February 10, 2019

Weekly Rundown – Disneyland Week

This last week was not my typical training week since we were out of town from Monday to Thursday. I promise I will stop talking about our trip to Disney after this recap!

I have finally decided on my A race for 2019 and I am pretty excited about it. Training starts officially this week.

I am linking up with Wendy and Michelle this week for a Weekly Wrap, go check out all the inspiring runners!

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Monday: 10.55 miles walking around Disneyland. This is not running specific training obviously but I am counting it as great time on my feet ultra training 😉

Tuesday: 10.22 miles waking around Disneyland again.

Wednesday: 10.18 miles walking around Disney California Adventure.

Thursday: Big fat zero, we flew home from California and were all pretty tired.

Friday: Finally home but the weather was crazy so I just did two shake out miles on the treadmill while the kids napped. I think my body forgot how to run a little bit so it was nice to keep it short for re-entry.

Saturday: 3.25 miles with the family. It was still pretty cold but I love running with Cory and the kids, especially since Cory does most of the stroller pushing.

Sunday: Got out midday for about 7.25 miles, it was just 25 degrees out so I was glad I didn’t try to get out too early.

All my miles have been pretty easy recently while I build my base up. It’s not the most exciting training but boring running is better than injured no running!

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Total Running + Walking Miles: 43.4 miles no strength or cross-training. Room for improvement as always, but I am happy with our vacation week.

Happy Running Everyone!

February 10, 2019

Disneyland Trip 2019 – Days 3 – 5

If you missed it you can find days 1-2 from our trip HERE.

Day three started our second day in Disneyland. It was another rainy morning but we made the most of it with our Magic Morning Pass. We got in an hour early but only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were open so it was pretty crowded.

We tried to hit all the rides and activities that we missed on day one. We also had to go back to Pirates because it was just so much fun. We did miss a few things we really wanted to do including riding the Rivers of America Boat and visiting Tom Sawyer’s Island. The island was often closed due to the rain, I guess that just saves us something new for our next visit =).

We had some great food for lunch but made sure to save room for the Kitchen Sink Sundae. This thing was huge and we were glad to have all five of us to help finish it. Cannon was actually really into eating this and he isn’t one to get excited about food.

We cleaned up the bowl and got a Minnie bowl (without the ice cream) to take home with us. I am looking forward to the kids eating ice cream out of these bowls when they are older and telling them about this trip.

Again we got epic stroller naps and cuddles from the kids.

We had the best time and Cannon was so brave on all the ride.

My mom had one request for the day and it was for Emerald to meet a princes. We had almost given up but as we were walking to dinner we found Ariel. My mom was right that even though the characters terrified her, she loved meeting a princess.

We had dinner in at the Grand Californian where I had the best burger ever! It was nice to sit and eat in the warmth and the kids did surprising well at a restaurant after such a busy day.

After dinner we said goodnight to my parents and headed back into Disneyland. We got to see some off Mickey’s Mix Magic projection show and it was really cute, but our main objective was to get to Autopia. We had been talking about letting Cannon drive there for so long and we couldn’t miss the opportunity. I felt like the ride had too many fumes and was too noisy for Emerald so we watched from the sideline. Cannon got to steer and had the best time.

On our last day at the parks we headed over to Disney California Adventure. The rain had passed and it was sunny and blue skies all day. This meant there were many more people in the park and it was much harder to get around, fast passes were selling out and lines were longer.

Grandma, Grandpa, Cannon and Emerald are in the red car!

We found there to be fewer rides at DCA that Cannon and Emmy could ride than in Disneyland. This is partially due to the fact the The Bugs Land used to be geared toward little kids has been closed. Although the new Marvel Land I hear that is to replace it doesn’t look like it is being built for toddlers. Even so we found plenty to do riding the Little Mermaid, the golden Zeppelins and the Grandparents took Cannon and Emerald on the ferris wheel while Cory and I got to ride the Incredicoaster. We had a blast but had to hurry to Cars Land to use a fast pass on Radiator Springs Racers.

Sadly Cannon and Emerald weren’t big enough to ride so Cory hung out with them in Cars land while the rest of us went to race (we lost). Cory said he didn’t like the ride that much so he didn’t mind missing it, I think he was just being nice. Mom and Dad had never ridden it before so it was important that they got to ride.

