Friends Archives ~ TRAILMOMMA

January 24, 2018January 24, 2018

HELLO WORLD!

Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t written a blog post since early December!? Happy New Year everyone! Time is sure flying already.

It isn’t that I haven’t wanted to write or had anything to write about, I just purely have not had the time to sit down and devote quality time here. This is sad because this used to be my creative outlet but clearly through the years, it has developed more into Race Reports and the occasional trip to Plant-Stock posts. 🙂

Today I decided to file away some time to sit down and just “check-in” with all of you and this ol’blog. I’ve been coming here (or blogging to be precise) since about 2009! For you long time readers, you’ve been with me through my first ultra and the birth of Squeaker! Crazy where life takes us huh?

To recap, I have been running. Every weekend I am hitting the trails filling my heart with all things trail-running. Laughing, running and loving nature. I am blessed to live where I live.

My kiddos are deep into their winter sports season playing basketball which warms my heart like no other. I was a basketball player and I love the game but watching my girls play and learn to the love the game? Best thing in the world!

Peanut has so much more confidence this season.

Overall 2017 was a pretty good year. I ran in some amazing races (see my Race Reports page), I traveled to Washington DC and became a Food for Life Instructor and I laughed, a lot.

laugh — When your friend gets a pot stuck in the fridge!

I also paced Pigeon the last 20 miles of her first ever 100 mile finish at the Tahoe Rim Trail.

2017 Crew — Pigeon with her crew AND her 100 mile buckle.

And I paced my friend Miss P into the night running 31 miles of her first 100 mile finish at Rio Del Lago.

Miss P with her pacers AND her 100 mile medal! — Miss P with her pacers AND her 100 mile buckle!

How awesome is that?! Watching someone run 100 miles is beyond motivating and spectacular. I adore these women.

Yet 2017 wasn’t all sunshine and roses though. Some chapters in my life closed but when one door closes, another opens right? The universe has a plan. I have always thought and believed in that. Sometimes it is hard to listen to it because it has been familiar, routine or comforting but all you can do is trust.

My hopes for 2018 are simple: Laugh ♦ Love ♦ Listen … MORE.

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I want MORE outdoor adventures with these two crazies!

I want MORE roller skating adventures – YES I begged my friends to roller skate … the end result? THEY LOVED IT!

So I want to do it again!

I want MORE plant-based education whether in person or through social media. I recently taught an in-home cooking demo for my friend Beth. It was fun! Currently I am coaching 17 people at work and it is so rewarding and exciting to watch them discover the power of a plant-based way of living.

I want MORE one on one time with this guy.

No one supports me and loves me like he does. He also loves being outside just as much as I do and I love how he is instilling that in our girls. Our family adventures are what I cherish most of all.

So that’s 2017 in a brief recap and 2018 wishes all in one post! Not bad for the first post of 2018!

Whatever your goals are for 2018 or whatever happened in 2017, be at peace with it and trust what unfolds before you. Sometimes it takes stopping the search, the quest, the need-to-know … to find what you are looking truly looking for in this crazy world.

Just breathe. Just be.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

January 31, 2017January 31, 2017

STILL RUNNING

Even though it appears that I have not been running (it might if you only follow me here on the blog), don’t worry, I have been. I just haven’t been posting much about my runs for various reasons.

That doesn’t mean I haven’t been taking photos while I run though. I always take photos. 🙂

2017 has brought some changes in my training routine. I don’t really care to go into detail but I am training and I am focusing. I fully admit that I entered 2017 in a bit of a lull, lacking “mojo” and motivation.

However, luckily it was short lived and I have my zest for running trails back where it should be. A lot of that has to do with who I have been running with lately.

My usual partners in crime (Pigeon, Stonegate, Burning Girl) for a while were not able to run with me. They have a life and sometimes life gets in the way (fully understandable). I also have a life and my life lately has been consumed by the Peanut and Squeaker’s basketball teams.

Coaching means tying shoes. — Coaching means tying shoes … oh wait, I do that as a mom too. 🙂

I am the assistant coach to Squeaker’s team and they are hands down the cutest 5 and 6 year olds on the planet!

Peanut is on her own team but this is the first year either of them have ever touched a basketball, let alone play the game.

I have a long history and love affair with the sport of basketball (Vans SO does not) and so I’ve happily taken the reigns of shuttling to practices and working with the girls. I love it.

Look at that form! :) — Taking the shot! Look at that form! 🙂

Yet because of basketball and coaching, my run days have been moved around. No big deal but it was hard to find people to run with from time to time and I am not one to go out on the Auburn/Cool trails by myself for very long (safety first).

Enter Grumpy and Not Chris ….

I work with both of these two and they both were looking to get into trail running. Not Chris is registered for the FOURmidable 30k in a few weeks. I have no doubts he will do well. Grumpy is also registered for the 13K FOURmidable race and is really putting in the work.

