Thursday, March 31, 2022

March Books

Can you believe that reading wasn't my jam growing up?! Clif Notes were my best friends in high school - I'd "read enough" to get by for a paper or test, but other than that I did not enjoy the act of reading so never did it... like ever. Maybe I wasn't reading things that held my interest or maybe it was because it was "required" so I didn't find it enjoyable, but whatever the reason, I'm glad I challenged myself to add the goal of reading 17 books in 2017 (which turned into 88 books in 201777 books in 201867 books in 201966 books in 2020 and 67 books in 2021). In the last year or so, especially since going back to work outside of the house full-time, the majority of my "reading" has been through audiobooks since I don't have as much time to sit and read physical books (not to mention I walk to work and walk on my lunch break so have two-ish hours a day I can listen to something). Even still, holding a physical book is the bomb diggity and I hope to get back to adding more reading vs listening. Just like in years past, writing a monthly recap of the books I get through is a great way for me to both record what I'm reading and to stay accountable. So here are the books I finished in March:

  • Pushout by Monique W. Morris - I came across this book while scrolling through my Hoopla app and was intrigued immediately. As per usual, I didn't know anything about it, other than the title and subtitle, but I knew I would be all in. Monique not only shares statistics about how Black girls across the country are often pushed out of education and into confinement, but she sits down with many girls and young women and shares interviews about their personal experiences. This book does an amazing job at focusing on the intersectionality of race, gender and socioeconomic class. So often in the mainstream media, you hear about the school-to-prison pipeline for Black boys, but Black girls are left out of the conversation. This book really dives into how the public school system treats (and is obviously failing) Black girls. I'll be honest, while listening to this book I kept thinking how I would love to go back to school so I could become a teacher and be the type of advocate these girls need, but then struggled with the white savior ideology. I appreciated the appendix at the end that dove into questions to ask (whether it be to Black girls in your life, school administrators or educators, etc), but wish it gave more action steps as to how we could help. [Note - it is my understanding that the author wrote a follow-up book "Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues" that gives a blueprint for healing and liberation, but I think it might have been helpful to at least allude to actionable steps for the reader.] I would give it a 9 out of 10.

  • I Am Enough by Margy Jackson - I always enjoy biographies. Everyone has a unique story to tell, so I find it fascinating to hear about individual lives. Margy has quite the story, filled with mental illness, domestic abuse, addiction, etc. I sat there thinking, "I can totally see how her circumstances would drive her to self medicate with alcohol". I also really appreciated that it was the author who read the audiobook. You could hear her get emotional and choked up when talking about the passing of her father. She also loves music/ performing and treated listeners to a few bars of singing every once in a while. Although her story kept me engaged, I was hoping to hear more of the "after". It seems as though she was able to find her way through some of her battles, but I would have been equally interested in hearing about how she did it (rehabs were mentioned, and it's not like I am looking for specifics, but I would have loved more than "here is all the trauma that she had, here is how here life fell apart, and {poof} she realized she was enough and worthy" [note - I am not trying to trivialize anything she went through, I just felt like 5+ hours were spent on the "before" and maybe 30 minutes were spent on the "after" without really digging into how she got there]). I would give it a 7 out of 10.

  • Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar - Figured it was time for another YA book, so I grabbed this one. I didn't know anything about it, but I sort of fell in love with it. Like most Young Adult books, it's a book centered around a love story, but it's also so much more. It's a book about acceptance, identity, self-discovery, etc. The story is full of queer kids and the main character, Felix, is a transgender teen. We need more books with a plethora of characters. REPRESENTATION MATTERS! I also appreciate that these kids felt real - they didn't have everything figured out (whether it came to their future, their sexual orientation, their friendships). The characters, the interactions, the relationships felt authentic. It's not about getting everything perfect, it's about growth and unconditional love! The author did a great job addressing intersectionality (race + gender identity + sexual orientation + class), transphobia and marginalization as well. I would give it a 9.5 out of 10.

  • The Light Streamed Beneath It by Shawn Hitchins - I enjoy memoirs. I enjoy biographies. I enjoy learning about other people's lives, especially ones that are different from my own. Maybe it's from living in the "reality" TV culture, maybe it's due to a genuine curiosity, but whatever the case, I tend to be drawn to this genre regularly. This book was about love and loss. The author tragically lost two of his loves in a very short time (within five months of each other) - don't worry, that isn't a spoiler, he starts the book by telling you that fact. Although there were a couple of parts in the book that made me blush (it was very "sex positive"), I found it incredibly moving and heartfelt. The author is a comedian and author (great with words), so although the subject matter was real and raw, he left the reader feeling hopeful and inspired. I would give it a 9 out of 10.

