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Pine Creek Challenge

  Pine Creek Challenge: Race Recap It truly started with tacos. We were out, and the race came up. I honestly wasn’t trying to get him to run it with me, and I don’t think I said more than a couple of sentences. Something along the lines of “I have no expectations. I just want to see what possible. I really miss the community. Now, pass the salsa. The mild stuff not the hot stuff. I’m a wuss” He couldn’t have gotten past his driveway when I got a text. “You got me. I’m in” I was overjoyed. Next came the talks about weather…and gear…and terrains. It felt so familiar. So comfortable. So in my wheelhouse. Like a fire that had grown dim, coming ablaze again! He picked me up in the POURING rain. Mother Nature has and never will disappoint on race day! We chatted along the ride. Each giving the other escape routes and each knowing we wouldn’t take them. He finally said, “You set the pace. I’ll follow your lead”. And, that’s exactly what happened. Our “why’s” for doing thi...
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Appalachian Trail NY

  Happy (almost) Hip-aversary to me! Five days after my right hip replacement, I bounded into a spin class. Well, not bounded. I winced, hobbled, and struggled into that class. I couldn’t figure out how to bend over to get my spin shoes on or how to lift my leg over the body of the bike. Standing wasn’t an option, and I set the gear resistance very, very low. The 50 minute class started and by the time it ended, I had covered three miles. THREE miles! I am a seasoned ultra-marathoner, long distance hiker, century+ cyclist, Ironman and lifetime performance athlete, and I had covered only three miles. I also sang loudly. I bike-danced. I did what I do, I embraced the suck. I celebrated being on that bike! As I left, I grabbed my cane and the instructor smiled at me and said, “I see your energy”. I smiled back and said, “I just learned my jumping off point.” Fast forward seven months. I was again on the operating table. This time for the left hip. Five days after that, I ha...
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Phunt 50k 2021

 It is amazing to me that my last blog entry was Phunt 50k from last year.   Although, I have run multiple ultras this past year, allowing me to surpass my 100th all time ultra-distance, I have not been moved to blog.   But, then, there is Phunt.   This is a race like no other, even in the virtual world.  You see, I was driving to Phunt on the day my brother passed away.  I've always felt a kindred connection between this race and Rick, and the prevalence of PBR on the swag, only deepens that connection. Phunt was my litmus.   I came back last year and ran with all my heart.   I ran for me.  I ran for time.  I ran for the adventure.   What I didn't know, was that I was running in-person for the last time.   For the race this year, which was virtual, I toed the line of my one mile cemetery loop.  This loop and I have become quite close this year.  On Saturday, I ran around that dang thing 31 times.  It took me nea...
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Phunt 50k

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It’s never expected when it happens.  I’ll never know why that moment has embedded itself.  The memory is vivid and it is my barometer. Rick and I are in the backseat of my mom’s green Chevy Nova.  It’s way too early in the morning. Rick will head to Hobomock Rink 1, and I’ll be in two.   Hockey for him. “Patch” workout for me. I’m in my homemade floral skating dress. I’ll spend hours working the nuances of circles exactly three times my height.  The true origin of figure skating. It was these early mornings that taught me endurance, precision, diligence and perseverance. And, it is without a doubt, where my mind takes me when I am in my happy place. I’ll be going about my business, and BAM!  I’m in that rink. I can re-capture the smells.  The music. The scuffs on the boards. The tone of my coach chiding me when I wobble.   It is a reminder to me that I am right where I need to be in my life. I am centered. I am filled with pur...
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Goodbye 2019

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For as long as we have been together, Mark and I give each other “wish gifts” for Christmas.   They are small tokens, used to represent our wish for the other during the coming year.    This year, Mark gave me a brown haired barbie doll ...covered in bandages.    “She represents everywhere you were hurt this year.  My wish is that you heal”. Not going to lie.  2019 put me through my paces.   It challenged me in ways I never could have imagined. I have always considered myself to be a strong woman, I realized, my strength is irrelevant if I am not challenged to use it.   I am honored to say...I used it. I did not shy away. I met each obstacle head on, and I did my level best. I grumbled. I cried. But, I never stopped my relentless forward progress. Looking back, I am thankful with how I traversed this year. I am proud of me. I had a true moment of clarity during a sunrise run in Arizona.   I felt light a...
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Making Strides

Making Strides When, I lined up at the starting line for my brother's 5k, in September, I took a private moment. “Rick”, I said, “I did it.  I picked up the load you left me. I did what needed to be done. Now, I need your help to get me back”.  And, we were off.   And, the pain was excruciating.   Within 0.25 miles, that familiar electric charge, that radiates up my leg, was back.  The charge, I've tried to deafen with inserts, cortisone shots and surgery aimed at melting the culprit. I've tried changing shoes, pace, gait and terrain.  I've iced, rolled and elevated. I've given up racing, and was ready to give up running altogether. (Get ready yoga, you’re up). I felt as if I'd exhausted all options, all to no avail. At that moment, however, I tried one more thing.  I enjoyed some time with Rick’s four year old granddaughter, Ella.   Ella, and I would run from signpost to signpost, racing and giggl...
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Gratitude and Running Shoes

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My running shoes have been with me, near me, available to me, for a very long time now.   I’ve turned to them when I need to process life’s ups downs and turns. For a few months now, my running seemed forced.  It was much easier to sit at home vs. lace them up. I allowed other priorities to take over the time I used to dedicate to myself.   I justified in my own head that I didn’t “need” to run...I had nothing to prove. I let races I signed up for, come and go. More often than not, I missed my weekly running goals. My endurance suffered. Running felt like just one more thing on the list. And, then one day, I just started again. I drove to Connecticut the day after school let out and toed the line for a timed race.   I ran in the heat and the mud and honestly, I let a lot of my life just settle where it was.   I took control back of me. I felt a sense of gratitude. Fast forward a week, to a yoga conference in Arizona.   Still not adju...
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