It has been fun running with two people who are new to trails and who are smitten by them just as much as I am.

This past weekend my worlds collided! Pigeon is back on schedule to run with me now (thanks to a new baby in her immediate family) and she met Grumpy and Not Chris for the first time (she is actually to blame for Not Chris’s nickname).

We all met in Auburn and agreed on the mileage beforehand. The route we picked was nice because even though Grumpy doesn’t need to go as far as we do, he’s able to join us on some pretty cool sections.
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The weather this past weekend was amazing. I know we need more rain, but the rain has made for some pretty gnarly runs lately. I do love the sunshine especially early in the morning.

I’ve taken the boys out a few times solo but this past weekend we took them on a different loop. I think they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

We’re all different paces but it seems to work. We run, we meet up at any turns and we continue on. Sometimes we stick together. Sometimes I run ahead because I want to take photos! 🙂

Grumpy flipping me off - hence the name Grumpy. :) — Grumpy flipping me off – hence the name Grumpy. 🙂

After we got done with that loop, we took them up Stagecoach. I’ve taken them up before, but Pigeon took us a different route which led us to the famous “bench” and we forced the boys to take the obligatory “bromance bench” photo.

After the climb up Stagecoach, Grumpy left us and ran back down. He doesn’t need to rack up mileage. Not Chris, Pigeon and I continued on.

It was an awesome day. I finished feeling strong. My legs felt worked but I was smiling ear to ear. Later that afternoon, I ended up playing 90 minutes of basketball with the girls and some friends at the park! I guess I had more pep left in my legs than I thought.

So I apologize in advance for not writing much this year about running. I’ll pop in from time to time with some photos and maybe some recaps of the girls and their basketball games. Race reports are one thing I love to write about since I do go back and read what worked and didn’t work race by race, so you’ll see those for sure.

Maybe now that I have found my running mojo, I’ll find my blogging mojo. 🙂

Until then ….

So far, she loves it and that makes me happy!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

November 17, 2016

WOLF-PACK

What started out as a joke on Facebook before our road trip a few weeks ago (you can read about that adventure here), got me thinking about the people I run with and who honestly, I spend most of my happy time with (besides my own family).

I feel very lucky to have the set of friends that I do. Friends who do crazy things and who enjoy Mother Nature and getting muddy just as much as me.

Waterfall fun! — Friends who jump off rocks and take a million photos

But remember, Blue is Bad! — Friends who goof around in the middle of a run.

If you read my posts, you know who these usual suspects are in my life. Pigeon, Stonegate and Burning Girl are the most frequent. Occasionally we are lucky enough to run with Miss P and Pearls.

I also run with a dear friend, TiggerT. She doesn’t run ultras but when we do run, we usually laugh, a lot. She is my California International Marathon buddy and my “road-running” friend.

But more importantly, she and Stonegate, Burning Girl and Pigeon are my friends. My wolf-pack. They are the ones I know will support me in a race and in life.

FullSizeRender — They also send you funny texts during races.

Truth be told, before I ran trails, I ran alone. A lot. I used to read Kristin Armstrong’s blog Mile Markers on Runner’s World and would be so envious of the stories she’d write about – meeting her friends for a morning workout or a long training run – laughing and sharing their life’s problems with each other. I wanted that.

Well now, I have it but 100 times better.

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My wolf-pack doesn’t run together every day or every weekend, but we are connected. The trails may have brought us together but it isn’t what keeps us strong.

My wolf-pack keeps me sane. They keep me on my toes. They are resources for things I know nothing about. They build you up and remind you, that you are worth it and that you deserve the best. They are shoulders to cry on when life gets hard and they remind you when you may be making the same mistake twice.

They give you hugs when you need them and they make you laugh.

I adore my wolf-pack and while it seems stereotypical to “give thanks” this time of year, that is exactly what I want to do.

Thank you ladies for all that you do. Thank you for being a little bit crazy and a lot-a-bit fun. Thank you for being adventure seekers and thank you for supporting my often crazy ideas. Thank you for the hugs, the laughter and the tears. Thank you for listening. Thank you, for being you … my wolf-pack, our wolf-pack.

Happy Trails!

(and Happy Thanksgiving!)

~Trailmomma

January 20, 2016January 19, 2016

RAINY DAY FUN

If you have followed this blog since the beginning (which is probably no one but Pigeon and maybe my NJ family) you may recall back in 2010 when I was training for my first ever ultra.

I was part of the Fleet Feet Ultra Training Group (the first one there ever was) and that is where I met Pigeon, Coach Nikon, Captain Kirk, Kuni the Beast, Miss P and a whole host of others who I still see both on and off the trails.

