We are breaking from our normally scheduled program to bring you a proud mama moment. 🙂
Ready to go!
The Peanut had her first cross-country meet today! The past two years she has sworn up and down that she had no interest in running let alone running on her school’s team … but throw a popsicle after every practice, some good friends and a great coach into the mix? How can you say no to that?!
With the massive fires we’ve been having lately, the first meet was cancelled as well as quite a few practices leading up to today’s event. The Peanut has not run in a few days but today, she ran!
Hi Mom!
The weather was perfect! Cool temps and a slight breeze made for the best racing conditions.
The 2nd and 3rd grade kids only have to run 3/4 ths of a mile but the Peanut has been struggling lately to run the whole thing without stopping.
Today, she ran the entire time. She said she never stopped once!
Here she comes!
The meet today was on home turf so that was a great way to build confidence. She knew exactly where to go.
When we practiced the night before her and I talked about pacing, the start and the finish. Hoping she wouldn’t go out too fast but praying she had enough in the tank to sprint at the end. She knows that her school (and her mama) loves to sprint to the finish line.
Turning on the sprint!
I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when she entered the finish chute. There were three girls in front of her but sure enough, I saw her dig deep and turn on the jets!
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My eyes were misty well before this, actually, just seeing her in her cross county singlet was enough to make my heart melt.
Watch out, here I come!
But to see her actually try really hard to run past these three girls AND succeed, just opened the flood gates for me.
Later gator!
The Peanut doesn’t have a competitive bone in her tiny little body but she didn’t want to let her coach, her team or me down by not sprinting to the finish. If anything, she is a rule follower. 🙂
Finisher!
She was so excited to tell me that she didn’t walk during the race. She could care less about her time or place, until other kids were asking but even then … I don’t think she really cared all that much.
She’s a team player through and through. I see it on her swim team and I saw it today with her cross-country team. She is happy for everyone no matter what. For herself, she’s just happy to be a part of it all and today, she was a big part. Today, she was a cross-country runner!
Proud Mama and Peanut with her post race treat
So incredibly proud of you kid. You never gave up!
As I wrote in my Pac Crest Marathon Race Report, we vacationed in Oregon this year. One of my loyal readers (yo Padre!) commented that he loves the fact that we ran a race AND vacationed at the same time as a family. We’ve been doing that for as long as I can remember, definitely since the Peanut has been born.
Our first ever trip to Oregon was to Portland in October of 2009. Vans and I flew up there with the Peanut who was about 18 months old. I ran the Run Like Hell Half Marathon and he and the Peanut did the 5k race in the jogger.
2015 it was decided that we needed a return trip to Oregon. It had been too long.
Car packed and ready to go!
We left on a Thursday afternoon with the intentions of driving straight to Ashland. I have wanted to stop in Ashland on our way but we never managed to make it work, this year we did and both Vans and I are glad that we stopped.
I hate stopping at rest-stops as they have crazy pigeons and seagulls that attack you
Ashland reminded me very much like downtown Berkley in California but with a more mountain-ish look and feel.
Window shopping in Ashland
Our first item of business was to stop at the Rogue Valley Runner’s store which is owned and operated by Hal Koerner. I’ve been a “fan” of Hal’s for a long time and was super excited to see his store. I knew he wouldn’t be there as Western States was happening this same weekend and I knew he would be down helping with that race.
Me geeking out in front of the store
Thanks to social media, Hal recommended that when we come to Ashland, that we check out Standing Stone Brewing Company. Vans is always down with checking out a brewery so we headed there for dinner.
Taste Testing
The girls loved it because Standing Stone provided cool little chalk boards with colored chalk for them play with at the table.
I had a blackberry cider which was really good and an amazing gluten free vegan tempeh skewer dinner. Another highlight was that I spotted Jenn Shelton having a beer at the bar. That was pretty cool. I can’t recognize celebrities to save my life, but ultra runners? Sure can!
After Ashland, we drove to Medford where our hotel was located. Medford was interesting. We would have preferred to have stayed in Ashland and explored more but unfortunately there was a softball camp and a Shakespeare Festival happening all at the same time and so there were no hotels available.
Friday morning we woke up and drove the remaining 3.5 hours to Sunriver. We decided to pass Sunriver and head to Bend to stop at Trader Joes and grab the food we’d need for the next few days. Be-Well-Run and her family were not expected to arrive until later in the day.
