Chasing My Joy

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Archives for December 2012

December 31, 2012

2013 New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone! I hope you all have fun, safe celebrations tonight to ring in a fabulous new year. I am so excited about 2013, the number 13 has long been one of my favorite numbers. And while I don’t believe in luck, I do believe that I have it in me to make it the best year possible. I know some people have strong feelings about new year’s resolutions, I think if you hate them, then don’t make them, if you love them , than do. I happen to love them, I love the idea of a fresh start, setting goals and reinventing oneself if you are so inclined. I don’t think a reinvention is what I am looking for in 2013 but probably a more consistent and braver version of myself.

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I do believe that smaller more short term goals are usually more attainable so I will keep my sweeping year long goals to a minimum. Here are my tangible (measurable) goals for 2013
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1. The biggest goal is to finish Ironman Lake Tahoe in less than 14 hours. This is the biggest athletic goal, everything else is secondary to this goal.
2. I would like to PR in a full and half marathon this year as well as the half ironman.
3. Run 1,000+ mile and Ride 3,000+ miles. I would like a swim goal as well but will have to think more about the distance.
4. Stay on track with grad school

If I accomplish those four goals it will be an amazing year, I would also like to reach for some intangibles, but since they aren’t really measurable I won’t call them goals.

1. Be Brave, last year was a lot of firsts for me so I think I was very unsure and cautious about training and racing. I wasn’t sure I could finish an ironman until I started the marathon on race day. Now that I know can complete one I would like to believe in myself more put more into training and be brave enough to really race on race day.

2. Be more consistent – This is important in training, school and work so I want to be better about consistency. I think this is too much to make a year long goal but it will play a part in my short term goals.

3. Have more fun – now that I know a little bit more about training for an ironman I want to make sure I am weaving as much fun into it as possible without compromising training.

Do you make resolutions? If so what are your big ones for 2013?

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: goals

December 31, 2012

2013 Plans

Hello! Now is the time of year that everyone starts looking forward and making plans. I LOVE to plan (in fact I need to work on staying in the moment more) but this time of year lets me indulge in planning to my hearts content. I am really looking forward to 2013, the fun starts early and I have a lot to look forward to. Here’s a look ahead:

In January I am going to Miami to run in the ING half marathon with Amanda from Run to the Finish she generously offered to host me and arrange VIP entry to the race, I can’t wait to meet her and run through the palm trees!

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In February Cory and I oping to get away somewhere tropical, it’s not booked yet so it’s still just a dream. Here’s hoping!

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For the rest of February and March I have a couple haves one in Salida hopefully it won’t be too snowy

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April I will travel to Moab for a long weekend for early spring triathlon raining camp, I am SO excited to attend this year!

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In May I will run the Colorado Marathon, this is one of my favorite races I ran in 2011, it also will be the start of triathlon season (can’t wait!)

In June we will travel to Central Oregon for Pacific Crest long course triathlon I did this race in 2011 as well as my first half ironman. I loved this race as well, seems that 2013 will start out as a bit of a repeat of 2011, I don’t mind at all because 2011 was a great year.

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July will have a training focus (unless I find something really fun to do) I hope to spend a lot of weekends up in the mountains working at high elevation and lots of hills. In August I will race Ironman Boulder 70.3, it’s our biggest local triathlon here in Colorado. I hope they will bring a full ironman here someday soon. I would like to fit a relay in sometime in the summer as well we just haven’t decided on a race yet.

September is dedicated to Ironman Lake Tahoe, I can’t wait to do another ironman. It may be easy to feel this way now, maybe August in peak training. But this race is the main focus of the year

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After Ironman #2 is up in the air…off season? Ultra? I am going to wait to see how I feel. What are your plans for 2013?

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized

December 29, 2012

A Look Back at 2012

2012 was a great year, epic in some ways and really mellow in others, I traveled much less this year compared to years past. I feel like it became two very different parts where my focus changed drastically in July. The first half of the year was mainly focus on Ironman training and not much else. Life was eat, train, work, train, eat, sleep, repeat. The second half of the year had a smattering of triathlon but my focus was on grad school and work, throw in a mid year injury and there wasn’t much exciting training happening. Here’s a look back at 2012:

January: The year started off just like last year with a half marathon on New Years Day. It wasn’t an organized half as we don’t have one in Colorado but it’s a fun tradition and I ran it as a virtual race. Bib-thumb.jpeg

January had a little fun in the mountains but mostly the focus was on Ironman CDA trainingDSCN6229.JPG

February brought a lot of cold running biking and not enough swimming (this story could be a repeat, I am shocked I made it through IMCDAs swim). I also PR’d in a 10 mile raceDSCN6317.JPG

March was a big month of training with a lot of daily double workouts.

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I also traveled to Oregon for a family funeral, although expected it was sad but good to see family.

