TwentySixPointWhat?

Again - Another retroactive race report - I honestly didn't feel too bad after the ICY-8 - sure it was hard but it wasn't too bad.  I was back to running again the Wednesday after and it felt great.  Like Euphoria great - I had implemented a routine of going to bed early and I limited alcohol intake to ~4oz of beer or wine a night. I was feeling really healthy but more importantly, I was feeling good about myself. Right about mid-week I received a text from Mike - he was sick after the ICY-8 and it had gotten worse, like pneumonia worse and well, he was home from work and wasn't sure about running that weekend.  Now, Holiday Lake is about 2.5 hours away - on the other side of Farmville. We had planned on leaving Fredericksburg around 3:00 am, running the race and then coming home.  For whatever reason none of this phased me. I instinctively made the decision to take Ori to daycare for the night (no need to wake the beast at 2:00 am and then lock him up for the next ...

Retroactively writing a race report - We'll see how this goes. Leading up to the ICY-8 I decided that I needed to focus and get serious about my running if I was going to make it through the spring ultra season.  I'd gained at least 10 lbs since Thanksgiving (blame the beer and Christmas cookies, doh!) I brought Ori with me - it was a cold morning that much I remember.  After checking in I caught up w/ Mike for a bit and then gathered around for the pre-race brief. After the start I went back to my car, got Ori and we set off a good 5 minutes behind everyone - I didn't want him getting in anyone's way.  2016 is my 8th (?) year running this race.  I've missed a few years due to inactivity or snow storms (2010) but one thing is for sure, I've determined that no way, no how would I ever run the 8-mile loop - sigh.  With Ori in tow I made the decision to run the 8-mile loop twice so that he could run free without getting in anyone's way.  It was actually quite...

“The afternoon knows what morning never suspected.” ~ Robert Frost

If you do less of something, you will instantly make room for something else.

“Being human gives us more power than we realize. We have the power of choice and being stuck, unhappy, and miserable is always a CHOICE! Sometimes we become way too comfortable with being uncomfortable so today I challenge you to get outside your comfort zone and make some positive life changes. You have the power. You can do it. CHOOSE to live your best life possible!!” -  Sarah Fragoso

For the last couple of months I've been yo-yo-ing w/ gluten- and dairy-free/paleo recipes, again. I know that I feel better when I restrict these things from my diet but the time it takes to create a meal that is gluten-free is simply not possible, or so I tell myself. In an effort to get myself back on track I've rounded up some paleo cookbooks w/ recipes that have greatly improved since I first started experimenting w/ the paleo lifestyle.   Here is one that I tried this morning.  I’ll Make You Banana Pancakes, Pretend Like It’s The Weekend Now… yummy!Enjoy! update: 3/25 - I made these pancakes again this morning but instead of using cut bananas I used strawberries.  Excellent substitution.  These are going to be added to the rotation of morning staples.  Quick and easy to prepare. Delicious, too!

Full disclosure - I am not Catholic. Whew! I'm glad I got that off my chest. That being said, yes, you read the post title correctly this is my Lenten update.  I was raised christian, a mixture of Baptist and Methodist but all of my cousins were raised catholic (long story involving parents who were human and committed human acts which rendered them unable to marry in the Catholic church). For Lent this year I 'gave up' going out to restaurants to eat and recommitted to a traditional training program. The first stemmed from the realization one week that I was throwing away more and more food because it was going bad before I could use it. . .this was a direct result of eating out at least three nights a week, sometimes more. The second was a realization that I was stagnant. At some point I figured out that I didn't need to put in the miles to be a successful marathon/ultra runner. In fact, I actually became a better runner the less I trained with a 'traditional'...