Mountain Mother Runner

It has been nearly three months since my last blog post and I'm FINALLY able to write a recap of the BIGGEST race I'd ever trained for! I can't believe that I wrote a weekly wrap (final training recap can be found here ) for an entire 18 weeks (or 654.04 miles) of training and then left you all hanging without knowing the outcome of the race. If you didn't already know the cause of this delay...I replaced my 'title' of stay-at-home-mom with full-time Massage Therapist student. I have had the teeniest, tiniest amount of "free" time during these months and the hierarchy of what to do with this time has been the following: family, sleep, salt baths, running, reading, eating, blogging. Yes, the idea of writing any sort of blog has been on the bottom of my list and luckily I have felt zero guilt about that. I'm coming up on finals week at school which is followed by a THREE WEEK winter break which I plan to fill with running and fun family adventures. ...

The final recap of Ultra (?) Training is here! If you hadn’t read my post last week , the taper time of rest and reduced running was really driving me crazy. I had read other runners’ stories and experiences of dealing with the ‘Taper Blues’ or the ‘Taper Tantrums’, but I hadn’t ever gone through it myself! My last three training runs were shared with Eisley in the stroller. We did 6.34 miles on Monday, 6.10 miles on Tuesday, and a short shakeout run of 3.04 miles on Friday. Not sure about you, but I am a numbers person! I love keeping track of everything so I can look back and compare. After going through each of the 18 weeks of training, I was very surprised at the numbers that added up from my mileage logged... Solo Miles: 446.39 Stroller Miles: 207.65 Total miles: 654.04 Are you kidding me? I can't believe Eisley cruised around for over 200 miles this summer listening to music, eating snacks, taking naps, and telling me to run faster. We've had so much fun to...

Last summer, my husband was out of town (hellooooo Vegas) for his birthday. His trip happened to land on the same weekend as the Greater Bellingham Running Club’s Race Beneath the Sun . Instead of letting the Race Director know that I wouldn’t be able to attend, I asked them if a baby stroller could handle the course. They quickly replied that yes, people had previously raced with off-road/trail strollers, but there was one steep, single track hill that might be difficult. We ended up finishing the 5 mile trail race in 47:45 (9:33 min/mi pace) and I was surprised to place 2 nd Female 19-29. You can read last year’s recap while racing with the stroller, HERE ! Photo by Joy Love Our daughter is much taller and heavier now, so the idea of pushing her up that steep C. Moore Loop already had me exhausted. I opted out of taking the stroller and wanted to try the race out ‘for myself’. I convinced my stepson to run the race with me, knowing that he would totally beat my time witho...

Have you ever created a goal, became organized, and planned out the steps necessary to achieve it? How do you handle road blocks or hiccups that may alter those plans? Well, we can allow it to upset us, or we can adapt and overcome. When I decided to start training for this endurance race, I had to research different training plans to figure out what might work best for me. The “Running Your First 50k” plans all recommended that you have a few marathons under your belt. The “Intermediate Marathon” plan seemed to have a nice layout that could be tweaked for further distances. I figured, “Hey! These are both great and can be combined for the ultimate plan!” With the Race Beneath the Sun on Saturday, I had to rearrange my runs for the week. I hadn’t been training for this race specifically, but I also didn’t want it to suck because of a super long run a day or two beforehand. Wednesday seemed to be the best option for my long run since it gave me enough time to recover from the 14 mi...

This was my second year running GBRC’s annual Honeywagon Runs in Everson, WA. The course is fairly flat which makes it a great first half marathon to try out, and later gives people the opportunity to catch a PR (previous year's race recap can be found here )! This year, the runs were forced to find a new starting/finish area and route because the Nooksack Valley Middle School is under construction. Originally I was looking forward to being familiar with the course, but I didn’t realize the route changed until the week of the race…oops! Distance options are 4 mile or half marathon, allowing walkers to start at 8:00am and runners at 9:00am. Something new and fun this year was a free half mile run for the kiddos! The race is free for GBRC members, $25 early registration for nonmembers, and $30 day of race registration for nonmembers. Not a bad deal at all! They also offered a unisex t-shirt and finisher’s medal for additional purchase with registration. Photo by Matt Frymire ...

