Mary Mary Why Ya' Buggin'

I am late in posting these beautiful pictures from my trail run up Cascade Head last month with my running club. Talk about stepping outside my comfort zone! It was challenging and one of the most beautiful run I've done this summer. I am so glad that I decided to go at the last minute. It was after this run that my left hip/lower back revolted and started screaming at me when I attempted to run after this. Thus how I ended up meeting Kristen my physical therapist at the hospital. I could not have been matched with a better physical therapist, as Kristen is also a runner and is familiar with triathlon training. I just finished four weeks of physical therapy and am running pain free and doing about a million planks a day to strengthen my core. The benefits besides running pain free, learning more about my body? Since having babies my stomach and abs have never looked better. Just in time to be sporting a bikini on my Caribbean cruise!

I know summer is almost over and here I am just now writing about my awesome experience running my first ever Barrel to Keg relay back in July. Even though it was almost two months ago it feels like just yesterday (minus the throbbing feet and a few toenails). The race was a fabulous experience that still makes me smile when I think about it.  I met some wonderful new friends and had a total blast! I love how the proceeds from the race benefit a local non-profit that help local individuals in Lincoln County overcome poverty.   Our team the Chugging Momma's pictured right to left: me, Gway, Holly, Kelly, Kelsey, Felicia & Jen.  Over the course of the day our seven member team ran a total of 69 miles. Each of us running two 3-7 mile legs. The route had us run through scenic back roads of the Oregon Coast range. We started at 7am at Harris Bridge Vineyard in Philomath and ended at the Rogue Brewery in Newport and were reward with a much deserved beer and t...

I have fallen in love with trail running this past year.  I have been having a blast, challenging myself and meeting new running friends. I am so thankful to live in an area of the country were there are beautiful places to run so close to my home. I finished a summer trail series a few days after running 13 miles in the Barrel to Keg Relay. I admit I should have taken the night off from running but the lure of drinking beer and hanging out with my running club was the main reason for lacing up my shoes and hitting the trail that night. It was the final run of the series and a celebration at a local pub was planned afterwards. I usually run with my phone. That night my plans were to stick close to my friend Miranda and her husband as she had her phone and we usually run the same pace. I had a full bottle of Nuun, my aching toes wrapped and a goal of enjoying a cold beer afterwards. Off I embarked on what was suppose to be a five mile trail run in an unfamiliar area. The fir...

On Sunday, May 31st I ran the 4th annual Oregon State Police Fallen Trooper Memorial Run at Champoeg State Park, outside of St. Paul, Oregon.  The picture below captures how relieved and happy I was to cross the finish line. It was hot! I am turning into a lightweight when it comes to running in heat since living at Oregon Coast. I knew it was going to hot when I arrived at 8:30am the temperature was already 64 degrees! For me that is a hot day at the beach! I knew it was going to be sunny and warm so I made sure to hydrate, drinking Watermelon Nuun and Nuun's Plus the night before and the morning of. Sadly, it was not enough. My first three miles I was running at fast pace of me, then it went down hill from there as my body was not used to running in the heat. I have a relay race coming up next month and my first olympic triathlon late September. I am going to be incorporating running in warmer temperatures in the upcoming weeks otherwise the heat is going to kill me. The 10k ...

 This is what it looks like to step out of your comfort zone. I signed up for a five week spring trail running series the beginning of April put on by Ardor Trail Running, in Newport, Oregon. I'd seen in the past that the local running club offered a trail running series but it never worked with my schedule. Last year I was dealing with hamstring issues and was not running.                                                 Photo: Ardor Trail Running  This year I saw Ardor Trail Running created a Facebook event. I immediately knew this is something I wanted to do. My sister-in-law, Paige and I ran our first trail race last October in Molalla, a 5k in the Molalla Corridor put on by the local running club. It was a super fun race. We both had a blast. I signed up then saw that the longest run was going to be six miles and the elevation that we would be...

My third triathlon happened last weekend in Stayton a.k.a "CountryLand." Stayton Sprint Triathlon~500 meter swim, 14 mile bike ride and 5k (3.1 mile) run. This particular race has been my goal to do after my Melanoma diagnosis. This race is like coming home to me as Mr. W and I used to live in Sublimity/Stayton before we moved to the Oregon Coast 8 years ago. My mom grew up in Sublimity, "CountyLand" will forever be home to me. I am happy to cross this off my "to one day do" list.      Coming out of the swim Going into this race I was not nervous at all. Crazy as in the past, I am usually a bundle of nerves  before a race. I was looking forward to seeing how my swim and bike legs were going to be since  I've been swimming and spending more time on my bike on the open road. The bike course was flat and through beautiful Willamette Valley. Not a soul around me, I passed a few people early on and again closer to the end but for the most part i...

                                My grandma Evelyn, my maternal grandmother and me when I was a few months old  The year is 2001. It's a hot August night. Mr. W and I are out to dinner with friends when I get the phone call from my mom that my grandmother is entering the hospital and is going into emergency surgery. Mr. W and I are still newlyweds, a few months from celebrating our second anniversary. After my year of being Mary Poppins on the East Coast. I was in no hurry to have a baby.                                         My grandma and I before I left for my honeymoon Fall of 1999.  As the days progressed, it was clear my grandma dying. The same nurses who were delivering babies where also caring for my dying grandma. I began to eagerly anticipate walking past the nurse...