Trail Running Archives ~ Page 10 of 15 ~ TRAILMOMMA

February 8, 2015April 21, 2015

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM, LITERALLY

California has been in a drought since last winter. We haven’t seen much rain in a very long time. Yesterday however, we had a “storm” according to the local news. A big “storm” was on its way. I didn’t see much action during the day in terms of rain but last night, the wind was howling outside our windows. I thought for sure a tree would be crashing down at any moment (no rain means thirsty and weak trees everywhere). I could hear the massive rain drops pelting or roof and windows. I woke up once because Squeaker was up. Poor kid had a run in with her face and the pavement while riding her bike Friday afternoon and the pavement won big time. 🙁

Luckily she did not knock out any teeth but she did crack her root and shredded her upper lip and the inside of her gum (yes, ouch). One emergency trip to the dentist on Friday night and then we were good to go.

After I got her comfortable in bed again, I just laid there listening to the rain.

I kept thinking how our Saturday run, if it was in this same monsoon, would be brutal. We have been spoiled running wise by some glorious weather during the winter months. Yes we need rain, but we also like staying dry when it comes to running super long distances. I haven’t had to run in serious rain since 2010! You can read how those runs go by reading this throw back post here.

When I woke up this morning however, I didn’t hear any rain drops. I had my gear packed so I just grabbed my usual clothes and headed to the kitchen to pack my hydration pack and wait for Pigeon to get to my house.

We picked up Stonegate and headed to Salmon Falls. The sky looked gorgeous. No real rain in sight. We had high mileage planned for the day and had changed our plans last-minute as to where we would start which in hind sight was a great idea.

When we arrived at the parking lot it was as if a party was going on. Cars upon cars started to arrive after us. We wanted to beat the crowd so we jumped out of the car, threw on our packs and hit the trails.

You essentially start off running uphill on a very rocky switch back trail. It really gets the blood pumping and lungs pounding. For me, this section never seems to get any easier.

As usual, we had lots to talk about. I had a few things to share and rant about (that’s what running is all about right?) and I appreciate the sounding board and advice that Stonegate and Pigeon had to give. That’s what friends are for in the grand scheme of things.

We ran all the way to Cronin Ranch which is where the Salmon Falls 50k will start come race morning (psst! there is still time to register!).

We turned around and figured out where the race will probably have us go (knowing Coach Nikon) and followed those trails back to the movie set lot. Our mileage didn’t quite add up so we ran a couple of loops by the river past 5 million porta-pottys (man there are a lot out there).

The ground was incredibly muddy but there was no rain. We saw some crazy animal tracks out there. Most of which we were assuming were deer based on the marks.

After our loops we still did not have a enough miles but decided to head back anyway and maybe head across the road for the additional miles that we needed.

The way back was pretty interesting. We ran into the group that had been gathering in the parking lot. They were only going 17 miles so they were on their way back to their cars. They were running in various packs. The trails on some sections are single track and not quite wide enough to pass.

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So the three of us collectively agreed to surge ahead at various points even it if it meant running up a big hill just to position ourselves ahead of the group. Then it became very much of a game to try to stay ahead of this group.

Overall I was feeling well again. I did not have my magic cookies that I have been carrying lately because I didn’t have time to make them the night before and I wanted to give myself a break. Instead, I packed some potatoes and salt and that really hit the spot a few times in addition to the other snacks I brought along.

My legs had energy. My lungs not as much at times but that was probably due to my excessive talking on our way out. I had a lot to say and it really was quite draining to get it all out not to mention the internal toll it took on me.

On the way back though, I just felt good. At one point, Pigeon offered me one of her skittles and I didn’t really hear her as we were approaching a hill and I just felt like motoring up it. Then I heard “Fine! No skittles for you.” 🙂

Stonegate grabbed onto my surge and followed me up the hill. We were motoring our way back to the car.

When we got to the car, we decided that was good enough. None of us felt like continuing on. I felt that I could have run more but I was also content to stop right there. As soon as we put on our flip-flops and changed out of our wet clothes, the other runners were starting to trickle in. The lead guy (I guess their coach?) had them running laps in the parking lot to make up the mileage. We kind of chuckled at this. We would have had to run a lot of laps!

