Mountain Mother Runner

Do you ever notice yourself thinking about things at potentially not good times? Saturday granted me a surprise run alone since our little one went to bed early. My training plan had as easy 4 miles for that day, but it also happened to be Eisley’s 3 rd birthday, so I originally thought I’d have an extra rest day. As I headed out for the run, my mind was filled with happiness from our daughter’s birthday and remembering her birth. So much has changed for our family in those short three years. After a few minutes of reflecting, I simply admired the Pacific Northwest nature around me. All of these sweet thoughts, followed by (my typical random running thoughts) curiously wondering what types of situations would cause people to run really fast? A few ideas came to mind: 1. The sun is almost setting and it will be dark. 2. You are in an unfamiliar part of town (or visiting a town for the first time). 3. You hear a possibly large, dangerous wild animal moving in the swor...

A few months ago, I planned out my tentative race schedule for the year. One race per month seemed fairly realistic between my husband’s schedule and me relying on him to watch Eisley while I race. That being said, sometimes life throws you a curve-ball and you have to improvise. Adapt and overcome, right? Well, my husband booked a mini trip to celebrate his birthday the same weekend as Race Beneath the Sun . Photo by Scott Allen Instead of canceling the event, I contacted the Race Director out of curiosity to ask if jogging strollers were allowed. She replied that someone did it with a stroller the previous year, but the C. Moore loop would be pretty difficult! I view ‘difficult’ as being a challenge, and I sure do love a good challenge. The race is hosted by Greater Bellingham Running Club and the course is 5 miles that are mainly trail, including some hills and a challenging climb up C. Moore loop trail, which is luckily only ¼ mile. Morning of the race, I ate some oatmeal a...

Runnin’ O the Green: Saturday, March 14, 2015 Last year I was six months postpartum and signed up for my first race, Runnin' O the Green 5k, which I would be running at eight months postpartum. My goal was to run the entire time and finish under 30 min. This ignited my passion for running. Over the past year I've continued to push myself, completed seven races, discovered trail running, got in the best shape of my life (even pre-pregnancy!), and completed my first half marathon in 1:44!  After I began running six months postpartum, in January 2015, the first race I signed up for was the Runnin’ O the Green in downtown Bellingham, Washington. I only had a grand total of two months of running before this race, and I think the furthest distance I had ran was MAYBE a total of 2.5 miles. Either way, signing up for this race was the motivation I needed to continue running, pushing myself both physically and mentally, and a chance to see how fast I could actually run! Runnin...