Cannon still had a good time seeing all the fun Cars in Cars Land.

We then spent a good amount of time at the Grizzly Peak Adventure area. Rides are great and fun but both Cannon and Emerald needed some time to run, play, climb and crawl. Mom and Dad even found sometime to ride some adult rides.

Then it was Midway Mania with the kids. In our last couple of visits to DCA we haven’t gone on Midway Mania because the lines have always been so long. They have added a fastpass now so the wait was more reasonable.

Cannon kind of got the idea of pulling the string on his shooter and made about 1% of his shots (I only did slightly better, LOL).

After that we went to Pacific Wharf for lunch. Then took our time wondering around with sleeping babies. After lunch and naps we lined up for the live Frozen show. Cannon wasn’t sure he was ready to be awake but we made the right call since he loved the show. Emmy loved the show too dancing a smiling to all the songs.

After the show we fit in a couple more rides including Mater’s and Monsters Inc.

We had dinner reservations at the Wine Country Trattoria . The restaurant was very pretty with excellent views but I would not go there again. We had to wait twenty minutes to be seated, even though we had reservations and the food was not that great.

After dinner Cory and I had fast passes for Mission Breakout. I loved this ride when it was Tower of Terror so I was excited to see if it was still as good. I would say the new overlay seemed to not quite fit but the animatronics were great and I thought the actual ride was even better! While we were on the ride Mom and Dad took the kids shopping. Cannon scored a bubble wand, I can’t wait for it to be warm enough for him to play with it in the back yard.

After that the park was closing, I felt like our time had gone so quickly and was sad to leave. I can only hope that we will be back in a couple of years.

Our fifth and final day of the trip was just a travel day. We spent the morning packing up and called an Uber for our 11am flight.

Cannon was still pretty excited about the planes.

On the way to California Cannon stayed up and watched movies. On the way home he passed out.

I guess we tired him out a bit this week.

We were so happy to get home and see the puppies that had been staying at my brother’s house.

The first picture was from when we dropped them off, the second the day before we picked them up. The weather changed a bit while we were gone. Coming home to seven degrees and six inches of snow was shock to the system.

Overall we had a great trip, it was more fun than I thought it would be. I would highly recommend taking a baby and a toddler to Disneyland, you may not get in as many rides as you used to but it’s so much more magical.

February 9, 2019

Disneyland Trip 2019 – Days 1 and 2

Our flight to Orange County left Denver at noon on Sunday so we had plenty of time to get up and get all packed into the car without having to get up too early. Even though our trip was only 5 days total it still seemed like we had to bring so many things. Traveling with a toddler and a baby is no joke. At least we knew from our last trip that Emmy was not going to sleep in a pack and play so we did not bother bringing one.

We had to pack carseats for both kids just so they could ride in a Uber to and from the airport in California. We were checking two suitcases and the carseats, I wanted to try Cannon just sitting in the airline seat and it worked out well. We pulled up and got in line to curb-check our luggage then Cory took Cannon to park the car while I had Emmy in the stroller that we gate-checked. I was worried about having a big double stroller in the airport but it was not a problem at all and much better than holding or trying to chase both kids through security and to our gate. Luckily my Mom and Dad showed up right as we were so I had an extra set of hands.

Emmy was pretty excited to have Grandma and Grandpa along for the adventure!

Cannon really enjoyed riding the bus after parking the car. It was a pretty epic day for him including planes, trains and automobiles. We picked up sandwiches from Einsteins Bagels to eat on the plane and made our way to the gate. There was just enough time to let Cannon run around and look at the planes and break down the stroller before it was time to board. We flew Southwest and didn’t pay for early seating, luckily family boarding did get us three seats together, we didn’t get a seat for Emmy as when we originally bought these tickets she was only four months old. She did great and slept the last couple hours of the flight in Cory’s arms. I am happy that when we fly again in September Emmy will have her own seat, she will be 17 months then!

