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Eagle up Ultra

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Eagle Up Ultra   June 7th I departed on another epic journey. This time to meet Jessica in Canal Fulton Ohio for a 24 hour race. It was another camping weekend but a shorter race. Eagle Up is a 24 hour race, it begins at 6am Saturday and runs until 6am Sunday. It's a very fun event because you can choose to run a distance or run a length of time. My goal was to complete 100k (62 miles) during the 24 hours and I was prepared to be on the course for the entire time allowed. My only problem was i had a sinus infection and possible bronchitis. I wasn't in the best of health. But i had been on antibiotics for 2 full days so I decided to just go out there and see how it went. We got to the start line Friday afternoon. By the time I arrived Jess already had the tent set up and ready to go. I gathered my belongings from the car and got everything settled.  There were several runners from my favorite running group in attendance, so I made an effort to find people and introduce
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50 miler

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Potawatomi Trail Runs` Sometime last year or two I got it into my head that doing a 50 mile race would be a good idea. Don't quite remember who I was planning it with, or what the original plan was ... But the weekend arrived and I headed to Pekin, IL for a weekend of tent camping and trails. To be quite honest, training has been nil. Swimming a bit and riding my trainer sometimes this winter, but otherwise there's been no prep for this event. Luckily it has a 34 hour time limit, and I have faith I can hike it in that time. Jessica was kind enough to sign up for the 50 miler as well, so we made plans to camp together and make a weekend adventure out it. There were others that had considered joining us, but it ended up that it was just the 2 of us. I drove over Friday, found Jessica and our tent. We got checked in and cheered on some runners when they came through camp. They provided dinner for the runners, so we grabbed some spaghetti and fresh bread to carb-load.
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2019 - Living my best life

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2019 is here, and with it comes some big goals. I've got 3 major races and then I'll add some half marathons in the mix. The biggest race is the 50 miler in April, then the 24 hour race in June. I'm going to try and do 3 triathlons this summer, plus a 62 mile bike ride. Then I'll finish the fall off with another 50 miler. Training hasn't been going well until just recently. I made these commitments to myself and I am going to start following my plans so I can accomplish my goals. My 50 miler plan has me running 5 times a week. I'm going to stick with 3 times a week for right now and add 5 bicycle sessions and 2 swim sessions. Closer to the race I'll add more running.  I'm really excited about this year, I am staying closer to home and hopefully will be able to stay healthy and uninjured.
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The Marathon I didn't do

I've been planning to run the Route 66 marathon for nearly a year. Then this summer happened.... and lots of crazy life things happened. But I ran the Chicago marathon with Seyi - and during it I convinced her to sign up for Route 66 too. After Chicago marathon I was exhausted. I've been going to bed early and I can barely crawl out in the morning to go to work. (and yes, I've talked to my doctor... all my tests came back fine.) I had an idea of what the trip was going to be like, but in talking to my running/travel partners, I found out it wouldn't be anything like that. So... I went anyway... and I didn't finish. Regardless of what was going on around me, or what the previous weeks had been like... we got there on Sunday morning and it was cold. I can handle at 36-40 degree race, but when the winds lower the temps to more like 26-27, I was not prepared. So I quit. Sometimes I feel like I quit too easily, that I'm okay with status quo - I talk to my dad a lot a
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Baby's First Birthday

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Happy Birthday Baby. It's been quite the year, hasn't it? Who would have ever imagined I would have an infant in my house? Not me. It's funny how life gives you what you always thought you wanted.... sometimes to show you that it wasn't what you wanted at all. Remember the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun"? At the end, someone helps the main character reflect on how everything she hoped for came true, just in a different way than how she had imagined it would happen. I've spent a lot of the last 3 years of my life trying to reframe my situation and be thankful I was given the opportunity to be a parent, to have a baby in my house, to have a family. It's been the hardest 3 years of my life, but it's all up from here. I've learned a lot this year, and I'm gonna guess I'll be learning a lot more in the years to come. I hope you grow up knowing I'm always here for you, if you need something I'll come back running. love ya baby. ❤  
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Part-time jobs

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9/4/18 I'm not sure if it's "normal" to actually be considering working several part-time jobs along with my full-time job at this stage in my life. It's not that I need the money specifically, but I want the connections. I want to be around people who love what they do, whether that be triathlon, track and field, reading, crafting, or quilting. I've done 3 weekend stints with a triathlon company out of Michigan. If I did it every weekend, I think I could be really good at it, it's like throwing a party in a different location every weekend. Of course, if I'm there every weekend, I can't be at my "real" job; which doesn't really work for most of the people there. How do you decide that you are going to stay at a job, or change to another? how do you find something you're passionate about rather than just something that pays the bills? My dad worked in a factory his entire life to give my brother and I the opportun
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We are all just walking each other home.....

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February 10, 2018. an important person in my life died. not a relative; not someone i saw on a daily basis; or even a yearly basis actually, but so important in my life. it's been a month and i'm still sad. maybe i wouldn't have been so sad if i could go to the memorial service, but it just wasn't something i could get to. The problem is, i don't want to go to any of my other trips now either. The planning used to excite me and now it seems just a struggle.   I couldn't finish this at the time.... it's tough to say goodbye to someone who has been in your life, your entire life. Whose life is intertwined with your childhood, your parent's lives and an amazing trip to Spain. It's been months and I still cry at the loss... but I have small reminders that let me think good thoughts, happy thoughts, and I know you are up there cheering me on. RIP Nancy. 💔💔💔
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