Dream Big: Reviving my Marathon Dreams!

I've had a tough training year so far with a nagging IT Band issue and continued pain along the sciatic nerve.  So, I hadn't trained as well as I wanted for the Grand Teton Half, Yellowstone 5K, and Yellowstone Half Marathon.  They were back to back events, so no time for much rest in between. Grand Teton Half Marathon Before the half marathon, we spent a day exploring Grand Teton National Park.  It was so beautiful and we hiked around a little lake.  I was really happy to see snow still on the peaks and in the parking lots in places too!  I could tell the elevation was getting tougher on my lungs as we did some light hiking.  It made me a little nervous for race day.  We hung out in Jackson Hole downtown area where we had some really awesome food!  We even found an awesome dessert spot with very fancy looking chocolates.  Jackson Hole is an interesting town, definitely sprinkled with that old west feel.  Th...

I have heard about the Mud & Chocolate Trail Runs and really wanted to run one this year.  I decided to just do it instead of thinking about it for another year.  So, despite the fact I didn't train on trails, big mistake by the way, I learned a lot about myself during this run and so proud that I finished this race!  This was a challenge and it has been a while since I've been this proud of myself post race.   The morning of the run, it was dry, sunny and beautiful in the South Sound where I live, but once we were within 5 minutes of the race location at the Redmond Watershed it started raining and was a soggy mess!  Guess that means there will be plenty of mud!  I checked in, got my number and shirt and then gathered my fuel belt while waiting for the race to start.  This was my first trail run and it was a half marathon distance.  I was crazy nervous but excited to try something new.  For a veteran road runner, I knew it wo...

As we celebrate Stress Less Week starting April 17th, I thought I would take a moment to share one of the ways I take care of me in the midst of deadlines, mommy stress, busy schedules and stressful workdays. My favorite way to relieve all the stress is running. I'm not fast. I'm not out to win a race.  My win is getting the chance to clear my mind.  My win is the energy I feel after jump starting my day with a run or pausing in the middle of the day for a jog on the trail or feeling a sense of accomplishment at the end of a runcation (running vacation).  It gives me that moment to center myself, re-energize and also, connect with others I enjoy being around. Why is running my choice for self-care?  Let me count the ways... 1.  Running gives me permission to spend 30 minutes to an hour alone and free from mom duty, housework and job responsibilities for that moment in time. 2.  Running also gives me a way to connect with my husband and children ...

   The family traveled with me for this race since it was a little further away.  We discovered a gem I didn't know existed: Semiahmoo Resort, pretty much right next to the Canadian border.  It was a beautiful resort and I chilled in my cozy robe the night before the race with our view of the water from our room.  Packet pick-up was also at the resort, so it was very convenient.  I got the best number I've ever had...1234, seriously 1234.  Awesome!  That ended up being my running mantra for this race...1-2-3-4 one more mile, one more mile. You can see Canada and the border from here! Best number ever! So, race day for the Birch Bay 15K was very wet, so I was soaked by the time I finished. Luckily, I had my hover capri from Skirt Sports that is the perfect capri for running in rain.  It doesn't get weighed down and feels like the rain just rolls right off.  It was colder than I expected, so I ended up wearing my toast...

After a very busy work week in DC, I traveled to Little Rock for my home state race!  I haven't lived in Arkansas since I was 8 years old but my family still lives there and this girl will always and forever be a Razorback fan! My skirt sister, Mary Sutter, joined me for this fun weekend and although we originally prepared for the full marathon, we both had some unexpected hiccups in our training and ended up moving to the 10K and Half Marathon challenge. Right before arriving, I was hit hard with a very bad allergy attack and sinus congestion.  I was running a slight fever the day before traveling to Little Rock and honestly, felt pretty bad.  I wasn't sure if I would even make it through the weekend but Mary and I had decided to take it easy and not stress our time.  The goal - have fun!  That's it!  And, wow, did we have some fun. On Saturday, we ran the 10K and big shout out to the Holiday Inn at the Airport for offering free shuttle into dow...