  • A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow - As per usual, I didn't know anything about this book when I downloaded it on my Hoopla app other than it was in the YA genre. There were definitely a few things that I enjoyed about this one. I really like when books switch back and forth between different characters' perspectives (and especially when the audiobook is read by different people because it tends to make it easier to keep who is speaking straight) - which this one did on both fronts. I appreciated that it touched on some serious topics such as racism, sexism, etc - especially since it is a Young Adult book and I would love for kiddos to think critically about these topics. I also really loved the fact that a love story wasn't necessarily the focal point of the book (yes, there were some romantic relationships, but friendships, self-discovery and family were more the heart of the story). The one thing that threw me a bit was it was more of a sci-fi/ fantasy book than is normally my jam. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was entertaining, but I guess I didn't 100% connect with mythical "creatures". Had I read more about the book prior to downloading it I probably would have realized I wasn't the intended audience, but it was still enjoyable. I would give it an 8.5 out of 10.

  • Bravey by Alexi Pappas - I had been wanting to read this book for quite some time but hadn't gotten my hands on a copy until a few days ago (I swapped a couple of my books with a friend and this was one I got in return). I started it one evening that I couldn't sleep (a pro is that it didn't put me to sleep, a con is that I still couldn't fall asleep for a while after reading a couple chapters ;)). I knew a little of Alexi's story from social media, but I always love the memoirs because it is a deep dive into the not often seen sides of people's lives. As some of you may know, I've been dealing with some health issues lately and although I would never wish it on others, I would say I felt a little less alone reading that other runners (especially elite, Olympians) have had similar issues - whether it be mental illness or physical injuries. I appreciated Alexi's honesty and her willingness to be an open book to her readers. I definitely doubt I will ever be on her level (obviously not as in her times as a runner, but even in terms of her dedication and determination), but it is still always great to see what others do - especially to become successful. #RealTalk - It seems like so often we see successful people (in whatever medium they may be in) and we want their success but we don't want to put in the hard work to get there. I'm grateful that Alexi went into not only the hard work that went into what she's accomplished, but also the sacrifices she made to pursue her dreams. I can't wait to see what she does next. PS I'm stoked that I got a physical copy of this book because it's definitely one I want to keep in my library. I would give it a 9 out of 10.

With that, March has come to a close. My reading may not be going gang-busters like it has in the past, but I hope it never completely stops. If you have any suggestions, let me know! I'm always willing to add them to my library wait list! 

PS I created an Amazon list that includes all of the books I've read and would recommend to others. Check it out!

What's the best book you've read lately? 

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Walt Wednesday

Some people do a "Wordless Wednesday" post, where they simply share a photo or image, but I thought I'd make a little series out of my Wednesdays. And since I love alliteration so much, why not go with Walt Wednesdays (obviously everyone can use a little break from the seriousness, scariness and sassiness of life - and what better way to help put a smile on your face than with a cute wiener dog picture, am I right?!)... So, without further ado...

WALT WEDNESDAY!

When life gets overwhelming, how do you de-stress?

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Workout Recap - Week 13

Sunday, March 20th – Rest Day

Monday, March 21st – Rest Day

Tuesday, March 22nd – 4 miles of hills (1.5 miles of running, 2.5 miles of walking)

Wednesday, March 23rd – 5.25 mile walk

Thursday, March 24th – 6 mile walk 

Friday, March 25th – Rest Day

Saturday, March 26th – 14.28 mile walk

Remember how last week I got the green light to continue training so did my 10-miler on Saturday?! Well, Saturday evening the hubby was trying to help me work out some of the muscle aches and I think he might have pushed a little too hard on the muscles because Sunday morning I woke up and was in pain. I originally thought I would swap my Sunday run and Monday rest day to give my muscles a day to relax and cool back down, but Monday didn't feel great either so I kept my regular rest day as-is and just "missed" my Sunday run. Tuesday I went out to run - nice and easy - and around mile 1.5 the back of my left knee was clicking and I pulled the plug real quick (I've never had anything like that before and was pretty nervous, so walked the rest of the 4 miles). I decided I'd walk my other two midweek "runs" and wait to see what the physical therapist said when I went on Friday. As you can see from Saturday, it was another walk.. My PT said that she didn't want to give me the thumbs up on running at least until she saw me another couple of times to see how my body was reacting to the exercises/ stretches she was giving me. I technically had a 25 mile run on Saturday, so she said I could walk the amount of time it normally would have taken me, so a 4 hour walk was what I did... I will do a separate post on the PT appointment, but I'd say it was more positive than I was expecting, so hopefully that's a good sign!

