Mountain Mother Runner

Summer’s end is slowly approaching as we will soon be welcoming fall. Lately, during my runs, I’ve noticed the leaves already changing from greens to yellows and oranges, sometimes falling from a strong breeze. The seasons beginning to change has me reflecting on the fact that this cycle of race training is nearing the end as well…which means the big race is soon! When I made the decision to take on the Hamster Endurance Runs as my first ultra, I started a blend of two 16 week training plans. About halfway through I realized that the race was actually 17 weeks from when I began, but that gave me a little wiggle room for possible toddler sickness, injury, and traveling. Speaking of…we just returned from a nine day trip to Oklahoma, where I lived during my college (plus a little longer) years. Week 14 SUNDAY: RAN 5.09 miles @9:00 pace w/ stroller MONDAY: Rest TUESDAY: RAN 24.02 miles @10:07 pace WEDNESDAY: RAN 5.08 miles @9:47 pace w/ stroller THURSDAY: Travel day t...

As a mom, you want to visit your family to make special memories with your sweet child, right? How do you plan on getting there, a magic carpet ride? We recently went on an eight day trip. Each of our travel days included 2.5 hrs driving, 2 flights, a 2 hr layover, and crossing over 2 time zones, totaling 13ish hours of traveling. Did I mention that “we” meant me and our 2 year old? My biggest dilemma of traveling (to visit family, go on vacation, anything more than an hour away) was the anxiety of traveling with a baby/now toddler. Until we quit nursing at 23 months, our daughter never slept ANYWHERE except her bed (not in the car, stroller, our bed, etc) which made me not want to travel. She hated being in the car and would literally cry for hours without ever taking a nap. Luckily, turning 2 seemed to put those woes behind us and opened up a new world of travel opportunities! If you’re crazy enough to travel alone with a toddler, here are 6 tips to make your life easier! 1...