We were kind of smiling about this when all of a sudden the skies opened up and the rain came pelting down in giant drops! It was almost instant! We all hopped into the car and laughed that we had ended the run at the most perfect time. Whew!

We drove home in a complete monsoon. It was so that bad I could barely see the road at times. Wow, we really lucked out on our run!

Next week the group is breaking up a bit due the holiday weekend Stonegate is off on her own and Pigeon and I will be running together. I am looking forward to it actually.

I rounded the weekend out by taking the Peanut to a roller skating party on Sunday. I roller-skated with TiggerT for 3 hours straight! My legs felt great! I have been very impressed with my recovery of late. Sure other runners go out for a shake out run after a long mileage day. Me? Nah, I go roller skating! The Peanut has improved tremendously and was skating solo which meant that I had more time to skate with TiggerT and have some good old fashion flashback to the 80s fun! 🙂

That was truly the best ending to what previously was a pretty horrible week for me. Squeaker is healing well. The swelling is down considerably and she is able to eat without too much pain. She’s a trooper too and was back on her bike the very next day! Gotta love that kid!

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend too. The rain is here to stay for a few more days.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

ALL trail photos are compliments of Stonegate! Thanks Girl!

PS: This has not been proof read or edited so sorry for all the typos.

February 3, 2015April 21, 2015

WAY TOO COOL TRAINING RUN

This past weekend was the annual Way Too Cool training run put on by James Barstad. Every year he does this and every year I am amazed at how successful and awesome it is.

While I am not running Way Too Cool 50k this year, Stonegate is. She has some redemption with that 50k distance and I knew that she needed some time on trails in Cool.

Pigeon was down for it so we decided we would all head out to Cool on Saturday and start before the masses arrived. We opted for the longest distance (23 miles) but there is a 12 and 20 mile option to do as well.

When we pulled into the parking lot ofÂ the fire station it was still dark out but people were already arriving. We all hid within the warm confines of the car before nature called and we all had to hit the porta potty (separately, not together).

All of a sudden the sun was peeking out and we were ready to hit the trails. We ran with some new people on Saturday. It was myself, Stonegate, Pigeon, Stonegate’s friend Tri-Girl and MarCK. Everyone has had their share of time on these trails and/or has done some ultra running so we were a pretty solid bunch.

It was cold so the pace was pretty quick to start. I think we all wanted to warm up as much as possible. We followed the orange ribbons all the way to Â highway 49 where Stonegate would be entering new-to-her territory.

The Quarry road isn’t anything too exciting and is actually probably the least pretty part of the whole Way Too Cool course but it is a good chance to get your head in the game, fuel your body and just relax from the quick down hill you just came from.

On this section we all ran in various pairs talking as we ran. At one point Coach Nikon and friends came running by giving us a hard time. 🙂 I always enjoy running into him out on the trails.

Soon we were off Quarry Road and descending up onto some of the single track. For quite a while MarCK was leading our pack which was great. He was fun to run with too! So easy going and he set a good pace. I know the girls were probably worried we were slowing him down but he never let on or showed any signs of being frustrated with us (or our frequent stops).

The entire first portion of the run I couldn’t shake the sour stomach that I had no matter what I did or ate. It just kept hanging on keeping me on my toes and on the verge of worry that things may go south soon. I just kept up my nutrition the way I have been even if I didn’t feel like eating anything.

Soon we came to an aid-station and I ducked off to the side to handle some business. Not long after, Stonegate and Tri-Girl also had to take care of things. This made for a nice long(er) stop. There was nothing at the aid-station that I could eat so I just stuck to the cookies, plantains and water that I had with me.

When we started off again, Pigeon took the lead. At some point on the trail, she became lead runner, followed by me and then MarCK while Stonegate and Tri-Girl were chatting it up on the caboose.

