May 31, 2017

11 Month Check In

Cannon turned 11 months old this month, I can’t believe we will have a one year old so soon!

Cannon is now 21 lbs 4 oz (59%) and 30.25 in (84%) such a tall boy!

This month Cannon is constantly on the move, he loves to craw everywhere, walk with his push toys and climb up the stairs. The thing Cannon likes the least is sitting still. Lucky for all of us he is still a champion sleeper.

We have really enjoyed this month since I had most of it off for summer break, we really enjoyed being outside as much as possible, exploring new parks and playing in the grass.

Cannon’s hair was getting so crazy that I talked Cory into letting me get his hair cut. Cannon did a great job and even had fun in the car chair.

Cannon also traveled up to Fort Collins to hang out with his uncle Erik and cheer for me at my 6th marathon.

I think his favorite part was hanging out with his Grandpa and eating Mexican food after the race.

We also got to celebrate Mother’s Day this month, Cannon and Cory made my day amazing. We had such a great time, went hiking and even saw a moose!

Such a great month, I am feeling a little sad that our time with Cannon as a baby is quickly coming to an end, everyday is so fun, I just love his personality.

Past Monthly Updates:

May 19, 2017

Desert Rats Trail Marathon – Trail Running Festival Race Report

In April I ran my first marathon since having Cannon. I worked hard and got on as many trails as possible during the winter months in Boulder. When searching for an early season trail race Desert Rats Trail Marathon seemed like a good fit. I came in feeling ready for the distance but I was a little fearful of the hills and the heat.

We packed up the car, with what seemed like everything we own (9 months old need a lot when traveling!) on Friday morning and started heading west to Fruita, Colorado.

Fruita is a really cute small town with a big focus on mountain biking, it reminded me a lot of Moab. We rolled into Fruita in the late afternoon and checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Fruita Comfort Inn which was everything we needed for a place to crash before a race and was really affordable. I particularly liked that the room had a microwave and a refrigerator, this was great for traveling with a baby. Cannon was stoked on the king sized bed.

After checking in we headed to packet pick-up at the Fruita Community Center. In true trail race form packet pick-up was low-key and easy to get in and out of. After we had my shirt and bib we went to The Hot Tomato for pre-race pizza. The Hot Tomato was really cute but it was standing room only on a Friday evening so we put in our order and took Cannon back to the hotel so we could relax and get his dinner. We ate in our hotel room, got Cannon ready for bed and all turned in early.

Race morning was really easy, the trail head was just 15 minutes outside of town with plenty of parking. We got to the start line before the sun was up.

The start was nice and low key with plenty of bathrooms which is key to a successful race start! The race director reminded us to carry water as the aid stations were 5-7 miles apart. The marathon and 50k started together, there was only about 70 runners in each race so the start was easy to navigate and find your pace group. You also run the first 2 miles on a jeep road before turning onto single track so there was no worry of getting caught in the wrong place in a conga line. The first climb was pretty long but afforded us a great view at the top.

The course was beautiful and kept us entertained with views and varying terrain.

Lots of smooth single track and rocky technical sections.

[Source] – Race photos were free with entry!

There is over 3000 feet of climbing and basically no flat sections to this course so if you are looking for a fast time, this race is not for you.

My favorite part of the course was where you run along the edge of a cliff above the river.

Then you get to run along the ridge above and see where you just were.

I took my time on the course, for me this was not about setting a PR, the course was difficult and it was hot!!! I just wanted to have fun so I did just that and took lots of pictures along the way.

My least favorite part of the race came right at the end, there is a really steep long climb along the highway on a jeep road, it’s not as pretty as the rest of the course. I was also cooked and ready to be done. Running in 70-80 degree heat after training all winter is a shock to the system.

The finish was fun, with lots of good food, Gemini Events knows we want more than a stale bagel and half a banana. They had the grills going and everyone was having a party.

I was tired and SO SO SO happy to be reunited with my boys.

Finisher medals were dog tags, nice little reminder of the race. I would definitely recommend this race to anyone looking for an early season trail race. They have the marathon and 50k on Saturday and a 10k or half marathon on Sunday.

May 8, 2017

Cannon // 10 Month Check In

Double Digits! Cannon is now 10 months old, and the coolest little dude.

Cannon is really growing into his personality and seems so much more like a little boy than baby already!

This month’s big development would be figuring out how to crawl. Cannon had been practicing for a while but this month he really became an expert and can get around like a pro. He also loves nothing more than to stand up and cruise around, getting ready to walk.

