Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

Technical Difficulties…

It was my hope to post everyday in 2020 as a fun way to challenge myself to be more consistent. January 18th and my goal already hit a snag .

This photo has nothing to do with the site being down, she is just so cute.

We had an issue with our hosting service and it took four days to sort everything out and get this puppy back up and running. So…..goal already ruined? I am choosing not to see it that way. I wrote some posts while the site was down and will post them on the upcoming days to “make-up” for the days the site was down and then we will just move forward from there.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Running =)

New Favorite Morning Fuel

I recently found a new favorite bar to have before my morning runs, or really most other times of day.

These Verb Bars are amazing, they are 90 calories and have as much caffeine as an expresso.

I am a hardcore believer in coffee before morning runs:

You need to experiment and find what works best for you, some people need very simple food and no coffee, I can’t live without mine. For runs less than an hour I will usually just have coffee (with creamer). For workouts over an hour or if I am feeling particularly hungry I will have a little something. Some of my favorites include:

  • Cliff Shot blocks

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What are your pre run favorites?

Lung Recovery + Wishing for Spring

Just about 4 miles for me pushing the double. It feels good to start getting a few more miles but really feeling behind and wishing I could really ramp up my training.

My lungs are still not clear and I can’t sleep well because of coughing. Anyone have good ideas how to help lungs recover quickly?

Emmy decided yesterday that she is ready to go to school with Cannon.

I am definitely NOT ready for her to go!

Last night we made Lemon chicken pasta, it was so good and made me wish for spring.

The trouble with winter is that I am ready for it to be over about mid January.

I looked everywhere on Family Circle’s website for the pasta recipe and couldn’t find it so here is a photo of what I tore out of the magazine three years ago.

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Have you made any great recipes lately?

How to Run 100 Miles….

Today I ran less than two miles, so I am feeling super ultra…. at least these two are cute.

I am still taking things easy while my lungs are healing. I am so hopeful that I will be running longer by the weekend.

[source]

I found this hilarious video and picture from REI about ultra running.

REI also has lots of other ultra content that are great and educational about trail running.

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Found any great running videos lately?

Time to Plan the Race-cation

I am now officially signed up for the Mt. Hood 50 Mile race.

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We were planning a trip to Oregon to see family this summer so this race is just a bonus part of the trip!

I love a race you have to travel for or a race-cation if you will.

These two cuties hanging out in Moab for my race Arches Ultra last year.

I posted about traveling to races HERE . Traveling to an international Ironman takes less stuff then traveling with two kids.

Some of my favorite races I have traveled for:

Ironman Lake Tahoe, Pacific Crest Half Ironman, Boston Marathon (spectator), Arches Ultra and Berlin Marathon

I can’t wait to pack up my family and head to my home state to run further than I ever have.

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Do you love traveling for races or do you prefer to stay closer to home?

And the Winner Is……

ME!!!!!

I got into Mt Hood 50 Mile race, I am so excited and equally scared. Please send me good vibes that training goes well.

It was really an amazing day, it started with a much needed massage. Set a very good tone for the day.

Then Cannon and I got to go to a friends lego themed party.

We had a great time and Cannon ate his weight in chocolate cake.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out as a family, it was pretty dang great.

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How was your day?

Time vs. Distance + Wish Me Luck

Todays “run” consisted of both kids in the stroller, out feeling way colder than I expected. I am keeping things short and easy while my lungs heal (like my doctor suggested). I have decided to track time instead of milage for the first few weeks. I don’t want to get caught up trying to run too much, or comparing now to years past. Time on your feet counts!

Hopefully next week I will be back on schedule.

ALL the drugs….the inhaler is helping a lot!

Especially since the lottery drawing for the Mt. Hood 50 is tomorrow

*yikes*

there was a 66% chance of being drawn the day before so the chances are likely even lower now. Fingers crossed!

Today we took Emmy back to gymnastics. She went last session between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I wasn’t sure about signing her up again because she didn’t always follow directions, but this time she loved it and I am so glad we stuck with it. She is so stinkin’ cute trying to hang on the bars and jumping around.

Throw back to Cannon when he took gymnastics at this same(ish) age.

Baby Cannon!

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Do you track your time, milage, neither?

Frothing Friday Favorites

I spent last night coughing instead of sleeping so it became clear that I needed to talk to my doctor. I tend not to like to see a doctor about colds and flus because there isn’t anything that can be done about viruses but this one was pretty bad and really my lungs haven’t felt right since this summer. I was diagnosed with bronchitis so now I get to take an inhaler, steroids and a z-pack for good measure. Fingers crossed this cocktail of meds help quickly. Today’s run will be extra easy as I let my body recover.

It’s Friday so it’s time to share some favorites:

Most days I like to walk the kids to school, they ride nice and cozy in the Thule stroller but it quickly became apparent that I needed something to keep me warm in the snow and wind. I picked up this Universal Thread parka from Target and have loved it. It’s very warm, water and wind resistant. It’s the perfect length and even cuter in person. There are great colors and it’s not a bad price.

We got this milk frother for Christmas and coffee is even better now! I think the down side is I drink even more coffee now, I love it so much but I don’t think I needed more coffee.

We try to take the kids swimming around once a week. They love it and we want them to develop good swim skills and be comfortable in the water. We got them both these swim jackets. They never slip down and really help the kids float in the water.

A huge favorite for me is to Netflix and Treadmill, it helps get me moving in the morning if I have something I am binge watching something. We just finished The Mandalorian (on Disney+) and it was pretty good. Have you watched anything great lately?

What are some of your favorites?

Thursday Randoms

Some random things from our day:

Not that random but I ran on the treadmill again…. I am just not feeling up to getting out in the cold and dark this year. Last year it was the exact opposite, I couldn’t get myself to run on the treadmill and ran mostly outside in the dark.

Cannon has been getting up extra early, between 5:00 and 5:30 AM. This is not a fun development.

I loved this post by Kara Goucher!

Cannon doesn’t have school, and I don’t teach on Wednesdays so we often go to story time at the library. Emmy LOVES it, dances, sings and sits up front for the stories. Cannon is all in for building towers.

Emmy has started putting on her own shoes. she only has one sock and the wrong feet #superadvanced

For dinner we had salmon cakes from Run Fast Eat Slow and Costco kale salad. We love this recipe and so do the kids.

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What is something random from your day?

Core Work for Runners

One of my tasks for Project 366 was to do core work every day. It’s something I really need to work on for my overall health as well as running ability. I have done lots of research over the years and found great core routines. One of my favorites is The Dozen Oiselle.

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It’s recommended to do these exercises 3 times a week so on the other days I will just be doing a few planks, crunches and whatever else feels right.

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Do you have a favorite strength training routine? For now I am mostly doing body weight exercises at home but I would love to learn how to use the weight room at the gym with more success.