Pigeon took off and I followed. MarCK was easily keeping pace behind me. This section of the trail is very runnable and it is super gorgeous. My camera duties have slacked since I cannot find a decent spot to put my phone that is easily reachable. I am still working on this and I need to figure it out soon as it is really beginning to hinder the quality of my blog! 🙂 I love taking photos – although I AM getting faster on the trails – so maybe there IS a correlation between the two? 🙂

The Crew from L to R: MarCK, Stonegate, Pigeon and Tri-Girl

MarCK and I had some good conversations about work and past jobs and our kids. Pigeon was feeling good I could tell because she picked up her pace considerably. She had started out slow (intentionally – that’s her style) and slowly built herself up. I was happy to see her confidence. She’s been struggling the last few runs trying to get her fitness back to where she knows she can kill it. She is almost there.

I just felt, great. My tummy was still not completely settled, but for the most part, I really started feeling well. Then we hit Goat Hill. Goat Hill is a pretty steep climb. It is just shy of a mile in distance but it consists of some solid switch backs. Some how I ended up taking the helm and I remember saying, “Oh man, I don’t want the lead!” and Pigeon just said, “You got this girl. One step at a time.” So, I started climbing. And talking. And climbing and talking. I was talking to MarCK, he was right behind me and I thought Pigeon and everyone else was right there as well but apparently, I had climbed pretty well. I had heard Tri-Girl say earlier that I looked like a Mountain-Goat when I was climbing … baaaaa! 🙂

I reached the top and I felt, well, amazing. In all the years I have climbed Goat Hill, that by far was my best attempt. I guess I am doing something right in my training these days.

At the top was an aid-station which was nice. Pigeon was hoping for some Coke but they only had water and gels. We knew there were only about 5 miles to the finish so we started running again.

Soon we heard Highway 49 which always gives me goosebumps because I know the end is near and I know that last mile is what lies ahead. The last mile of Way Too Cool is a bit of a grind. It is up hill, but the hill is this rock infested gully. Very hard to find proper footing at times and kind of hard to actually run IF you had the energy and leg strength TO run.

We crossed the highway and told Stonegate that this is where her last aid-station would be and to take advantage of it with SOMETHING before the climb. Then, MarCK took off like a bat out of hell! I swear, one second he was standing next to me and the next I saw his back side scaling up the rocky gulch! Bye bye MarCK! 🙂

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I climbed and power hiked as best I could. Then, something hit me inside. I did a scan and thought, “Hmmm, I feel good. Could I actually, for once in my life run this section?” Last year when I ran WTC (race report here) I wanted to punch Pigeon in the face on this section. She kept trying to motivate my butt up this hill and I kept resisting. Not today. I took a couple of steps … running and just kept going. I ran the entire way back at a pretty fast pace. I had energy to burn and power in my legs. I just went with it and I am glad that I did. It gave me some peace of mind that I CAN handle that hill to the finish.

When I reached the lot, MarCK had already cracked open a beer. That boy was thirsty for some beer I guess! 🙂 Way to go MarCK you crushed that final stretch too.

Soon all the girls came in and we high-fived and celebrated being done for the day. The parking lot started to fill up with hundreds of trail runners. I saw old friends, new friends and even met a few friends. It was glorious and the perfect end to a perfect day.

Sadly, one fellow runner did not have a stellar day out there. She fell and broke her foot/ankle and had to be airlifted out. I hope she recovers quickly (but it was kind of crazy watching that helicopter land right next to us!).

While I was out having a blast bombing the trails, Vans was home with the girls. He took them on a little walk/adventure to a nearby park by way of dirt trail.

My recovery after Saturday has been pretty great. I feel wonderful. Whatever issues I had with my tummy seemed to resolve itself during the last 3 miles but I am still working on the source of the problem. I tend to go through these waves and so far, I’ve been able to handle it and manage it with only a few stops. It is all part of training though.

I’ve also been cooking in the kitchen. Playing around with recipes and stuff. I am always trying to find new and interesting things for my kids to try. Peanut is pretty good at trying new things, Squeaker however, is a bit more stubborn.

Squeaker trying (and liking) my baked polenta fries.