When everyone had arrive and unpacked we hit the race expo to pick up packets. Be-Well-Run signed herself up for the 10k and her kids for the kids fun run. Their races would be on Sunday morning. Pac Crest does a great job spreading out all the events so that almost everyone in the family can do something while being available to watch other family members race as well.
When the marathon was over, we had lunch and then went for a bike ride all around Sunriver in search of a pool to swim in. Yes. I ran a marathon and then went biking. I figured it would help the legs (ha ha).
Squeaker had a cool ride
We couldn’t find a pool and instead found a spot where the kids could dunk their feet and jump into the Deschutes River. It was cold.
During our trip, we also took some time to visit Bend a few times which is absolutely gorgeous.
What we call the Rainbow Bridge …Watching paddle boards and tubing
While in Bend, Squeaker had her first ever “real” ice cream cone. The kind where you have to lick and turn, lick and turn to ensure you don’t have a huge mess. She did great but man was she in heaven with that cone! Her facial expressions had us laughing so hard.
Yum Ice Cream!
We also went to downtown Bend and wandered around a bit … stopping at a few breweries of course.
Bend Brewing Company
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We also had a lot of fun just hanging out at the house too in the evenings. The dads went on a night mountain biking ride one night to check out the trail situation.
Night Riders!
The house was equipped with a bunch of board games so the kids loved playing those.
Twister anyone?
The adults found other games to entertain ourselves with …
Ping!Pong!
Be-Well-Run and family brought their slack line which was a lot of fun but also caused a few tears.
Slack LiningBroom Sticks to help balance
I cooked up a storm as I brought my instant pot so I was content in the kitchen all weekend making everyone try my random dishes.
Sunday was a big day as Vans and Be-Well-Run had their 10k race. So we all loaded into one car (four adults four kids) and drove to the start of the race. JD and I would be in charge of the kids while the other two raced.
Racers are Ready!
It was another incredibly hot day. Muggy and hot actually. Vans hasn’t been running much and Be-Well-Run said she hasn’t really either. Both were just going out there to have some fun and give it a shot.
While they were off running, JD and I tried to entertain the kids with bounce houses and rock climbing.
Peanut loved itMonkey did too
But the excitement of waiting for them was slowly starting to wear off …
Are they here yet?
Finally Vans came running into the finish line area, about the time I suspected he would (49-50 minutes). The first words out of his mouth where, “You are freaking crazy! That was SO hard. You are crazy. How did you run 26 miles?!”
He was happy to be done
Be-Well-Run came in shortly after that and was joined by her two girls as they crossed the finish line.
Finish!
Immediately upon finishing, everyone headed over to the recovery tent and experimented with the compression boots!
Be-Well-Run was a fanVans was a little unsureEven I gave it a shot the day after my race
Of course post recovery, everyone had to enjoy their free Deschutes beer in the Bier Garten.
Free!Woo Hoo!Thank you Deschutes!
So Saturday and Sunday of our trip was clearly jam packed with all things active and fun. I am going to cut this post off now and leave you in suspense for just one more that will be filled with amazing photos, a cool surprise and the conclusion of our vacation.
Too much. I hear those words often and I am probably not alone.
“Don’t eat too much!”
“Don’t do too much!”
“Don’t drink too much…”
Errrr, am I the only one who has heard that last one? (kidding!) Â Generally I hear, “Don’t WORK too much!” That’s a common one that I am sure a lot of people hear but in my case it is generally directed at the fact that I have three jobs, run ultras and do a bunch of random things on the side.
This week I was tired. No doubt a result of last weekend’s run (you can read about that by clicking here) or perhaps the fact that Squeaker is sick this week and up a lot throughout the night … or maybe the fact that work has been extra frustrating and stressful lately. Most likely, a combination of all of that I am sure.
Still, I posted something on Facebook and a lot of comments came back saying things like: “burning the candle at both ends” or “too much on your plate girl!” While I don’t disagree that is true, I do feel that I am handling ‘my plate’ fairly well albeit not the way in which I would handle it if I only had ONE plate. But who has one plate in life? A mom certainly never has one plate. We juggle so much that it makes clowns look like amateurs.
Moms are typically able to juggle kids, work, personal lives and everything else that is thrown our way pretty easily. Sometimes however, the body says otherwise. As much as our minds want to go, go go all the time, our body needs to be honored.