The flight from Denver to Orange County (we flew to John Wayne airport instead of LAX because it’s closer to Disneyland) is just about three hours. I was a little nervous about how the kids would do on the plane but they both did great, neither of them cried at all. Cannon sat at the window and watched take-off and landing. For the middle part of the flight he happily watched movies on his tablet.

Cannon’s first flight! I still love seeing his name printed on anything.

We landed in California, got our luggage and ordered an Uber with no issue. It was a bit of a pain to have to install and remove both carseats for a 20 minute ride but it was necessary.

We got to our hotel about 3pm and unpacked a bit. A hotel room isn’t a great place to entertain a baby and toddler so we packed them into the stroller and headed for Downtown Disney. We intentionally planned to not go into the parks on our first day because we thought all the travel would be enough excitement for the kids. It was pretty fun to see the rides from outside the park! Our hotel was a little less than a mile from the entrance gates, it felt good to walk and not too far.

We met my parents and walked through Downtown Disney checking out all the shops and restaurants.

We decided to go to La Brea Bakery where I had the best clam chowder of my life.

After dinner we said our goodnights and rolled back to the hotel. Both kids were warm and snuggly so they fell asleep on the way back.

We got to bed as quickly as we could to rest up for our first day in Disneyland.

We started out or day with a Character Breakfast at the Grand Californian, where my parents were staying. While this was fun I wouldn’t do it again until the kids are both much older. The costumed characters were scary for both Cannon and Emmy plus the buffet was hard to navigate with a baby and toddler.

After breakfast it was time to head into Disneyland and we were all so excited!

The park was decorated for both Valentine’s Day and Mickey and Minnie’s 90th Birthday. It was all really cute.

We decided that It’s s Small World would be our first ride. We had heard that dark rides can be scary for some toddlers so we didn’t want to start with something that would put Cannon off all other rides.

Both Cannon and Emmy loved it and were ready to hit some more rides.

We had lunch in Toontown as we had heard some of the birthday food was worth trying. I especially liked the Minnie cupcake. Both kids had fallen asleep in the stroller so we let them nap for a while before it was time to play again!

Cannon enjoyed getting out to play and Emmy enjoyed lots of snuggles. I originally thought we might take a mid-day break back at the hotel for naps but both kids took great naps in the stroller so there was no need to leave the park.

You may have noticed from the photos that it was pretty rainy while we were there but we had some good rain gear and the stroller kept the kids warm and dry. It ended up being a good thing for us as we never had to wait in line more than twenty minutes.

We were so lucky to have my parents with us for this trip! Not only did we get to share the magic of the kids first trip to Disney with them but they also deepened their bond with these kiddos. Also they were kind enough to take the kids to do fun rides or go shop while Cory and I got a chance to do rides that were too big for the kids. Grandma and Grandpa got in their favorites too!

Some of Cannon’s favorites from the day were:

It’s a Small World
Pirates of the Caribbean ( I thought this might be too scary but he loved it)
Winnie the Pooh

Later we had dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou. If you haven’t been there it is the restaurant that is right at the begining of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It’s dark and fun to hear all the riders in the boats and the food is amazing.

After dinner my parents called it a night but we were still ready to have fun so we got in a few more rides including Alice in Wonderland which was my childhood favorite.

This time of year Disneyland closes pretty early at 8pm and we were headed out right before they closed. We would have liked to have watched the parade but you have to claim a spot really early and at nine months and two and a half years old my kids aren’t ready to sit and wait for an hour. Some things will just have to happen on later trips.

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Days 3-5 coming in another post.

Are you a big Disney person? I really do love Disneyland it has a really special place in my heart from when I was a child.

Cory and I also went just the two of us a couple times. I know some people think that’s odd but we loved it. We went for our second anniversary back in 2008.

We went again in the fall of 2015, that trip was really fun because they had all the Halloween decorations up.

That trip was extra special because on the last morning right before leaving for our flight I found out I was pregnant with Cannon. It made a fun trip that much more memorable (and explained why I was so tired and not feeling great, LOL).

February 8, 2019

Friday Favorites – Disneyland Edition

We just got back from our trip to California, five days traveling and door busting at Disneyland was so much fun but also pretty exhausting.

We are all pretty glad to be home, especially since Cory seemed to come down with a cold as we were leaving and now the kids and I have it too.

