Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

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January 7, 2020

Into the Lottery – Mt Hood 50 Mile

While clearing out my inbox a few days ago I noticed an email with the title Mt. Hood 50 from Go Beyond Racing.

I grew up in the shadow of Mt. Hood on the east side of Portland. I love that mountain, the PCT trail and have family in Oregon still that we love to visit. I got excited thinking about running in the lush rainforest with views of Mt. Hood. We were planning a trip out to Oregon this summer anyway and Cory agreed that July seemed like I fine time to go.

[Source]

I mean…it’s kind of pretty 😉

I was pretty bummed when I went to go check out registration and the 50 miler was only open as a lottery. I have no idea of the entry rate, but I will find out on January 11th if I am in or not.

After the lottery registration for the 50k opens up with no lottery so that is worth considering if I don’t get in….

[Source]

Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

_________________________________

Ever entered a lottery for a race?

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Project 366, Ultra, Ultramarathon

December 19, 2019

26 Weeks – North Fork 50 Miler

Here we go again! This post could also be titled third times the charm. I have now *tried* to complete a 50 miler in 2017 and 2019. Failed both times, but I am just going to keep failing at this goal until I get it done.

I completed the North Fork 50k in 2017 and LOVED it! Race report HERE. The course is gorgeous and not too far from home. I also love that it’s in June so I can decide to go for another big goal in the second half of 2020 or just take time to enjoy summer with my family before jumping into something in the fall.

I can’t wait to go run on these trails again!

So I have 26 weeks to basically go from 0 to 50 miles. I feel like I am starting from scratch and just hoping my past training will help me build up my milage and mental grit will get me the rest of the way.

I plan to document the journey here, share what I learn, the ups and the downs……follow along!

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Ultra, Ultramarathon

June 27, 2019

Western States Week

Is anyone else feeling very excited that it is Western States week?

Emmy and I are pretty dang excited. It’s pretty much Christmas week for ultra runners.

Source

If you haven’t heard of Western States Endurance Run, it’s the worlds oldest 100 mile trail. The history of the race is super interesting, you can read about it here .

Billy Yang made a beautiful film about four pro women, it’s sooooooo good!

If you want to follow along:

  • i run far has great coverage
  • WSER website has a live webcast
  • Trail Runner Nation is having a live podcast

All the fun starts on Saturday at 5 am PDT. While I won’t be able to follow it all live because who’s got time for that?!? I will be sure to check in throughout the day.

Will you follow along?

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Run, Ultra, Ultramarathon

February 13, 2019

Teeth + No Voice + Finally an A Race

Our sweet little Emmy has been teething this week, the last few nights she has woken up overnight clearly in pain. My heart breaks when it seems like she is in pain. It also shines a light on how easy we have had it that both kids started sleeping through the night very early on. Also we are just getting into teething now at almost ten months so others have to deal with this much earlier. While I hate that anything might hurt her we are all enjoying some extra cuddles.

In the morning we went to a Valentines party with Cannon’s little friends. He was pretty excited about eating a cupcake and playing.

You can see his little hand trying to steal chocolates. I remember Valentines Day being so fun when I was little and I love sharing it with the kids now too.

Because of the broken sleep I wasn’t feeling up to getting up at four am to run so after naps I bundled the kids up and we went for an afternoon jog.

Unfortunately after a few days of feeling under the weather I have completely lost my voice. It’s been an interesting challenge trying to parent with no voice.

Even with all the challenges I am pretty excited about this years running. I have been thinking long and hard about what I wanted my big goal to be for this year and I finally settled on a race! I considered a lot of different races and distances but nothing was feeling right. I wanted something big that would push me out of my comfort zone this summer. The race needed to be mid to late summer to give me enough time to train. It also needed to be before fall because we are going to Germany in late September and it would be too hard to keep up serious training while traveling for almost three weeks.

When I thought of Run Rabbit Run 50 it seemed to fit just right. I would have the entire summer to train, get into the mountains as much as possible and a little over a week to recover before our flight. This schedule feels right to me.

Source

I am nervous about the amount of climbing and the altitude. This is definitely not a beginners course.

But it’s hard to come across an easy ultra course in Colorado and I am most interested in a a scenic run and Run Rabbit delivers on views as much as the difficult terrain.

Source

So here we go, a 50 day run streak to kick off 50 mile training!

Yes I am starting my training now with 11 weeks of base building to build up my endurance and durability before starting a more specific 20 week training plan where I will focus on climbing, technical trails in May. I will start altitude training once the mountain trails thaw in the summer. Cory and I have already discussed how we want to take the kids camping in the mountains this summer and he is totally onboard for me running on trails while he hangs with the kids.

