November 2019

Nov 5, 2019:

Got a little derailed by a stomach bug at the end of last week and it’s making me feel like I need to double all my runs this week to make up for it...trying toremember tapering is part of training, and I need to trust the process and all the runs I’ve done to this point. 

Also wondering if I should have done more leg days than arm days?? What do you guys think?

It’s the final countdown!!

Nov 6, 2019:

I snuck some photos of Pace doing his thing when I picked him up from dance.

Nov 7, 2019:

I’d intended to only do road runs this week, hoping that by staying on flat, paved ground, I’d help out my stubborn IT band...but I couldn’t resist the trails and today hit up my fav hot pots. Felt great, just tugs here and there on the way back down. 

Nov 8, 2019:

"Hey mom, why do people make dangerous things?  Like glider suits?"

Nov 9, 2019:

I made a poor choice in trails today. I needed runnable distance and ended up with a very short hike that took an embarrassingly long time on a snow covered and squelchy muddy trail. At least the sun was shining, the forest was fragrant, and my camera timer caught some of my Beefcake Amazon womanness.

Nov 11, 2019:

We went to a musical and dinner with friends and when we got home we found awesome desert scenes Bishka had made with the boys. I love that Pace’s has a little snake all curled up, and Max’s has a sunset.

Nov 11, 2019:

My legs were itching to get out on my last couple of runs this week, so I went out after work and got to watch the sun set and the moon rise at Johnson’s Bowl. It got cold and dark, fast—But wow, what a full moon!

Nov 13, 2019:

Keeping things loose...only this run made my plantar fasciitis (which had been manageable pain) flare up into hobbling pain once again--and only two days before Dead Horse!  Dang.  My plan at this point was to just stretch as much as I could, roll, and pop the anti-inflammatories like candy...

Nov 15, 2019:

Heading down to Moab for Dead Horse!  The boys and I drove down with Lindsey and her kids, and David and Brandt drove down together after they both got home from work.  We stopped a few times to stretch our legs and get some snacks.  The kids even got to play laser tag in the car!

Packet pick up!  Whenever I do an event, my mom incredulously says, "You could NEVER be bribed for ANYthing when you were little.  Now look at you, PAYing money to run for a T-shirt and medal!"  Here I am, thinking how lucky I am to get a hat out of the deal, too!  Haha, silly runners.

Nov 16, 2019:

Dead Horse 50k was my very first ultra event, and I had a very lofty goal going into it. I wanted to finish sub-7 hours...Just for perspective: I finished Moab Trail Marathon in 6:50, and Timp Trails Marathon in 7:20. So. David made me a course map that had a list of each aid station, and what time of day I needed to be at that station for my A goal time (beat Moab 6:50), my B goal time (beat Timp Trails 7:20), and C goal time (finish alive and happy). I didn’t want to get into my head about pace time, so I only looked at my watch when I stopped at each station, and only looked at the time of day on my watch. At aid station 1 I was 10 minutes ahead of schedule for my A goal time...station 2 I came in 40 minutes ahead of schedule...station 3 (halfway) I was 45 minutes ahead of schedule...station 4 an hour ahead...”Huh...” I thought. 

I crossed the finish line in 6:23. So not only did I hit my A goal, I ate it for breakfast, hitting it by 37 minutes. So. Many. Emotions. 🙌🏻😮🤪😭

This tells me two things: Each trail is different and this course, although more mileage, was easier than both those marathons in terms of technicality and elevation. But. I have been on a lot of trails this year, and I know I’m a consistent trainer. Can we please also say I’m a much stronger runner than a year ago?! That would make me feel really, really good 😉

Zero IT band issues. My heel hurt like the dickens literally every step, but mentally I had to just shelve it as background noise. It eventually calmed down around mile 25ish...either that or the quadruple dose of anti inflammatories finally kicked in 😂 There was a lot of self talk, I would take inventory every so often and ask myself, “Does anything hurt right now (other than your heel)?” If the answer was no, I would remind myself “You came here to run, not walk, so get moving.” I also ran across a really cool article about women who do endurance sports, The Longer the Race the Stronger We Get. This has become my new mantra and I repeated that to myself no less than 50 times. 