We had a lot to celebrate this month and Cannon loves nothing more than to be around lots of people and out doing things. Early in the moth we celebrated his Grammy’s birthday.

And enjoyed Grandma sneaking him a bite of cupcake

We took a fun weekend trip to Fruita Colorado so I could run the Desert Rates Marathon

We celebrated Easter

Cannon’s First Easter Basket

And enjoyed meeting the Easter Bunny

So stoked to meet the Easter Bunny

The weather has finally started to turn so we have enjoyed playing outside at the park

and in the grass

Cannon also loves playing with his puppy

We just love this little guy so much, everyone tells you but you just can’t know until you KNOW.

Past Monthly Updates:

April 20, 2017

Weekly Rundown – Marathon Week!

Marathon week has come and gone! I am a little late getting this recap up, but I wanted to get this last week posted to finish this marathon training cycle. Race week was pretty uneventful and I felt flat and lazy. I couldn’t wait for the week to be over so I could get out there and race!

———–

Monday: Rest day

Tuesday: Evening 4 mile run, trying to keep things light and easy

Wednesday: Another evening run after Cannon went to sleep for the night

Thursday: Quick 2 miles before work, felt heavy and slow, taper is the worst!

Friday: Travel Day! My mom and I headed to the salon for race day nails in the morning (she ran Boston!) then we packed up the car and headed west towards Fruita. Cannon is a champ in the car but we do have to make a lot more stops. I unfortunately was too distracted by a cute baby and did a terrible job hydrating. regardless we made it to town with plenty of time to check into our hotel, go to packet pick-up and grab dinner.

When you have a king size bed to yourself….

Saturday: Race day!!!! The course was challenging and so so so beautiful. More details in a race report soon. After the race we jumped into the car and headed home.

Sunday: Full rest day! My legs have definitely felt worse after previous marathons but driving for five hours after running didn’t help the situation. I enjoyed being lazy and eating lots of candy.

Now to start building back up and getting serious about Leadville training. Sunday long runs will soon be Saturday AND Sunday long runs…

Totals:

Running: 36.8 miles

April 10, 2017

WEEKLY RUNDOWN – MARATHON TRAINING WEEK 15

Week 15 of marathon training is done and in the books, now less than a week until race day and I can’t wait! It’s been a little difficult to cut back on running this last week. I had gotten into mindset of trying to run as much as possible so it’s hard to remind myself that it is important to cut back and let my body absorb the modifications.

As usual I am linking up with Jessie at The Right Fits and Jess Runs ATL to recap last weeks training.

———–

Monday: Rest day, feeling very antsy, wanting to get out on a run.

Tuesday: 4 easy miles on the treadmill since I wimped out of running outside in the rain/snow.

Wednesday: 5.6 steady miles in the morning around the hood. It was beautiful and sunny after the storm.

Thursday: Speed work on the treadmill, 4 half mile repeats and 4 quarter mile repeats.

Friday: Cory and I decided it would be nice to have a morning coffee shop date with Cannon so we made a plan to include running and coffee (could it get better???). I ran form home to the coffee shop (7 miles) and Cory drove there with Cannon. We had so much fun hanging out with Cannon and drinking amazing coffee at Cannon Mine Coffee. When we were done Cory ran to work to get his miles in while I drove with Cannon. We are thinking of making this an every other week(ish) tradition.

Saturday: Full rest day, we took the extra time to go meet the Easter Bunny for the first time. I was a little worried that Cannon would be scared of the giant bunny but he had a great time.

Sunday: 15 miles at Heil Ranch in Boulder, it was a bit windy but still a perfect day on the trails. The miles ticked by easily and I loved being out on the trails. Starting to get excited for my marathon.

Totals:

Running: Just 36.7 miles now to just not do anything stupid before Saturday….

April 5, 2017

April 2017 Goals

I can’t believe it’s April already, but I am excited to see spring popping its pretty little head up here and there with promises of longer days and better weather.

I started this post at the begining of March as a recap of how February’s goals went and document March’s goals. I think one of them was going to be to post more (HA!) so that was a miss but I did set a goal of running 175 miles in March and actually ran 201 miles so one miss and one win.

I will go ahead and recap how February now and just skip March.

1. To run 120 miles. This may not seem like much, especially since I am in the thick of marathon training but I am determined to build up slowly so I don’t get injured. I set a goal of running 100 miles in January and just made it with 102 miles. – check! I actually ran 156 miles, so I call that a total win =)

2. Run everyday in February. I don’t think that a “run streak” is necessary but for me I like the idea of not thinking about when to run and just setting up really good habits of running everyday. It doesn’t have to be long, just 20 minutes to count in my book. This is a fun goal but one I will give up on if I feel that I am going to get injured. – again check! Some days it wasn’t even 2 miles but I ran, every day.

