Life on the Runn...

This year, thanks to an extra long winter break -- two full weeks -- I decided to head west and cut down on the back-and-forth (and save some hard-earned cash) of home for the holidays, to the mountains, and back home again. I'm definitely missing being with the rest of my family today, especially when there wasn't a fantastic breakfast from Dad, setting the table and sharing stories with mom, or jokes with my brother to exchange. I am, however, very much enjoying the one-on-one time with my little family, BR, the girls, and me.   Fur babies count, right?!  a few Christmas goodies, practical, of course!  Road trips, rock climbing, curled up with a good book (or a laptop to tend to some programming), it doesn't matter.  Life with this guy is an absolute blessing and the best adventure I ever could have never planned for! We've spent a lot of good times in the ol' Fit, headed somewhere new to do something fun  May your holiday blessings be as p...

Life - marriage, career, family - is hard work; it's rewarding, meaningful work, but it's hard work.  Today is my parents' 33rd anniversary.  Those years tell the story of two wonderful people, who have dedicated their lives to working hard, building a family, and tirelessly loving one another. Those years together have made for a wonderful life for their family and have helped to shape the people we are today. The fact that I arrived not all that long after my parents were married means I have been present for a lot of their life together.  And though there are certainly years I don't remember, one thing I'll never forget is the example my mom and dad set for my brother and me.  There were never false pretenses, nothing was for show - the life my parents led, the life they continue to lead, is a genuine one.  They have always been a team in the truest sense of the words.  In both the best of time and the worst, they have been a complimentary pair. ...

Truth be told, heading into this run, I wasn't my most excited running self.  Aside from the fact that we were mid-move, I had been sidelined by tendonitis, and I hadn't been running regularly since my half marathon.  For someone like me, someone who thrives on having a routine, a goal, and hates sitting still, it had been torture. Brian and I talked extensively about the fact that I needed to be mindful of my injury; he told me to learn from his past mistakes, to rest when injured and to listen to my body.  In fact, he made me promise that I would consider walking the race if running was too painful.  I hate being wrong, and I hate feeling like I've quit at anything, but I conceded -- he was right.   Bright and early Saturday morning, I was ready to test my limits (or at least see what they were) and was extremely happy to be joined by my run buddy, Jenna, and my friend, Amanda, who decided a 5K was on her bucket list.  We headed to Veteran's Park, ...

Like all big things in life, it doesn't feel real until it's really happening, and on December 17th, we really are turning over the keys to the house and moving on...to where, we're not sure yet, but it's time to say goodbye to Oak Creek and the first house we made our home.   It was a tough decision, like any decision these days seem to be for us, but it ultimately made little sense for us to remain in the OC when I work in Waukesha and have a husband who splits time (though not equally - who can blame him? Colorado is amazing!) between Boulder and wherever I am.   When I got home from my summer adventure in Colorado, we decided to list the house.  That was the beginning of September, and even with a for sale sign in the front yard, it didn't feel like we were really going to sell this house.  As weeks passed, I almost began to ignore the sign and figured life would march on as it had been.  Then, while in Las Vegas for my half marathon, we got the cal...

Though life is complicated, and moving is not for the faint of heart, it's a short work week and lots of family time awaits. I'm looking forward to several quality husband-wife days this week and next.  

In truth, my running journey began a long time ago. When I was little, I really enjoyed softball and especially loved basketball.  Then, however,  I didn't get 'big' and my love for those sports was definitely impacted. In middle school, I joined the track team, and though I was never a star, I did enjoy running...until I didn't.  By the end of high school, I had burned out.  I liked running more than some silly exercise classes I saw at my college gym, so I ran to stay/get healthy, but, unlike now, I didn't crave a good run at the end of a long day or first thing on a weekend morning (I had Badger games to attend, after all).  I ran on and off until I fell into climbing, and then, I ran even less.  In the summer of 2013, while I Colorado, I  really fell back into it, and when fall and Al's Run rolled around, my cousin Jenna, who had also taken up running, decided to tackle that event, an 8K, together. A simple scroll through this blog will show that t...

Brian has been talking about it for some time now, but it seemed that plans to get me to Joe's Valley, UT never quite worked out.  Last weekend finally put an end to that.  Thanks to a much needed long weekend, I was able to travel west on Thursday evening after work and met my favorite climbing partner at DIA.  We did part of the driving that night and planned to finish the drive to Utah in the morning.  Okay "we" isn't entirely fair when it comes to saying we were driving.  Let's be honest, I'm a terrible driving buddy.  Between making sad faces because of my car sick wooziness and never failing to fall asleep on a drive longer than an hour, I'm not great company in the car.  Regardless, we arrived in Joe's by lunchtime on Friday and I was all smiles.  There definitely is plenty of climbing everywhere, and Brian promised me a climbing day focused on me, so we got to work quickly.  Only a few boulders in, Brian asked what I thought.  He...