This week, instead of working out at Breakout Fitness on Monday morning at 5 am, I opted for sleep because Squeaker woke up. Tuesday morning I made it, but didn’t really “feel” like I was working out vs just going through the motions. No one wakes up at 4:30 am just to go through the motions.
When Wednesday rolled around and the Squeaker came in like a burning ball of fire and curled up next to me scalding my pjs, I decided not to workout once again. Squeaker is not alone in feeling “off” this week. To be honest, I haven’t felt quite right for weeks. Something is off in my digestive track and I just keep feeding the problem (no pun intended) instead of figuring out what is causing my discomfort.
I’ve resorted to eating pretty bland with no relief or results. Sadly, I am one of those people who holds their stress in their belly. I may look fine on the outside but my belly is in knots. Work has definitely been less than happy lately, my other jobs are fine although they take me away from my family time and that stresses me out too as the girls are at the age where they WANT to be with me. The Peanut is going through some emotional things right now that have me a little bit worried. I am thinking constantly about the fact that I have to run a 50K in 3 weeks and a 50 miler in about 4 or 5 both of which I don’t feel I have put in enough miles towards and if I have put in the miles, why am I not recovering as quickly as I used to? Stress. It all comes down to stress, poor sleep and diet.
I eat well. There is no denying that I eat probably far healthier than most (I could probably cut back on the wine but it is good for the heart right?). I lack sleep. QUALITY sleep. But I am a mom. I have a two year old that is having nightmares and/or is fighting a cold so she is up and only wanting the comfort of her mother. Unfortunately, that comfort comes in the form of taking her back to her room and sleeping on her hard cold floor which really doesn’t treat my aching tired muscles very well.
In an effort to combat that situation, I miss out on morning workouts which will result in guilt and more stress about lack of training. A vicious circle that goes round and round sometimes.
Of course there is the logical side of me that says, “Snap out of it Trailmomma! There are people with far greater worries in life than what you are faced with! You have a healthy happy family!” I need to just chill out. I do. I admit it. I also need to create another day in the week or learn to say ‘no’ to some things in life.
But I enjoy the things I take on. I wouldn’t take them on if I didn’t enjoy them! I enjoy working for the Kings on occasion (namely weekends), I enjoy working for Gold Country Run and Sport on Sundays, I enjoy my FT job (okay, that’s not entirely true but I like my manager and we do have a mortgage), I enjoy long runs with Pigeon and friends, I enjoy blogging here and I enjoy taking a class. Wait. Did I fail to mention that I am getting a certification from Cornell online so that I can have a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition? Um, yea, I am doing that too. There are many other reasons cialis prices Recommended site because of which men are facing today. Alcohol, high fat-content meal and energy drinks are not allowed to express viagra tablets 100mg their emotions or weakness in any form. The study shows that although viagra prescription http://raindogscine.com/anina-en-san-pablo-nueva-york-y-buenos-aires/ ED is not life threating, it can be extremely embarrassing,so it’s not surprising that men that have trouble getting or maintaining an erection are the many side effects caused by this. The medicine works to stop the obstructing free viagra sample action of the enzyme and promoting strong and hard erection.
I’ll probably write more on the certification when I finish the course. It is only 6 weeks and while not entirely at your own pace (you do have to follow a curriculum) it isn’t as high pressure as I thought but I do wish I could devote more time to study and learn. It is fascinating information and has really changed a lot about how I look at food and food intake in the face of major diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
It has also changed my thoughts on taking additional courses while doing what I am doing. This course has some flexibility, some of the other courses I want to take, do not and I would undoubtedly need to create more time in my day to take on something a little more intense. Just more food for thought (there I go again).
So really, there is no point to this post. I am just sort of randomly writing about what I am facing right now. Perhaps blogging is my therapy? My way of alleviating stress in my life? I certainly don’t stress about what to write here because honestly, I don’t have that large of a following and while this blog gives me great pleasure, I do hope to grow its readership some day but in order to do that, I guess I should have a common goal or purpose. However, for the time being, I love posting about my training runs. Whether they are interesting to anyone else, it doesn’t really matter. They serve as a way for me to look back in time and see what I have accomplished. A way for my girls to hopefully look back and see why their mom was nicknamed Trailmomma.
My plate may be really really full right now … but my heart and brain are as well. Things happen for a reason in life. Doors open and door shut and who knows where my life may take me this year. I guess I just have to wait and see what my plate is served with next.