It’s also nice that it’s Friday so hopefully we can take some time to put the house back together. Our two almost back to back trips has left us a little upside down.

I did not run at all during our trip, we didn’t have access to a gym and there wasn’t really time to run anyway. We walked over ten miles everyday so I call it good. I am happy to be back home and back to routine, too bad it was seven degrees and icy this morning!

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Here are some of my favorites from this week, many are from our Disneyland trip =)

These Nike Flex Contact shoes are so comfortable! We walked over 22,000 steps a day while visiting Disneyland and California Adventure. My feet felt great the entire time even though they were soaked most of the time!

I am in LOVE with these Tierra Sunglasses! They are comfortable, don’t fog up, are polarized and are only $20. Great find!

We love these Chobani Gimmies pouches. I love that they are low in sugar and easy to take with us, Cannon loves the flavors.

The Disneyland App is a must have if you are visiting the Disneyland Resort! It shows all the wait times, holds your tickets, you can mobile order food (skip the line!) and make reservations. You can also request Fast Passes for your entire party if you get the MaxPass, and I think it’s worth it for the MaxPass as well.

The iMuto Charger was a life saver! We knew from previous experience that even though the Disneyland App is awesome it also drains your battery. I asked for a portable charger for Christmas and Cory got me this one. I love that you can charge up to three devices at once and it charges quickly. The one downside is that it is pretty heavy but I think it’s worth it for a working phone.

Last but not least, I have talked about our Thule Chariot before but it gets a special shout out here. It rained a lot the first two days we were at Disneyland and it was pretty chilly. The built in rain cover kept the kids completely dry and warm all day. We also packed the diaper bag and extra jackets in the back and everything stayed dry. I was very impressed!

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I hope you all are having a fabulous Friday. Any favorites from your week?

February 2, 2019

February Goals + January Check In

It’s finally February! January is usually my least favorite moth of the year so it takes the longest to pass. With the holidays being over, and it being so cold and dark I start looking forward to spring early. I am trying not to wish the time away as Emmy’s first year is going way to fast!

I just read that this weekend we are half way between the winter solstice and spring equinox—we are half way there!

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In February I have a few goals I would like to accomplish:

Run 150 miles – I am not continuing my run streak goal into February because of our trip to Disneyland and I think running while we are in Disneyland would be really stressful to fit in. With that in mind I am setting a milage goal instead. I do plan to return to a 50 day streak when I return so that should be fun.
Strength train AT LEAST twice a week. This is a must do!
Spin Class twice a week (after this week, I get a pass while traveling)
Continue to write six days a week – This was a goal from January and I have really enjoyed writing more and sharing more from my day-to-day life. Now I just need to remember to take more photos.
Cook twice a week, three times would be better.

A quick check-in on how my goals from January went (you can see the original post HERE)

Run everyday in January, I talked about this more here. I would give myself an A- on this one. I think I missed 2 to 3 days and at first I felt like a failure because of that but when I think about it I did run at least 90% of the days in January and that is pretty good.
Write 6 days a week – hopefully this one will last for more than just January. You may have noticed that posts have been a lot more frequent here on this ‘lil old blog. One of the best ways to get better at something is consistent practice. So writing most days of the week will hopefully help me improve as well as create a fun way to look back at this time in life. We have such a fun adventurous year planned I want to capture it all. Again I think this deserves an A- I posted Monday -Saturday and I think I missed a Thursday. I am pretty pleased with that.
Cook dinner at least three days a week – Cory has always been our main cook, he is better at it and enjoys it more. But it’s nice for him to come home from work and get to play with the kids instead of start cooking straight away. Again hopefully practice leads to improvement. Hmmmmmm, I think I get a C- on this one. I did great the first couple of weeks then fell off the last 10 days, so I will say room for improvement and keep working on it.

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Do you set goals for yourself then check in on your progress? Any big goals for this month?

February 1, 2019

Friday Favorites – Great Listening and Tech

Happy Friday Friends! I am so excited that it is almost the weekend because we leave for Disneyland on Sunday. I really hope that Cannon loves riding on the plane and that the pressure of take off and landing doesn’t bother Emmy too much.

