Reflecting on the best things of 2024, here are my best thoughts and actions from 2024
I love trip planning and making my dreams come true. I planned some good ones in 2024. Places I traveled to: Little Rock, Memphis, Whitefish, Banff, Glacier National Park, Missoula.
Realizing that I’m good at my job and and I’m not here to make people like me.
Realizing that I might just stay here for a while.
Finishing the Philadelphia marathon.
Buying a Wahoo trainer so I can ride inside.
Driving the Cades Cove Loop in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
What am I doing when I am my favorite self? The answer: when I’m on a trail in the woods, whether hiking or running. Most of the time I’m scared and can’t wait to get home, but my favorite self is out there reaching a goal such as getting to the summit, and hiking fast or running to get there, and then get back home safely. I like being an outdoorsy person who knows how to dress in layers to stay warm. I like doing amazing things outdoors. This is my favorite self.
I also really like going to work and I like the work I do. I like doing all the tasks I do from project planning and coordination to strategy and master planning. I like all the things coming at me at once and making a plan from chaos. I just have to remember not everyone likes the same things I do, and they don’t approach problem solving like I do.
I’ve been writing this post for a month. I’m still processing everything I saw. But also, simply, it was such a great few days to travel across the country (although flight problems delayed me one day). I have been consumed with all of life’s problems in government, work, dogs, and so many things that don’t matter; but do. I’m flip flopping. And couldn’t complete a thought. But unexpected change, makes things more clear. I’m finishing this and here it is:
I want to tell you about Monument Valley in Arizona. I want to tell you what I saw and how I felt about it. Here it is. Finally.
For more than 10 years I’ve been wanting to visit Monument Valley. I’ve seen pictures and read articles about why it’s one of the top places to see. I’ve been to places all around it: drove through Kayenta, Four Corners Monument, Page. But never through Monument Valley.
The first week of March, I flew to Arizona and headed north to Monument Valley.
I’ve driven this route several times: the Phoenix airport to Highway 17 North to Flagstaff. For trips and to get somewhere. Many times I’ve gone this route.
By exit 322 I finally feel like I’m out of the desert and into the mountains and Ponderosa Pines. These Ponderosa give this area a different feel and I can see San Francisco Peaks in the distance; the elevation is now 7,000 feet. It’s getting cooler, and there is snow on the mountain peaks. I am looking forward to stopping in Flagstaff for food then continuing northeast to Monument Valley
I get to Monument Valley and I’m in a red, painted desert.
I checked into the View hotel and love the newness of the hotel. The view from my room of the valley had amazing views: Mitten Buttes (East and West), Merrick Butte, Three Sisters, Totem Pole, and Ear of the Wind.
The next morning I woke early, knowing that I was not going to run the trail race in the Navajo Tribal Park, which was the original reason for coming here. I instead hike to a rocky peak about a mile from the hotel and watch the sunrise over Homan Valley. I just sat and looked at the landscape and the color.
Later I drove to the Navajo National Monument and walked the trail to Betatakin Overlook.
The desert southwest – captivates me.
I picked a great week. The following week, weather came in and this happened.
I adopted Winnie during a 4th of July weekend 2013 in Tucson at a Petsmart Adoption event from the Tucson Humane Society. I knew the shelters were overcrowded and heard about the adoption event. I really wanted a 2- or 3-year-old dog to keep my other dog, Daisy company. At lunch I drove over to take a look around. There were puppies! I asked to pick up the tan one, and fell in LOVE.
I told them I would come back after work to pick her up. And she was FREE. I went back to work, took a half day, and went to get her. It was total chaos for a year. Chewed sofas, ruined carpet, aching back as she pulled me on every walk. Winnie and Daisy.
The best moments with Winnie happened after moving to Colorado; she learned to swim and run free on trails. It gave me so much joy to watch her swim and run free on hiking trails, after the Tucson desert.
In 2017 we all moved back to New Hampshire. After Daisy died, Winnie and I started hiking in the White Mountains, in the fall and then into winter. In total, Winnie bagged 10 4,000 footers in New Hampshire.
I adopted sweet Goldie-dog right before the pandemic and the three of us hiked together on the trails on Concord, NH.
In 2022 we moved to Tennessee and finally bought a house with a yard for Winnie to soak in the sun, dig and watch the world.
I think Winnie loved the years she was an only dog. But she also loved every dog in the pack. As she slowed down, she loved looking out the window to watch the Fed Ex truck and kids riding bikes and critters passing in front of the house; and bark at them like all the other dogs.
9/9/2018 – Winnie bags her first 4,000 footer, Hale
September 2018 – Mount Eisenhower, NH:
November 2019 Winnie and Goldie – Moosilauke, NH
She spent her final days with her brother Chet, and sister Goldie. She swam in the Little Pigeon River in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and drove around Gatlinburg with her head out the car window.
Thank you to the great staff at the Sevier County Humane Society for your kindness and care today.
