Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

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?

Sunshine + Football

Today felt like spring and it was so good. Short sleeves, windows open, kids playing outside….it was just a bit cruel that tomorrow there will be snow.

I was so so so excited to run outside, it’s been forever. It was so nice and I really felt like my lungs were recovered.

I got less than a mile from my house when I couldn’t get a full breath or stop wheezing. I was pretty upset about it because I really though I was better and now it feels like I may never be (so dramatic).

When I got home I got on the treadmill, I made sure to keep the pace nice and easy. I was able to complete my “long run” which improved my mood a lot. I am still left wondering when I will be able to run outside and feel normal.

Post run coffee making everything better.

While I was running Cory took the kids for a run and to the park, they enjoyed being outside in February.

The afternoon was spent cleaning up, I always feel like I am cleaning and my house is never actually clean.

Then we had a friend’s birthday party, the kids had the best time playing and eating cake, they are now going to expect multiple parties and cake every weekend.

Then we spent some time at my parents house having the best food (my dad makes the best shrimp dip) and watching the Super Bowl.

We only made it to half time because of bed times for the kids but that’s life with littles!

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Did you watch the Super Bowl?

Were you sick the entire year when your kids started pre-school?

Winter Weather + Play Time

It was a good, fun, family day. I decided not to get up early to run so we could all spend the morning together.

After breakfast I ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill before it was time to get the day going. I am planning on doing my long run tomorrow outside and I am really excited about it. I haven’t ran outside in so long, I hope I remember how.

It is supposed to be 70 (70!!!!) degrees tomorrow, and then Monday we will get 6+ inches with a high of 29 degrees. Colorado weather is always crazy.

We have a couple birthday parties this weekend so we hit up our favorite toy store. Grand Rabbit is really the best, and they gift wrap!

After picking out the gifts we ran over to Costco for the week. I like to try to get our shopping done during the week so family time can be spent doing other things but this week was pretty crazy with everyone being so sick, it didn’t get done.

I did find this super cute active set for Cannon. Two tech shirts and some shorts perfect for soccer practice. We just signed Cannon up for his first season of soccer this spring and I can not wait to go cheer for him and see him running around on the field. Soccer was such a big part of my childhood and I think Cannon will love it too.

Emmy fell in love with this mini jacket, it’s a little big for her now but we are planning a trip to Disney in November so this will be perfect!

When we got home it was lunch time, I had a Costco salad that was amazing. I am 100% more likely to eat a salad if it’s already out together for me.

Rest time for Cannon means cuddle time for me. Usually I like to have a coffee after lunch but I was out of creamer so I grabbed a Verb bar and that did the trick.

After naps we went to pick up my new phone, Cannon was over it.

Then it was party time! One of my good friends’ little girl turned three so we went to go play and celebrate with them.

Both Emmy and Cannon love Hannah and had the best time playing with their friends.

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Do you have crazy weather where you live?

What are you doing for the Super Bowl?

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!