Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

Skipping Class + Late Adopter

Today was a boring/lazy day. This horrible chest infection that has been hitting me so hard for the last month is now just getting Cannon (Emmy got it first, then I did a week later, Cory got it about a week and a half ago). Cannon was up all night coughing and barely got any sleep.

Emmy has gymnastics on Friday mornings but Cannon was home so we all just skipped class and had a lazy day. We watched movies, rested and played.

I put Emmy’s hair up in a full ponytail for the first time.

She was pretty pleased with herself.

Lately I have been spending time researching new phones. I cringe to admit that my current phone is an iPhone 6 and it’s five years old. It still works fine, although multiple parts (a couple screens, microphones, etc) have been replaced over the years. I didn’t see any reason to upgrade until Cory got a new Google phone last year and his pictures were SO much better than mine!

Taken from Cory’s phone in Germany

  • My Phone
  • Cory’s Phone

So now that I am fully convinced that I need an upgrade I just need to find the best fit. I am the main photographer in the family and take 99% of my pictures with my phone.

I am thinking about going for the iPhone 11, I have heard great things about the camera.

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How often do you upgrade your phone?

Anyone have the 11 and love it? Do I need to iPhone 11 Pro to get the really great camera?

Ultra Running Resources

Are you thinking about running an ultra marathon, curious, or already training? I thought I might share some of my favorite ultra running resources and sources of motivation.

I shared yesterday that I am using Krissy Moehl’s book Running Your First Ultra and that has been a great resource.h

One of my favorites for a very long time is The Ginger Runner. He has a YouTube channel, podcast and is a great community leader in general.

I love that he is an age grouper that is passionate about running, is so funny and makes the most beautiful films. He and his wife host weekly Ginger Runner Live videos on youtube where they interview all kinds of amazing runners.

I Run Far has great coverage of current events, videos, interviews and much more. I love their coverage of races, they have the best posts about Western States 100 and UTMB

Another YouTube channel I love is Billy Yang Films.

Billy’s films are visually gorgeous and he is such a good story teller. I love watching these on the treadmill.

Another great resource is Ultra Runner Podcast.

I love his Ultramarathon Daily News for fun updates, he also has a podcast that I listen to regularly on the run.

Sage Canaday is a professional runner (ultra and otherwise)

Sage is a coach and posts great tips and videos on YouTube.

REI also has a wonderful library for for trail runners, not just ultra lengths.

Jamil Coury, who runs Araviapa Running posts hilarious videos called Mountain Outpost and Mountain Outhouse, good for a laugh.

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What are some of your favorite running resources?

What am I missing?

Fresh Start + 50 Mile Training Plan

Finally I am feeling better and real training is starting to happen. This 50 mile race might actually happen (fingers crossed).

There are so many good resources out there on ultra running and I have really been liking Krissy Moehl’s book Running Your First Ultra.

There is so much good information in here as well as detailed training plans for 50k, 50 mile, 100k and 100 mile. The 50 mile plan is 24 weeks and that is exactly how long I have.

Let’s just not talk about the 75-80 miles planned for week 19 with 30 miles backed up with 15 miles the next day.

I will be loosely be following this plan and hoping that it gets me successfully to 50 miles in July!

Currently dreaming of sunny hours on trails.

Being Cautious + Indian Food

This morning I woke up to Cannon crawling into bed with me to cuddle. I know I should probably walk him back into his room but this time is so fleeting and I love cuddling him so much. I knew Emmy had a playdate with my parents so my run could wait and cuddles could take priority (no regrets!)

Once we were up it was a mad dash to get ready and out the door for school. I would have a lot more time if I would drive them to school but I love walking them even though it takes much longer. I think we all benefit from the fresh air in the mornings.

This morning was fairly foggy, it reminded me of home (but colder) while I jogged home.

Emmy went to my parents house for a couple hours to play while Cannon was in school so I got a 45 min treadmill run in with some pick-ups and core work (still watching Cheer on Netflix).

Today would have been an amazing day to get out and run outside, the fog was beautiful and it wasn’t 4am so the sun was up. But I am still trying to baby my lungs a little, I did make it through the run without coughing so I will probably try to run outside this weekend.

Actually stretching and working on core after my run, success!

Then it was time to grab Cannon from school and Emmy from my parents’ house. Have I mentioned how lucky we are that they live two miles from us?