3. Strength train at least twice a week – Miss…..I don’t know WHY this is so hard for me, I had two weeks where I only got one session in. I guess I will have to keep trying.

4. Try to post on the blog at least twice a week, three would be better but I want to be realistic. I really want to remember this time in my life and documenting it here means a lot to me. I would like to include marathon training updates for my first big race back after baby. – I got 9 posts done in February, so I hit my 2 posts a week goal, but not the stretch goal of three times a week.

5. Continue to prioritize and put family first. January was pretty crazy with some life changes (more on that later) but I was happy that I was still able to be present and prioritize time with my family. This one is a bit intangible but I think I will know if I have been successful. – This one is hard to say, it’s getting harder as work is getting more involved, training is ramping up and other obligations pop up. On a day to day, Cannon is my priority but I would still like to have more time with family and friends.

For April I have 2 main goals:

Taper well and finish my marathon with a smile on my face. I truly don’t have a time goals for this race. The terrain is so unknown to me and reported to be very difficult so I just want to finish my first real post baby race.
recover from my marathon and get serious about ultra training. I have big goals for the summer and it’s time to start getting after them!
Go to at least one baby group a week. It’s important to me that Cannon and I get out of the house and he gets time to interact with other kids. We did our first Library story time this morning and it was a lot of fun. I have been finding more and more groups/classes to join so I am happy about that.
Post on the blog more…trying for this one again. This is a stretch goal but I really want to remember this time in my life and documenting it here helps with that.
Lastly I would like to lose at least 6 pounds in April. I don’t want to focus too much on weight but running long distances will be a lot easier if I have less weight to carry over 50+ miles. I have been able to lose all the “baby weight” and a little more but I have a little ways to go to get to my ideal race weight.

So that’s it, wish me luck for April!

April 3, 2017

Cannon // 9 Month Check In

This update is SOOOOO late but better late than never, right?

Cannon is such a sweet happy little guy, I am thankful everyday that I get to hang out with him.

Cannon is now 19 lbs 12 oz (52%) and 28.75 in (67%)

He still doesn’t have any teeth, but he still eats really well. His favorites are bananas and berries. He absolutely hates oatmeal, even when mixed with banana, the face he makes is hilarious.

Cannon is scooting and rolling and getting where he wants to go, I wouldn’t call it great crawling but I think we will be there soon!

He is also pulling himself up and walking assisted on furniture and toys.

Cannon also loves being outside as much as possible.

He loves going on picnics, hikes and to the park.

Past Monthly Updates:

April 3, 2017

WEEKLY RUNDOWN – MARATHON TRAINING WEEK 13 & 14

I never got around to recapping week 13 last week so I will do a quick rundown of both week 13 and 14 here. Week 13 was the last big week before tapering. In hindsight I am not sure that I really needed to taper for three weeks but that ship has sailed. I already feel itchy and restless wanting to run more miles. Trying to just focus on this marathon but I am excited that I finally handed over my money for my big summer race.

As usual I am linking up with Jessie at The Right Fits and Jess Runs ATL to recap last weeks training.

———–

Monday: I was still sick but feeling a little better so I got up early to run 12 miles before Cory went to work.

I always love seeing the sunrise on my runs.

Tuesday: 4 easy miles in the evening

Wednesday: 5.6 steady miles in the evening around the hood

Thursday: Early morning easy 4 miler since I had drinks with the girls planned for the evening. So nice to see friends that I hadn’t seen in awhile.

Friday: I wanted to get a little bit longer of a run in but it’s so dark in the morning still so I jumped on the basement treadmill and the miles flew by. So nice to Netflix and Treadmill.

Saturday: easy 6 miles

Sunday: Last long run of this training cycle! I headed to Boulder to run trails, it was a beautiful day and I took it nice and easy. It was still probably not enough elevation gain for my race but it is what it is. Done early so we had plenty of time for an afternoon birthday party.

Totals:

Running: 63.35 miles total, I believe this might be my biggest week ever.

————————————————————————————

Monday: Full rest day.

Tuesday: 4 early morning miles, legs felt pretty good after a rest day. Lot’s of wildlife out now the spring is here!

Wednesday: Speed work on the treadmill – half and quarter mile repeats. Trying to find a little turnover.