I’ve been thinking a lot about 2014. Generally I like to think I am a “live in the now” kind of person. However, by nature I plan. I make lists for myself and the kids whenever we travel (for Van’s it is kind of hopeless), I write out grocery lists and meal plans for the week but for the most part, I would like to live a life of spontaneity and with no regrets. Of course having two kids under the age of 5 inherently makes that very difficult (um, nap time).
However, when it comes to running and training, I have generally never jumped into a race “just because” or signed up for something last-minute. I always get the “early bird” sign up and never the “day of” registration. That is just the way I have been programmed. I have learned my lesson a few times by signing up for races and then having ankle surgery.
But I have been putting a lot of thought into my 2014 racing/running plans. Way back before my surgery I even made (yet another) list of the races that I wanted to do. I tried to ease myself back into things with Resolution Run in January in Auburn followed by that little old thing called the Western States Training Run in February and well, that itty bitty race called Way Too Cool 50K in March. However, WTC is a lottery and what if I didn’t get into the lottery next year? Of course I’d have to sign up for the Tahoe Rim Trail 50K too (which is also a lottery for 2014). Both Way Too Cool and Tahoe Rim sign ups are in December so essentially, I have to sign up for BOTH at the same time and run the risk of being picked for BOTH races. I am not, by nature, a lucky person. Lucky things do not happen to me generally but I think in this case, I WILL get picked for both races because well, that would be Vans’s bad luck (and my good fortune) butting heads.
I also just discovered that the American River 50 Mile race, which I had no intentions of doing again, at least not this year, had a course change. The start is about a mile from my house (again)! Now if that is not fate knocking on my door I don’t know what is. Right? (Van’s don’t answer that).
My other main focus in 2014 is pacing. Pigeon is throwing her name into the Western State 100 Mile race again and I am finally healthy should she choose me to be her pacer. My love of all things Western States stems back to my first few months in California (1999) when my local PBS station (and past employer) did a documentary on the race (Race for the Soul). I fell in love then and the love still stands. I was fortunate enough in 2010 to do a few of the WS training runs as part of my training for AR50 and then for fun after AR was done. That is my goal this year. I want to be out there on Memorial Day weekend running those beautiful trails again getting muddy, wet and dirty but having the time of my life! I love it. I have goosebumps just typing about it.
I have too much to think about and all of it wonderful. I truly am lucky in that my surgery was done well and I am back running and feeling so great. My only hurdle these days is time but I am managing. I have a lot of support in Vans, my girls, my running and non-running friends as well a few new friends that I have met along the way.
I am healthy, my family is healthy and we have so much to be thankful for these days. This solo parenting week has really opened my eyes to how lucky I am. Spending quality time with my girls has really been wonderful. They make me laugh daily and I love to make them laugh. I love seeing bits and pieces of Vans and myself in them and I only hope that we can pass on our love of the outdoors, sweat, fitness and being active to each of them. What they decide to do with that is their choice. We don’t demand that they are competitive but as long as they can realize and understand how movement can improve how they feel and how they think. We are blessed with healthy bodies and our job is to keep them healthy. He does not find happiness anywhere and thinks of himself and the world around him. generic discount levitra The acai berry is exceedingly nutritious and it can be an academic exercise in usa viagra no prescription itself. Practice yoga: And when it comes to yoga, do a more intense stretch or relaxation-oriented class twice a month at least to give your muscles a break cialis tadalafil canada and sit if you have been standing. You need to avoid these suppliers completely to ensure you are getting your medication from the most trusted doctors in Delhi is Dr. thought about that pfizer viagra samples
First let me say thank you to all of you that read my last post. I appreciate those that commented, shared it on Facebook or even emailed me directly in support. I also thank those that didn’t necessarily agree with my post and told me as such. As a reminder, that post was the letter that I WISH I could have sent to the PTA President and was not the actual letter I emailed (which was much nicer, sort of). My biggest issue with her initial response was how dismissive and rude she was to me and my concerns. She clearly could have just said something along the lines of “thank you for your email. I understand your concern and will take that into advisement next year when planning.†But she didn’t do that. Instead she tried to draw me into championing a new game to rival the ring toss and was downright rude about it. I am not going to beat a dead horse about this. I sent my letter last week in response and I cc’d the school principal so she was made aware of what her PTA president was doing and how she handled parent’s concerns. I have not heard anything from either one of them. I will be more on top of things next year when our Harvest Festival planning is in the works.