It was emotional seeing David and the boys at the finish line, and the perfect energy boost having such wonderful friends to cheer me across! I had such positive energy going into this event! Thanks to everyone for such encouraging texts and messages—your good vibes carried me through to the end 💛

 

(Thank you to the lady who restarted my timer when I accidentally stepped on the timing mat a good 20 minutes before the start of the race...oops...

I'm somewhere in that starting line of runners.

Somewhere between mile 20-25 with the La Sal mountain range in the background.  Beautiful scenery on this course!

Here's the time card David made for me--this kept me focused and moving between aid stations.

Still feeling strong coming in at the end, having just worked through some pretty big muscle cramps climbing the last hill.   It was awesome seeing David watching for me on the last 100 yards or so!  

Coming around the corner and seeing the whole line up of Esplins and Davis and all the kiddos--I know it's small here, but I am fist-bumping and shouting with glee!

I crossed the finish line almost 40 minutes ahead of my goal time!

While I was running the race, everyone else got to explore Moab and Canyonlands.

And a bit more Moab fun--we all stayed in an Air bob together, and the kids loved being all together. There was the boys room, the girls room, and all the parents had their own room.  We tried to go to church the next day, but discovered it was Stake Conference.  So everyone else hit the road home, and we had our year-round parks pass, so we decided to do some small hikes before heading home.

A couple short hikes in Moab to shake out the legs. Pace was super awesome at spotting landmarks, such as the Balanced Rock and Fiery Furnace area. He saw the sign to a Fiery Furnace saying you needed a hiking permit, so we had a little talk about rugged terrain and making sure you go into any wilderness area prepared with water and supplies. “Yeah, like string,” He said, “because I would tie the string around where I wanted to go and just follow it back out!”

Nov 18, 2019:

Race reward from the best boss, Bartley!  I love my job and love my team, it's a workplace culture that celebrates successes, strengths, and pushes you forward to do your best (with croissant in hand, haha)

Nov 22, 2019:

#tbt to August 2013, when I completed my very first half marathon. You can see it in my face—I am in pain, unsure of myself, pushed to my limit and feeling it. It hurt to walk for two weeks after this event. 

Prior to this, a 3 mile run was what I considered a long run. I will always remember my first five mile run, my first seven mile run—and how hard they were. I will always remember the run where it changed from checking off a run on the training schedule into something I needed for me and something inside of me. 

I transitioned to trail running I think about three or four years ago. I can trace back my journey of strength, acceptance, and growth to when I started trail running. Trails change your mental landscape. When you constantly feel your limit, and push it, then redefine it, that feeling of strength and empowerment can’t help but translate to other areas of your life. 

My most valued compliment from David was after I’d been trail running for a couple years, he told me he could see that I was more accepting of myself. It made me feel like I’d figured out the secret to life. I wasted so much time feeling broken, comparing myself or wishing I was someone else or something else. For the first time I wasn’t critical or judgmental of myself, I enjoyed breathing in my own skin; I had accepted where I was and who I was. I no longer felt the need to manically jump from thing to thing, trying to find or define myself. I knew who I was, and I could take my own sure, steady steps, at the pace I knew I needed. 

Trails have taught me how to tune out all the noise and run my own race. How to find stability, breathing in the mountains. How to focus one foot in front of the other. How to feel strong in the moment and beyond that moment. How to cross a 50k finish line 37 minutes ahead of my A goal time, mentally shelving pain as background noise, still feeling strong and sure of myself, grinning from ear to ear.

Nov 23, 2019:

Post-50k: I was hungry every two hours for two days straight, I got a headache and started seeing double around 5 and had to go to bed by 7:30 at the latest forfour days straight, after taking a full 3 days of rest with just rolling out, I did yoga and kickboxing to get back in the swing of things, and today did my first run. My feet and ankles hurt more now after 7 miles than after the race, but it was a super fun loop catching up with great friends.

Nov 23, 2019:

10 year challenge...

2009: no kids, 1 degree, 2 jobs, 2 parrots 🦜🦜

2019: 2 kids, 2 degrees, 2 jobs, 3 cats, a little less hair, a little more beard, and a whole lotta LEGOS

Nov 23, 2019:

We've been bunny sitting our friend's bunny while they're out of town.  David is smitten, which is funny to see since he's pretty much the hulk these days...

Nov 30, 2019:

Thanksgiving is about pies!!

Nov 30, 2019:

We were the first ones up the Grotto Trail after the snow.  It was so pretty!