Run Eat Tri Yogi

The scary and frustrating aspect of racing is that it can be unpredictable.  You can follow the training program to the letter, stick to your rest days, fit in strength training and have your nutrition on point. But on race day, your body can say "Not Today" BTS I've had enough of those race days that I don't like to talk about my goals - time or distance- before I race so as not to jinx it.  And I've hardly had much luck at this race. The first year, my feet got so swollen I could hardly put my shoes on. I called it once I reached 40M - short of 10 miles. Another year, I had to stop at 14 hours because my hip went out.... This year, it was my ITB. To be completely transparent, I had woken up with neck pain a few weeks prior. It would go away and come back - on repeat. Setting up my home base for the next 24 hours In the back of my mind, I had a goal of 100K. Something I've been attempting for a few years unsuccessfully. And then to run as much...

"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 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 ...

Races tend to fall between hard and easy. There are some where it just seems to flow and others where you're gritting your teeth and wondering what made you sign up for this race. Or any race. Why even run anyway?  I'm somewhere in-between the two. I ran this race last year as a birthday gift and told the director I'll be back to run it on my actual birthday 4/1. We drove down to Brookfield/Delafield the night before, forgetting that we'd be arriving in the area right about 4:30-5pm on Friday night, just in time for the traffic! Packet pick up was a breeze and once we ate our dinner, we headed to the hotel where I started the obsession into what I'd wear tomorrow. Checking the hourly temps by the hour... I think this was one of the few times I got a decent night of sleep before a race! We arrived at the Schuetz recreation center in time for me to stop by the drop-bag table and then we just waited. I was restless so I kept going back and forth from the bath...