The best dog in the world. Winnie Stats:
Total Road Trips: 3 Tucson to Colorado, Colorado to New Hampshire, New Hampshire to Tennessee
States Lived: 4 Arizona, Colorado, New Hampshire and Tennessee
I ran the Dirty South Half Marathon trail race on Sunday, Dec 8 at Meade’s Quarry in Knoxville; the final race in the 2024 Trail Running Series. The race is located south of Ijams Nature Center, which I ended up having to park in since I arrived so close to the start time. Last year I ran the 10K and admired runners who stayed straight and ran 13.1 miles on that cold morning. I wanted to do the half so today is my day.
In June I finished the Motus Half which has a similar course but Dirty South is longer and more elevation gain.
Race Day Morning:
I woke up not feeling great about racing today. I thought about not going; which is par for the course for almost every race. I had to cheer myself on by saying I love trail running in winter AND I needed trail miles. I have to do this as Step 2 of my Do Hard Things year. Step 1 was completed by finishing the Philadelphia Marathon. Step 3 is Beast of the East marathon.
But today just 13 plus miles on runnable trails, is what I’m thinking.
I got my gear ready and started driving to Meade’s Quarry.
The Race:
The Dirty South race course is touted as “a mix of rocky, technical singletrack and buffed out, flowing mountain bike trail”; and that is exactly right. I love this course because it’s so runnable and flowy. It’s rocky and rooty, and just perfect. I always forget about the first mile, which has a steep, hikable trail and a significant hill climb. Then it evens out to flowy mountain bike terrain.
Just before the first aid station I met Kara and started running with her. She is an ultra runner too and it was great to talk to someone.
During the run at this point I hit a snag in a root. My left foot was caught but miraculously snapped the root and I didn’t fall. My left foot hurt for a minute, I stopped then walked it out. I didn’t think of it again.
My first mistake during this run was made at the first aid station. I didn’t fill up my bladder to the top and I didn’t drink any Tailwind. I wanted to keep going since I was feeling good. I realized, too, that usually I bring one booby bottle with Tailwind and I didn’t today. It just wasn’t on my mind in the morning. I did bring enough food this time, gels and bars; sometimes I don’t bring enough. I learned from a runner that the next aid station was around mile 10. I ran out of water at mile 8. I hate it when I make rookie mistakes like this. Then, the situation got worse – there was no aid station at 10. I felt a bit delusional at times and would go a while not sure I was on course. The trail didn’t look the same from the spring (It was a different course, different organizers). At one point I had to yell ahead to Kara just to see if I was on course and she was so awesome to run back to me to make me feel better (Thank you Kara if you read this).
Once I realized that maybe there wasn’t a second aid station, I just settled in and tried not to panic. I walked a lot and just concentrated on getting to the finish. At mile 12 the aid station appeared. I drank a bunch of Tailwind and filled my bladder to the top. I was spent. I lost a lot of energy worrying and just felt dehydrated. Then, at mile 13.1 I wasn’t at the finish. I walked and run and finally at mile 13.97 I crossed the finish line. Yahoo!
Post Race:
The Good: I finished The Bad: My left foot is a swollen mess from the root and it hurts to walk on it.
As with any running injury I question everything about running. This injury could’ve been much worse if the root didn’t release my foot. I start to think I’m too ambitious in my running goals. I’m too old. I’m too fat. I’m not strong enough. I’m not going to trail run anymore. I’m going to play my life safe. No more risks.
But luckily, the nurse practitioner at urgent care says it’s not broken. I might be able to run Saturday if the swelling subsides – and BOOM – everything is okay in the world.
Race Website: https://ktc.org/events/dirty-south-trail-races/ Distance: 13.97 miles. Elevation Gain: 2,753 ft Time: 3 hrs, 14 mins What I ate: Pre-race: 3 eggs and veggie scramble, During race: 2 GU gels, 1 Honey Stinger waffle What I drank: one cup of tailwind endurance at 2nd aid station, 1.5 L water What I wore: Salomon hydration vest, winter running tights, green ¼ zip long sleeve, blue Mountain Hardwear jacket, beanie What I saw: I heard a lot of birds and squirrels in the forest. No wildlife encounters.
Philadelphia has a special family memory for me, which is why I’ve been wanting to do this marathon for many years.
My parents grew up outside of Philadelphia and as a child we came here to visit my grandparents in the summer. I remember visiting the Philadelphia Zoo and Hershey Park. It made so much sense to sign up, train and run the Philadelphia Marathon.
Here is my Philadelphia Marathon Race Report:
Getting to Philadelphia
Traveling to Philadelphia was fairly easy. Saturday started with a nonstop flight from Knoxville. My flight was on time and I navigated the SEPTA train system to the convention center. The train comes twice an hour and it, too, was on time. Twenty minutes later I arrived at Jefferson Station and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. So easy. Train fare was $6.75.
