Time…..Never Enough Time.

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I never seem to have enough time to do everything that I need to do in a single day.  I see other people balancing work and life and I just cannot seem to get it right.  I have a lot of commitments this semester.  Work, School, System Governance, Girls on the Run Coach, Running Club North Board of Directors, RCN and Skiing club commitments, not to mention my own training and family.  I tend to end each day too tired, too hungry…and sometimes too cranky.

I need to figure out better time management.  I am the type of person that needs some amount of down time to myself each day.  I think I am going to have to give something up but giving something up causes great anxiety.  Do I stop volunteering? Do I give up one of my positions in Governance or board seat?  I really enjoy all of the work I do.  I love my Girls on the Run group, that is something that I just will not give up. These girls are a group of the most amazing 6th graders I have ever met.  I want to be a good role model and coach to them.  They deserve at least that much.

My house is a borderline mess, which for me is saying a lot.  My standards are pretty high, but its about time I realize that a little bit of unclean laundry or sink full of dishes is not the end of the world.

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This girl needs my attention!

Next week is Spring Break, thank goodness.  A week without school commitments and Girl on the Run (due to break) so this is going to be my week of getting my shit together.

I have my goal race for the Spring in less than a month, LavaMan in Kona, HI and I need to get my butt in gear and ready for it and the amazing days of vacation I get along with it.

 

And just like this kitty, I am going to just hang in there as best as I can. Spring is coming and along with that more time, more daylight, and more motivation.

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Musings of the Long Run…

Weekends are the only time I have the ability to do my long runs.  The workweek is too crowded with work, coaching, school work, and my volunteer commitments to do more than about 60-90 minutes TOPS.  Therefore I save the long run or the long bike for the weekends.  Which in turn eats up sometimes up to half my day, from preparing – doing – recovery.  There has to be a better way, that or I need to be organized. Doing anything in the winter just takes so much work to get ready. But I have my IceBugs running shoes, which are the best thing since sliced bread, and my trusty InkNBurn Healing Mandala Pullover to power my run.

Long run Saturday had  me doing the big 12’ish mile loop that starts at my house.  Just me the road/trail/path and my trusty Icebugs.  No music no distraction.  With no music to distract me the long run turns into a 2+ hour marathon of so down right wacky internal dialogue and possibly the singing of classic show tunes 🙂

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Icebugs are the BombDiggity

I am pretty sure that I solved the mysteries of time travel. All thanks to the great scientific theories that I learned watching Men in Black III the night before 🙂  So I figured out a way for me to also go back and time to 6 grade to tell myself that running is a good thing and you should do more of it….well obviously that didn’t actually work out as I finished out my run at a very slow 12 mm ‘ish pace 🙂  Maybe I just need to watch more time traveling movies to figure out the right way.  Maybe that one with Gerard Butler where they use a fax machine to go back in time…..HMMMM I wonder where the heck I am going to find a fax machine?!?!?

Then that kinda phased into thinking about fax machines…then that lead to printers….then boom thinking about 3D printing myself a fancy new bike and all the fun things that you could do with a cool 3D printing. Then I realized I am way to poor to even think about the printer or new things.  Saving money for a trip is sucking all the fun out of my shopping habit!

I pretended that instead of being 23 degrees outside and snow that it was 78 and sand.  I have no idea how the heck I am going to deal with the heat and humidity of LavaMan Triathlon in Kona next month. I am going to be so unacclimated.

The plan was to do the full 12 mile loop but I kinda pooped out at about mile 8 or so.  The bike path on that part of the road was all torn up and the snow was lumpy bumpy from all the snow machines that ride on it.  Yeah….way up here in the arctic we don’t call them snowmobiles, but snow machines.  Go Figure. I always thought a snow “machine” made snow not rode on top of it!

I guess all in all it wasn’t the worst it could be considering Im still technically in hibernation for winter.

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InknBurn – Healing Mandala!

Here is to hoping the the next run being even better!

 

 

Dreaming of Ironman….and not RDJ

Winter in the subarctic is hard, long, and dark….Its so hard to stay motivated to keep moving forward to my dream of Ironman North Carolina. Its a big task ahead of me and I hope I am up to the challenge.

Running outside is still doable, with enough layers. And thank goodness to my Wednesday night running group for support.

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How beautiful is this sunrise?

Road biking is a big fat no.  So a lot of time on the trainer is needed.  And swimming well, not a problem, we have a great pool at the Uni!

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Sometimes I can’t even get to my trainer!

Living in the subarctic is amazing, don’t get me wrong but sometimes you miss having a more moderate climate.  Though this winter has been amazingly warm…I’ll take the positive temperatures!  Sometimes you just have to get the heck out to keep sane.