Any tips for taking a baby and toddler on a plane?

This morning started with an easy 4.2 mile run outside. It was dark the entire time but the morning was warmer than it has been at about 25 degrees so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get out in the fresh air.

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It’s time for Friday Favorites and I am pretty excited about some favorites from this week.

These Adidas tights that I found at Costco (most of my favorites could be sponsored by Costco, but hey, they have great stuff at amazing prices). I wish I knew what these tights were called because they are so soft, and stretchy and lined. Great for cold weather running. I wore them this morning and they kept me nice and warm. They also have glossy flower outlines that are cute. They were also really affordable at less that $30!

Is there anything cuter than baby overalls? I think I would put both kids in overalls every day if I could. Emmy’s overalls are from Target Cat n’ Jack and are boys. I don’t think they are selling them anymore but THESE are similar.

Deana Kastor’s book, Let Your Mind Run – it’s just SO good. I started it while running my race on last weekend and I loved it so much. I am saving listening to it for my runs. Looking forward to listening to it on my long run tomorrow.

Another Costco find! They have their iPads on sale for a great price! Costco’s price was already pretty low and now they have $40 off. I have really needed to upgrade my iPad for the longest time. I still have an iPad 2 that is about 12 years old and nothing updates on it anymore. I am so slow to update my tech….I am really looking forward to getting my new one. They didn’t have the color I wanted in store so we ordered it online and will get it next week. I think the sale ends on February 4th if you need an upgrade too!

Lindsey Hein’s conversation with Scott Jurek is a MUST LISTEN! I really loved his book too Eat and Run and his new book North is on my list of things to read soon.

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I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!

What are some of your favorites from the week?

January 31, 2019

Arches Ultra Half Marathon Race Report

On Saturday I ran the Arches Ultra Half Marathon put on by Mad Moose Events. Admittedly the title is a bit confusing, the race is called Arches Ultra they have a 50 mile, 50k, half marathon and 9k distances to choose from.

The race site describes the race as:

Arches Ultra is Moab’s newest trail race, and it travels along the border of Arches National Park, using Bar M, Klonzo, and Klondike Trail Systems. The trails are smooth and easy at points, technical slick rock at others, and there’s even some sand to shake things up. Winter is a great time to be in Moab running, and we’ve chosen a lower elevation run, that will give you views of the towering Moab cliffs, Arches National Park, and the snow covered La Sals.

There was packet pick-up available Friday night as well as race morning. We didn’t arrive in time on Friday so we opted for race morning.

We arrived at the race start just 10 miles outside of Moab about 45 minutes before the start of the race. It was plenty of time to grab my packet, visit the porta potty and get ready, I love the relaxed vibe of trail races.

The half marathon didn’t start until 9am so there was plenty of time to get ready in the morning. The kids came along to see me off, they were warm in the Thule with their down blanket.

We lined up at the start and heard a few tips on following course markers on slick rock and a gentle reminder to be kind to the environment by staying on the trail.

The first mile or so of the race is on a paved bike path. I think we all prefer trails but this was a nice chance to find a rhythm and warm up.

We then crossed onto trails for my favorite part of the race. We had a 4.5ish mile loop on some traditional trails.

It would have been muddy but the trails were still frozen so footing was good and the scenery was amazing.

Why are all the trails in Moab named like this? LOL

I was having so much fun talking to the other runners and enjoying the views.

You could see Arches National Park in the distance and the La Sal Mountains.

After the first loop there was an aid station well stocked with all the goodies you could want. My only complaint would be that if you needed the restroom you would have to run pretty far down to the parking lot and back up. Luckily I didn’t need it but it would not have been fun if I did.

The second loop was about 7 miles and mostly on slick rock. We still had incredible views but the terrain gets a lot more difficult.

Running on slick rock is definitely a Moab experience that shouldn’t be missed but it’s not easy. The rolling up and down makes it hard to find a rhythm and running so much on rock was hard on my joints.

I was so glad it wasn’t icy, that would have been extra challenging! The course was well marked so while there isn’t a “trail” on slick rock it was easy to not get lost. Plus there were lovely runners ahead of me that I followed =)

When you finish the second loop you drop back under the highway then run about half a mile on the bike path back to the race start.

