Seattle Ironwoman

I love this time of year. I love how people take time to reflect on things they are thankful for. It seems like in today's world, we focus so heavily on what we don't have instead of what and who we do have in our lives. I try my best to spend all year reflecting and being thankful. However, a quick shout out to some extra special people and things that deserve thanks: My family. You are always there for me through my best and my worst. I'm thankful for your health, your love, and the time we spend together. Chelsey, our relationship means the world to me. I can't wait until you move home some day. My husband. I know being married to me is not easy. Thank you for always being up for an adventure without plans and for supporting me in my many athletic passions. I'm thankful that you have found passion in Ironman and that we can share that together. You are the glue that holds our life together, every single day. Thank you.

This post is not about running. This post is not about Ironman. It's not uplifting. But it's how I'm feeling and I need to write it down. And I'm sure this will resonate with some. As we approach the holidays, everyone gets so excited to spend time with their loved ones- happy, laughing, fun, warm memories.  While I definitely look forward to spending time with my family, I start to feel dread creep up as we approach this time of year. I start to feel anxious, angry, frustrated. For me, the holidays are a time I have to face the addict in my life. I have to spend my holidays keeping up stupid small talk, avoid bringing up the elephant in the room. It goes against everything I am - I am a blunt, straight forward person that has the hardest time NOT stating what is obviously in front of me. I wish I could tell you, because I want you to know: I am angry. I am frustrated. I am hurt. You are a shell of a person. Every day you choose pills and alcohol over everythi

This week I've been channeling this passage from Eat and Run  by Scott Jurek: "I'm convinced that a lot of people run ultramarathons for the same reason they take mood-altering drugs. I don't mean to minimize the gifts of friendship, achievement,  and closeness to nature that I've received from my running career. But the longer and farther I ran, the more I realized that what I was often chasing was a state of mind - a place where worries that seemed monumental melted away, where the beauty and timelessness of the universe, of the present moment, came into sharp focus." Focusing on the present moment has been something I've been working on for years and that running and yoga continue to bring me closer to every day. Maybe it's something that can be mastered for some, but for me it is a daily practice and reminder. It's made me a happier, a more fulfilled, and less stressed person. We all walk/drive/sit/run around every day absorbed in tiny

After almost 3 months off of training, I'm back on a new training plan for this 50k race in January. This weekend's long run - 18 miles. I was pretty scared driving over 520 today imagining running that far after not having run more than 11 miles since Ironman. It's more mental, but I also wasn't sure when it would start to hurt. On the trails, would it start to hurt at 13.1 miles? Maybe 15? No, the answer was 10 miles. It started to hurt at 10 miles. The trails seem to work my muscles a lot harder than roads do. I don't know if it's because there's more climbing and descending, or if it's because I have to push harder on the soft ground. Has been helping inspire me every day, great book Bridle trails, I love you. But I did not love the pouring rain for an hour today.   Nothing about training for endurance sports is easy. It's about embracing the pain and continuing to push forward. Luckily, I've trained my mind to enjoy it - to kno

One thing I love about running is how accessible of a sport it is. Lace up, step outside and go. No commute, no planning or extra equipment needed. Running is there for you when you need it, no matter what time of day, just you and the path ahead of you, one foot after the other. However, I am currently obsessed with the idea of hitting the trails again - which are no longer just a step outside of my workplace or home, making it not nearly as convenient as it used to be. I LOVE trail running and got two trail runs in this weekend which both required a small commute. Not only does trail running satisfy this hippie that lives inside of me that feels connected to the earth and believes my soul is tied to the woods, ocean and nature in general... but it is hard to describe how it makes me feel. The soft, unpredictable earth below my feet, the danger of roots and slippery leaves, mud, puddles and holes. The wildlife scurrying around, complete silence besides my own breath, the birds, and t

He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.  - Ralph Waldo Emerson I'm not someone who worries a lot. It takes a lot to stress me out. It takes even more to make me angry. In general, I'm a happy person. Maybe it's because I'm fairly selfish and always make sure I enjoy every day on my own terms. Maybe it's the endorphin's from daily runs or yoga. Still, I like to think it's my disposition, or the fact that I try to look at the positive side of life. However, in the last year or so I have spent a lot of time actively pushing myself towards things that scare me. It's very uncomfortable and unsettling to push towards those things. They're not easy but I figure, if I don't do things that cause me discomfort and fear, then I'm not growing. If I'm not both happy AND growing, then what's the point? I don't think my purpose is to just exist and happily float through life (which I co

The best way to predict your future is to create it.... While the amount of running I've been doing the past few months for a normal person would be a lot (25-30 mi/week), for me it's been unsatisfying. I love running, every time, but for some reason I still felt unfulfilled, even after my better runs. Yesterday I finally figured it out - I have no big picture goal I'm working towards. I'm running to run, which is fine, but just two months ago I made a LOT of promises to myself about my next Ironman. I also made promises to myself to enjoy life and be social again, but I've been focusing on just that side - and waaaaaay too much. Too much partying, too much drinking, staying up way too late... don't get me wrong, it's been super fun, but I need a balance between my social life and getting better in the off season. While the last few months have been a blast, I need more balance. I want to be faster. I want to be a more competitive cyclist. I want to be

What an amazing trip. As hard as it was to leave the islands, it feels good to be home.  Kauai - I loved how peaceful this island was and could not have been more relaxed the whole time we were there... I just think I need an island with a little more going on. Kauai was full of gorgeous beaches, crazy jungles, overall gorgeous greenery, flowers everywhere. I just like a little more adventure in my life. I ran the only real running trail multiple times, can't say the island is super runner friendly outside of that one trail - without being unsafe - which I just wasn't willing to risk with on and off flash flooding most of the time we were there. Maybe if hiking trails would have been open I would have loved this island a bit more. We explored the whole island in our red jeep (dope) listening to local music, which was a highlight for sure. Gorgeous island, a little too boring for me. I wish we had spent more time in Kona. Not only was it amazing to run on Ali'i Drive wher

Lake Stevens is less than 40 minutes from downtown Seattle, so Isaac and I decided to go watch the Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3. We had assumed earlier in the year we couldn't race this half Ironman 3 weeks post Ironman Canada and didn't sign up. We saw some participants wearing their IM Canada 2015 Finisher hats and were a liiiiiittle jealous. Would have loved to participate, but who knows how that would have felt on my knee, which is still hurting on runs post race (but my brain was wishing I was out on the course the whole time!) The swim start was in waves, which I'm assuming was fantastic. Nice and calm, surrounded by your age group instead of 2,000 people! Swim start So foggy on the lake! Coming in from the swim T1 and T2 were in the same spot. This portion felt like a normal tri - you have your transitions preset and have to get your run gear wet while you strip out of your wetsuit! I really loved having gear bags and changing in tents in two separate tra