Cannon’s teacher told me that Cannon got in the way of a toy that one of his friends threw =( He was pretty sad about it and will probably get a black eye. I love his teacher so much she gave him lots of cuddles and made sure he was okay.

One of the top moments of the day…Emmy napping+ Cannon rest time = mama afternoon coffee.

Cannon’s rest time, cuddling our Winston stuffy, we all miss him so much.

Missing this little cuddle bug today.

In the afternoon we played and danced.

Emmy reminded me to hydrate.

For dinner we made this Tikka Masala from Costco, it was quick and really good!

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What is your favorite quick dinner?

Winter Survival – Treadmill Workouts

If I am honest the treadmill is not just a winter survival tool. I have one in my basement, at our neighborhood gym and the Community Center with child care (key!). So all times of year the treadmill is often the best bet for getting my run in.

I have a few tricks to make treadmill time more enjoyable and fight boredom.

I save shows or movies that I really want to see for the treadmill, it’s especially satisfying to binge watch something so I know I have something to look forward to watching. Bonus points if it’s something that Cory doesn’t like to watch. At home we have a TV in the basement gym, at the gym I borrow one of the kids’ tablets, I worry about breaking my iPad especially since I use it for work, the Fire Tablets have big cases around them and are under warranty.

For longer workouts I keep my favorite snacks with me, like gatorade that are hard to carry with my while running outside.

Last and most important I play games with the treadmill to keep things interesting. Our treadmill at home has incline and decline so I will move it up and down to keep my legs engaged. When I have an easy run planned but mentally I am having a hard time I will change up the speed and it makes the time go by way faster.

One of my favorites is a progression run. I start off really easy then speed the treadmill up .1 MPH each minute (or so, doesn’t have to be perfect) until I am running comfortably hard, then I start over and do it again until my cool down. I also like to one minute hard, 1 minute easy or strides at the end to flush my legs out.

Here are some GREAT treadmill workouts if you are looking for a strength workout or speed work:

My definition of torture and HRG workouts all in one place!
7 Boredom Busting Treadmill Workouts

This 3-2-1 workout is great, this one and many more HERE.

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Do you love or hate the treadmill?

Any fun tips for making it work?

Happy Running!

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

I wanted to title this post “A Booty Shakin’ Good Time” but was afraid of what searches we might show up on. See video for reference.

Finally I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and feel like I might be well soon. I got up at 4:15 because I couldn’t stop coughing, unfortunate but so much better than it’s been. I took my time, drank lots of coffee and hit the treadmill.

I decided to watch Cheer on Netflix, clearly not about running but it is still motivating to watch athletes work so hard at their sport.

I ran easy for about 45 minutes and could breath well for most of it. The shoes I am wearing in the above picture are strictly my treadmill shoes, my road (and trail) shoes get too dirty.

Emmy decided to wake up and join me super early. I have no idea why, but I still enjoyed the snuggles.

I really love Wednesdays because Cannon doesn’t have school and I don’t work so we get to have the entire day together.

We had a slow morning just playing and getting some cleaning done. Emmy loves having Cannon home to play with so I can get a couple loads of laundry going. Always so. much. laundry.

We then went to play and have lunch with friends.

Both Cannon and Emerald have made some great friends in the neighborhood. It’s so fun seeing their little bonds and friendships form.

After lunch it’s nap time for Emmy and rest time for Cannon. They were both really tired. After our downtime we headed to the mall. Cannon has been complaining that his shoes hurt and they did seem a bit small.

I just got these for him at the begining of the school year, and they look pretty rough.

We found a pair that Cannon was into and Emmy found some she liked too. Then when we went to check out we were helped by one of my former students. I love seeing students and hearing what they are up to now.

Cannon insists on pushing Emerald’s stroller, it is really cute and also slow.

I did catch some of the kids cute dance moves on video =)

Cannon had been talking about wanting to watch Harry Potter all day so when we got home we put that on and I sorted and folded laundry.

We fast forward through the scary parts.

Everyone approved of our dinner of avocado, grilled cheese, and Tomato soup. We love Pacifica’s Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup.

Then it was the bedtime hustle, we always try to get them down early, and never do.

Stories from my iPhone – January 2020

Here are a few stories from my phone from the last few weeks:

All of my running has been on the treadmill or pushing the kiddos lately. I have been avoiding running outside in the cold to help my lungs recover but I am so ready to start getting after it.

