January 4, 2020

Project 366

I have been thinking a lot about my goals, mindset and things I want to leave behind in 2020.

While I have some big, check off the list, goals for the year (more on those later) I also want to focus on daily habits to improve my life.

I read The Power of Habit last year and it was really interesting, I plan to read it again.

With this in mind the idea of project 365 was born and then morphed into project 366 when I realized it was a leap year.

So with that I decided that I wanted to attempt to add things that I do every day. Even with selecting simple things it will be challenge to be consistent every day for an entire year. But with challenge comes change.

My project 366 consists of doing the following things every day for all of 2020:

Run – can be as short as 20 minutes but the idea is to move everyday #runstreak
Core work – After two back-to-back pregnancies, my core can use all the help it can get
100 oz of water – because hydration is everything
Write – this little blog has been the definition of inconsistent over the years. I would love to be able to look back and see what changes happen over these 366 days.

Just like my runs some posts may be very short the idea is consistency and building habits.

March 11, 2019

Weekly Rundown – 50 Mile Base Training Week 3

Week Three of base training in the books and really the only thing I can complain about is the weather and I will try not to since we are all locked in this endless winter together. I am happy with how my legs held up with the bump in milage and excited to keep building up my base.

This is how the week went down:

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Monday: Woke up feeling tired and sore from the previous Sunday’s long run so just hopped on the treadmill for a couple miles and some strength training.

Tuesday: The weather has still been not so fun here in Colorado so I ran eight miles on the treadmill. This was a big accomplishment for me mentally as I am out of mental shape for running on the treadmill. I used to have a lot more tolerance for it but I am slowing bringing it back up.

Wednesday: Another two miles on the treadmill as a warm up for some strength training. Watched the Bachelor for my entertainment. It’s a weird season.

Thursday: I was not feeling spunky so just a mile on the treadmill. I think I all the running inside is getting to me. Also did some stretching and stability work.

Friday: Cory had the day off so I waiting until nap time and actually got to run outside!! It was cold and windy but so worth it for the fresh air for five miles.

Saturday: It was crazy windy and after freezing on Friday I didn’t feel up to running outside so I jumped on the treadmill for 3 miles. I watched From Fat to Finish Line

Sunday: So glad to be back to Sunday long run days! I slept in (until 5:30 when Emmy wakes up, good thing she is cute!) but wasn’t happy about losing an hour over night. I waited until Emerald went down for her morning nap so I would have more light. It was a pleasant 30 degrees and not TOO windy for a ten mile run. It was a slow run but my legs never felt too bad so I am going to call it a win!

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Totals: 31.1 miles running ( Over half of those miles on the treadmill) and 2 strength training sessions.

The goal for this coming week is to follow the plan as written and drink 100 oz of water a day

I am linking up with #RIOTS (Running Is Our Therapy Sisters) This is a great accountability group of bloggers, you should join too! The hosts are: Brandi at Funner Runner, Anna Louise at Gracious Warrior Princess, Briana at Mat.Miles.Medals, Meghan at Meghan on the Move, Jenn at Runs With Pugs and Elizabeth at Train With Bain

I am also linking up with the new Weekly Rundown, with Confessions of A Mother Runner and Running on the Fly!

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How is your training going?

watch anything good on the treadmill lately?

February 12, 2019

A 50 Day Run Streak

I am so excited to really start training again for a big goal race. I had a great time training and running the Arches Ultra Half Marathon back in January and after a few weeks of just running whatever, I am ready to be back on a plan training for something big and scary.

Back in January I attempted a a month long run streak, I did miss a couple days so I am hoping to really hit 100% of my goal this time. I am shooting for 50 days this time because I wanted a push goal and it fell in line with returning from vacation that 50 days would get me to the end of March.

I read a great article in No Meat Athlete about what he gained from a 50 day run streak and how it worked for him. He talked a bit about how the streak really helped with his lacking motivation. I feel really excited about training right now but sometimes the cold dark mornings are difficult and getting through February and March will lead to better running weather.