How were your workouts this past week?

Friday, March 25, 2022

Eating Around the World - 2022 "Challenge" [March - Pizza]

I came up with a fun "challenge" for the hubby and I to tackle in 2022. You see, we try and limit our eating out to once a week (because I'm frugal like that ;)). With that said, we tend to stick to our tried-and-true favorites (you gotta make the most of those dining-out experiences, right?!). Well, that means we usually eat at the same two restaurants. Hear me out, I am NOT complaining, but I thought it might be a fun "challenge" for the year to try a new place once a month. To take the idea one step further, I thought we could try a different cuisine every month - that way we aren't just trying a new Mexican restaurant every month (because, let's be real, I can never turn down great chips and salsa ;)). Here's how it went:


[Originally this was going to be a single post, but blog readers said they preferred monthly, so ask and you shall receive.] 

January - Indian

February - Korean


March - Pizza


I'm not really sure if you'd consider "pizza" to be a specific cuisine (we probably should have considered it Italian), but we were looking for pizza specifically so it works. Let me start off by saying we have a couple go-to pizza places by us. The first one is temporarily closed (or at least we hope they will be reopening) due to a fire. They are a Michigan pizza place that somehow opened a location in Oceanside and we really enjoy their Detroit style pizza. We have a couple other decent places that we've found since our fave is closed, so we normally don't venture outside of those two or three spots. We figured this "challenge" was the perfect nudge to see if there were other great pizzerias we were missing. We took to Yelp to find an option and narrowed it down to a few different spots. (Note - I am NOT a thin crust sort of gal. When I am eating pizza I want to feel like I'm eating pizza ;) This tends to limit some of the places we go because I would prefer not to eat NY style {or "cracker crust" as I deem some of the thin, crisp stuff}.) We ended up settling on Grand Slam Pizza after looking at some of the Yelp photos and reading a handful of the reviews about the local, mom-and-pop pizza shop.
 
Not super inviting from the outside, but the windows do catch the sunset.

We arrived around 5:15pm on a Friday evening and the place wasn't overly crowded. When we entered, it reminded us of a few pizza places we've been before - games for kids, long tables for groups, walk up to the counter to order, etc. We jumped in line and noticed that there didn't seem to be a menu anywhere. They had the sizes of the pizzas hung up, but nothing about their specialty pies, other options besides pizza, toppings offered, etc. We normally get a plain cheese pizza, so this isn't a huge issue, but because we were looking at a couple different places on Yelp we couldn't remember which one offered what, so having a menu to look at while waiting in line would have been nice. As per usual, we ended up ordering a cheese pizza and two waters. After placing our order and filling our cups, we went to find a table. The majority of the long tables had "reserved" signs on them. Looked like a team was going to come in for maybe a post-game dinner or an end-of-the-year celebration. We were able to find a table in the corner, but it happened to be by the arcade. 

I wonder how much money the average customer spends in the arcade...

While we waited for our pizza, kids were running a muck, going back and forth between their family's table and the arcade (either coming back for a bite of pizza or to ask their parents for more quarters). It was pretty loud, but at least they had March Madness on so we were able to distract ourselves from the busyness around us. Eventually our pizza came (oh yeah, and two softball teams arrived for the reserved tables which increased the volume and slowed down the service).

I totally missed my calling as a food blogger, right?! HAHA - NOT!