As far as training goes, we have two more weeks of building mileage before I am in the home stretch of taper week. I am not looking forward to taper week as it always plays with your head that you should be doing more than you are. Yet, the body is smart and the body remembers. It actually needs this time to repair and refresh.

Happy February everyone! I know the east coast is getting bombed with snow while the west coast is drying out (ok, California is drying out). They are calling for a good amount of rain for this weekend so our run could become a massive mud fest. If it is, I’ll bring the old camera and be sure to take lots of photos! 🙂

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

January 26, 2015April 21, 2015

NOW WHAT?

It’s official! I finished my six month online plant-based cooking course withÂ Rouxbe. The ending was some what bitter sweet for me. When I started this course last August, I really didn’t know exactly what to expect. I’ve been plant-based for over 20 years so what more could I possibly learn throughout this course?

Well, as I came to realize (about mid-way through the course), is that this program was very much geared towards ME becoming a professional CHEF! Ya I know, the course title alone (Plant-Based Professional Certification Course) should have been a major clue but I was curious and of course I can’t forget that generous offer by Joe Girard, the CEO of Rouxbe too. Read about that here.

I would be lying if I said I did not struggle some during my certification. For me, the hardest and biggest obstacle of all was time. Finding the time. Making the time. Having the time. It was difficult and I was often challenged quite a bit by either throwing things together at the last minute or not really focusing well on my assignments.

I admit that I did not do quite a few of the practice dishes that I wasÂ supposed to do before each unit exam. It was not that I was challenged by the course content so much, it was 100% the lack of quality time for me to devote fully to the course. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love it and that I didn’t learn anything. I definitely picked up quite a few tips and tricks along the way. I also came to realize that presentation is huge when presenting a meal (just maybe not so much at home).

With all that said and done, I would recommend this course to anyone. It doesn’t have to just be for the chef in that restaurant who is curious about expanding their menu more with plant-based meals (although I truly hope restaurants and chefs consider this program for that reason alone). No, this program could benefit stay-at-home moms who do want to learn how to cook plant-based meals for their family, or for someone who is retired and wants to better their health or who just may like to cook or perhaps someone who has a part-time job and is just not entirely sure where their life is headed.

I truly think Rouxbe’s program couldÂ benefit someone who is very curious about plant-based living and who does not know where to even start. The support and content within the program is great and they will help and guide you. Those who work in hospitals or nursing homes, should be required to take this course just to expand and broaden their knowledge and to SEE how food does impact your overall health and well being.

So, I am happy that I signed up for the program. I am proud that I finished. I am proof that you can never know too much about one thing. 20 years of eating plants and I am proud to say that I have a certificate from Rouxbe and a certificate from T. Collin Campell’s eCornell plant-based nutrition program.

I am very passionate about plant-based living (just ask anyone who knows me). I do not shove my knowledge in your face and I never judge what is on your plate, but if you ask me for advice, I will give it to you 100%. My passion for nutrition and beliefs fall in line with those of T. Collin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Rip Esselstyn and the Engine2 group. I am a strong believer that food is fuel and that food can heal.

Which is why when my mother-in-law and father-in-law came down with some medical issues recently, I jumped at the chance to make them a few meals for the week to help them get by. It was super easy too because one of my presents to myself upon completing the Rouxbe course was an Instant Pot.

Chickpeas, homemade veggie broth and oat bran.

Yes, I just learned how to make these elaborate meals and garnishes through Rouxbe and what do I do? I buy a pressure cooker/steamer/crockpot where I basically can make one pot meals super fast. 🙂 The Instant Pot ROCKS. I have to say. It has transformed my life.

In less than 30 minutes (usually) I have been making all kinds of beans from scratch, not from a can. I have been using all kinds of new veggies and throwing the scraps into a baggy so that I can make my own veggie broth (in 5 minutes I might add). I have made broth before but the process was always so time consuming. Not anymore. I love my Instant Pot (or instapot as I call it).

It is fabulous and I really enjoy making these meals for people to consume. So with my new certification, I may not become a chef in a restaurant but I have become the plant-based doctor of our family so to speak. 🙂 Although I am still working on getting my girls to eat new things. Baby steps.

