Just Plodding Along

For anyone interested Kena completed her 260 mile run across Georgia on Saturday evening. First female and fourth overall. She is freakin amazing! Way to go Kena!!!! This weekend my mom and stepdad came to visit so we explored the area.  A little antiquing in Pine Mountain and a visit to FDR's Little White House in Warm Springs one day.  Infantry museum and a base tour the next. A trip to Andersonville, a confederate military prison, was the perfect way to spend Memorial Day. The cemetery located there is still an operating National Cemetery and there were quite a few people out visiting. It was a good reminder to be thankful for everything that I have and recognize the sacrifice of so many others. With all the excitement of running with Kena and family visiting I managed to get 39 miles of running in last week. 30 of those were with Kena running through the night Wednesday into Thursday. Monday I managed to get 4 miles of hills in and some weigh...

So when your friend (who just happens to be an amazing runner ) asks you to run with them through the night to help them achieve an amazing goal the appropriate response is heck yes!!! And then you slightly panic because you don't know if you can actually run all night and convince your other amazing runner friend Nicole to come too because this ultra running business is kinda crazy and everyone needs back up!  Kena is doing the Run for the Heroes 260 miles solo across Georgia (course goes from Ft. Stewart to downtown Columbus) over three days to raise money for the House of Heroes. If  you are the charitable sort consider making a donation  on Kena's behalf. House of Heroes is a wonderful organization that provides no cost home repairs to military and public safety veterans.  This run is for a good cause and all but I wanted to run with Kena for two reasons. Number 1- I like to run with Kena! Number 2- I am always up for learning about ultras and how ...

Today was my last scheduled day working at Big Dog Running Company. So of course I had to go out with a bang by buying all the things. Mace, anti-chafe wipes and spandex. Keepin it sexy, safe and friction free. I am really gonna miss the discount.....oh and also all the great friends I made. Friends more than discount I swear! The last few runs have seemed kinda tough and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why until my friend was like well you took a few weeks off for tendonitis. Oh right that and then though I have been doing a lot of big running things- relay, ultra attempt- I went a few weeks without actually running all that much. And then it got hot. So now it all kinda makes sense. Long story short I am out of shape and sweaty. But last week I made a push to get back into shape. Monday -   4 miles of hills. Big ass hills just to be clear. Repeatedly. It hurt. And then I lifted weights. Actual weights. I didn't just say I was gonna lift weights and then sit o...

Exciting news! I am working towards getting certified as a personal trainer! I am very excited to start this new adventure. I have been considering what to do job wise since the husband and I are going to be pretty mobile the next few years and I would like something that has flexible hours since D's schedule can be kinda crazy. Plus I love fitness......okay I really love running, but I like other fitness stuff too. The idea of helping people achieve their goals is really exciting!  Other exciting news.....and not so exciting news.... in the next few weeks we will be moving to Texas. A week ago I thought we would be here longer than I originally thought now we are leaving earlier. Such is life in the Army I guess. I am excited for the new adventure. We are moving to the El Paso area so hello excellent Mexican food, mountains and drier air and hopefully more exciting running adventures. But I am also very, very sad to have to say goodbye to such awesome people. ...

On Saturday I woke up all motivated. Ready to tackle a double digit run. I haven't run long in awhile unless it has been at a race and I feel like it is time to jump back on that bandwagon. And then I looked at the weather. 6 a.m. around 70 degrees and super humid. But I decided I should suck it up and accept the fact that this is my life now. Hot and humid is what the South does. And apparently when I was in Colorado hot and humid came to town and are here to stay for awhile. I filled my hydration backpack and my handheld and struck out. Within half a mile I was a sweaty mess. I felt like I was swimming through the air. Every breath was suffocating. It is just so warm and sticky.  Apparently melting into a puddle is now what I will be doing several times a week while I attempt to run. Needless to say I made it to a double digit run though it ended several digits short of what I set out to do. It may take me awhile to adjust. Now I realize about three months ago I ...

Some days are just not your day. And some days you wear newish shoes that cause a giant blister on the bottom of your foot and that blister bursts and has you cryin for your mama at the half way point of the 50K. On those days a 50K becomes a 25K. This past Saturday I was supposed to become an official ultra runner by running around 31 miles at the Greenland 50K but instead I ran almost 16 miles on a very hilly trail and called it a day. It was supposed to go perfectly. It was a great course. I had family there to cheer me on. It was a bit on the warm side but I was going slow as slow could be so I knew that it would be doable. A struggle ya know cause 31 miles is a long ways, but doable. I had my sweet new UV shirt to keep my skin from frying in the mountain air and my sweet new ultra comfy trail shoes.....or so I thought. Those shoes were the end of me and it was my own dumb fault. I ripped a hole in my foot and didn't finish the 50K but I did get this sweet pic! ...

Hello from Colorado! I am here to visit family and tomorrow run the Greenland 50k. Not gonna lie. Little nervous about that distance. I have not really run all that long since the Georgia marathon the end of March except for one long trail run. But I will just take it slow and steady and try not to pass out from the lack of oxygen. Goal A- complete this distance and have fun. Goal B- I would like to finish in six hours but ideally more than a finish time I would like to run smart and feel good throughout the race and finish strong. Happy Friday!