Run Eat Tri Yogi

Indoor marathon. 95 laps around a track. No personal music allowed. Sounds enticing, doesn't it? I ran this last year with friends and said I'll never do it again. It's not the track so much as I'd done two 12 hour races on a high school track before - and overnight, no less. But most, if not all, ultra runners will agree that marathons have a different atmosphere than ultras. That's another post in itself! And I hate being subjected to other people's music (they play music from runners' requests). But after so many months of freezing temps, snow and ice keeping me from decent long runs here in Wisconsin, I gave in. My desire to get in a long run without slipping, twisting my already-fragile ankle or losing feeling in my fingers due to the extreme cold took over. I want to point out that the race is very well-organized. The race director and the entire team are phenomenal. I got updated emails and the packet pick-up and race day instructions were...

I was talking to someone about how hard it was to lose weight and she said, "It's HARD. You know how hard it is... well, but you're so skinny..." implying that because I've lost the weight, I don't know how difficult weight loss can be.  I get these kind of comments all the time.  And in a way, I get it. I've had similar thoughts of "skinny" people -- what do they know? "The problem doesn't go away when you lose the weight. Food is always there and I HAVE to eat" is my usual response.  But it's upsetting how people try to make you feel bad for now being "skinny".  I worked for the weight loss. I didn't just decide one way to lose weight and it came off.  And by the way, I don't consider myself "skinny". I know I'm healthy but I still feel like my overweight self most of the time and that's mainly because I'm still working on my mindset. At work, I wear a tag that informs you how much I...

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to Madison Mini Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!" If you've been following along on this race weekend, you know how the race ended. And we'll definitely get to that! And if you've been following me (and paying attention at all), you know that I am NOT a road runner. I pretty much gave that up once I discovered ultras and trail running. So let me fill you in on the fun before and during the race. As my disclaimer states, I did receive a free entry to this race. I had originally planned on doing another triathlon that same weekend but I decided to go with Madison Mini Marathon instead. And thank goodness I did! Not only would I not be ready for another tri with my ankle issues (open swim, no pull buoy) but I would have missed out on some great memories. I drove down to Madison late afternoon and...

I didn't plan on coming back to #im703choo this year. It was my A race last year and was everything I thought it'd be but it never occurred to me that I would do this race again! Even when I got the notification that registration was open... but when I saw the Facebook post about there still being openings days/weeks later, I was shocked and started entertaining the idea. I brought it up to my fiance but then finally, I couldn't NOT sign up anymore. The drive to Chattanooga, TN from central WI is approximately 12 hours, not taking into account gas stops and bathroom breaks.  Fortunately, the ride was uneventful! This time, it was just Ben and me. We left Friday morning and by the time we reached our hotel, we were done. Top of tower at Ruby Falls Since bike check-in wouldn't start until 1:30pm on Saturday, we decided to take advantage of some free time and sight see. Last year, we arrived on Saturday and rushed around before getting to bed early. View from ...