May and June Update

The past couple months have been crazy...First, I started a new job. Like with any new job, there's a learning curve but this one is especially difficult. I'll be happy with it once I really got all the pieces down and I'm comfortable with the environment.

Momma & Addie in Tahoe

Addie is amazing me every day. She speaks so well now. She's remembering things and talking about them and able to express herself so much more than she used to. She's also super lovable and sweet. It's the best feeling in the world to have her come up to me, grab me by the face and kiss me. I know I've said this before but, I'm so lucky to be her mother!

Coach AJW w/Athletes Becky & Dreama

I've also been working with my coach, AJW, which has been awesome! I had teetered with the thought of a coach for a while and I'm so happy I made the decision and commitment. Training has been much more structured and consistent, which really is the key. I am especially glad that I joined the CTS team, they are a group of true professionals and I feel I'm in good hands with them! I'm putting all my trust in the process and trying very hard to do exactly as I'm supposed to. I believe that if I do my part, I will see results. People have told me, when working with a coach, I really need to give it a year before I see a difference, so I'm being patient but excited for the future at the same time.

Day 2 - CTS High Altitude Training Camp

Last month, I attended a 3 day High Altitude Training Camp over Memorial Day Weekend, which was a ton of fun and very educational. It was my first running camp but definitely not my last. Even though a lot of what we discussed is stuff we all kind of know, it was really nice to hear it all again and reinforce the importance of certain things like nutrition and hydration. There was also stuff I had never heard of, like different training methodologies and how there are new ways that have been proven to produce better results in athlete's performance. I also really enjoyed the camp because I got in a lot of mileage with some pretty awesome people. Many of those people made a lasting impression on me and I'm really happy I got the chance to share some miles with them. I also got to run on some trails in my area that I hadn't been on yet, which was great. On the last day of camp we ran up to Mt. Rosa (11,500ft) and I was able to get this beautiful panoramic photo (see below).

Mt. Rosa Summit

LT & VO2 Max Testing - CTS

After the training camp I got the privilege to have my VO2 Max and Lactate Threshold tested at the CTS facility in Colorado Springs. I was so nervous both for the results and for the actual act of testing. I had done it one time before in Germany and so I kind of knew what to expect. Although, this test was much better quality. For example, during the test for LT they prick your finger every 3 mins to determine how much lactate is in your blood while continually increasing the workload. That part of the test was the easy part...the VO2 max portion however is what had me so nervous. Basically, you run until you see stars. What I primarily remember from those last few minutes were Coach Koop saying "This is where it gets hard", lots of "Go, Go Go" and "Push 30 more seconds"...but I heard that one a couple of times :) The VO2 Max part of the test went on for 9 minutes. I was a little disappointed with the results but I guess it just means I need to work a little harder to have the best engine I can. I can't THANK the CTS team enough for giving me this opportunity!!! You guys are AWESOME!


This month I ran in the Broken Arrow Skyrace. I chose this race because they claimed it was just like European Skyrace and because it had 10,000 feet of elevation gain in just 52km. It was also in a part of the U.S. I had not been to yet.  I was hoping to place better than I did but, all I can do is keep trying. The day before the race we arrived in Squaw Valley. Actually, we almost didn't make it. We were at the Denver Airport waiting to board, talking with a fellow trail runner, Amanda P. who was also running the race. As we were talking Addie was being silly, laying on the ground. Bj grabbed her by the arm to pick her up and right then, we all heard a pop. She was immediately crying and couldn't move her arm. I swore it was out of socket! It was so scary, we grabbed everything and took off to find medical assistance. On our way to get help, Addie stopped crying but was still holding her arm as if it hurt. After a few minutes a medic came and inspected Addie, she determined that her shoulder was not out of socket and that it probably just got over extended. So, with minutes to spare we ran back to our gate and were the last to board the plane. We got lucky on so many levels!  After we landed in Reno, we went straight from the airport to grab lunch with Amanda at a local brewery since we were all starving.

Broken Arrow Skyrace Race Brief

After lunch we drove about 45 mins to the campground where we would stay for the next 4 days. Addie loved it. I told her that the tent was our home and from that point on she called it her "yellow home". After we got the tent set up, we headed over to the packet pickup and race brief. In the brief they said many, many times..."there's lots of snow". What they should have said was "There is more snow than most of you have probably ever ran on". That is definitely the case for me, at least. After the brief, I took in the beauty around me. This was my first time in California and although I heard it was beautiful, it was nice to see it for myself. The mountains were rocky with lots of pines and trees scattered throughout and since they had a very heavy snow year (900+cm) there was still lots of snow on top, which made it very magical looking.

The Yellow Home

The race started at a very practical 0700 on Saturday, which was great because getting ready in a tent with a toddler requires a little bit of extra time...it was a little chilly in the morning so after I got dressed, I started the car and tuned on the heat so I could wake and change Addie in the warmth. Fortunately, I was able to get enough sleep the night before with the normal interruptions because either myself or Addie would fall off of the "one person" mat. She is becoming quite the camping pro though. She didn't even cry when she fell off, she just says "momma, I fall". I would still be kind of sleeping as I grabbed her and pulled her back on. I did notice a little bit of stiffness in my body since I could really only sleep on my left side but, I figured that would be the least of my problems in a couple hours. We arrived at the start just in time for me to drop my drop bag off and get to the starting line. I really wanted to get a coffee but with 10 mins to the start of the race, I decided trying to find a place to sell me coffee wasn't the best idea. 

Stairway to Heaven - Ascending Squaw Peak

The course was beautiful, harder than I thought, mainly because of all the snow. Where there wasn't snow (in the lower sections), there was mud from the melted snow so we went from wet muddy feet to wet snowy feet pretty much all day. Prior to the race, I thought I would be able to make up some lost time on the downhills but since the downhills were covered in snow, it was more like skiing without skis which meant lots of falling and inconsistent stride. It was hard to keep a pace because every couple feet I would either fall or sink deep into the snow, sometimes all the way up to my knees! This was also pretty exhausting because so much physical and mental effort went into trying to stay up and moving forward. The race DID remind me of a European skyrace, lots of cheering, amazing volunteers, steep climbs in the snow, beautiful views and a festive atmosphere. This was only the second year of the race but it was so well organized that it seemed like a more mature event. It was awesome, I highly recommend it and I definitely want to go back and run it again!

1st Summit of Pikes Peak - June 24th, 2017

This past weekend I finally got to summit Pikes Peak, my first 14'er! I didn't get to run it except towards the end because I was hiking with Bj, but it was actually good because I got to pick up a lot of stones that I had been wanting to stop and grab on some of my runs. It was also good because I was able to scope out the route we take during the Pikes Peak Marathon which I'm doing in August. Now, I just need to run up and down it many times before the race!

So, what now? Well, I'm training to run the Silver Rush 50 miler in the beginning of July. I haven't done that distance in over a year now so we'll see how it goes. 

I'm so thankful for everything that is going on in my life. I feel happy and grateful with all that is happening. I'm just going to continue to work hard and play hard. Life is too short to let it pass us by with doubts of what could have been...I choose to live life!