Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

Stories from my iPhone – January 2020

Here are a few stories from my phone from the last few weeks:

All of my running has been on the treadmill or pushing the kiddos lately. I have been avoiding running outside in the cold to help my lungs recover but I am so ready to start getting after it.

Lately we have been enjoying the evolution of Emmy’s smile, she is so silly.

It has been warm enough to get outside and play sometimes. It’s been a dry and pretty warm January for us.

There has also been a fair amount of playing inside.

Cannon fell asleep while playing with his tablet the other night. I was teaching and Cory was getting Emmy down so Cannon gets to have his tablet until Cory can read him stories. Apparently he was so tired he couldn’t make it to story time.

Emmy has been loving gymnastics lately, she goes once a week for an hour.

I went to see the doctor (last time I just talked to one on the phone) since I have been sick all of January. We ruled out Pneumonia, which was a relief, but she thought that I had a pretty bad case of Bronchitis and that the last round of steroids weren’t strong enough to treat it. So now I am taking another stronger round and I am really hoping this one works, I was up most of the night last night coughing.

We went for a walk outside and it was much colder that we were anticipating. It was fun to see how fast Cannon has gotten. I can really picture having to ride a bike to keep up with him in the future.

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What stories would your phone tell?

Celebrating the Little Things

Lately it seems that there is too much to be sad about. My heart stings thinking of Kobe Bryant and can only hope he was able to comfort his daughter in their last moments. I have had to witness mothers losing babies and it’s all so heartbreaking.

It would be easy to wallow in this sadness but I think it’s best to hold our loved ones tighter and be reminded that we are never guaranteed anything. I want to celebrate every little thing and show my gratitude as much as possible.

I love to celebrate even the “little” holidays with the kids to keep the fun alive. Last year we started our celebration of Valentine’s Day when we were in Disneyland (recaps HERE and HERE )

It was so much fun seeing the park decorated for Valentines Day!

The kids really love exchanging valentines with their friends, so we will go to a Valentines Party with friends again this year.

It’s also fun seeing them dressed up in cute themed clothing

  • Emmy’s First Valentines
  • Cannon’s First Valenties

It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, for Cannon’s first Valentines we just got him a red heart balloon. We took pictures of him with it and he enjoyed playing with it for a couple weeks.

He also made paintings for his dad and grandparent’s that year.

This year I am giving them little Valentines baskets with little treats like stickers and small wooden toys. I will share the baskets when I have them together. We will also have fun food like pink pancakes or heart shaped pizza to celebrate.

We will have little celebrations for St. Patricks Day and Easter as well coming up. Having these to plan and look forward to also makes winter a little more fun for me.

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Do you try to celebrate the little things?

Well…That Was a Mistake

Last Night I made a mistake, of possibly the best kind.

After dinner I really wanted something else so I turned to Pinterest of course. I found this recipe for a chocolate chip cookie in a mug.

It took about 10 minutes to whip some up for the entire family. The kids and I really loved them. Cory said they were just okay. Cory prefers the consistency of a real cookie and this was more fluffy like a cake.

The kids loved them! I pulled theirs out of the mugs so they would cool down. They were bigger than I expected and the kids didn’t finish theirs so next time I would make just one for them to share.

Please excuse the extreme mess, Emmy is in a very messy stage and we basically need to pressure wash the house after every meal.

Cannon gives me the weirdest faces every times I ask him to smile.

The only issue here is that the ingredients are things we almost always have on hand. It will be a challenge not to want to make one everyday.

The Dreaded Question…

Oh the dreaded question…… I know it’s coming, and I never know exactly how to answer it. The question:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND?

Back when it was just Cory and I pre-kids we were deep into Ironman training. Whenever someone would ask me what we were up to this weekend I would cringe because it was always the same.

Swim. Bike. Run.

Our co-workers often didn’t get it but it was amazing and exhausting. They were off doing cool things like going to concerts, bars, baseball games etc. We did fun things sometimes, but we weren’t looking for things to fill our time. Six hour bike rides and three hour runs took up most of our time.

Now that I am focusing on running and have little kids the answer is a little different but equally as boring.

[Source]

But now there is also kids in the picture so there is, laundry and time at the playground or pool and cleaning….so. much. cleaning.

I think next year we may have to add skiing to the weekend agenda. It feels like a crime to have kids grow up in Colorado and not learn how to ski. I am not ready to think about the time and cost of that so I am going to just ignore it for now.

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So what about you, what are you up to this weekend? 😉

Have you found a balance between being “boring” and fitting in endurance training?