In April my mom had a big birthday so we had lots of fun family activities

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Cog train after running 14 miles that morning. Later in the month we drove out to Vegas for our first Triathlon of the year

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This was not my favorite race, in fact it might have been the worst time I have ever had in a race, the temp spiked to over 100 degrees on the run, it was unexpected so they were running out of water and the gatorade they were serving was hot. It was incredibly difficult but good for mental toughness training.

May was the biggest training month for IMCDA, we were in peak training for most of the month so it was nice to throw in some fun “training” races like the greenland trail 25k and the Boco Loco century ride

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My first ride over 100 miles! Then we celebrated mothers day with a 9k and lots of food!DSCN6601.JPG

I then traveled to New Mexico for work. I couldn’t bike or swim but I was able to get a couple runs in with the bison.

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June’s focus was training, tapering and traveling to Coeur d’Alene, it was fun to be out there with people from the Tri club

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Completing an Ironman was amazing and beyond words, it was incredible, I can’t wait to do it again! There is much more I would like to say about the experience of my first Ironman and especially about lessons learned but I think that needs it’s own post.

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After Ironman the plan was to continue to do local tris but with a major shift in focus to trail running for a September ultra, but with an injury less than two weeks after ironman and the realities of grad school that had been neglected because of ironman the ultra didn’t happen. I did have the chance to participate in an ultra relay with friends from work and had a BLAST! I hope to do more relays.DSCN7238.JPG

After our van was done, beers and breakfast burritos! In August I was supposed to run a trail half marathon in Beaver Creek but I sat out with a very sick pup but mom and Cory killed it!

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I also got to snuggle with a skunk

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September I was supposed to race my last tri of the year but it was trumped by travel to a conference for work.
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October saw an increase in miles again, lots of grad work and a trip to Ohio for work, I am so excited to partner with this University!
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November came and went fast but the best part was a family 10k and Thanksgiving
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December was great and filled with family and fun, I was spoiled with lots of new gear that I can’t wait to get out and use

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And while it’s been nice to have a relaxing holiday, Ironman Lake Tahoe is now less than 9 months away.That means that starting Monday training will get serious and race specific.

While 2012 was a good year I can’t wait to apply the things I learned in 2012 to make 2013 great! How was your year?

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized

December 27, 2012

Wonderful Holiday

Hello out there! It’s been a little while, I have been taking my time transitioning from my old MacBook that served me well for 5 years but had started to slow down a lot in the last six months. So after much thought I IMG_20121218_173713.jpg

upgraded to a new MacBook Air, and I LOVE it. Although I am still transferring all my files over and getting things re-setup.
It’s amazing how much I had set up and took for granted over 5 years on my old computer!
I hope you all had as wonderful of a holiday with your family as I did, it was a wonderful time and I was so spoiled

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We had such a good time and I can’t wait to try out all my new triathlon gear! I was lucky enough to get some Lulu running clothes, cold weather biking gear and recovery tights to make sure I can get back at it.

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Notice the pug photo bomb….he was not invited.

So I guess it’s time to get serious about Ironman Lake Tahoe training! We have one more Christmas gathering with family then it will be time to put away Christmas and focus on the new year. I am SO excited about 2013 but more on that later.

Did you have a great holiday? What was your favorite gift?

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Holidays

December 11, 2012

Athlete Wish List Part 3 (Run)

It’s time to continue the athlete’s wish list with the run addition. This addition is the easiest for me because at heart I am a runner that does triathlons. I love run gear the most but you can find my swim list here: Athlete Wish List Part 1 (swim) and bike wish list here: Athlete wish List Part 2 (Bike)

Here a few things that I have and love or are on my list for running:

For a big ticket Item I would suggest a Garmin 910X with heart rate monitor and ANT stick so you don’t have worry about recording your workouts:

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I have this Salomon Momentum jacket and wear it ALL the time! It’s super comfortable and perfect for running and cycling.

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I love most thing Lululemon but I really love my Run Swiftly long sleeve shirt it’s the perfect weight.
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On runs longer than 10 miles I always carry water, a Nathan Handheld makes that easy
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Every runner can use more gels, I like GU the best. I usually stick with blackberry or peanut butter but this time of year the holiday flavors are fun imgres.jpeg

What are some things you have on your run wish list?

Lists from last Year:

2011 wish list – part 1
2011 wish list – part 2
2011 wish list – part 3

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: Running, Wish List

December 11, 2012

This week in Workouts 4

It finally turned cold this week in Colorado. We had been skating along with warm weather making it easy to get outside to train. DSCN7566.JPG

This week will take a little more creativity to get all my workouts in (especially since my gym is shutting down for 6 days for remodels). This week includes a 5k (barf, I would rather run a half marathon any day).

