Mmtr 50 weekend- adventures in crewing-

 This weekend my husband Brock completed his first 50 mile trail race. It’s held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and called Mountain Masochist 50- it’s been held for 30 some years but unsure of the exact number. However I feel it’s a very very hard and challenging 50 given the hard 12 hour cut off and the vertical climbing this race boasts.

We drove to Lynchburg area Friday and it pouring the rain. We went to sleep early but a bus load of basketball players at 11:30pm insured we would be awoken- and tormented for the next couple hours with their obnoxiousness- I most certainly had a chat with my son jack who is going on a band trip next week about hotel etiquette once I returned home after this experience- 

Anyways we woke up at 4am got ready ate breakfast and I drove Brock to the start at the camp KoA in Monroe.

He seemed calm and confident and ready for the day!! 

The race began and I drove to the parkway bridge aid station for Brock to come through at his mile 11 - to switch hand helds and get his headlamp 

Blurry pic but he was looking strong and happy and under control- and so I met him at the next aid station at the resivoir 

Again strong looking good and on sub 10 hr pace!  This was mile 17 for him So I was thinking I suspect today will be a good day for him- I felt if he kept his efforts steady he would break 10 hours 

I then drove to the long mtn way side mile 23 gave him a turkey and provolone slider I made for him and a soda

I didn’t get any pics from there but I did at the loop mile 31

Looking so fresh and strong! I was so impressed!! So I got to stay here an hour and see so many friends! Which really was fun for me because I haven’t ran mmtr myself since 2014. 

I missed Brock at salt log gap- which it’s a long drive but even better I knew he wasn’t slowing down he was speeding up! 

So I drove to the finish and got everything ready for that 

His clothes to change into so he wouldn’t get cold- post race food and warm stuff to drink (I brought my jet boil and heated up bone broth for him to

Drink post race because I knew with the salt and protein it would be good and also it’s warm and it was windy and cool at the start) 

So finally he finishes 9:49!

He met his goal! He ran beautifully all day and it made me so happy to see him do well and be apart of his special day! 

Little salty 😜

Brock with Dr. David Horton 

Brock and I at the finish  watch everyone 


 Brock with his LUS black hole

Duffle bag  congrats Brock! I love you and so proud of you! 

Okay! So all day everyone was telling me I need to get back out there and asking me what I was doing. Which is so amazing people are encouraging and interested in what I have going on- I really tried to keep everything nice and breezy- and I am going to try to train for holiday lake in February 

However- it’s obvious to me- I haven’t really raced hard or ran well since 2012.  I ran a lot of long hard races that year and had a lot of life stress- I’ve ran ultras since then plenty of them even  2 hundreds and got finishes but I just think something kinda broke  inside me via overtraining syndrome and I keep hoping I heal- that’s why I focused on so many other things - to give myself a break from training so hard- working mar mtn sports, teaching yoga, making jewelry, I went back to school and worked on my masters teaching certification a semester —- all in the hopes I find something that fires me up like running ultras that I can love and be passionate about- alas I have not found that thing- and I still train and run daily however my body forces my mileage to be low.  I wish I could explain the fatigue and tiredness I have felt for years- on a daily basis- and I’ve really tried to

Figure it out for myself- I eat healthy I take supplements - I’ve been tested for lymes- negative- my thyroid is a little low but nothing extreme- everything else is normal when I go to the doctor I’m healthy- so I how can I explain- I can’t run long distances hard and intense anymore- he is just impressed I can go run 5 hrs even if it’s 13 min pace on a trail. So I’ve been in this limbo-

But the good news is I’m fine now- for years I can’t tell you the stress anxiety and tears about not running well and not feeling enough or my  frustration about it. Today yes I would love to run fast again for long long distances - will that ever happen for me? I don’t know and I’m okay and accepting for that - only took 6 years for me to get there - I have an appt with a new dr who is a runner nov 13 and they are supposed to do a host of tests to try to figure out what can be done if anything 

I’m just trying to be in a place of gratitude- life is not that bad for me- I have a healthy husband who is killing it at his running and happy!! I have happy amazing kids! I have dogs who love me-  I still lift and get to run and bike! Just not for hours and hours - with out terrible side effects that make me have a set back- read some of things on irunfar about over training syndrome - it’s nuts. I try to be happy at least I can do what I do and I do have some hobbies I enjoy 

This weekend I’m going backpacking again with my cousin on the AT inNC

Backpacking although it’s slow and cumbersome in comparison to trail running- it gets me out there - and that’s truly my love is to be outside. 

