Looking back, I am amazed by how truly lucky I was during my Ironman training season. When I say I was lucky, I don't mean that I didn't do all the work necessary to train for that event. What I mean is that I was lucky that I didn't have any super huge obstacles thrown in front of me while I was training. I didn't get any major injuries and I was able to stay fairly healthy throughout the whole Ironman process. I did nearly all my Ironman training days and miles, and I attribute a lot of my success to that training. With this ultra marathon training, I have not been quite so lucky.

As I shared last week, I was unable to do my long miles over the last weekend because of a terrible migraine. This week I was determined to get right back at it and not let one weekend of lost training determine my success at the Nanny Goat event...and then this week happened.

I was amazed at how quickly it snuck up on me. It felt like one minute I was in the Missoula airport texting my running buddies about the week's running plans, and the next minute we were landing in Las Vegas where I had now started running a 102 temperature and was feeling like I had been hit by a truck. Despite being smart over the weekend, my compromised immune system allowed me to get the worst flu of my life. By Tuesday every part of my body ached, and I couldn't even get out of bed for the next few days. No running for me--again, I needed to be smart and not risk going back too soon.

Today is Sunday, almost a week since getting that plague of a flu and while I am much better, I still have a nasty cough and a diminished energy level. I am listening to my body and resting and holding off on training until early next week. It is a hard call, but I need the rest if I am going to tackle the rest of my training plan miles.

I am losing patience with the need to slow down, but I have not lost my resolve to push through and leap over this latest hurdle to conquer my goal of crossing that finish line of my very first ultra marathon. I love the quote below and hope over the next few months I will be seeing no more major difficulties and obstacles as it relates to my health--Nanny Goat, here I come!

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.
                                       John Quincy Adams

Bounty From "The Box" February 22, 2015

After having to skip our weekly box while we were in Montana, I was very excited to get our goodies this last week.  I went simple this week with the preparation.  I pickled my golden beets, made salad from the fresh organic lettuce, and added some radishes for a little tang.  It is amazing how much better a simple salad tastes when you add just a little flair with some extra veggies.  I also roasted a variety of veggies as sides to whatever meat Sean was preparing for our nightly dinners.  This week we added roasted fingerling potatoes from the box, which was a hit with the entire family.  I know I have been bragging about the taste of fresh roasted carrots, but even my husband, who is not a big carrot fan was impressed with the flavor of roasted rainbow-colored carrots.  This week find interesting ways to add more fresh fruit and veggie choices to your meals and I promise you will not be disappointed with the little extra effort!

I have arrived at week three of ultra marathon training and I knew it was going to be a challenge, but one that I was prepared to tackle. The 59-mile run total for the week would be more than I had ever attempted, even during my Ironman training, but I felt prepared to take on this mileage given that I had done the base mileage in the previous weeks. 

This weekend was special though.  In our district we had a four-day President's Day holiday weekend, and as a family we had planned to fly out to Montana to visit our daughter and spend the holiday with her.  Given that I actually wanted to spend time with my family, I decided that I wanted to complete some of my weekend miles early. The problem was I had just completed 28 miles last weekend and if I really wanted to shave some miles off I need to skip my Monday rest day and run all week.  I decided to see what my body was capable of.

I was going to attempt doing 8 miles each day, but in order to get 8 miles in before work I need to be on the road by 4:30am. So Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday I was out dark and early hitting the pavement with my running buddies. Monday was fine, but by Tuesday and a total of 36 miles over three days my body was not sore at all, but I was tired--like inside my bones tired.  I could hardly keep my eyes open at work and I collapsed into bed before 8pm each night. Wednesday I only ran 5 miles, still no soreness, but the fatigue continued and my intestines were rebelling.  I know--TMI--but that was not something I was expecting.  I felt no soreness at all in my muscles, but the body exhaustion and stomach issues were not easy to deal with.  Despite all that, I ran another 8 miles on Thursday. Luckily, I survived the consecutive days of running and the long miles, and Friday was my fly to Montana day--a forced rest day.

And then my body put its foot down. Valentine's morning I was planning to do about 15 miles, but when I pried my eyes open in our hotel room, I couldn't lift my head off the pillow...literally.  I was having a full-blown migraine with light sensitivity, nausea, and the feeling that someone had hit me with a sledgehammer. Touché, body--I was finally forced to listen. 

Lesson learned.  I really do try to listen to my body when it gives me the subtle hints that I am pushing too hard. The difficulty I am finding right now is balance.  I am doing miles that I have never attempted, but I know I am capable of more if I can only strike that perfect harmony between pushing my limits and backing off when my body signals a need to slow down. I think that the key for me over the next few months is to find that perfect balance.  Albert Einstein once shared that, "Life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance you must keep moving."  It also doesn't take a genius to realize that even the strongest bicycle needs maintenance every once in a while.  This weekend maintenance...next week, I keep moving!

This week I was all prepared to write about what a rough week it has been. Don't get me wrong, for me it was a little bumpy. I had two super late nights with parent and teacher meetings, a late retirement dinner, and then just trying to be a good mom and wife--making dinner, or at least planning the right places to eat, laundry, and so on. I am also on week two of my ultra marathon training and had to fit in 44 miles of running this week in between all of that. On a couple mornings I had to get up at 3 o'clock just to get my running done before I had to go to work. In addition, most of my running buddies on this side of town had done a long race last weekend and were needing to recover. Luckily, I was able to head over to Temecula and run with another amazing running group, but even that means waking up an extra 45 minutes earlier to get to the running spot by 5 AM.

It was rough to fit it all in this week, but it is interesting how God places you in situations to remind you that things could be so much worse. This evening I attended a birthday party for a family that we have known for many years. They were doing a 55th birthday for the father of the family and they were also celebrating their daughter who turns three years-old. We are kindred spirits with this family, because they also have two much older children and then their little caboose, Nora. A few months ago the father was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer throughout his body. As I sat at the party and watched this family, I realized who really had it rough. Who was I to complain about a few less hours of sleep, a little stress, some sore body parts from running so many miles this week, when this little girl will not have her father at her fourth birthday party? 

So hug your loved ones tightly and enjoy life, even when it gets a little rough. It could be so much worse, so take these little rough spots as times to prove to yourself how tough you are. When you fall, dust yourself off and push yourself even harder. You are capable of so much more than you would ever imagine...just put things in perspective and push through.  It is so worth it!

Bounty From "The Box" February 8, 2015

I couldn't wait to get my box this week.  I had ordered some really interesting items and I couldn't wait to get them into my kitchen.  Among my goodies I received a Romanesco Cauliflower (see how beautiful it is below), a watermelon radish, a pink lemon, some colorful sweet carrots, baby bok choy, more of my beloved beets, Japanese mushrooms, and much more.  My son loved eating the cone-shaped cauliflower florets raw, but they were even more delicious roasted.  My favorite was the recipe I improvised.  I sauteed the chopped bok choy in a little olive oil, added the Japanese mushrooms, added some oyster sauce (high in sodium but low calorie), and a dash of rice vinegar--so tasty! Can't wait to see what comes in my box in the coming weeks.