So now that Rouxbe is over and my instapot is creating more time for me, what exactly am I doing with all this “free” time? All kinds of things! In my first full week done with Rouxbe, I enjoyed some quality time with my family.

We hit the skate park with some friends. — We hit the skate park.

I went on a beautiful run through the fog in Auburn. — I went on a beautiful run through the fog in Auburn with friends.

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Watched my girls so Vans could ride and take these awesome photos. — Watched my girls so Vans could ride with the guys and take these awesome photos.

And of course I continued to cook some amazing meals (our fridge is looking a little crazy at the moment).

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies (for my runs - and well every minute in-between) — Peanut Butter Banana Cookies (for my long runs – and well every minute in-between)

Life has been good. I know it won’t be long before I get some kind itch to try something new or take on another adventure but for now, I am content to just enjoy my family, continue to experiment with plant-based dishes and of course run. Speaking of running, my training has been going really well. I feel strong when I am out there on the trails each weekend. Weekdays I may drag but once I step foot on the dusty trail, I explode with energy and excitement. I am looking forward to my 50k in February.

And of course coming home to these two beauties and not having to complete an assignment or take a test is just icing on the (plant-based) cake. 🙂

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

January 17, 2015April 21, 2015

KEEP ON KEEPING ON

The end is near for my Rouxbe online cooking course. Very near. As in a few days. All that I have left to do is take a final. A TWO HOUR final but still, that’s all that stands in my way right now. It has been a great, educational and sometimes stressful six months for sure. I have learned quite a bit along the way. Some of it probably more than necessary. A lot of it, I already knew (healthy benefit wise) but regardless, this course brought my girls into the kitchen with me. Especially Squeaker. She had a blast “helping” in the kitchen, especially near the end … when I was doing my final practical exam.

In between cooking, chopping, dicing and sautÃ©ing, I have also been trying to maintain a training program. The Salmon Falls 50k is on February 28th and I wanted to feel better and run better which in turn means better training.

To date, I have had some good runs lately on the course. Last weekend I ran with Stonegate and Burning Girl. While I wasn’t feeling 100% we conquered 16 miles and saw some amazing sights.

Then it was a week of work where crazy things happen and I feel absolutely drained by Monday evening. The energy picks up a little during the week and then Friday comes and I canont wait to get back out on the trails only this time, Pigeon was joining us!

I haven’t run with Pigeon in two weeks and I really miss her when she’s not with us. Her wife is 39 weeks pregnant and due any day now. Still, she gave Pigeon the “ok” to run long with us today provided she carried her cell phone.

Today we were scheduled to bust out 20 miles. Apparently I mentioned something about not running up all the hills before started but really have no memory of even saying that! I think Pigeon thought I said it but I didn’t. Clearly, since every time we hit a hill, I’d just keep running. I was feeling 10 times better than I had felt last weekend which was nice. No tired legs. My back has been stiff, but it loosened up nicely.

It was chilly but still a pretty beautiful morning. Nothing to complain about. We ran the same course we did last weekend (to show Pigeon how awesome it is) and as odd as it sounds, the views looked different because it was a bit more overcast. Still gorgeous, just different.

Yet the same obstacles were still in the way. Namely, this giant tree. I was in the lead and pretty much hopped over it only to see Pigeon standing there with a look on her face like “what the?!” So that meant I needed to whip out my camera … you know, just in case we had a situation. 🙂

Both of them made it over. It may not have been graceful, but they made it. Pigeon has never run on these trails so she was relying on Stonegate and I to lead the way. Some how that translated into me being the lead runner. I am okay being the lead, until a bird enters the picture and in this case, these birds were turkey vultures!

So remember when I said that Pigeon’s wife is 39 weeks pregnant and that I was required to carry my phone? I always carry my phone but I generally leave it in the “off” position or airplane mode. Today I left it as it normally is as we ran. At some point we here the distinct chime of a text message “CHOO CHOO” (that’s my distinct sound). I stop dead in my tracks and I look at Pigeon. The agreement was that I would have my phone just in case Missouri couldn’t reach Pigeon on HER phone since her cell service was spotty in this area. I took my phone out of my pack and realized it was just a text from a friend, and not an emergency. I asked Pigeon to put my phone back into my pack since I was having a hard time putting it back.