I also hunt and fish and really have enjoyed cultivating those skills within myself 

I eat what I kill or catch - I’ve been busy this fall with jacks band and October was very warm when bow season began so I haven’t had the opportunity to hunt much 

So yesterday after we got home I went to my parents farm- it was such a beautiful evening and I really just wanted the time with my dad and peacefulness of sitting quietly in the woods 

But after several hours a huge buck 125-130 lbs showed up but his rack was small- 4 pt. Which isn’t important to me as I’m hunting for meat and not a trophy -I was able to harvest him with my cross bow! 

Dad and I field dressed him and hung him to drain and he will be  skinned out and processed this morning!! Field to table and stream to table is the most sustainable  food healthiest form of protein. I don’t take the loss of life lightly- and harvest responsibly same as my dad selects steers for us to slaughter once a year for our family.  Its old school- but if you really think about where our food in grocery stores come from- this way for me is optimal since I’m an omnivore 

  I’m going trout fishing with my brother later this week, and very excited to get to have trout for dinner and get to spend time on the river with my brother Brian. Hunting and fishing hasn’t replaced  or eclipsed my passion for running- or trail and ultrarunning it will always be my first love but being outside and cultivating skills that I know I can feed myself(and I feel the same with herbalism and foraging and I haven’t discussed my love for that here but will do some posts on that in the future)- I find very satisfying 

 After my dr appt I will do a post as well to keep everyone updated on my journey - on how to optimize my health and enable myself to do the things I love ❤️ 

And in closing- I had an incredible weekend. I’m so proud of Brock and so happy I was able to crew him.  I’m working to get back out there ♥️ I have zero regrets as life is a journey and I just need to keep moving forward and take everything one day at a time- just like a race- aid station to aid station. 

Running happy consistently 🎃 and happy Halloween

The last two days I have experienced a change in my running- for the first time in a long long time- I’ve actually enjoyed it- had fun on my runs!! I’m sure cooler temps and eye candy(aka fall foliage ) have a lot to do with it 

I am unsure why I had such a blah attitude when I ran- just felt it wasn’t fun anymore and I did it out of obligation to my health or identity - because I knew I should etc - but today and yesterday both run I felt a shift in my thoughts like hmm this isn’t bad- I’ll just float up this hill... 

where before I’d be like “oh God—- this sucks.”  Why do I do this to myself? Etc- soo perhaps it could be shift in thinking- and better fitness combined - who knows? All I know is I’m excited that the fun aspect has returned for me! 

I have been using both my garmin and my Apple Watch to track my runs- 

I’m excited to feel my appetite for running return and as Karl Meltzer told me when he coached me last year: “if running is hard for you, you need to do more of it for it to get easy.”  Pretty sound advice! 

Today is Halloween! We are very excited for trick or treaters! And to watch scary movies and have a taco bar!! 

Both kids just want to hand out candy this year! 

Here are some pictures from my run yesterday and a shot of me just finishing my run this morning : 

Yes I look sad  or traumatized 😂 but I’m not just was trying to breathe 😆 

Jack and Todd dressed up for school - Jack was a tacky tourist and Todd it was career day and he is a civil engineer 

Jack with his Veterans Day project he made for

School 

Few of my favorite things right now...

Wanted to share some of things that I’m quasi obsessed with currently! None of this is advertising - no one asked me to promote anything- I just wanted to share them because they seem to make my life and health better

 I use these two cook books ALOT. Loads of great information and fast and easy recipes! I got “run fast, cook fat, eat slow” from Amazon and “wicked good” from booksamillion

 I have used many different brands of ghee and this hands down is my favorite - I bought it from Earthfare. I use this instead of butter - I also use it for when I make golden milk- (my go to warm evening/before bedtime drink) and I put it in. My coffee in the mornings

 Omg- y’all- using gelatin like this is a game changer- if you haven’t heard about it’s many benefits PLeASE do yourself a favor and research it- it helps heal your gut- it helps your skin,hair and nails- it gives you tons of protein! And you can put it in everything! I place a serving in my golden milk I drink every evening but you can also stir it into soups! It’s amazing- and you can make healthy gummies for your kids (or for yourself)!


And last but not least- because I’ve raved- about golden milk- this is a mix I like to use-  but you can easily make your own- I bought this from Earthfare as well- tsp of this to 12 oz of unsweetened warm almond or coconut milk- with some gelatin ghee- maybe a little  local honey - it’s money and you will

Sleep like a baby!! 