______________________________________

Any advice on getting my voice back?

What are your big race plans for 2019?

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Run, Run Rabbit Run, Ultra Training, Ultramarathon

September 21, 2016

Ironman or Ultra?

I am trying to be patient, I really am, but it’s not something I am good at. This trait has gotten me in trouble in the past. I want to do all the race and I want to do them RIGHT NOW. The trouble is when I try to do too many things too quickly I tend to do everything not that well or worse not at all.

So I am trying to be patient with planning races, on getting back into shape and with my body. It is very tempting to try to race long this year, but I know that would do me no good. If I try to race too soon it would e nothing but sad and slow and I would likely get injured.

That being said I have always been one to do better when I have a goals race to train for. So I have started to plot what races I would like to do in 2017 and the big question is Ironman or Ultra. I really want to do both but I know I need to choose. There are good reasons to choose either one:

Ironman

  • A length that I know I can do and love!
  • Doing all three sports will help me get in shape quicker without getting injured
  • I enjoy training with local triathlon clubs
  • Swim bike run is so much fun and I always miss it when I take a break
  • There is an awesome race in my backyard that I have never done

imgres

Ultra

  • I have done Ironmans but I have never done a 50 or 100 mile trail race
  • I LOVE trail running
  • It seems so much less overwhelming to focus on one sport
  • I have wanted to race in the Leadville series for years now
  • Leadville isn’t exactly in my backyard but it’s close enough to get out on the course to train on weekends

img_3857

 

I will keep soul searching until one becomes the clear winner (I am slightly leaning one way already) but either way my focus for now is strength training and building back base fitness.

What would you do, Ironman or Ultra?

Posted by bethcurtis 2 Comments
Filed Under: Races, Uncategorized Tagged: Ironman, Race Planning, Ultramarathon

September 9, 2014

50k Ultramarathon Training – Week 10

How did we get through week 10 already?!? This ultramrathon will be here before I know it. I am looking forward to putting in some big millage weeks at the end of the month and hopefully that will be enough. With all that here is how week 10 went down:
2014-09-07 11.32.07
Monday: Day off of work means time on the trails! 14.5 mile trail run at Picture Rock in Lyons. Awesome new trail.
IMG_2153
Tuesday:  Walk with pups

Wednesday: 4.5 mile run around local lake

Thursday: 1.5 mile walk around city park (start of mini taper)

Friday: 2 mile run with Winston

IMG_2157 (1)
Saturday: 2.5 mile hike while monitoring prairie dogs

Sunday: 26.47 mile Leadville Highest Marathon (race report coming soon) Furthest I have ever ran at one time =)
2014-09-07 15.32.29

Total miles ran or hiked: 52.5 miles
Total hours training: 14:46

This week was interesting since I had Monday off of work for labor day. Even though I had raced a half marathon (Breck Crest) on Sunday and was racing a marathon that weekend, I couldn’t give up the chance to try out a new trail. So it wasn’t the best marathon taper ever. A lot of plans call for a three week taper but this wasn’t an A race so I mainly “trained through” and I definitely didn’t feel completely fresh on Sunday, but that may have also been the 10-11 thousand foot elevation. Next couple of weeks am traveling for a work conference, while it’s a lot of fun there isn’t a lot of down time. I am hoping to get as much running in as possible. Anyone know any great routes running distance from Disney?

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: 50k training, ultra Tagged: 50k, training, Ultramarathon

July 23, 2014

50k Ultramarathon Training – Week 3

As I have started week 4 of my 16 week ultra-marathon training plan I thought I would share my plan and how it’s going so far.

50k Ultramarathon Training – Week 3

This was a bit of a step back week. After my race on Sunday I was feeling a twinge in my hamstring so I took it fairly easy during the week. My weekend miles were also a little short because of race spectating, all worth it. Here is how week 3 went down:

Monday: Easy 1 mile walk/jog with my puppies

IMG_1683
Tuesday:  Short 3.6 mile run around the neighborhood
Wednesday: 4 mile run with repeats
Thursday: 5.25 mile Hilly run
Friday: 2.18 easy shake out run
Saturday: 16.6 mile trail run Devil’s thumb – King’s loop

IMG_1694
Sunday: Easy two miles // 0.5 mile swim race

2014-07-20 07.30.14
Total miles ran or hiked: 35.24 miles
Total hours training: 13:19

Sunday was supposed to have 8 mile medium run to back up to Saturdays 16 miles. Instead I raced the swim portion of a triathlon for my dad then cheered while he completed the bike and run portion and my mom did the full tri. They both did great on a tough course at over 11,000 ft elevation. After driving back from Steam Boat and picking up the pups there was no time for a longer run.

