We started our week as we typically do, Humphry decided to join us at school.

It’s been so cold, lately we have only been outside for short amounts of time.

We have been keeping active inside with basketball and ballet.

Here is what week 3 of marathon prep looked like:

———–

Monday:  Quick run on the treadmill

Tuesday: 3 miles on the treadmill + Strength training

Wednesday: Just 1 mile in the late afternoon

Thursday: 4 miles out on the snowy trails

Friday: A short run out with the kids

Saturday: Split up long run with kids outside then finished on the treadmill. 7 miles total.

Sunday: A very short run on a long ski day

Totals: Just 17ish miles again. I am grateful for these prep weeks because I am finding it difficult to get into a good rhythm and get all my runs in. I only have 5 prep weeks before the real work starts so I am hoping I can find my way in the next couple of weeks.

We had a pretty chill weekend and I am really itching to get back out and camp or travel soon. We have a couple trips planned in February and I can’t wait.

We started our Saturday with our long (still not that long) run on Saturday as a family.

We were going to go three miles with the kids on their bikes but they wanted to keep going so we got a total of five miles together, I am so proud of them!

It’s been very cold, but it was nice to be running outside.

I finished up my last couple miles on the treadmill while the kids played and Cory ran outside.

Both of us training for a marathon means being flexible and creative with our training.

We had my family over for dinner and game night and it was so much fun! Trying to make the most of these dark cold nights.

On Sunday we decided to go back to Winter Park for some more skiing.

The kids have grown to love skiing and were so brave and wanted to ski without the straps all by themselves. They did amazing, had no trouble controlling their speed and loved going down the hill on their own.

Emerald often talks of wanting to snowboard and we might need to rent on for her to try.

It’s been so fun learning to do something new all together.

This is advice on training and running an ultra marathon from a middle/back of the pack runner with little natural talent. There are plenty of professional or sub elite runners that give great advice on how to be competitive in ultra long distance running. This article is for the runners who LOVE running for the act of not because they are good at or end up at the top of podiums. 

Here is some of my advice if you dream of completing an ultra marathon:

•  Run at inconvenient times. I am a morning person, I feel best when I get my run in at 5 am by 4 PM I am ready to relax and wind down from the day. I don’t like running after lunch time but when I am training for an ultra. If you are going to be running all day then you have to prepare your body to run even when it’s not feeling it’s best and possibly even when lunch is still sitting in your stomach. Morning, afternoon and evening runs become part of my plan when training for an ultra.

• Use doubles to get in more miles. When you have a busy life or if you run slower it can be hard to fit all your miles in during one session. Sometimes fitting in an 8 mile run in the morning and 4 more in the evening is easier than all 12 miles at once. 
• Include your family and/or friends! Training for an ultra means spending a lot of time running, if you can share that time with people you love all the better. My kids can’t ride or run 50 miles, but they can run the last couple miles with me or they can ride their bikes 5 miles of a mid-week run. 

• Eat lots of snacks during your training runs. Ultras are not about burning calories so you need to get your stomach used to eating while running. I suggest a mix of easy to eat gels and also some “real food” if you are going to be out there all day.   

• Walk the ups, run the downs and flats. This will make sure you will make it to the finish line and not “burn all your matches” at the beginning.
• Practice in your race gear.   It’s the worst to have something chafe all day on race day. Wearing your intended race gear on a couple long runs before race day will give you a good idea if it will work for you. 
• Try to run on terrain similar to you race. No need to run on technical trails if your ultra is on pavement.

• Spend just as much energy on recovery as you do on training. Some recovery tips HERE.
• Have fun! Don’t take any of it too seriously, dance on the down hills, high 5 all volunteers and kids. 

Do you want to run an ultra someday?

If you have ran an ultra, what would you add to the list?

Have you heard of the types of fun? It really resonated with me when I read about type 2 fun:

“Type 2 fun is miserable while it’s happening, but fun in retrospect. It usually begins with the best intentions, and then things get carried away. Riding your bicycle across the country. Doing an ultramarathon. Working out till you puke, and, usually, ice and alpine climbing.” SOURCE

Some people go on vacation to relax, sit by the pool and come home relaxed.

We often some home from a trip completely spent because we have packed our schedule with as much adventure as possible.

I wouldn’t classify our fun seeking as “miserable while it’s happening” but sometimes challenging, uncomfortable or exhausting. Does that make it type 1.5 fun?

Sometimes it makes for tired, hot kids on long days exploring Mayan Ruins or cold tops of Mountains after a too early morning. But in the end it’s all worth it to have memories we will all keep forever. Usually it just takes some ice cream or afternoon coffee to get us all feeling like this type 2 fun seeking is all worth it.

*Just a note on type 2 fun seeking with kids, the more you do it the easier it gets! Now our kids are all in on the crazy adventures even when they start at 4 am.

What type of fun seeker are you?

I finally got to take my run outside to a “trail” and it was so good.

The trails here have been covered in snow now for over a month, which is not normal for us. Normally January is pretty dry here with some warm days thrown in to remind us of the good life.

The trail was nice a packed down so not too hard to run on and the sun was out so even thought it was chilly and windy it was good for the soul.