My soul lives in San Diego….and I never miss a chance to be there.  Just two weeks ago I took a short trip down.  Did a practice triathlon and it felt amazing to be cycling out on the open road sun shining down.

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Im so HAPPY!

I have to remember that spring is just around the corner and I need to keep pushing through.  Lavaman in Kona, Hawaii is in a month and that will be my first challenge of the season. Once I get back hopefully the snow will be gone and serious outdoor training can begin.

Onward and forward one mile at a time.

Still dreaming of spring………

Oh Happy Day! Do the Happy Dance!

Oh Happy Day! Do the Happy Dance!

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I am very happy to announce that I have been chosen to represent the most awesome fitness clothing line in the USA.  INKnBURN.  How awesome is that?  Being an INKnBURN Ambassador is a incredible experience and I am super grateful for the chance to promote a made in the USA brand.
This brand embodies all of the things that I love.  Mixing art, colour, and imagery on amazing quality made clothing that is comfortable and stylish.  INKnBURN makes me feel amazing.  I’ve tested it out on bike rides, ultras, running, and skiing and it has never let me down.  I always get amazing feedback each time I wear one of these amazing pieces.  For the first time I have wanted to represent a brand, normally a brand is a brand but in this case the amazing designs and the quality coupled with the amazing team who work hard in So.Cal designing all the way to producing each an every piece are amazing. I had the pleasure of visiting the INKnBURN studio just a few weeks ago with my So.Cal friend. They were working hard to get out many new garments (PI Day, Lucky Charm, Club items) but we were still treated like royalty! We must have been there for 2 hours trying things on and talking about what we loved about the designs!  And if they didn’t have our size or style on display she happily looked in the warehouse to see if they had it in stock. It was amazing experience! I got to see up close all of the amazing current designs and they are all so much more amazing in person!
Awesome front entry art!
Colour is a big part of my life and how can you look at this amazing INKnBURN Miko tights and arm warmers and not feel uplifted and strong?
I can feel the uplifting vibes from this “retired design” tank called Flutter combined with the current Chameleon Sports Skirt?  I can feel the fluttery wings of a butterfly lifting me up!
I challenge each and everyone of my athlete friends to try at least one piece. With so many amazing and different designs there is always a new design to choose from and one that may just be that special piece that “speaks and whispers” to you from afar! One piece and you will be hooked. I promise 🙂  So now head over to http://www.inknburn.com and getting shopping!

Fur Rendezvous 2016

Fur Rendezvous 2016

This was my first time visiting Fur Rondy as it is called.  It is an amazing mix of parade, street fair, carnival, dog mushing, and we cannot forget FUR located in Anchorage, Alaska. This is the 51st year of the Rondy and I was lucky to have a chance to go down to Anchorage to experience it.

Just a 50 minute plane ride from Fairbanks makes logistics easy as driving in the winter in the Sub Arctic can be a pain and down right dangerous if conditions turn bad.

I arrive in Anchorage late Friday night. Just enough time to get a snack in the bar and a quick nightcap at the Hilton.  My room was luckily located facing the inlet on one side and the street on the other. WOOOT!! Corner Room baby!  This was the view from the side window:  A view of the tiny little carnival, which there is no way in heck that I am getting on any of those rickety things!

Saturday was the main event for me, Dog Mushing. Due to the lack of snow, they were forced to shorten the races down from 25 miles to 10 miles and well a reduction of the $$ purse as well 😦  The Dog races are the 3 day event, and I got to see day to. I love watching these athletes. They are fast and happy.  Amazing Athletes they are.
Im honour of these amazing animals I treated myself to this very amazing Husky Hat 🙂  Its cute, warm and fuzzy. What more could you want?  And I think I look super cute in it!
I gathered with a friend who was having a birthday and her family at the Glacier Brewhouse for dinner. AMAZING….If you ever make it to Anchorage, Alaska you must eat here.  Try a beer and stay for the food. To die for. Also be sure to have the Peanut Butter Pie, its a house specialty.
The night was topped off my an amazing fireworks show. Well my iPhone does pretty crappy taking low light photos, so to share the beauty I am going to share a photo taken by the Greater Anchorage, Inc.  Please see http://www.fuurondy.net to see all of their other awesome photos.
What a great weekend! I am so glad I got to experience Fur Rondy first hand.  In the almost 20 years I have lived in Alaska this is a first for me.  I know the Rondy is smaller than it has been in the past, but I totally recommend anyone in the area to come on down, spend a day, or a week and enjoy all that Fur Rondy has to offer.
Now that I am home, its back to reality.  But most important, back to my fur children!