I hope each of you is having an amaZing day today! It’s little cool out but feels so crisp and exillerating!! Do something good for yourself today! Whether it’s moving around, taking an exercise class, going for a run or walk, eating nourishing foods or even just remembering to take your vitamins!! ♥️

Cutting back hedges, making room for more light in my life

Yesterday was a bear. It was the third day that I spent with my 72 year old dad clearing brush and cutting back my hedges in my landscaping because they had become so overwhelming to me- they were blocking the  sunlight that comes into my house - and also growing up against my house and just making a mildewy mess- I love plants- and at first recoiled at having to trim them back what I felt was severely- but as my dad pointed out- in the long run it makes them grow correctly it makes them heartier and healthier and give me space- so as we were working I noticed the more sunlight and space I was making by trimming- the more I could breathe I literally felt lighter and better- the sheer overgrowth of my landscaping I felt had choke hold on me and I didn’t realize it- I wish I had before and after but this walk way I couldn’t even use before it was like a green tunnel and really mosquito-y in the summer 

Now it’s so open and lovely and I feel I can actually utilize it- so my point is - what other things have a subconscious choke hold on our psyche? Are there places in our life that are so out of control and over grown- we need to prune and trim and cut it back into submission so that it actually works for us  and makes sense again? Just something to think about- but I know I want to make more  space for myself  and for things to look lovely and have access to plenty of sunshine!!! ♥️

I was so tired last night for dinner I made soup again but this time it was my spin of beef pho- but I used  fake ramenoodles soba ? I think so their name (gluten free) sirloin from pounding mill land and cattle ( my parents farm) and I used beef bone broth I had made- if anyone wants the  precise recipe I can post it later- 

It’s going to be another beautiful October day! Clear blue bird day crisp high 60- I’m getting ready to go run 🏃‍♀️- 5 miles then plan to take maverick for a walk-  here are some pictures of the back of my house with maverick this morning- I’m just so happy how everything looks in my yard now ( and that I can breathe) 

 Maverick be like “lady stop taking pictures of me” 

Okay  lastly this is a humble brag - yesterday I fixed my son todds bounce back for lax- it had gotten messed up when the yard dudes moved it to mow around it - and since spring had been under my back porch in a crumpled sad heap- and it drove me crazy- I hated it - I wanted to throw it away but was too afraid I would scratch my truck trying to load it by myself because it was so cumbersome- 

My dad said he would help me haul it away yesterday and I said well let me try one more time to see if I can get it to stand and not fall down-  and for whatever crazy reason and some wd40 I got it to work 

 So I had a happy child

After school who practiced on his bounce back 

Then he practiced cradling and shooting for an hour- so that is a victory  in my book. My goal is just to continue to dig out small victories like the bushes or the bounce back every day - 

Hope everyone has an awesome Wednesday!!! 

Gluten free cornbread and pumpkin, turmeric chili

Hi! Just wanted to jump back on my blog real quickly this morning  and share my pictures and recipe from dinner last night! As I mentioned I’m really into baking but Utlizing gluten free methods-  so in my last post I mentioned as an ode to fall I was making pumpkin/veggie broth based chili with pumpkin and turmeric and gluten free corn bread- both turned out amazing and I wanted to share some pictures! 









 I like to  literally crumble the cornbread into the chili - but after stirring it up I think you can really see the pumpkin orange and the turmeric color- this recipe was so yummy.  And I’m going to share it although not approximate 

For the cornbread I got it from the website “gluten on a shoestring” which I really like this site they are simple and informative- 

 Okay y’all I did this recipe except I omitted the honey- because my family for generations has NEVER put sugar or sweetener in cornbread- just no. Lol- but if your fam like sweet corn bread - that option is there (my suggestion is to just bake them a cake- haha)  and I baked it in a warmed and greased (with bacon grease- hello paleo!) cast iron skillet at 400f for 20-25 min

I also would

Suggest adding milk or butter milk or even water to the batter to make it more moist 

For the chili- this isn’t approximate but I use 

One small yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic 

One package of ground beef (I used beef from my parents farm!) bison is a great substitute if you have to buy at store or go the farmers market and get ground beef from there- much better quality 

2tsp of salt 

3tsp of turmeric 

3 tsp of chili powder 

Dash of red pepper (if you like spicy chili) 

Can of crushed tomatoes 

Can of pumpkin (plain be careful not to get pie filling)

Two cans of red kidney beans 

I used a 16oz jar of chicken bone broth I made but you can use veggie stock or chick broth or water - 

Sauté onions and garlic add hamburger salt 

When well done add spices and canned goods and broth stir well and bring to a boil then simmer for 30 min

Be sure to taste! Before serving to make sure it’s salted enough or seasoned enough and voila!! 

Today is going to be beautiful hope you get outside and enjoy the leaves changing and crisp weather Bring to a 

This is my street I get to run on everyday!! 

Decided to add some pictures of my pets! (this is only some of them) Leo the Tom cat

Brocks dog belle the blue heeler

Maverick my dog MY best friend and super pet - I love him so much 

And this is little Alice my snuggle buddy- Abbie meadows gave me this dog in 2013 and she is doing great  happy and loves everyone