It was so fun seeing my family and finishing, my legs were ready to be done. The finish line was well stocked and was a great atmosphere. They let Cannon cross the finish line with me.

Race swag was pretty great including a tech shirt, technical trucker and a medal in the shape of Delicate Arch.

I would for sure run this race again in the future. Doing one of the longer distances would be fun but I would have to figure out how to prepare to run on even more slick rock!

January 30, 2019

Recovery Favorites and Back to Routine

Trying to get back to “normal” around here, but after being out of town for the weekend, it feels like our house will never be put back together. Send help to get unburied from laundry and piles of things, we don’t have too long before we need to pack up again. We are headed to California on Sunday!

While I love traveling and going on adventures with my family I thrive on routine. I love having an idea of what is going to happen during the day, when I am going to get my run in how I am going to keep the kids happy and healthy. I really do believe that sleep is part of a child’s health and getting in predictable naps is part of that. I am actually working hard to keep up healthy habits even when I am thrown off my normal routine but it’s not natural for me.

Yesterday Emmy had a follow up with the eye doctor to see if her eyes are developing as they should. It is important to be sure she is using both of her eyes well and equally. Otherwise her eye sight might not develop as it should. I really like our Doctor he really takes his time to check Emmy’s sight and explain everything to us. As of now her eyes are looking great and she is using them equally well. I was so happy to get a good report! We will keep checking in on her as Cory and my father both don’t have great eye sight so it’s something to watch.

During Emmy’s appointment Cannon hung out with his grandparents, they all had a blast.

After collecting Cannon we came home to have dinner and play. Cannon was excited to be back with all of his toys.

After that I had a sports massage to help refresh my muscles from the half marathon and long car trip home.

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Going to my massage got me thinking about my favorite forms of recovery after races or hard workouts. I wrote a tongue and cheek post about How Not to Recover from a half marathon back in 2012 when I was training for my first Ironman. It got me thinking about my current favorite recovery methods:

Massage! If you can get in and get some work done by a professional, awesome! Some races have massages available at the finish line. I have never done that. What is your experience with finish line massages?
Rolling is a great way to loosen up tight muscles. We use “The Stick” roller and Trigger Points Grid Roller No Meat Athlete has great instructions on foam rolling here.

Elevated Legs recovery system boots, these things are great and have worked for YEARS. Both Cory and I use them and I think we bought them in 2013 so it’s been a great investment.

Compression Socks! These were a great help on the drive home from Moab. I really like PRO Compression socks.
Active Recovery. It’s easy to want to be lazy the rest of the day after a race but doing some easy movement after a race can really help. We went for a hike after my half marathon and it felt great. When I was training for my ultra in 2017 Cannon had swim lessons on Sunday afternoons. Being in the pool after my long runs really seemed to help! We should really sign up Emmy for lessons this year =)

There are lots of other recovery methods as well, including ice baths (not for me in the winter), protein, clean eating, hydration, etc. I wrote more about it HERE.

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What are your favorite recovery methods?

January 28, 2019

Moab in the Winter

We are finally back from our trip to Moab for the weekend. I loved visiting Moab in the winter, the weather was amazing, the park was nice a quiet and it was easy (and cheap) to find a rental.

Throwing it back a couple days, I was worried on Thursday that the trip might not happen at all. Earlier in the week Emmy came down with a cold that had some concerning symptoms. I took her to the pedestrian to be sure that it was safe to travel with her and that we wouldn’t be making her feel worse. With reassurances from our (amazing) doctor that she would be just fine we went ahead with packing and prepping to leave Friday morning.

Why is it that traveling with kids, even for just a couple nights feels like you are taking half of your belongings with you?!?

Friday morning we hit the road for what would normally take 5.5 hours to drive to Moab.

We took a few breaks along the way to stretch our legs and refuel

We took a quick strabucks break in Frisco, then pushed on to Rifle Colorado to have lunch/dinner.

We found an indoor playground and spent a long time getting some energy out.

We eventually arrived at our rental at about 8pm

Cannon was excited to be out of the car!

