Just Plodding Along

A while ago the nice peeps at Apera Bags  sent me the performance duffel to test out. It has taken me awhile to get around to reviewing it because I wanted to put it through the wringer. Since then I have used it to pack for not only the Rockin Choccolocco 50K but also my little cross country move to El Paso. I am happy to report I am in love with this bag. It has survived being hauled in and out of motel rooms, falling out of the back of my car several times, and the dog sleeping on it as well as held everything I needed to suffer through 31 miles of a trail ultra and still looks brand spankin new. Design: This bag had to be made for a runner by a runner. Now I don't know that for a fact but it has everything you could want. With two compartments for shoes and a million other pockets to separate everything from your phone to your energy bars this bag makes it easy to stay organized. It is also big enough to accommodate everything for race day but also five days worth of travel...

Right after the Choccolocco 50K I was over running. No interest. And that worked out just fine cause we were moving and I need to get checked out a little more before I run. But now it has been awhile and I want to run again. I mean hello I have two big relays coming up in August. But I am still waiting to go to the doc so no running. Getting a bit frustrating. So instead I have had to stay motivated by reading about all the awesome running everyone else is doing and staying strong by doing lots of yoga, Pilates and body weight exercises. And Max has been taking me on walks around the neighborhood. Now that the treadmill is here I can do a bit more walking since it is in air conditioning so that is nice. Instead of working out I have been looking into fun summer recipes. My new favorite drink involves half and half of  low calories lemonade, club soda, and muddled strawberries and mint. So good! Strawberries and grapes are on sale in my area so I have been buying those up and...

D and I have been busy exploring the area while waiting for our stuff to arrive. Two things: 1) We are back in the land of 7 Elevens! 2) So much good Mexican food!!! We went here for brunch on Sunday. Amazing! Now hopefully our stuff will be delivered today (everyone cross your fingers) but sitting around staring at the blank walls got me thinking of what I would have done differently this PCS (Permanent Change of Station for those not fluent in acronym speak. Lets be honest I know like four Army acronyms. PCS just happens to be one). It has been awhile since the Army has moved us so I got a little rusty. Hopefully these tips will help anyone else on the move. 1) Change your Tricare coverage right before you go (if you have a new address before you leave) or right after you arrive when you lock down the new address. Now this normally I guess wouldn't be a big deal but for me has been a huge pain in the butt since I need to get into see a doctor asap. And I was all well...

Yeah we have internet again!!!!! Unfortunately our stuff has not arrived yet so we are living the minimalist life. We couldn't take anymore time in the hotel so even though we are stuff-less we have moved into our house. Air mattresses are so ....comfy.... Let me out of this hotel. I believe I was promised a yard! My three most favorite things about the house we rented:  1- Awesome backyard. Little tropical paradise!  2- Huge walk-in closet!!!!! YES DREAMS COME TRUE!  3-Sweet kitchen with stainless steel, granite, and tile. It is like I picked everything myself! 3 least favorite things: 1- still haven't been able to make a doctor appointment because I didn't exist in the system...blah blah Army blah blah. Hoping tomorrow I exist.  2- I am starting to miss running. I want to explore the area on foot but can't yet. Annoying!  3-I miss my friends in Georgia so much!!!!! Hey y'all come on down to Texas...well maybe wait unti...

So the key to going to the ER is to have chest pressure or pain. There is no waiting. Straight to the back and hooked up to a million machines. Because the nurses and doctors seemed so concern I was getting a bit freaked out. But then they operate with the idea that you are having a heart attack until proven otherwise. The nurse said my right lung capacity was diminished, my heart had a very irregular heartbeat and with a chest x-ray was enlarged. All very, very concerning they said until I mentioned that was my normal apparently according to the last time I had all of this done. Except for the lung thing that was weird. They gave me oxygen which made me feel better but never figured out why that was the case. They took lots of blood and said most likely then it was an electrolyte imbalance from the hot and sweaty race I did yesterday. When that came back they would pump me full of electrolytes and I would be all better. Except that my electrolytes were fine but my heart seemed to...