I'm a "blotter". I normally use 2-5 napkins per piece of pizza to blot off the grease on the pizza. This pizza seemed extra wet (and I even ended up getting napkin stuck in the cheese on the first piece and had to take off the majority of the cheese on that slice). The pizza was fine, but nothing special. I would say that the pictures we saw on Yelp showed that they do cover their pies generously with toppings (all the way to the edge), but since we just got a cheese pizza we didn't partake in this "benefit". Also, it was a little toastier than I would have liked. When I looked around, it did appear as many of the pizzas seemed to be a little more "well done" than I prefer, but maybe that's just part of their thing. Ryan and I both agreed that the food was "fine", but we wouldn't be coming back. If you had a baseball or softball team and were looking for a place to eat together or if you wanted to eat pizza and let your kids play games, this could be the place for you, but for two kid-free, late-30 year olds, it felt like a knock-off Chuck E Cheese - but they can't all be grand slams, right?!

I do appreciate that it's a mom and pop shop and they support the local community!

When was the last time you tried a new-to-you restaurant?

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Walt Wednesday

Some people do a "Wordless Wednesday" post, where they simply share a photo or image, but I thought I'd make a little series out of my Wednesdays. And since I love alliteration so much, why not go with Walt Wednesdays (obviously everyone can use a little break from the seriousness, scariness and sassiness of life - and what better way to help put a smile on your face than with a cute wiener dog picture, am I right?!)... So, without further ado...

WALT WEDNESDAY!

When life gets overwhelming, how do you de-stress?

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Workout Recap - Week 12

Sunday, March 13th – Rest Day

Monday, March 14th – Rest Day

Tuesday, March 15th – 2 mile walk

Wednesday, March 16th – 4 mile walk

Thursday, March 17th – 6 mile walk 

Friday, March 18th – Rest Day

Saturday, March 19th – 10 mile run

Sunday was supposed to be a 12 mile run, but my hip/ back/ pelvis area was really bugging me after my 50K (so much so that I couldn't get comfortable when I was sleeping and got all of about 40 minutes of rest, so decided to scrap my run and make it a rest day). I really dislike not following my plan to a T, but I have to remind myself that listening to my body is more important (and the plan is more of a guide, not the law). My midweek runs turned into walks to give my body extra time to recover. Let me tell you, I had to wake up earlier for my walks than my runs seeing as it takes so much longer... but in the end it's worth it to listen to your body, right?! On Friday I was able to see a sports medicine doctor so he could look everything over and make sure I was okay to continue training. He checked my range of motion, took x-rays to make sure it wasn't a stress fracture, etc and gave me the thumbs up. With that being said, I decided to go for my 10-miler on Saturday. I'll be honest, the area that was giving me trouble was still painful, but I pushed through anyway (because at this point I'm not sure if that feeling is just something I'm going to have to live with or what). I'm going to try and get in to see a physical therapist next week to see if maybe it's a muscle issue that needs to be addressed, so wish me luck!

How were your workouts this past week?

Friday, March 18, 2022

100-Miler Training : Update #2

Who's stoked for another update on this HUGE goal I'm chasing down?! I hope you are, cause it's coming - ready or not ;)

As soon as I hit "publish" on my first update I remembered two fairly BIG updates I didn't even mention in that post... 

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First, I never told y'all WHAT race I'm running. In the original post where I spilled the beans about wanting to attempt my first 100-miler, I hadn't officially registered yet (registration didn't open till January 1st and I didn't want to jump the gun in case it sold out and I was forced to pick a different race). I have shared the deets with folks if they've asked, but I guess I haven't made it public knowledge yet, so here goes... I'll be running the Washington Yeti 100 Mile Endurance Run

The race is July 15th and will take place through the central Cascades of Washington. I have taken part in a couple Yeti Trail Runners' virtual events thus far [the Yeti 24-Hour Challenge and the Twelve Days of Yeti] and LOVE the race director (I'm sure Jason makes EVERYONE feel like he's their best friend, but I'm gonna act like he really does know who I am and might consider me a friend ;)), not to mention the group of people in the Yeti family are FAN-FREAKIN'-TASTIC! 

Who wore it better?!

And now onto the second piece of "business". As I'm sure you can imaging, training for a 100-mile run is NO JOKE. The training plan I am following is about 6 MONTHS LONG. (Obviously someone could just wake up one morning and go run a hundred miles, but if you want to do it with as little injury as possible [and without hating your life for weeks afterwards], you "should" put in the work.) With that said, training while working full time is TOUGH {especially when said job has you on your feet for 9+ hours a day}. I'm currently waking up some days at 3:30am just so I can get in my runs before work. 