Overall it’s an adjustment to running every day, now the challenge is to build in strength training (week 4 I swear!) and then bring back cross training. I do miss my bike and the pool.

Quick recap of the first two weeks:

50k Ultramarathon Training – Week 1

Monday: Rest Day
Tuesday:  4.76 miles with mile repeats
Wednesday: 2 mile run with the pug
Thursday: 6 mile neighborhood loop
Friday: 1 mile run/walk with Bailey
Saturday: 6 mile trail run at Dowdy Draw
Sunday: 10 mile trail run at Sourdough Trail + one twisted ankleIMG_1682

Total miles ran or hiked: 30.1 miles
Total hours training: 7:40

50k Ultramarathon Training – Week 2

Monday: Easy 1 mile walk/jog with my puppies
Tuesday:  4.1 mile run with mile repeats
Wednesday: 6.24 mile neighborhood loop
Thursday: 4.14 easy jog
Friday: 1.43 walk with the pups
Saturday: 1 mile shake out jog
Sunday: 13(ish) mile Copper Mountain Trail Half Marathon

Total miles ran or hiked: 31.02 miles
Total hours training: 7:15

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: trail run, trail running, ultra, Uncategorized Tagged: Ultra, Ultramarathon

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Happy Easter Friends 🐰 We hope you have a beaut Happy Easter Friends 🐰 We hope you have a beautiful day!!!
Soccer season is back and we are here for it! Comp Soccer season is back and we are here for it! Completely embracing the #soccermom life.
Humphry living the ultimate camp dog life. ✨ We Humphry living the ultimate camp dog life. ✨ We realized last minute that it was our last soccer free weekend and the weather was beautiful so we ran away for the weekend. Are you more likely to say yes or no? I am definitely a yes and deal with the consequences later 🤣 #familycampingadventures #familyadventures #frenchbulldog
Moab is ✨magic✨ we never want to leave #family Moab is ✨magic✨ we never want to leave #familyadventures
If you’re a bird, I’m a bird. 💗 If you’re a bird, I’m a bird. 💗
Let’s go on an adventure!! These kids hiked and Let’s go on an adventure!! These kids hiked and played and got REALLY dirty. It’s the best. #getoutside #1000hoursoutside #familyadventures #moab
Spring Break baby!!! We can’t take the entire we Spring Break baby!!! We can’t take the entire week this year but making the most of the long weekend. #familyadventures #canyonlandsnationalpark #moab
Their friendship is one of the best things in my l Their friendship is one of the best things in my life 🥰 #twobestfriends
She is literally my dream come true 💗 #emeraldc She is literally my dream come true 💗 #emeraldcatherine
Visiting the Paint Mines in winter was pure magic Visiting the Paint Mines in winter was pure magic #1000hoursoutside #familyadventures #paintmines
Our 2021 top nine, so many good moments but it’s Our 2021 top nine, so many good moments but it’s clear that all the highlights are when we are together. Hoping for a bright 2022 ✨
We spent days 13 and 14 of our trip in Albuquerque We spent days 13 and 14 of our trip in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We celebrated New Years then made the most of our time back in the city where we used to live. Many attractions were closed while we were there but it was still fun. Now we make the long track home ❤️
Happy New Year Friends ❤️ we hope it’s a goo Happy New Year Friends ❤️ we hope it’s a good one!
Day 12 was spent exploring Saguaro National Park. Day 12 was spent exploring Saguaro National Park. The towering Saguaro were amazing to see and we learned a lot about the desert. The afternoon and evening was spent worrying about our friends and family back home while a fire burned near our home. It looks like our neighborhood will probably be safe but many in the Boulder area are not and we are heartbroken for them 💔
Days 10 +11 were spent enjoying the Sonoran Desert Days 10 +11 were spent enjoying the Sonoran Desert 🌵 We loved visiting the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and camping in the desert.
It’s magical here in Joshua Tree ❤️ also col It’s magical here in Joshua Tree ❤️ also cold 🥶 Cannon says he likes it better than Disneyland 😂 #christmascactustrip
Our 10th National Park of the year 🎉 #nationalp Our 10th National Park of the year 🎉 #nationalparks
Merry Christmas!!! Merry Christmas!!!
Happy Christmas Eve ❤️ Hoping your day is full Happy Christmas Eve ❤️ Hoping your day is full of magic and love.
Day 5 started in Quartzsite Arizona a very unique Day 5 started in Quartzsite Arizona a very unique place for sure. We are excited to explore this area more on our return trip but most of our day was spent driving into a storm to Anaheim where we will spend Christmas 🎄 ❤️🎄 #christmascactustrip #merrychristmaseveeve
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