In 2015, Runnin’ O the Green was the first race I had ever done! Put on by the City of Bellingham Parks and Recreation, this event brings in quite a bunch of both runners and walkers alike. Distances of 5k or 8k are offered, with the cost of registration remaining the same for either distance. It pays off to register early online because it starts at $15, goes up to $25, then $30, and tops at $35 for day of race registration.   Costs include chip timing and a cool shirt, plus tons of St. Patrick’s Day themed fun! This year, we also got a green cowbell with the race logo on it. Race start photo by Jon Brunk at https://brunkphoto.photoreflect.com/ In 2015, I ran the 5k with a time of 28:57 (9:19min/mi pace) . In 2016, I ran the 8k distance, finishing in 37:03 (7:27min/mi pace) . This year, I wanted to switch up the experience yet again by doing the 5k while pushing Eisley in the stroller! Her first adventure racing in the stroller was last June at the Race Beneath the Sun 5 mi...

In 2016, the Fragrance Lake Half Marathon/10k was my first race of the year AND my very first trail race! I chose it with six weeks to train, with majority of my runs having to be on a treadmill due to the magic of drop-in childcare. I ended doing much better than I had expected, in fact, I finished in 1:13:17 as the second place overall female! Even though I REALLY wanted to try the half marathon distance this year, it would’ve been silly to even attempt that challenge at my current fitness level. Standing with the First and Second overall Females! Girl power! A major difference this year was the ability to go run out on the trails, in addition to the gym, during my “extremely casual” training plan. We also had a family member spending time with us, so they could stay with Eisley during naptime while I could go running. I am very thankful! Another big difference was the weather this winter. We had icy conditions, below freezing temperatures, and tons of snow that seemed like it...

What better way to kick off the New Year than by running a local race?! The cold, wet winter can send runners to the warm gym, or even cause them lay low in their homes until springtime appears. Cross training is very popular during the off season, but for some, there is no such thing as an ‘off season’. This is the first year I started running in the ice and snow while wearing cleats on my shoes and it was one of the most liberating experiences. I grew up in Colorado thinking that snow was only meant for skiing, snowboarding, sledding, or days off school…never once did I think anyone would choose to go run in it! Scenic Lake Samish By running in weather far below freezing or pouring rain with wind, showing up to race day with clouds and temps in the high 30’s sounded ideal! Earlier this month was the 41st Annual Lake Samish Runs , offering 6.5 or 13.1 mile options. I hadn’t run more than 8 miles since September, so going for the half marathon didn’t seem like a smart idea. We ha...

The Fairhaven Frosty 5k /10k was the final race of the year hosted by the Greater Bellingham Running Club , which also happened to be my final race of 2016! Can you believe that the year is nearly over?!? Image courtesy of GBRC website The race started and ended in historic Fairhaven Park. Runners headed South on Chuckanut Drive for the first mile, which was a gradual hill climb followed by a nice little downhill. Volunteer flaggers directed us North onto the Interurban Trail. We ran up through a few curves, and then it was a straight shot. At mile 2 we got off the trail and back onto the road, heading West on Old Fairhaven Parkway. The race course was open, so we had to pay attention to the vehicle traffic and try not to get ran over! At mile 3 everyone was kicking it up a notch and we were lucky to be gliding downhill. We returned to the Fairhaven Park entrance and raced down through the finish line! My official time was 24:08 (7:46min/mi pace) which is a 5k PR for me (2...

Sunday was the 10 th annual Bellingham Bay Marathon , which included full, half, 10k, and 5k distance options. Not only is it a popular and beautiful race, but it is also a Boston qualifier marathon which brings people from many different states. The race starts and ends at the same point downtown, followed by live music, an awards ceremony, and a Boundary Bay beer garden. I started following a training plan 8 weeks before this race. (I use the term “following” very loosely: I’m a stay at home mom, toddlers get sick, wake up all night with mental leaps, we cosleep on her floor bed, I’m exhausted, etc.) Moments before the race started! Mile 1: 8:12 Mile 2: 7:54 Miles 1 and 2 were relatively flat, heading through downtown from Railroad Ave in front of Depot Square. Besides walking the ½ mile trek with a friend from my house to the race, we didn’t do any warming up. I started slower, letting the first mile be my warmup and allowing me to find my groove. This was the bigg...