But what stands out most that training year was the RAIN. We had multiple runs where we were soggy, muddy and just down right drenched. I would venture to guess that was the last time we had a “real” wet winter here in Northern California.

One of my favorite old shots - Puddle Jumping! — One of my favorite 2010 shots – Puddle Jumping! Photo by Coach Nikon

This year is starting to look and feel more and more like that crazy water-logged 2010 year did.

Last Saturday I found myself running with Pigeon and Stonegate. We decided to run 16 so we carpooled to the Auburn Damn Overlook (ADO) together.

We knew that rain had been forecasted for the most of the morning but when we started our run it was only spitting.

We set off for the canal with plans to run down Cardiac hill and out towards Avery’s Pond. I happen to love this section of trail.

After a rough work week (eeerrr month), I had energy to spare and was pretty excited to be out running.

Pigeon is working herself back up to where she left off last season and was content to let me and Stonegate run off ahead like two little kids in a toy store. 🙂 And boy did we!

The mud was thick and slippery and there was no use trying to dance around any puddles. Needless to say, our socks and shoes were pretty wet fairly early into the run.

We had some good laughs along the way. I was on high alert because a few years earlier Pigeon and I had run into a mama bear and her cubs on this very trail … something I didn’t really want to repeat.

The trails were pretty busy with various groups and people out running or walking their dogs. Every once in a while the rain would come down a bit harder but for most of the run, we were dry (well, minus our feet). I even took off my jacket after a while and ran in a t-shirt as I was getting quite hot.

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We ran past Avery’s Pond and eventually turned around and made our way back the way we came.

Oddly enough, a tree had fallen after we passed it and was blocking the trail on our way back. Thank goodness it fell well after we had run by.

Stonegate is signed up for the American River 50 Miler, her first 50 and it was neat showing her exactly what she will be running on her last 8 or 9 miles.

Like I said before, I just love these trails. They cleanse my head and fill my heart every time.

Soon we hit the bottom of Damn Hill where Cardiac starts back up.

Pigeon and Stonegate fueling up before the climb

We paused to have some food and take in the river which was actually flowing one more time before climbing our way back up Cardiac towards the Overlook.

Once we reached the top, we stopped to take a few more photos. Stonegate wanted to get a better shot of me and like any good friend would, she climbed through the canal to get to the other side just to take the photo!

She also cleaned her shoes in the process.

The rain started to come down pretty hard the last few miles but it felt good. We knew we were almost done and we all had smiles on our faces.

I know we need the rain because we have been in a drought for so long but running in the rain always requires a bit of extra work and tends to slow down the run (darn mud) overall. No matter what though, it always makes for an adventure and I am looking forward to many more of these wet and muddy adventures as training season continues!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

April 21, 2015

GETTING MOTIVATED

Since my last big post, Â I have been trying to get motivated to do a lot of things that I feel I put to the side during training. Since AR50, I’ve been spending more time with the girls, more time resting, hanging with friends and planning birthday parties for the Peanut and Squeaker.

I have also been contemplating this blog and my last big post about being Plant-Based. I am basically learning on the fly and finally diving into what this website can do or really, what I can do to this website.

What I have learned is that I cannot have a “blog” like format (i.e. multiple posts) on separate pages. So that Plant-Based page I was dreaming of, did not quite materialize as planned. Instead, I spent quite a bit of time “Categorizing” my posts into separate…well, categories. If you see on the right hand side of your screen, there are four categories listed: Trail Running, Plant-Based, Race Reports and Uncategorized.

So basically, I will have to continue posting on this page (Home) BUT if you recall a post that you read here that you’d like to go back to, or if you missed a few (hey, it happens I can’t expect everyone to subscribe – hint hint) then just click on the Plant-Based category and you’ll find what you are looking for (I hope anyway).

I am working on a few posts (in my head) that I need to sit down and pan out a bit. Time has been consumed lately with a certain little Peanut’s 7th birthday that is quickly approaching as well as an awesome get-away weekend with some old and new friends.

The Trailmomma family traveled to La Porte, California (population 26 – maybe on a good day) for a wonderful weekend where we “unplugged” so to speak and enjoyed good company and great food.

Stonegate planned and organized the whole thing and she did a fantastic job. She assigned me to a crew that consisted of 3 or 4 other families for our Saturday evening meal prep. I was in charge of the vegan/plant-based dish. I lugged my Instant Pot all the way to La Porte and it came through 100%. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of my final meal, but it was pretty tasty and I used a new (to me) bean called a Pinquinto! I followed this recipe here modifying it a bit to my liking.
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Also, I have a Facebook page – www.facebook.com/trailmomma that mostly consists of plant-based nutrition posts or photos. So if you like that kind of thing, feel free to head on over there as I tend to post more frequently over there than I do here. 🙂

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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