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Hear me out, I am NOT complaining about having a job or having the privilege to be able to live somewhere I can safely run in the wee-hours of the morning without having to worry, but I'm explaining the commitment it takes and my current situation. For the past six months or so I have been working Monday through Friday, open to close. Well, I realized the last couple weeks that being out of the house for 55ish hours Monday through Friday (I walk to work, so leave around 8:30am and then don't get home until close to 7:30pm from the store) and then trying to get in my long run Saturday morning was ROUGH! Not only was I tired from being at work all week and didn't want to wake up at 3am to get in my 20+ mile run (FYI - I try to get in my runs before the hubby wakes up on the weekends so my running doesn't impact the time we get to spend together - especially on our day(s) off), but my body was fatigued from being on my feet all day during the week.

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That leads me to sharing that starting in March I actually adjusted my work schedule. I'm now working Sunday through Thursday. My thought was that then Friday could be a legit rest day (I could actually sleep in, not even have to walk to work or walk on my lunch break, eat dinner at a normal hour, go to bed early, etc) and hopefully have a better Saturday morning long run. Although I am now working on Sundays, we don't open at the running store until noon so I have more time in the morning to to run/ hang out with the hubby/ etc. I absolutely realize how lucky I am that I have the luxury to do this (and that my boss was willing to make the schedules work) and know not everyone would have this option. 

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I mention this for a few reasons. First, although I could have made my training 'work', I knew I wasn't going to give myself my best chance at succeeding. Next, I would never want someone to put unrealistic expectations on themselves because of me ('if Carlee can train for a 100-miler, than I should be able to too') - everyone's situations are different and I want to be as open and transparent about mine. Lastly, I want folks to know that it's okay to not do it all. I know there are runners doing so much more than I am doing (ie. raising kids, keeping up with a side hustle, going to school and working while training, etc), but I can't get stuck in the comparison game {AND DON'T WANT YOU TO EITHER!}! We have to do our best with what we've got. Your best might look different from my best, and, shoot, my best today could look different from my best tomorrow. All we can do is put in the work and give it our all (whatever that looks like on any given day). 

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And now that I've shared everything that technically should have been in the first update (OOPS), we can get back to our regularly scheduled program ;) If there's anything you're curious about with my training, ask away! I'm obviously learning as I go, so am NO expert, but am totally willing to share my thoughts/ experiences if you all have specific questions.

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What BIG goal are you currently looking to tackle?

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Workout Recap - Week 11

Sunday, March 6th – 8.08 mile run 

Monday, March 7th – 4 mile run of hill repeats 

Tuesday, March 8th – 3 mile run

Wednesday, March 9th – 2 mile run

Thursday, March 10th – Rest Day 

Friday, March 11th – Rest Day

Saturday, March 12th – Old West Trails 50K

This was a "taper week". I was still able to get in over 48 miles, but that was due to my 31.1 mile race on Saturday. Unfortunately it did not go how I would have wanted, but more on that in my recap (whenever I can get around to writing it ;)). My lower back/ glute/ pelvis area on my left hand side is still giving me issues, so I am going to try and make an appointment this week to have it checked out. I am praying that it's not a stress fracture or anything serious...

How were your workouts this past week?

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Walt Wednesday

Some people do a "Wordless Wednesday" post, where they simply share a photo or image, but I thought I'd make a little series out of my Wednesdays. And since I love alliteration so much, why not go with Walt Wednesdays (obviously everyone can use a little break from the seriousness, scariness and sassiness of life - and what better way to help put a smile on your face than with a cute wiener dog picture, am I right?!)... So, without further ado...

WALT WEDNESDAY!

When life gets overwhelming, how do you de-stress?