The marathon expo was efficient and fun, and all the runners and volunteers had such great energy. I bought a race hat and walked through the expo. The expo wasn’t huge, which was nice. Sometimes those huge expos are daunting.
I opted for the hotel that was part of the lodging options for the race. I walked less than a mile to Four Points by Marriott.
I wasn’t able to check in early, so the desk agent took my bag and I started my adventure through the city to the art museum. I walked by the Rodin Museum, surprised because I’d been to the Rodin Museum in Paris. I read the placard that stated that this museum has the most sculptures other than the one in Paris. The Thinker was the first sculpture to see, and I’m pretty sure there is a version of it that I saw in Paris.
The race start and finish is in front of the art museum. By the time I arrived the half marathon race was finished but I still needed to pass through security. It was good to see the set up and have a plan for the next morning.
I checked out the Rocky statue and walked up the famous steps to the Philadelphia Art Museum.
I walked through the museum, had lunch at the cafe and made a plan for getting back to the hotel. I stopped at the Whole Foods for some race day breakfast and post race snacks.
Philadelphia is really easy to navigate with the grid system streets. I didn’t get a chance to go to the Liberty Bell because by the time I was close to my hotel, it was time to get off my feet, which in retrospect I think I walked too much before the race. It was windy and about 45 degrees. Race weather was supposed to be the same but less wind.
I needed to stay off my feet so I decide to eat at the hotel restaurant and ordered a Philly cheesesteak and a LOVE IPA.
Then spent the rest of the night watching TV.
Race Morning
I woke up at 4:30am knowing that I needed to catch the shuttle from A Loft at 5am; it was a 5 minute walk from my hotel. In retrospect, I probably should’ve arrived at A Loft a little later because the two plus hour wait to start the race was a little much. I didn’t want to be late or be standing in lines so I caught the early bus. Next time I would get to A Loft at 5:30. Last bus is at 6am.
Because I got an early start there were no lines at security check points or the bathroom. After 6am there were lines everywhere. I sat in the warming tent for a little while and walked around when I got bored.
Two hours and 30 minutes is a long time to wait for a race start. I was in H corral so I didn’t start until 7:30ish. The energy was high and it was very exciting to get running.
The Race
The course is great. I loved the energy from the crowds going through all the neighborhoods. I loved the open spaces near the parks and river. The spectators really make this race. But let me warn you, there are some hills – gradual hills. According to my Garmin it was 1,877 ft of elevation gain.
The aid stations were awesome. The volunteers were amazing. Since I started in the last corral I was worried that aid stations would run out of water; but they never did.
As I made my way to the finish I was really hurting. My legs were really tired, but nothing hurt. My neuroma didn’t act up and my IT band didn’t spasm; I just had heavy legs.
I crossed the finish line, got my medal and just wanted to get back to my hotel to shower. I found the shuttle and in 20 minutes I was in my hotel room. I took the longest shower of my life and then headed to the hotel restaurant to refuel.
I wish I could’ve gone out to explore Philadelphia more but I really just wanted to have a meal and lay down.
The Analysis
This marathon is no joke. I completed the training that I wanted. I was just hoping that it was going to be less painful. I know I have some work to do for my next race which includes losing 20 pounds, 3 days a week in the gym, weight training and core work. And following the plan to do speed work and hills.
I’ve been running marathons and competing in triathlons for 20 years now and I say the same thing after every race.
I’m proud of myself that I was able to get to the start line. I was healthy, fit and ready for this. This whole “getting old” stuff is tough. However, I’m more consistent with training and core and weights than I’ve ever been; simply because I have to in order to be fit and trained for life.
Post Race Thoughts
Sitting here writing this, I feel like that 34 year old woman from 20 years ago who was writing race reports while processing a race, all while thinking she can do anything. And gets ready for the next big race in a few weeks. I’m going to keep dreaming of new places, new adventures, new experiences. I’m going to keep making plans and doing the work to make my dreams come true even as I age.
Takeaways from the Philadelphia Marathon:
I like that it is a big city, small marathon.
Easy navigation to Convention Center and Race Start
I would do this marathon again
Philly Cheesesteaks are the real deal
Awesome spectators
Great weather – cool and windy is perfection
I am more of a trail runner in a mountain location than a big city road racer. But I think it’s good to step out of your comfort zone and try different things and see things you’ve never seen. The rest of my year is filled with trail races but I loved getting some miles in on the road with 17,000 of my new best friends. Thanks Philadelphia – the LOVE is real.
Race Website: https://www.philadelphiamarathon.com/ Distance: 26.7 miles. Elevation Gain: 1,877 ft Time: 5 hrs, 38 mins What I ate: Pre-race: a bagel and bar, During race: 4 GU gels, GORP What I drank: lots of Nuun at aid stations, 2 L water What I wore: Salomon hydration vest, winter running tights, blue long sleeve shirt, dk blue thin jacket, started with beanie then changed to baseball hat What I saw: A lot of people cheering and yelling at me (LOL)
