You may be just as confused as me when you read “ultra (?) training”. What is up with the question mark? Well, that has been on my mind for the last week. Initially, I was excited simply to decide to run a six hour endurance race . Stepping out of my comfort zone and pushing the unknown limits of my body/mind is mysterious, desirable, and exciting. Nothing is more satisfying than reaching a point that you’ve never achieved before. I’ve always been a competitive person, and something I enjoy about running is that it’s more of a competition between me, myself, and I. Don’t get me wrong, I sure love pushing and trying to snag a place in my age group, but I’d rather beat my previous goal than focus on beating someone else. With that in mind, I have been reading and watching videos on ultra running. Technically, anything further than a marathon (26.2 miles) can be considered an ultra. After looking at some standard ultra race distances, I came across the 50k (31ish miles). Originally,...
Dear Soon-to-Be New Mom, How are you feeling? That sweet baby of yours should be entering the world sometime between now and the next two weeks. I hope this last stretch of pregnancy has been going well for you. That was the only time I had days of “feeling so pregnant” and my body was tired . I knew those last few weeks were prime time to sleep in, take naps, and rest up , but I was too uncomfortable. Know that even if you’ve been worried about getting your house set up or thinking about things that you need to buy, it really isn’t a big deal. Most of those things can wait, for a long time. Your baby will have a simple life for the first few months with only basic needs. There might be times where you’re awake every hour of the night to nurse or bottle feed and feel completely drained. You more than likely will cry over little things for a while, but that’s alright . Between the hormon...
This past week was full of smoke, and thankfully this week is starting to clear up (a little bit). Between the numerous wildfires north of us in Canada, to the two wildfires south of us, thick smoke has filled the skies. Luckily the ones south of us have been over 50% contained, but there are so many in Canada, I am unsure of their current standings. It is easy to mistake it as Pacific Northwest fog, but don't be fooled. The mountains have been difficult to see and I've heard people down in Seattle have had days where the mountains can't even be seen at all! Our air quality has been rated poor and the weather has given us hot days with no rain in sight. People with heart disease or breathing problems have been advised to stay indoors whenever possible, which left me heading out for a run as a test to see if my lungs would freak out or if it'd be somewhat normal. Thankfully the air hasn't affected or bothered me at all, so I am happy about that! Week 13 ...