Category: Goals

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Full On Spring in Tennessee, Training Update

I’ve been comparing this year to 2019; a lot. 

2019 was my Golden Year, my dreams-come-true year. The Year that I accomplished so much, worked hard and realized a few things.

My Mantra for 2019 was: take  each adventure as it comes and be open to all possibilities. 

I need to remember this.

Reading through my 2019 journals I had dark days and great days. I was training, working hard and realizing some goals. 

In 2023, I have accomplished non-athletic goals and am trying to come to terms with aging, menopause and homeownership. All very difficult and similar to chasing an athletic goal. It’s about mindset but mindset training is very hard. 

But at the end of the day, I’m an athlete. I love to be outside. I love having dogs. I’m always looking toward the future, figuring out who I want to be and where I want to live. 

I still think I can do everything; and it still frustrates me when I can’t. 

The question isn’t can I have it all, the question is, what do I want that I can still have.

One thing missing in my life, which I’ve always had in every place I lived, is a Go-To place to walk with my dogs. I don’t have this right now. I have a fenced-in yard which is nice, but not a woodsy place to go. I have to drive 10 minutes to go anywhere. This is what I have to work on.

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Jeremiah 29:11

This month I said goodbye to my Subaru. It has been across the country twice, Colorado to Arizona twice. It got me to Tennessee safely and never let me down. 181,935 miles. You were a good car.

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Epic Racing Update, It’s March

I haven’t written a post for a while; it’s been crazy. Working, training, dogs and buying a house. All contributed to a lack of writing. 

Here’s the updated plan on completed races and what’s next:

I didn’t run for one week last week and this week has been a tough one too. Buying a house was the most stressful thing since moving to Tennessee. There was so much to do and I didn’t make time for running. There is still so much to do; it’s a bit overwhelming.

However, despite everything, training, racing and traveling is full steam ahead.

Race Report Houston Marathon:

It was a fun time to be in Houston. The weather was perfect and it was so good to connect with Mark, Brian and Shelly. It was nice to get out of town for the first time since moving to Tennessee. I was glad to finish and have a great meal with friends.

At the Houston Marathon Finish Line 2023.

Race Report Roaring Gap

My new friend Christal agree to join me on this adventure east to the mountains of North Carolina. The Roaring Gap race is touted as a tough trail run. It was no joke. The 50K is four loops and at the end of the day we did one loop plus a few miles when I took a wrong turn.

The trail is up, over and around Stone Mountain with gorgeous waterfalls and vistas. It was 100% worth the trip (3.5 hours in the car) to experience this place. Thank you to Christal who drove most of it.

I think we both agreed we don’t need to go back to this race, but then again, four loops may be calling us in the future.

Like I always say: everything is good, hard, fun, difficult, complicated. I am alway pleasantly surprised by the good people who come into my life and make it so much better.

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2023 Races and Events – It’s going to be epic

2023 is going to be an epic year of training, racing and traveling.

I like having big goals and big dreams. But they also completely stress me out. I have moments of pure panic that it’s never going to work, that everything is going to come crashing down, and I’ll never make it to many of these starting lines. However, I can rationalize that it’s just one step at a time and I have to do the work to get to the starting line. But having big, scary goals is part of my DNA. 

This is one of my favorite Reels: “Someone asked me how I managed my nerves and I said I don’t. I just do things scared.” Pretty much my life.

I do have moments when I stop and take a high level look at this plan for 2023, and realize – this is how I want to spend my life. I want to push my limits and see new places. I want to be outside running and hiking. I want to meet my friends in cool mountain towns and run races. I’m going to do it all scared.

So there it is. 2023 in a nutshell. See you on the trails.

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November, My Favorite Month in Tennessee

November did turn out to be the best month in Tennessee as I predicted in my earlier post. 

I really like hiking when you can see the landscape around you, and see what is coming around the turns in the trail. I hiked/ran the Cove Mountain trail a few times and got farther each time. Next week when I have a 18 mile run I should be able to get to the top. It’s steepest at the beginning at the waterfall and is gentle the next five miles. I like being able to see Ober Gatlinburg and all the peaks in the park.

Laurel Falls with Melani

I had time to reflect and write, and my next book is coming along. 

I walked dogs at the Sevier County Humane Society. It’s good to walk shelter dogs but I have to admit I tried to figure out ways to adopt the ones I fell in love with. But the reality of it, two dogs is all I can handle right now. I prayed a lot for the dogs and cats to find forever, kind homes. I was so happy to see Facebook posts of the adopted ones. There are so many sad stories, but there are happy ones, too. I try to keep thinking of the happy ones.

Please adopt Maddie – she is a good, loving girl.

Please, please please adopt a shelter dog. This beautiful girl has been at the shelter for 2 months and she is a joy, and a lover. She just wants to be loved. 

Full on training for my 2023 events is happening. I’ve been sticking to my training plan and doing the miles. I follow so many runners and motivational accounts on social media and the one thing that I’m learning, and finding out to be true, ultra running is about grit and consistency. 

What is Grit? A combination of passion and perseverance for a singularly important goal. It is the hallmark of high achievers. It is passion and sustained persistence applied toward long-term achievement, with no particular concern for rewards or recognition along the way. It combines resilience, ambition, and self-control in the pursuit of goals that take months, years, or even decades.

I’m going to keep this concept of grit in my mind and do everything to finish Leadville 100. 

Now on to December. I think it’s going to be a good month. Work. Train. Dogs. Walking shelter dogs. Celebrate the season with gratitude and love.

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Motivation Monday, Running to Podcasts

Today I ran 8 miles listening to several Growth Equation podcasts. This is the first time that I’ve ever run to a podcast. I really felt like I needed music. Listening to Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness made me think about so many things that got my mind off running, yet I was listening about other people’s “Why”. Why do they push their bodies when they could just work out for an hour? Why do people continue to compete when they aren’t winning anything? Listening to their podcasts make me feel like I’m on the right path. 

https://thegrowtheq.com/podcast142/

But also, the best news is my ankle is 90% better and I ran without pain. 

I think November is going to be my favorite month in Tennessee. I love that the forest is wide open now. When I hiked on Saturday with Melani on the Laurel Falls Trail I saw the landscape that just a month ago was a green mountainside of trees. The actual falls lacked a bit of water due very little rain lately but it was a great trail.

Laurel Falls photo by Melani

I read last week that the Laurel Fall Trail is closed during the week, however I just checked the park website and it’s not listed as closed. 

Happy Monday. It’s going to be a good week. Thanks for reading.

The biggest leaf I’ve ever seen.