Monday: 60 minute yoga and strength

Tuesday: am- 90 min spin class

pm- 90 min interval run

Wednesday: am- 90 min spin class

pm- 60 min strength

Thursday: 6 mile easy run

pm- 2900m swim

Friday: am- 8 mile run

pm- 30 min strength

Saturday: 5k race +extra miles not sure how long yet

Sunday: 2.5 hr bike ride and 3000m swim
What’s your plan for the week??

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: Ironman Training, training

December 6, 2012

Athlete Wish List Part 2 (bike)

Good morning, it’s time to continue the athlete’s wish list with the bike addition. Being a triathlete means needing a lot of gear you can find my swim list here: Athlete Wish List Part 1 (swim) and here a a few things that I have and love or are on my list for biking:

If you’re looking for a big ticket gift, a full carbon road bike might be the right choice. A women’s specific bike is important for my build (long legs, short torso and narrow shoulders) I love my tt-bike and while I won’t be adding a fancy new road bike to the fleet this month maybe one day:
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If you are going to spend hours on the bike you might as well be comfortable AND look cute! Betty Designs Cycling Kit


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I great addition to my gear this year were proper tri shoes with carbon soles, I love mine from Specialized:
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Smart Wool arm warmers make regulating your temperature easy while on the go:




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And my FAVORITE thing to eat on the bike (don’t judge me) PB snickers!
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Coming Soon:

Athlete Wish List Part 1 (run)
Athlete Wish List Part 1 (train)
Athlete Wish List Part 1 (stocking suffers)
Lists from last Year:
2011 wish list – part 1
2011 wish list – part 2
2011 wish list – part 3

Posted by bethcurtis 3 Comments
Filed Under: Wish List

December 5, 2012

Race Medal Ornaments Revisited

I have received a few questions about what to do with race medals so I thought I would repost this from last year about how I turn race medals into ornaments. One medal that wont be getting snipped this year:IMCDAmedal.jpeg

Maybe Cory will want to put his on the tree? but not me!!!

For most of the year the race medals that Cory and I get sit in a pile and collect dust. We could get a fancy medal hanger and display them but instead we save them until Christmas time so we can turn them into ornaments.

It’s fun to think back on the races we have done over the year while decorating the tree. This time of year is a great time to think back on all the fun we’ve had this year.



It’s pretty simple but I thought I would share how I make medals into ornaments.

Step 1: Cut the ribbon in half



Step 2: tie ribbon in a bow if you like it, if you don’t want a big bow on your tree you can remove the ribbon and use a metal ornament hanger.



Step 3: Hang on your tree and enjoy for years to come.



Simple and easy, just the way I like it!

Posted by bethcurtis 3 Comments
Filed Under: Holidays

December 3, 2012

This Week in Workouts 3

I hope everyone had a great weekend, I can’t believe it’s Monday already. My weekend was jam packed with working, schooling, running and watching football. I didn’t get to finishing up Christmas decorating like I had planned but something had to give. And my moms invitation of a yummy dinner and a football game was too tempting to pass up. And what are the holidays about if not family?!? Onto this week, it should be a little less hectic as I *think* I am done with my classes for the semester (one prof is really bad about communicating and is really confusing). As far as training this week is another big week for training:

Monday: 60 minute yoga and strength

Tuesday: am- 90 min spin class

pm- 90 min interval run

Wednesday: am- 90 min spin class

pm- 60 min strength

Thursday: 6 mile easy run

pm- 2650m swim

Friday: am- 8 mile run

pm- 30 min strength

Saturday: distance swim and strength (or ride outside if it’s nice)

Sunday: 18 mile trail run

As December is getting going I have been thinking about my goals for this month.

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It’s always a little harder this time of year because there are so many other things pulling on my time but I still would like to make some progress. I decided to make my monthly goals have more of a weekly focus since I tend to do better with shorter term goals. If I need to change them week to week I can:

December Goals.jpgWhat are your goals for this month?

Posted by bethcurtis 2 Comments
Filed Under: Challenges, goals, training, training plan

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We are having so much fun learning to ski as a fam We are having so much fun learning to ski as a family! Ski traffic I could do without 🫠
✨2022✨ I can honestly say this was the best ✨2022✨ 

I can honestly say this was the best year of my life. So many adventures. I am loving the ages of these kiddos and cherish our time together. 

Very unsure if we can top this in 2023 but we are sure going to try!
We hope you had a merry little Christmas 🎄 We hope you had a merry little Christmas 🎄
Winter hiking is just so magical. Definitely not h Winter hiking is just so magical. Definitely not hating winter this year! ❄️
We kicked off the holiday season by visiting the N We kicked off the holiday season by visiting the North Pole and seeing Santa! 

The kids had so much fun and it was way cuter than I was expecting. They said it was better than Disneyland 😂 @northpolecolorado
Happy Halloween!!! Cannon really wanted to be To Happy Halloween!!! 