It won't fit in there! — It won’t fit in there! Photo courtesy: Stonegate

Boy did we start cracking up. Pigeon couldn’t get my phone to fit in, Stonegate was cracking up because Pigeon asked me to bend over and I was just laughing at the situation. The jokes here were ENDLESS. Oh how I love a good trail run.

The trails were busy with hikers, other runners and even some horses. On our way back, Pigeon’s energy picked up massively and she seemed to be having a blast bombing some of the down hills and making fun of me. 🙂

She laughed a lot, until she came to that tree again. 🙂

Climbing back over was way easier than before but it was still fun to capture it all on camera. 🙂

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P1060531 — The sun came out on our way back!

The 10 miles back seemed to take longer than on the way out but it also was full of laughter, a few pit stops and some photos. Â Stonegate rocked with the cell phone photos today.

One of my favorites from the day. Courtesy of Stonegate

Next week our miles dip down a bit before a big two week build. I am happy that I felt so well on today’s run. I needed a “good” run under my belt after a few icky days.

Also, Pigeon is about to embark on life’s biggest ultra, parenthood. I am looking forward to meeting this new little bundle and addition to the trail family.

But first, I need to get to taking that final Rouxbe exam. Wish me luck!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

January 3, 2015April 21, 2015

WHAT COULD HAPPEN?

Happy New Year everyone! It is hard to believe that 2015 is already upon us and that 2014 is over. I, for one, am looking forward to a new year. Not that 2014 was terrible, I just felt like it wasn’t really a memorable year. Running wise I guess it was. I ran Way Too Cool 50k, The American River 50 Miler, Miners Revenge Marathon,Â Mt. Tam 50K and CIM and quite a handful of other neat races. I survived the year with no injuries which for any runner, pretty much means it was a successful year.

Still, I want different things for 2015. While I don’t typically list out new year resolutions, I do have some internal goals and aspirations in my mind and heart. This year, they are not running focused. I have a few races on the calendar but running wise, I am looking forward to just sitting back and enjoying the trails while maintaining a solid base so that I can pace Pigeon later this summer on her next 100 mile race.

Although 2015 did start off on a sour note running wise for me. New Years Day I met Pigeon for what was supposed to be an easy 10 mile run. What could happen? Apparently, a lot. 🙂

Within 5 minutes of starting our run my toe caught a rock and I went flying. I thought I was going to be able to correct myself and avoid a very rocky tumble, but my hand got cut on a rock and it pretty much weakened my support and down I went. I tumbled pretty hard and almost fell off a little cliff on the trail. The ground was frozen solid since it was still early so the impact was pretty harsh on my legs and right side. Pigeon and I started cracking up instantly. She did ask if I was okay. But overall, we laughed for probably the next 20 minutes replaying the fall in our heads.

The rest of the run was pretty humorous too. At one point I heard something falling from the trees above. I thought for sure it was a tree coming down on my head (we just had a big storm that had weakened a lot of trees). I stopped and started screaming with my hands on my head. Pigeon started screaming “what?! what?!” as she turned around to see what the heck was going on with me.

When I looked up to see if the tree was still coming down, I saw a squirrel jumping from branch to branch. That little bugger! “Oh, it’s just a squirrel.” I said. Cue laughter.

Needles to say, with my legs gushing blood, an uneasy tummy and very muddy conditions this was a tough run for me. Happy New Years Day!

For days after that run, I was quite sore. More sore than I have been after any race. The cuts on my knees are deep and require being covered by bandages constantly as they keep, oozing and leaking (sorry – too much sharing?). Still, I agreed to meet Pigeon for a 14 mile run two days later.