This past weekend marked a small running milestone for me. On Friday I was able to run the Ridge Loop of Death (7 miles) for the first time and boy was it disastrous. Not only was it sweltering (what the heck, it IS October right?) but I had forgotten that I had gone to Breakout Fitness that morning and had done a series of leg drills (squats, burpees, lunges). Not the wisest decision on my part however, I was thrilled to be getting an extra day out running in the first place since I don’t often get extra days to run. This also was the first time since surgery that I did the Ridge Loop of Death!
On Sunday, Pigeon and I had agreed to run when she got off from work which would be late afternoon. In a way, I enjoyed this late start because I was able to enjoy a nice leisurely morning with my family but it was also harder to motivate and figure out the meal situation. However, I could not complain because Pigeon had been on her feet working a 9 hour day prior to meeting me so really, hush up Trailmomma right?
I decided that I wanted to test out my new socks. I recently purchased the Injinji lightweight no-show socks (from Amazon).
I don’t typically (knock on wood) have blister issues when running but I have noticed that my running form has suffered post-surgery because I have been running as if my ankle is GOING to hurt and therefore have been running on the outside of my foot. The Injinji socks really let you focus on putting more weight evenly on the front/ball of the foot including the big toe. The sock is really light weight, almost nonexistent compared to my Drymax socks that I usually wear when running trails. I am not entirely sure how these socks will hold up when running through streams and river crossings but overall on a dry hot day, they were great. I really liked how they felt and I didn’t have any issues when running. I purchased two pairs and will continue to wear them running to see how their fare through some winter running. Maybe I’ll do a search and see if they have a trail version that is perhaps a bit thicker. I have an old pair that I won years ago when they first came onto the market but I prefer the no-show look and the older pair was more of a crew sock. Okay enough about socks.
Pigeon showed up and instead of taking her on the Ridge Loop of Death we decided to try a new loop that Vans suggested that takes us on a bit of road and trails but ultimately dumps us into Browns Ravine and we found ourselves running right by a very dried up Folsom Lake.
Brown’s Ravine
Folsom Lake
It was a fun run and I brought my phone because well, running with Pigeon always involves the historical pretend we’re in a JCPenny Catalog Photo Shoot (probably just an excuse to stop running periodically).
JCP Photo: Voila, the Trail!
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JCP Photo: Oh dear, what’s my time?
JCP Photo: Focusing on the sun.
JCP Photo: Mighty Thirsty
The weather was pretty warm and sunny with little shade cover on most of the trail. I was having a blast. Running with Pigeon is fun regardless but just being back out there running up the hills (or power walking) and getting a little dusty felt awesome. Once we found ourselves on the levee by the lake we took the pavement back to my house by cutting through a fairly festive neighborhood.
Scary spider!
In total, we did about 7.25 miles which is roughly what the Ridge Loop of Death is distance wise. No matter what you are running some massive hills on either route but I would say the hills on the Browns Loop were a bit worse and/or steeper. There seemed to be more of them and maybe that is just my recollection because I was dying from the heat and from being out of shape. Baby steps. Our fitness is coming.
Gear: For this run, besides my new Injinji socks, I also sported Athleta’s Stability Shorts  in black and their Printed Tinker Tank both of which are on sale (hint hint). The shorts I love and wear often (I have 3 different colors) and the tank, which I usually reserve for Breakout Fitness type workouts did well for me on the run although I had to pair it with a sports bra for added support. When I can, I will try and do gear updates like this as often as I can so that perhaps someday Athleta will give me a shout out and welcome me into their wonderful world as a Featured Athlete. (hint hint). For hydration I brought my Camelback insulated handheld. I love this water bottle. I never leaks, holds enough cold water for distances up to 10 miles or so and has a handy little pocket that fits gels or in my case, dates in it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about 2014 and what runs I’ll be doing next year. Perhaps I’ll do a post on what my plans are and what I’d like to accomplish next year. Right now, I have no real races scheduled that I plan to race. I do have an entry into the California International Marathon that I am toying with right now.
In other news, sadly Van’s is on a business trip this week so there will be no Breakout Fitness classes this week or trails runs until Saturday. I am okay with that. I look forward to spending time with these two little monkeys.
