Trail running in the Blue Ridge Mountains Virginia

The trip to Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains was a great discovery trip. I didn’t want to leave the dogs and I certainly didn’t want to bring Chet to be kenneled after only having him two weeks. But I did it and headed north to Virginia to run a 25K trail run.

Mark flew to Knoxville and then on Friday we headed to Stuarts Draft, VA to stay in a cabin at Sun Retreats, the basecamp for the race.

When I signed up for UROCK it was December and I thought for sure my training was heading to the point that 60 miles was a good lead up to Leadville. However, moving wrecked havoc and motivation tanked. Adopting a dog prevented me from the routine that is needed to train properly.

We ran the 25K and had a great race. It was a beautiful course.

There were several river crossings.

Gorgeous trees.

This race gave me everything I needed to get my butt in gear to meet my training and racing goals for this year.

I’m ready to train seriously for Leadville 50 and 100. 

This past weekend gave me all the motivation to get to the park and run mountains, to get back to the me who loves training on trails. 

Thanks to my BFF Mark who made this all happen.

And, we visited Brother Bill and Lisa and got a tour of their amazing lake near Roanoke.

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.

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.

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.

Leadville Training, There are No Ideal Conditions

I’m officially registered for the Leadville 50 and Leadville 100 for 2023. This is my final attempt to finish Leadville 100 and get the buckle.

In 2019 I spent all my free time training for Leadville. I did everything right, or so I thought. However, I just couldn’t make it past mile 38 on race day. In the fall of 2021 I hired a coach and started training for the race in 2022 and by March I lost all motivation. I couldn’t recover and deferred the race to 2023.

Now it’s Go Time. It’s time to do the work. I live in the perfect place to train – in the mountains. Granted, the true perfect place to train is Colorado, but I’m here in Gatlinburg and will make the best of the Tennessee mountains. 

I have no excuses. I have a few things to do: 

  • Do The Work – follow the plan
  • Lose 20 lbs. 
  • Find training partners
  • Weight training

I’m a wee-bit still injured from twisting my ankle on the Gatlinburg Trail three weeks ago. My left ankle is still not 100%. I’ve been swimming at the Gatlinburg Community Pool for the last few weeks but it’s closing on Nov 9 for the entire month.

Such a bummer!

I’m also a wee-bit scared running alone in the park with so many trails closed right now due to aggressive bears. Officials are warning people to not hike alone on the trails. 

Twin Creeks Trail has been closed for over a month.

This is life as an endurance athlete: there are no ideal conditions. I’ve learned that every day you have to figure it out – how to get the work done, eat right, recover and sleep well. Fifteen years ago all of this seemed a bit easier. At 51, everything is harder: the body doesn’t recover as quickly, I’m slower than ever and the mental game seems to be regressing. 

Here are the books I’m reading to help me with the mental game:

I’ll be writing book reviews as I finish them so stay tuned to my blog. 

At the end of the day, Everything is Good. Hard. Fun. Difficult. Complicated.