

In the afternoon we made dinner for a friend who just had a baby (cutest little tiny boy) and Cannon helped me make some cookies to send them as well.

Cannon was happy to help taste test the cookies to be sure they were good.

Emmy napped through our baking time but also approved of the cookies.

It was a teaching night for me so I spent the night talking about types of variables in statistics. I might be the only one who finds it fun but I love teaching probability and statistics.

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Did you have a warm, easy January like we did? It looks like we might make up for it in February.

Things to do Before You Start Training for a Big Event

Over the years of training for endurance events I have learned my lesson that it’s best to get your life in order before you start really training for a big event.

The first thing is to not try to combine big life events with big endurance events.

In 2014 I really wanted to do a double Ironman (finishing two Ironman races in one year). I had my races picked out and handed the money over for both. Ironman races are a pain because you often have to sign up nine months in advance just to get a spot. Then we decided to try to sell our house and move.

I tried to continue to train for both races as well as pack up, fix up our house and move a total of four times before we settled in our permanent house. The process took six months, lots of time, money and energy. I should have probably decided to pull out of the Ironmans or not moved until they were done. I would have saved myself a lot of stress and disappointment.

Next it’s good to make sure your support system is in place. It doesn’t matter if you are training for a half marathon or an ironman you will need your family on your side. Make sure you discuss how much time you will need to train, how your schedule might change (i.e. alarms going off at 4am) and what support you can use.

Cory took the kids to the park while I was running
Grandparents = lots of support

Try to find balance where you can. Cory and I trade off years of big events. Last year Cory did a half ironman and this year is my turn to try for a 50 miler.

Ironman St. George

Organize as much as you can before training takes over. This is the point where I am at now. We are trying to wrap up some house projects and organize before training gets too heavy. The more clutter I can get rid of and systems I have in place the better chance I have to get through training without life falling apart.

Practice Good Habits. It’s best to start following good habits early so they can follow you into your peak weeks. Now is the time to recover well, even after short workouts. Good nutrition, stretching, warm-ups, recovery boots and lots of sleep.

This may be an example of I give very good advice but I seldom follow it….I need to get on this one.

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What do you make sure to do before starting to train for a big event?

Weekly Rundown – 50 Mile Training Week One

This week officially starts my training for the Mt. Hood 5o Miler. I am still not feeling great and my base is not where I want it to be, but my plan calls for 24 weeks of training and that is where I am at.

For now I am focusing on time on feet not miles so I don’t get caught up in tying to do too much too fast or comparing to past years.

This is how the week went down:

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Monday:  An hour easy jog before dragging my sorry butt to the doctor to try to get better already.

Tuesday: About 45 minutes easy with the kiddos in the stroller.

Wednesday: About 40 minutes on the treadmill, with a little speed work. I have been enjoying the treadmill way more than normal lately.

Thursday: About 90 minutes on the treadmill with some progression miles.

Friday:  Just 20 minutes to get moving, Cannon had a hard night and didn’t go to school. Have you ever woken up to the sound of a child throwing up in your bed? I do now…..

Saturday: I got up with the family and enjoyed breakfast together before 30 minutes on treadmill. These early base training days are so nice when half the weekend isn’t spent running.

Sunday: So glad to be back to Sunday long run days! It’s not really that long but 90 minutes total makes me feel like there is progress and maybe a chance for July.

Kids playing at the park while I ran

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Totals: Just about six hours for the week plus a couple core and strength sessions that I didn’t record. It’s a start.

The goal for this coming week is to follow the plan as written and drink 100 oz of water a day.

What are you up to this week?

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