The condo was really cute southwest/adobe style with just enough room for us and our friends (and their super sweet girls) who joined us.

We settled in and got to bed as quickly as possible as it was past the kids bedtime and my race was the next morning!

Saturday morning started not as early as most race mornings. My start time wasn’t until 9am so I got to wake up with the kiddos, enjoy some coffee and take my time getting to the race start that was just 10 minutes out of town.

We didn’t have time to go to packet pick-up on Friday evening so we arrived at the race start about 45 minutes early and that was plenty of time to go to packet pick-up and get ready for the race. I love how relaxed and easy trail races are!

The race venue was stunning and I felt so grateful to be able to be there and get to race. Race report coming soon!

Waiting for Mom to start her race….Cannon doesn’t look impressed.

While I was running everyone else went rock “climbing” (as much as toddlers can do) and exploring.

After finishing my race my legs felt a bit beat up from all the slick rock but I was ready to spend some time with my family and our friends. We went back to the condo so I could shower and eat lunch.

We then took the kids to hike to Delicate Arch. Unfortunately there was ice on the cliffs that we didn’t want to take the kids on so we didn’t make it to the arch but it was still fun to get out and a good shake out for my legs.

After our hike we went to Eddie McStiff’s for Pizza. Cory and I shared the veggie, it was really good!

After dinner the kids and I were tired so we went back to the condo for stories, snuggles and bedtime.

Sunday morning came and it was time to head home. It was definitely not enough time and we would have loved more but we will be back again soon for sure.

The drive home took almost ten hours between our stops and the relentless ski traffic. If I had it to do over again I would for sure stay until Monday to avoid sitting in traffic so long.

January 25, 2019

Friday Favorites – Current Running Gear

Happy Friday everyone! We are off to Moab today, please send us good vibes as we try to get ourselves a toddler and a baby over the rockies and into Utah for the weekend.

I can’t wait to show the kids one of my favorite places and spend some (lots!) of time on the trails.

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Before we head out I thought I would share some of my favorite running gear:

Shoes: For the last few years I have been running in Hokas, they have kept my feet happy through pregnancies and some high miles both on the road and trail. Right now I am running in the Clifton 4 and Challenger ATR

Watch: One of my favorite pieces of gear ever is my Garmin Fenix Sapphire 3. The current version is the Fenix 5, my mom has the 5, it’s a bit smaller, lighter and you can get optical heart rate now. I LOVE mine, and the fact that it uploads over bluetooth to my phone. It holds a charge well and still looks great after almost three years of constant wear. Side bonus is that it is waterproof so I don’t have to worry about it when bathing the kids or washing my hands for the 700th time.

Tights/Capris: My Favorite tights are Lululemon Speed Up Tight. These are a little pricey BUT I have had mine for years. They have stretched and shrunk with pregnancies and have great pockets. I love them and wear them constantly! I also love Lulu’s Pace Rival Crops They have kept my legs happy for many marathons over the years.

Shorts : I am on the taller side (5’8″) so I like a bit longer short. I really love Run Times Short The 4 inch inseam is a better length for me than the shorter 2.5 inch inseam. I wore them for my ultra and they felt good the entire time.

Socks: I love both Stance socks and Smart Wool. Both of these brands of kept my feet happy in marathons and ultra trail races.

Safety: A newer addition to my gear list is the Run Angel. A Run Angel is a wearable safety alarm that is quite loud. If you set off the alarm then through your phone it will send an alert and your location to your angels (people you set up to get the alert).

Treadmill: This is a necessary part of my training and I LOVE our NordicTrack Incline Trainer. It makes training possible on days where I might not be able to get out! I love that it has both incline and decline.

Hydration: I have tried many hydration options and BY FAR my favorite is the VaporHowe 12L Race Vest. This vest has tons of storage and is so comfortable and light. I forget I am wearing it even after hours on the trails.

Running Stroller: We have the single BOB Revolution stroller and the double Thule Cougar Chariot . I love running with the BOB (although that might be because it’s a single so it’s just easier in general. I really love the the Thule converts from a jogging stroller, to walking or bike trailer. You can even convert it to a sled for pulling while skiing but we don’t have that attachment. I would love the try the double BOB to really be able to compare.