I went into this race a little bit naive. We had done the math. We ran the marathon in hilly Atlanta in around five hours and had walked up a lot of the hills. So add an hour for increased difficulty of trails and even more hills. And then add another hour for heat and humidity and bam we should finish around 7 or 7.5 hours. No problem.  Reality- I crawled through at 9 hours and 27 minutes the second to last person to meet the cutoff (a few poor people did not make the cutoff). For a good chunk of time I thought I would hold the coveted spot of last person to finish. Even had the blog title going in my head- Rockin Choccolocco- the time I finished last. But as they say, you never finish last and there happened to be one poor gentleman out there having an even worse day than I was.  I should have known that this race was not a good idea. But for some reason I think I am invincible and can do anything. Well this race was a real slap in the face that I am in fact not...

On the road again. We have been making our way West slowly but surely. We stopped in New Orleans last night but didn't see much but our hotel since it was storming pretty hard. We will be back NOLA. You can't hide from us. Today we landed in San Antonio in time to wander the Riverwalk. Fun but oh so hot and sweaty. Tomorrow we land in El Paso our new home sweet home. Once we land I have a full 50K report including how much I did not enjoy it and the trip to the ER the day after. Fun stuff. Long story short there are no more ultras in my future but more on that later. Wish us luck finding a house cause ya know, having a place to live comes in handy. ;)

Tomorrow my best running friends and I are going to do the Rockin Choccolocc 50k. I am hopeful this time will go better (no blister and finish 50km). It is bound to be more fun with these two awesome runners by my side! Lucky for me these two are up for relays, marathons and general running shenanigans. Makes things more fun!   Of course the first thing I packed were the snacks. With a high of 87 and high humidity on tap for tomorrow the plan is to go slow, run the downs and walk the uphills and eat and drink early and often. Slow and steady gets to the finish line feeling fine. I like to think of it as a hike through the beautiful trails with some running thrown in. I am excited to try out my new Apera sport bag. The nice people at Apera sent me the performance duffel to try out and from what I can tell so far it is just about perfect. A good size. Separate shoe compartments that actually fit my size 12 giant shoes. There are a million pockets so it seems easy to...

I interrupt the non-stop chatter about running to bring you fun tidbits about always moving. And by fun tidbits I mean things that for some reason bug the crap out of me about moving all the time even though you would think by now (5+ moves in the last 8 years, this blog alone has been brought to you from the great states of Arizona, Illinois and Georgia ) I would be over it. Well I am not. Condiments . It is a vicious cycle with the condiments. We are either new at a place wondering where the ketchup is only to realize we don't have ketchup because we had to dispose of all the condiments at the last house OR trying to give away our ketchup to a neighbor or friend because everyone knows what your neighbor or friend wants is a half used bottle of ketchup. Now this doesn't seem like a big deal but if you think about all the salad dressing, bbq sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustards, olives, pickles, etc you have in the doors of your fridge it becomes a lot of stuff you are eit...

This was my last weekend of being able to go to the Saturday market here in Columbus. Luckily I found this little beauty. He makes me so happy. Can't wait to put some flowers in him.  The best thing after a long run in the heat and humidity. So amazing! If you see this at the store, purchase and enjoy. It is so delicious! Last week I ran 52 miles. That is a lot for me lately and I can feel it. Luckily it is taper time because Saturday I am running the Rockin Choccolocco 50k. It is gonna be hot and sweaty and super fun because I am going with running friends! 50K round two here we go! Monday- 4 easy miles in 38:25. Pretty fast for lately. Tuesday- 6 miles of intervals on the track./ lifted weights Wednesday-  5 miles easy/ Pilates Thursday-  4 miles easy Friday- 20 miles with Kelcey to prep for the 50K Saturday- lifted weights Sunday- 13.1 miles with Amanda to prep for her half/ yoga Favorite quotes of this week: "May your compression gear...