Sunday, March 6, 2022

Workout Recap - Week 10

Sunday, February 27th – 12 mile run 

Monday, February 28th – Rest Day

Tuesday, March 1st – 4 mile run of hill repeats

Wednesday, March 2nd – 10.10 mile run

Thursday, March 3rd – .2 mile run 

Friday, March 4th – Rest Day

Saturday, March 5th – 10.10 mile run

As I'm sure you can see, Thursday's run definitely didn't go how it was supposed to go... It technically started during my Wednesday lunchtime walk - I could feel my left glute/ hip flexor was acting up again so I didn't walk as far and stayed on a flatter route. Then Wednesday night I couldn't get comfortable while I slept because it was still achey. I woke up at my normal time on Thursday morning (3:33am) so I could get in 6 miles, got up like normal (even though I could tell it still felt 'off') and made my way down to the beach for my run. Well, I have to run down a bit of a decline at the beginning of the run and right away I said "OUCH" out loud. I limped a bit to try and get my left leg going, but it was just not doing well. I gave it another minute and by two minutes in I pulled the plug. I have a 50K next weekend and am still at the beginning of my 100-mile training, I do NOT need to be silly and risk anything for a 6 mile run. (I really wish I would have just slept in rather than trying to do the run anyway, but I am thankful I listened to my body when I did rather than trying to push it since I was already awake and there). I'm not sure if the issue is still from the 50-mile bike ride I did in November, if it's due to my fibromyalgia (especially because we've been having some weather swings lately which can definitely impact my body) or maybe because of the increased elevation I've been adding into my training. Whatever the case I am going to dial it back a bit until I can get it resolved. Saturday's run went better. I could tell there was a nagging issue, but it wasn't making me limp or need to stop. Here's to hoping my chiropractor has an opening tomorrow and can help me out! 

How were your workouts this past week?

Friday, March 4, 2022

100-Miler Training : Update #1

I'm sure you've been sitting on pins and needles waiting for an update on how everything is going for my first 100-miler ;)

It's technically been a month since I officially started my 100-miler training (although, I have a rescheduled 50K in March so I started training for that in November, which transitioned into the current plan). I'm happy to report - so far, so good. 

Two thumbs up!

The majority of my miles have been on the road and done in the wee hours of the morning before I have to get ready for work, but I've been adding in more trails whenever I can. For example, a friend of ours is planning to tackle the JMT (John Muir Trail) this summer so has been doing a lot more hiking. One Sunday, when I had 10 miles on the calendar, the hubby and I joined him for a 14 mile hike. I figured more time on feet (and time on trails) was better than a faster road "run". 

A heatwave and Super Bowl Sunday seemed to keep everyone off the trails but us ;)
I think we saw 8 people total in the 14+ miles we got it.

I've also been adding what I've deemed "vert and dirt" a couple times a week on my lunch break walks. Normally I walk around the neighborhoods near the running store, but twice a week I have been doing stairs and trails instead of the neighborhood sidewalks. I'm still just walking it (I don't want to get too nasty before I have to go back to work for the rest of the afternoon), but getting in some extra climbing and uneven surfaces can't hurt. Although my overall pace does seem to be slowing down a bit (as compared to what I've been clocking recently), I am stoked to report that when I do tackle more hills or trails I have felt stronger than in the past. Here's to hoping the hard work continues to pay off!

These stairs are NO JOKE! About 150 in total and I normally do them 5 times before hiking the trails.

As I'm sure you can imagine, the training plan for a 100-mile race includes A LOT of miles. Instead of running them all on my own and on the same route week after week, I decided to look around to see if there were any somewhat local-ish races that I could add into my schedule. My thought was that I'd be able to get in more trails, I would have aid stations and spectators to give me a little extra morale booster if I needed it, not to mention I don't have to worry about getting lost on trails [I'm TERRIBLE with directions] or having to rope the hubby into a longer run than he might be interested in doing ;)

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Thus far I have added the Run with the Burros Trail Marathon, the Leona Divide 50K and the Bishop High Sierra 55K. I am currently also eyeing two timed events (they would be 6-hour events, where you would run loops on a course for as many miles as you can [or as you would like] within that time frame), but haven't pulled the trigger on them yet.

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Note: I don't plan on "racing" any of those events... they will simply be training runs to get in mileage. (I'm saying that as a reminder to myself and so that you can help hold me accountable - I NEED TO DIAL IT BACK, NOT PUSH THE PACE OR LET MY COMPETITIVE SIDE TAKE OVER ;)) I'm excited because the hubby and I are planning to make a couple of them camping trips, so I'm sure that'll help to remind me it's about the ENJOYMENT and not the time on my watch. 

As you can tell by looking at an official picture from my most recent trail race, I LOVE running!

PS If there are any specifics you're interested in when it comes to these updates, let me know and I'll try my hardest to address them. Obviously I'll post race recaps once I run the events (even if I'm "just" running them as training runs), but if there are other deets you're curious about, leave them in the comments and I'll include my thoughts in the next post.

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What are you curious to know when it comes to my training?