Thursday: Easy 6.5 miles, was meant to be at least 8 miles but my legs felt wooden and tired so I cut it short.

Thursday evening I finally pulled the trigger and signed up for the Leadville Silver Rush 50 miler….slightly scared.

Friday: Set out for 4 miles but legs felt really good so added on another mile.

Saturday: Easy 6 miles

Sunday: We celebrated my mom’s birthday in the morning (sneaking Cannon a bite of cupcake…..)

so my normal morning long run was moved to the afternoon. I am not used to running in the afternoon sun and burned my arms, whoops! 14.3 warm miles on the local trails.

Totals:

Running: 41.3 miles – let the taper madness begin….

March 20, 2017

WEEKLY RUNDOWN – MARATHON TRAINING WEEK 12

Last week was not the best week for training and a big step back in milage. A cold has been rolling it’s way through our house. On Sunday of last week Cory started to have a sore throat and was full on sick by Monday, then later in the week Cannon came down with similar symptoms and I was last to the party by coming down with it on Saturday. We have been lucky that we haven’t been sick much with a little one in the house so we can’t complain too much. That said, sleep hasn’t been great and I decided to skip my long run yesterday since I was at the peak of feeling crapy and didn’t want to make the illness worse. I did get up early this morning to fit in 12 of the 16 I missed, it didn’t feel great but better than Sunday would have.

As usual I am linking up with Jessie at The Right Fits and Jess Runs ATL to recap last weeks training.

———–

Monday: Full rest day, unless you count swim lessons with Cannon, he has started going twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays. He is a natural in the water and already kicks and swims well.

Tuesday: 6.3 miles in the morning before work, my headlamp is getting a lot of use recently.

Wednesday: Mid-week longish run of 8 miles

In the afternoon I headed to Runners Roost to replace my Hoka Cliffton 3s, that old pair carried me many miles and kept my PF in check. I am so happy with them, I replaced them with the exact same pair.

Thursday: Easy 4 mile run, was supposed to be a double day but with Cannon getting sick, I need to be home with him, priorities!

Lots of early morning runs and sunrises.

Friday: 5.6 miles early in the morning so I could spend the day with my boys. Cory had the day off and it was Cannon’s 9 month birthday so we decided to have a picnic and hike to celebrate.

My little Cannon may be sick but he still had so much fun on his 9 month birthday picnic and hike. Love you to the moon and back little one. #Cannon #cmcn #9monthsold

Cannon wasn’t feeling great, but it was warm and he seemed to enjoy the hike even with buggers on his face.

Saturday: I was already not feeling well Saturday morning, so I just went out for a quick 4 mile run before we started our day. It’s been really warm here in Colorado and all the plants are starting to wake up. We spent much of the day working in the yard before taking Cannon for a walk to the park in the afternoon.

Sunday: I was supposed to run 16 hilly trail miles, and it was a beautiful day for it. But my cold had lodged itself into my lungs and I felt miserable, I can’t take any medicine to help with the symptoms so I just decided it was best to rest and try to recover from this virus. We took it easy, worked in the yard more and took Cannon to the park again.

Totals:

Running: 32.5 miles….shrug.

March 14, 2017

WEEKLY RUNDOWN – MARATHON TRAINING WEEK 11

Another week down, just a few more to go. I feel like last week was all about just getting it done.

Work was more demanding than normal so runs were all about business. It feels a bit boring to talk about my running week as all the runs were done in my neighborhood to save time but I committed to documenting this training cycle so here it is.

I am linking up with Jessie at The Right Fits and Jess Runs ATL to recap last weeks training.

———–

Monday: Full rest day. I hadn’t taken a rest day in awhile so I took full advantage of the extra time to get more work done.

Tuesday: 4 mile run around the reservoir. It was so windy that I had a hard time running in a straight line.

Wednesday: Mid-week longish run of 7 miles

Thursday: 6 morning miles before a long day at work, tried to keep it light and easy.

Friday: Double run day! I really love double run days. 4 miles in the morning and 4 miles in the evening.

Saturday: It was grey and rainy in the morning and I loved it. I think running in the rain is very calming, 5.25 miles was a great way to start the day

Sunday: 20 miles!!! It felt fine, but was a lot flatter than I would have liked. I didn’t want to drive to a trail head so I kept it to the local trails. Next weekend I really need to find more elevation for my long run.

Totals:

Running: 51 miles

Cross Training: None…just the way it worked out this week.

3 more peak weeks until taper!

runwithbeth