Lately we have been enjoying the evolution of Emmy’s smile, she is so silly.

It has been warm enough to get outside and play sometimes. It’s been a dry and pretty warm January for us.

There has also been a fair amount of playing inside.

Cannon fell asleep while playing with his tablet the other night. I was teaching and Cory was getting Emmy down so Cannon gets to have his tablet until Cory can read him stories. Apparently he was so tired he couldn’t make it to story time.

Emmy has been loving gymnastics lately, she goes once a week for an hour.

I went to see the doctor (last time I just talked to one on the phone) since I have been sick all of January. We ruled out Pneumonia, which was a relief, but she thought that I had a pretty bad case of Bronchitis and that the last round of steroids weren’t strong enough to treat it. So now I am taking another stronger round and I am really hoping this one works, I was up most of the night last night coughing.

We went for a walk outside and it was much colder that we were anticipating. It was fun to see how fast Cannon has gotten. I can really picture having to ride a bike to keep up with him in the future.

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What stories would your phone tell?

Celebrating the Little Things

Lately it seems that there is too much to be sad about. My heart stings thinking of Kobe Bryant and can only hope he was able to comfort his daughter in their last moments. I have had to witness mothers losing babies and it’s all so heartbreaking.

It would be easy to wallow in this sadness but I think it’s best to hold our loved ones tighter and be reminded that we are never guaranteed anything. I want to celebrate every little thing and show my gratitude as much as possible.

I love to celebrate even the “little” holidays with the kids to keep the fun alive. Last year we started our celebration of Valentine’s Day when we were in Disneyland (recaps HERE and HERE )

It was so much fun seeing the park decorated for Valentines Day!

The kids really love exchanging valentines with their friends, so we will go to a Valentines Party with friends again this year.

It’s also fun seeing them dressed up in cute themed clothing

  • Emmy’s First Valentines
  • Cannon’s First Valenties

It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, for Cannon’s first Valentines we just got him a red heart balloon. We took pictures of him with it and he enjoyed playing with it for a couple weeks.

He also made paintings for his dad and grandparent’s that year.

This year I am giving them little Valentines baskets with little treats like stickers and small wooden toys. I will share the baskets when I have them together. We will also have fun food like pink pancakes or heart shaped pizza to celebrate.

We will have little celebrations for St. Patricks Day and Easter as well coming up. Having these to plan and look forward to also makes winter a little more fun for me.

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Do you try to celebrate the little things?

Well…That Was a Mistake

Last Night I made a mistake, of possibly the best kind.

After dinner I really wanted something else so I turned to Pinterest of course. I found this recipe for a chocolate chip cookie in a mug.

It took about 10 minutes to whip some up for the entire family. The kids and I really loved them. Cory said they were just okay. Cory prefers the consistency of a real cookie and this was more fluffy like a cake.

The kids loved them! I pulled theirs out of the mugs so they would cool down. They were bigger than I expected and the kids didn’t finish theirs so next time I would make just one for them to share.

Please excuse the extreme mess, Emmy is in a very messy stage and we basically need to pressure wash the house after every meal.

Cannon gives me the weirdest faces every times I ask him to smile.

The only issue here is that the ingredients are things we almost always have on hand. It will be a challenge not to want to make one everyday.

The Dreaded Question…

Oh the dreaded question…… I know it’s coming, and I never know exactly how to answer it. The question:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND?

Back when it was just Cory and I pre-kids we were deep into Ironman training. Whenever someone would ask me what we were up to this weekend I would cringe because it was always the same.

Swim. Bike. Run.

Our co-workers often didn’t get it but it was amazing and exhausting. They were off doing cool things like going to concerts, bars, baseball games etc. We did fun things sometimes, but we weren’t looking for things to fill our time. Six hour bike rides and three hour runs took up most of our time.

Now that I am focusing on running and have little kids the answer is a little different but equally as boring.

[Source]

But now there is also kids in the picture so there is, laundry and time at the playground or pool and cleaning….so. much. cleaning.

I think next year we may have to add skiing to the weekend agenda. It feels like a crime to have kids grow up in Colorado and not learn how to ski. I am not ready to think about the time and cost of that so I am going to just ignore it for now.

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So what about you, what are you up to this weekend? 😉

Have you found a balance between being “boring” and fitting in endurance training?