Winter Running Favorites

It’s not always easy getting out and running when it’s dark and cold outside. But winter running can also be refreshing, calming and wonderful if you have the correct gear. Here is some of the gear that keeps me moving in the winter:

  1. Lululemon Brushed Speed Up Tight – These puppies are warm! I have worn them in less than 20 degree temps with driving snow and still felt comfortable.
  2. Boco Technical Trucker Hat – I have several of these hats from different races I have participated in. I love them and wear them all year. In the winter I still like to have protection for my face from the sun, rain or snow. I just add a headband over my ears on cold days.
  3. HEAD gloves – I am not too picky on my gloves so I grabbed these from Costco and call it good.
  4. Hoka Challenger ATR – I have tried many things for running in the snow; sheet metal screws, yack tracks, hope….but I have found that running in my trail shoes has been the best for comfort and traction.
  5. Ginger Runner Buff – This is what I put on over my hat to keep my ears warm, it’s also great to grab two and put one around your neck to keep yourself even warmer and pull over your mouth and chin if it’s really cold.
  6. Smart Wool Socks – These are great for keeping my feet warm as well as avoiding blisters on wet feet.
  7. Old Navy Fleece Jacket – There are a lot of great running specific jackets out there but if you want something that will keep you warm for a great price this is it! I have had mine for a few years and it has held up well to lots of miles and so many washes.

Emerald Catherine | 21 Months

Emmy is now 21 Months old, time is flying and I am trying to hold onto everything that makes this time so magical. Emmy is so silly and fun and full of personality. She still loves her mommy most in the world and often needs cuddles (I LOVE it).

There was so much to celebrate in the last three months. Emmy loved dressing up as Tinker Bell for Halloween. She really seemed to have fun trick-or-treating.

We missed Thanksgiving due to the flu this year and that was a bummer, but at least we were together and made the most of it.

We had a very merry Christmas and it was so fun, Emmy loved opening presents this year. It was a big improvement last year when she didn’t get to enjoy it because she was very sick.

We then celebrated New Years with friends with found thoughts of how great 2019 was.

EAT

Emmy is pretty open to eating most things now and is very good at feeling herself but she is so very messy. I am constantly trying to get stains out of her clothes.

Unfortunately she has taken to throwing her food and utensils on the floor and saying “uh-oh”.

I remember Cannon doing the same thing around this age so we just have to wait it out.

SLEEP

Sleep was a bit of a rollercoaster for Emmy the last few months. When we were in Europe Emmy just slept in bed with one of us or in her car seat.

When we got home Emmy had a hard time adjusting to sleeping alone in her crib again. There were a few weeks where she was not sleeping through the night and needed to be cuddled a lot. Luckily she adjusted back and is now sleeping through the night in her crib and can self soothe again.

Emmy goes to bed between 6:30-7:00 PM at night and wakes up between 6:00-6:30 AM. She also takes one nap a day in the afternoon. Many days her nap is only about an hour but once and awhile we get lucky with one that is over two hours.

GROW

Emmy is communicating more and more in the last few months, she knows so many words and loves to be understood. She can’t exactly say Cannon yet so she calls him “Ann-on” it’s so cute.

Cannon and Emmy are still best friends, and I really hope it stays that way.

Emmy has also come a long way in terms of learning to enjoy snow lately.

PLAY

In November we signed Emmy up gymnastics at first she didn’t participate much and just wanted to run around wild. Now she loves doing what her coach tells her to do. She isn’t a fan of the foam pit yet but I think in a few more sessions she might start to like it.

Emmy loves to be outside as much as possible and we try to get out for hikes whenever possible.

She loves playing at the playground when we pickup/drop off Cannon at school.

Going on adventures.

And playing at the museum, gym and friends’ houses.

She is silly and sweet and we couldn’t love her more.

Past Monthly Updates

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

12 Months

15 Months

18 Months

Currently | January 2020

Currently Loving –This mild January weather that allows us to play outside.

Currently Melting Over –  these two hugging and being best friends.

Currently Eating –  Lemmon Pasta

Currently Researching – How to recover from Bronchitis.

Currently Training For – It doesn’t feel like I am training for anything at the moment since I am still having trouble breathing in general BUT I am in theory training for the Mt. Hood 50 Miler, please keep me in your thoughts 😉

Currently Shopping For – Little valentines Day gifts for the kiddos. Nothing big but I love to get them new books, usually themed about love and a few other little things.

Currently Reading –  The Ultra Mindset by Travis Macy. I just started it so I will have to report back.

Currently Obsessed With- Going to indoor pools.

Currently Consuming – Lot’s of Elderberry Tea

Currently Wearing –  This sweater on repeat. It’s the perfect length to wear with leggings or jeans. It’s also soft and I love the rose gold accents.

What’s current with you?

Winter Family Bucket List

We are currently deep into winter now that it’s January 74th. Winter is not usually my favorite season, it’s harder to go outside, it’s dark but there is still lot’s of fun things to do together as a family.

We had lists for summer and fall and it was fun to work on checking things off and focusing on the fun.

  • Go Snowshoeing
  • Enjoy Hot Chocolate
  • Go sledding
  • Make heart shaped sugar cookies for Valentines day
  • Put together valentines baskets for the kids
  • Get a butterscotch latte from Starbucks
  • Go for a run in the snow
  • Build a snowman
  • Go to a Valentine’s Day Party
  • Run a half marathon

What is something you love to do in the winter?

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?