50 Lessons Learned from a 50-Day Run Streak

So the streak started Saturday with a fun 3.25 mile run with the entire family outside (cue angles singing). It has been so cold, dark and icy so it is time to really make friends with the treadmill.

So here we go, 50 day run streak to kick off my 50 mile ultra training – more coming on that soon!

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What helps you get through winter running?

Ever done a run streak?

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 4, 2017

February Goals

Oh heyo February!

I am kind of glad January is done for the year. This happens to be my least favorite time of year. The days are short, winter is in full swing, the holidays are long over and spring seems forever away. But this year more than ever I am not wishing the months away. Cannon is growing up so fast, sometimes I just want to press pause to really soak in who he is now, he is so sweet and fun and precious.

But since I don’t have control over time I guess I will just move along with goals for February.

I always like setting goals for a month, the time is long enough to really get things accomplished but not so long that it’s overwhelming.

For February my goals are:

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.

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.

3. Strength train at least twice a week

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.

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.

January 3, 2016

2016 Intentions

This year thinking about goals or resolutions has been harder than past years. Normally I love this time of year with the fresh start and the feeling of all the possibilities that the new year could bring. I also would have my race schedule pretty well laid out with excitement at getting after some juicy training.

Obviously this year will look a little different, with a baby due in June there will likely not be any big race adventures for me in 2016 and definitely none in the first half of the year. But it is very important to us to continue to have an active lifestyle after our baby is born. I am certain it will look different and be much more complicated but we are committed to continuing in endurance sports.

In my wildest hopeful dreams there could be a marathon for me at the end of 2016, but I have never given birth or recovered from something so big physically so I will be patient and kind to myself and see how things progress. If that means the big race for 2016 is a half marathon or even a 5K that is fine too as long as I am back out on the trails.

So instead of setting data based goals and locking in training cycles I will keep my eye on the big picture and try to keep the following intentions in mind for 2016:

Chase the light

Take risks

Find Patience

Practice Kindness

September 4, 2015

Fourth Quarter Goals 2015

I really love this time of year….September has always had a special place in my heart. To me it feels like the real start of a new year. I guess this comes from years of loving school and working in education since graduating from college.

The year feels fresh, I love the leaves changing and it feels like you get a new start. To be honest I don’t love the shorter days, but you take the good with the bad.

Dark chilly mornings at the pool means the seasons almost over

Luckily in Colorado it stays pretty warm most of September so we can still enjoy dinners al fresco and runs in the mountains so summer isn’t over just yet!

My goals for the last few months of 2015 are very simple and have shaped some of my recent decisions. I have two main goals:

Find Fun and Seek Peace.

These are simple but difficult tasks but will frame my decisions…if an activity will be fun then great, yes please. If a decision will disrupt the peace in my life than no thanks….I’ll move on.

One of the ways we are look to meet these goals is to book a trip to Disneyland in October just because it will be fun. I grew up going to Disneyland almost every summer but haven’t been back in almost 10 years. Cory and I went back in 2006 and had the best time! I am so looking forward to a trip that is just about having fun!

Also I am looking forward to planning some fall adventures on trails. I love trail running and don’t get to do as much of it as I would like when training for triathlons. So more time and trips will be planned to find more dirt on my shoes while thinking about BIG future dreams.

Super inspiring weekend cheering and volunteering at the Leadville 100 #lt100 #ultramarathon #trailrun

What are you plans for the last quarter?

January 1, 2015

2015 Intentions

I have been thinking a lot about 2015 goals and resolutions lately. They rattle around in my brain one trying to edge out the other in terms of importance. I want to show up and race an ironman, run 50 miles for the first time be consistent and stay healthy, etc. All of these goals and many more are very important but for the entire year I want to set intentions. If I keep these four things in mind for 2015 then it will be a great year no matter what else happens outside of my control.

chase big DREAMS

BELIEVE in Possibilities

put in consistent WORK

Dwell in GRATITUDE and peace

Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman