The wrap up!
It has been a crazy few weeks! More specifically, in 5 weeks I raced a 40 miler, 110km, and a 50 miler…..in two different countries, and three different time zones! My quest for UTMB points, part 1, is wrapping up after racing the Marin Ultra Challenge last weekend. I hadn’t raced trails in California since Western States in 2009! Admittedly I don’t think of them as being my strength — more runnable and less technical. But I felt ready to toe the line and see what progress I have made in the last 10 years for that sort of terrain. And, good news: I held my own, coming in 4th in the women’s field and 21st overall!! I have to give a huge shoutout to my amazing friends who came out to crew, pace and support me: Michele, Melanie, Emily and Kelly. You ladies were awesome! Despite it being ~20 miles shorter than the race in Spain 2 weeks ago, there are always ups and downs in ultrarunning and it was so so nice to go through the day with support out there.
Coming off of the race, I think that for now I have gotten the running out of my system….and I’m ready to get back onto my bike more. Maybe the fact that spring is finally here is helping too, hard to say. Here’s a wrap-up on what I have going on now that all the running is done though:
What I’m Doing
Resting! Sleeping! Eating! Drinking! Also though, next week I should probably start swimming a bit more as I may have signed up for a swim meet in the coming weeks....
What I’m Reading
I’ve picked up ROAR by Stacy Sims and am giving this a re-read! I think that when I go through periods of high mileage and ultrarunning, my hormones get all sorts of wacky. Listening to my body, sleeping, and executing some simple dietary changes based on her research is the key to getting myself to feeling “normal” again, so I’m just taking some time to refresh myself on her tips and tricks.
What I’m listening To
Obviously the newest IronWomen Podcast.
But also - Mumford and Sons! I tend to squeeze in time with family and friends into the weeks after a big block since I have much more downtime to be with them. We will be going to Mumford this weekend!
Where I’m Going
Nowhere! I have 3 weeks at home before some travel in April so I am soaking that in!!
What I’m Watching
Survivor, always, obvi.
But also I was sent this, which I loved: Where the Wild Things Play
It isn’t beyond me though, that this is a prime case where everyone in the movie looks…..like me. I hope that there are videos out there to inspire people who don’t look like me too, but I’m not naive enough to believe that there are many. There are some great initiatives in the outdoor space to increase diversity, but that is definitely something I want to take a harder look at this year to see what impact I could have personally on this.