Cannon really wanted to be Toad from Super Mario this year so we tagged along. 

Scroll to see 2021-> 2020 -> 2019 -> 2018 -> 2017 -> 2016 🎃
We finished up our tour of France with a couple da We finished up our tour of France with a couple days in Disneyland Paris. I love Disney Parks and visiting Disneyland Paris was a dream come true. We had such an amazing time on our entire trip. 

We are trying to plan our next trip. Where is the best place you have ever been? Do you have a favorite trip? I would love to hear about it. My parents say that Ireland was their favorite so UK tops the list currently but Italy or Costa Rica are on the list too.
In our last couple of days in Paris we took a bus In our last couple of days in Paris we took a bus tour to see the major sights. Our favorites included walking the entire Champs-Élysées and climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We missed out on seeing the Catacombs because we didn’t get tickets early enough. c’est la vie, I guess we will have to go back 😉
A cousin reminded me that I never finished sharing A cousin reminded me that I never finished sharing our trip to France 🫠 better late than never! 

We spent our first day back in Paris with a trip to Versailles. We loved the gardens so much and particularly enjoyed Marie Antoinette’s little farm. The history here is incredible and the opulence overwhelming. We walked over 10 miles on our visit!
Before our long drive back to Paris we did the thr Before our long drive back to Paris we did the three castle hike in Ribeauvillé, France. We climbed up the side of a hill to three castle ruins from the 14th century. It was really fun to explore and a great way to burn some energy before a long drive.
While we were in the Alsace region of France we vi While we were in the Alsace region of France we visited the sweet little village of Riquewihr. Rumor says this was the inspiration for Belle’s village in Disney’s Beaty and the Beast. Can you see it? We could and kept singing Bonjour while walking through town.
After leaving Switzerland we made our way to Colma After leaving Switzerland we made our way to Colmar. This sweet little town in the Alsace region of France near the German border. We loved all the half timber buildings and winding streets. We had some great local food and wine. Colmar was a lovely place to get lost for an afternoon.
It was so exciting to see the Matterhorn in person It was so exciting to see the Matterhorn in person. The peak was never fully clear of clouds while we were there which was a little disappointing but it was still majestic . We took a cog train and gondola up then hiked about five miles down on the five lakes trail. It was a beautiful day and we got to enjoy lunch mid hike. We loved the little (car free) town of Zermatt. We enjoyed some fun Swiss playgrounds in town before dinner. I love Switzerland and it’s mountains!
With the last of our time in Chamonix we took a go With the last of our time in Chamonix we took a gondola and cable car up Le Brévent. We enjoyed hot chocolates and crepes at the top with views of Mont Blanc. 

Next it was time to drive on to Switzerland 🇨🇭
We took a cute cogwheel train up the valley in Cha We took a cute cogwheel train up the valley in Chamonix to Montenvers to visit the Mer de Glace  glacier. At the top you can take a gondola a little way down then MANY stairs to the glacier. It was sad to see the markers of where the glacier was in years past and how much it has shrunk. We did love exploring an ice cave that they dig out each year. We had to try twice to get into the ice caves as the first time it closed right as we arrived due to a storm. It was worth taking the train twice.
After riding to the top of Aiguille du Midi we sto After riding to the top of Aiguille du Midi we stopped half way down for a couple mile hike and a stop at a mountain hut for lunch. This might have been my favorite lunch ever. The views were amazing and the weather was nice. The mountains here are STUNNING!!! #aiguilledumidi #chamonix
We decided to spend a few day in Chamonix to explo We decided to spend a few day in Chamonix to explore the French Alps. The experience we were most excited about was taking the gondola up the 
Aiguille du Midi (highest cable car in France). You switch cable cars half way up so you can enjoy the views. The top outpost is incredible perching on top of the mountain. I’ve never seen anything like it! 

The day wasn’t completely clear but the views were still incredible. #aiguilledumidi #chamonix
After a long drive across the French countryside w After a long drive across the French countryside we landed in Annecy at the foot of the Alps. 

Annecy was such a pretty little town on the bank of a gorgeous turquoise lake.  We got to enjoy lunch at a canal side cafe, wander the streets, enjoy ice cream and playground hop our way through town. 

Very excited about our next few days in mountains of France + Switzerland.
We drove into the heart of France to visit the Go We drove into the heart of France to visit the  Gouffre de Padirac. A large cave system including an underground river. I don’t have many good pictures given the lighting and lack of patience. We loved climbing down into the cave and riding a boat along the river. Probably my favorite cave that I have visited. Kids loved all of it too and are so good about us dragging them along with us across France.
After leaving Mont Saint-Michele we drove to Loire After leaving Mont Saint-Michele we drove to Loire to visit Château de Chenonceau. It was stunning and the gardens were fun to explore. The history here is so rich!
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