I ran though a tunnel and was treated to some uplifting art.

After my run I got to pick up Emmy and have some girl time. I decided we needed more time outside so we went for a scooter and hung out until it was time to go pick up Cannon from school.

Then I got to meet some friends at Acreage for some ciders and celebrating that half the people at the table are pregnant.

How has your January been?

I have been really trying to love winter this year, but it’s still January and I am already starting to fail. I have been dreaming of dinners in the back yard, play dates at the playground, dry trails to run on, etc. It didn’t help that today was gloomy and I definitely haven’t been outside enough lately.

We had some fun with letter bingo, Emmy is doing so well with her letters and sounds that she has been asking to start reading.

We started her out on some BoB books and she is loving it.

She also bashed into the doorway this morning and gave herself a nice line of a bruise on her cheek. After lunch we decided we needed some time outside even though it was really cold out.

Outside time always makes things better.

When Cory got home we played a game (ticket to ride for kids) which was fun but a little challenging for the kids. We had clam chowder and sourdough for dinner before bed time.

How are you handling winter? Naturally love it? Any tips for thriving?

Lately I have been reminded how important PT and recovery are, so I thought I would share some of my favorites here:

At first when I started PT I felt like rolling everyday really made the most difference. I love this lolë foam roller we also have the “The Stick” roller and Trigger Points Grid Roller and I use all of them.

I have been using this set of resistance bands for many exercises and a weight set from we got from Costco years ago THIS set is similar. Our Bosu ball is very old but still work great, I love this training tool.

And lastly an old throw pillow that I stand on for some exercises to create instability.

HERE are some of my recovery favorites for anyone out there running lots of miles training for those spring half and full marathons.

What are some of your favorite recovery tools?

Other than recovery we had a normal Tuesday including school, games and treadmill runs.

And Emmy had gymnastics in the evening.

Emmy has been loving gymnastics more than any other activity she has done.

After my “long run” yesterday starting the day off with yoga felt extra good.

It was twice as fun because it was My Little Pony themed and the kids joined me.

We spent our morning doing the normal school stuff so after lunch I wanted to get outside and do something fun.

We have not been to the sledding hill since our last big snow so it was overdue for a visit! The snow was really fast and fun! We love these sleds we got at Costco, they have lasted us years. I also want to get a snow-tube.

In the afternoon we went to our neighborhood lodge for ballet and basketball. This was Emmy’s fits time ever taking a dance class.

She listened and did well but I am not sure it’s going to be her true love for life. She says she wants to go back next week so that is a positive. While Emmy was dancing (all the little are SOOOOO cute doing ballet) Cannon practiced basketball and is doing so well.

We came home for fish tacos with mango, the kids approved. Although it had me wishing for summer, warm nights and eating outside. Trying so hard to love winter but summer will always win.

It is very hard to choose my top five places in the United States to visit, but I love reading these and thought I would share mine.

1. Cannon Beach – Oregon

Cannon Beach gets top marks for me because it’s been a favorite for my entire life. It’s mountains and rainforest and waterfalls, and rocky shore and sandy beaches.

The quaint little town will make you want to stay forever. The tide pools and puffin sightings put it over the top as my number one pick.

2. Moab – Utah

I have lost count how many times we have visited Moab now and it’s magic every time. I love the dramatic red rocks, canyons and desert splendor. We also love that Moab still feels small and authentic. Just minutes from town you can find Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park.

3. Lake Tahoe – California

Lake Tahoe is the most beautiful lake I have ever swam in. The water is so clear and cold, the blue of the lake is stunning next to the green pine trees and towering mountains. We have only ever been in the summer but I am dying to go back and ski in the winter.

4. Telluride – Colorado

I love our home state of Colorado and it is a hard choice but Telluride rises to the top for my favorite Colorado town. The hiking is insane, the town is a cute victorian mining town. The town is very dog friendly which gives it extra credit for me. Leadville, Aspen, Breckenridge and Vail also get top marks.

5. Yellowstone – Wyoming

Yellowstone is so iconic so I had high expectations when we visited for the first time in 2020. Even with high expectations and covid restrictions at the time the place blew my expectations out of the water. The colors and sights were amazing, I can’t wait to go back soon.

I acknowledge that my top 5 list is biased to the west coast, partly because that is where we live but also because of what we enjoy doing. Also these places are mostly nature/adventure based. We like visiting a city for a bit but nature has our hearts.

Please share your favorite US destinations!

Just a little snapshot from our Sunday:

I did my “long run” on the treadmill and ate some of my kids’ fruit snacks. It might be time to stock up on real sports nutrition. Cory wanted to get his run in before Sunday so he got on the treadmill at 1am, I just can’t understand how he can do that.

I watched this documentary on the Hardrock Endurance Run. I love this area of Colorado and now I feel like I need to plan a trip to volunteer at Hardrock this July.

We made the kids’ love baskets.

In the afternoon we went to a friends house for games and dinner. I think I forgot how much I love playing games and now I want to buy them all.

Some new favorites our friends introduced us to.

We made pitchers of this blackberry vodka Mojitos to share and I really liked it!