Run Eat Tri Yogi

I have written this post 3 times now, deleting 2 and starting over in one sitting alone. The reasons always changed to this question. It can change from morning to afternoon. And to be completely honest, I haven't wanted to really run this past month. The flu really set me back, and then I lost all motivation. The question of why I run would plague me during the runs if/when I finally did force myself to lace up and run/jog/walk. I welcomed any and all "reasons" to not train every day - which is not the easiest to do when your job is at the gym! WI winter may have something to do with it... I really questioned why I keep doing it. Not just running but the training itself. It put me in a dark place where I felt I had no business posting on social media, showing my "just barely getting it done" training posts and trying to be supportive of others. With the right group of people, running 50M is actually fun! Met this crew along the course: Ann, Mandy,...

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...

"Oh no, what happened?" is my usual reply, thinking they have an injury.  The reply from the other person usually goes along like "Well, it's not that I can't. But I don't. I don't like it and don't want to do it." I get it. You have no idea how much I get it. That was me most of my life. Remember those 1-mile runs in gym class? Day from hell. Always the last one with the gym teacher calling out, "You can just walk the last lap." It didn't help that I needed an inhaler for most active sports. Even after I lost 49lbs (yes, the OCD in me hates that odd number too), I had no desire to run. "Why would I run when I can just walk the same distance and not be in pain? Or hate myself?" I had lost most of my weight with changing my diet and walking; I felt no need to change anything. In fact, I was one of those people who would get angry over your running posts. Seriously, why? Why would anyone want to put themselves throu...

I saw a few posts yesterday that mentioned September was Suicide Awareness Month. I don't know how I missed that...  Late to the game as usual and to be honest, I was a little bit relieved. It meant I didn't have to face my history of depression and suicide attempts.  I could continue to go on as if that was and is no longer my life. Why deal with things when you can just shrug it off and move on?  Because it helps no one. And to not say something is to take the gift I was given and toss it aside - all because it'd be more comfortable to not address it. So please allow my late entrance to this discussion and maybe keep the conversation going. I wasn't completely oblivious to the subject of suicide on social media. I was thankful to see the "Faces of Suicide" being posted. I apparently didn't get the clues but something moved me while seeing those posts. 6th grade That was me around 13yrs of age. In less than a year, I would make multipl...

I'm taking this opportunity of another day off from running to blog... about running.   I'm not sure what's really going on but from what I gather, my body and mind need a rest.  I've been working around the clock with both of my jobs, running kids around, checking off my to-do list for my upcoming wedding and training like crazy for the past month. I finally have a week off from my other job and my body just screeched to a halt after the half marathon this past weekend. So I'm listening and I'm so tired that I don't even want to fight it! Back to the topic... I have mixed feeling about the 50 mile distance. I feel accomplished when I think of my first 50M race, recalling the moment I crossed the finish line at the North Face Endurance Challenge with my friends and receiving my first 50M medal. Then complete shame and embarrassment at having to DNF last year due to ITB injury.  It flared up around mile 17-18 and at mile 29, I had to drop out.  It still...

My left ankle has been the bane of my existence ever since it happened in late May. I lost out on a lot of miles in running/cycling and leg days. My only reassurance was the 20 miler I got in a few weeks beforehand. Should be good, right? I couldn't NOT run this race. This was THE race. The one that got me started in ultra running. Message with Chris (yes, I have his permission to use this!) Bib pick up, first year.  4 years ago, I was preparing for my 3rd official (4th unofficial) marathon and one that would get me qualified for marathon maniacs when I joked about running the 50K distance instead. I had just finished reading Dean Karanzes RUN! and the idea of running an ultra myself seemed insane. Few people egged me on and said I was more than ready for my first ultra to which I laughed and laughed. This was considered a tough trail course. The website bragged on about how tough this was and having had zero experience on trails, I wasn't even sure about running th...