Hobbling out of my car, I was thinking I was ready to run. In reality, it probably took me about two miles before I even felt nearly comfortable. It took the first 7 miles (aka our turn around) before I didn’t feel pain every time I took a step. Mind you, not the type of pain that is serious, more the dried up stretched out skin kind of pain (again, too much sharing?).

We saw a family of deer on our run. We ran through mud and puddles. It was so awesome and it was NOT technical at all which is exactly what my body needed.

We ran, we talked and we took a lot of photos. I don’t have much to write about other than what you see in the photo. It was a beautifully chilly day. We ran into a duathlon happening along the trails but it didn’t inhibit our run much at all. We even cheered for some of the runners along the way.

Back in the day, Pigeon and I used to joke around with all my photo taking during a run. We used to pretend that we were posing for the JC Penny catalog. If you have no idea what the JC Penny catalog is, than you are WAY younger than me. 🙂 Just know that the photos in it were hilarious and painfully forced.

We only had to run 7 miles out before we turned around but in that last mile, I have to say, a lot happened. As we were running, Pigeon yelled out “There’s a hoe” … and clearly she meant it.

That was kind of odd to find sitting along side a trail, but later we realized why it was there. Someone is building some off shoot trails that lead down to the lake and this “hoe” which I think they feel is hidden, is helping them.

At our turn around spot, Pigeon and I had a little fun with the camera trying to get some decent shots. These are the kinds of runs I enjoy where we can laugh, have a little fun and still run pretty hard.

Hmm, here Pigeon comes up the hill - must have been a camera hand off? — Hmm, here Pigeon comes up the hill – must have been a camera hand off?

I think our action shots look pretty nice no? 🙂 We are just plain silly sometimes out there. If you can’t have fun, what can you do?

Our mileage back was at a pretty good pace. We did have some photos stops along the way which kind of make me laugh.

Pigeon kept asking me if I had seen the stripper pole on our way out. I had to ask her what she said, because I thought for a minute she said stripper pole. Oh wait, she did. So on our way back she made sure to point out this “pole” to me.

Clearly I was not nor have I ever been, nor will I ever BE a stripper as that photo above is about as stripper as I can get. Seriously, why is that pole even out on the trail!?

Soon we came to the overlook spot again and we paused, as we always do to enjoy the view, have some fuel and just well, take in an unexpected selfie.

Our mileage back was pretty fast. We had some good clips of just running hard with very little walking. We both agreed these types of runs are great confidence boosters. Both of us has had some hard runs the last two times we ran together, so we needed this good boost of running strong (even if it was flat) to reinforce that we are in shape.

Stopped only for the puddling jumping — Stopped only for the puddleÂ jumping

In case you are wondering, she made it across the above puddle. We both did. Neither one of us felt like getting wet on this run so we skilled ourselves at getting clever at jumping and dancing around these types of puddles. It was pretty funny too.

Overall, we accomplished 14 miles. It felt good to bust out a decent 14 mile run despite the aches I’ve had lately. I still can’t move much let alone bend a knee and kneel on something, but run? That I can do. These cuts that I have are pretty deep and with the cold weather, it is hard to wear anything but long pants which requires a band-aid so as not to ruin any more of my favorite jeans. 🙂

However, I can’t complain. It has been a pretty good start to 2015. I am almost done with my Rouxbe Plant Based Cooking course which I am quite excited about.

It has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of my time to manage this course. I am excited by what I have learned. It has also made me realize a few things about cooking and cooking for people, that I would like to improve upon.

The girls are having a blast during their break from school. Too much in fact. A lot of bike riding has happened lately.
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Not to mention, quite a few trips to the park where the Peanut is excelling at doing the monkey bars.

It really has been a great end of 2014 and a wonderful start to 2015. I am really hoping to manage a lot this coming year but in an entirely different way. 2014 had a lot of saying ‘yes’ in it despite what that meant or what affect it would have on my family. 2015, I am hoping will be a bit different. Let’s see where this crazy year will take me.

What New Year resolutions do you have? Â Please feel free to share in the comments. I am curious. 🙂

2015 will also be about sleep — 2015 will also be about more sleep

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

(warning – no proof reading, sorry)

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