Letting Go...

It's been a busy year and I haven't posted since we got back from our National Parks trip last June.  But we have been busy as always with lots of new adventures and some repeats of old ones.  

In July Joe was supposed to participate in the Salem 1/2 Ironman.  Unfortunately he was out and about in Eastern Oregon fighting wildland fires.  I was able to go and pick up his backpack and t-shirt, which they very graciously let me have even though I wasn't Joe.  Then I emailed Ironman to explain the situation and ask for a deferral to race next year because of the extenuating circumstances.  In order to defer you usually have to ask 90 days in advance.  Which is a little hard to do when we don't know when wildland fires will happen or when Joe will be asked to go.  Ironman very graciously extended the deferral to Joe, all he needed was a letter from his chief with the dates he was working the fire to prove he actually couldn't race this year.  So big shout out to Ironman for actually understanding that life doesn't always work the way we think it should and letting us work it out to race next year. (These races aren't cheap so I figured it didn't hurt to ask.)  Salem Half Ironman

Wendie and I decided to go and cheer at the bike turn around even though Joe wasn't there.  We had so much fun ringing cow bell and cheering for all the racers getting to the half way point of the bike ride!!

In August we did the Bridge of the Gods run.  Wendie and I did the 10k and Josh and Joe did the Half Marathon.  (Joe thought he was doing the 10k....surprise!  Oops)  This race starts on the Washington side of the Columbia River, goes over the bridge to the Oregon side and then takes the trail heading west along the river.  It was a beautiful day and we had a blast doing a new to us race.  We had a lovely cabin on the river in Stevenson, WA and enjoyed sitting in our floaties on the river just hanging out after the race.  Bridge of the Gods Half Marathon and 10k Run

I'm not the best speller, but something doesn't seem right with this sign. 😄

10K Finishers

Half Marathon Finishers!

In September we did the inagural Crystal Creek 10k out in Eddyville, Oregon.  It was a fundraiser for the local track team.  They did such a great job organizing the race!  There was raffle prizes, the course was clearly marked, lots of porta pots and lots of supper friendly volunteers.  We had a lot of fun!

We also did the inaugural Mission Possible Walk/Run at Willamette Mission State Park.  This race was for all different levels of abilities and the course was on the paved trails so that people with disabilities could participate easily.  We had the best time and loved seeing so many of our old friends from when we attended church in Salem.  It was like a mini reunion with a nice walk thrown in.  

November we did our annual Silver Falls race weekend.  The campground is being upgraded so we didn't take the trailer this year and instead stayed in cabins we rented through the lodge.  They were in the middle of transitioning who was in charge of handling those rentals so there was a bit of stress with communication and being sure we actually did have a place to stay for the weekend.  But it all turned out okay and a fun time was had by all as usual.  Wendie and I did the 5k on Friday, Josh, Wendie and Joe did the 7 Miler on Saturday and we all volunteered on Sunday.  We always have a blast this weekend and the race is organized so well!  There are lots of distances to pick from, so if you are interested in doing something in November, check it out.  Registration opens on August 1st each year.  Don't wait to register as it fills up fast!! Silver Falls Trail Runs 

South Falls

Joe is very excited to start the 7 Miler

Which brings us to January.  

Despite all the different activities this year I have struggled hugely with my weight, my motivation and my fitness.  

I am currently right back to where I was when I first started this blog 12 years ago. 

That's so discouraging!

I gave up.....again.  

Sigh.

I have had a lot of "starting over" moments over the years.  But this is harder because now I have all the memories popping up proving that I have done better and was active and fit.  

Entering the lovely time of life with menopause hasn't helped at all!

My hubby and I went away for a few days for the end of my winter break to celebrate our anniversary.  One of the places we went was the Crane Hot Springs in eastern Oregon.  The first day we were there we sat in the hot springs for a couple of hours.  People watching and talking about anything and everything.  

I had been thinking about my weight and struggles a lot over the holidays so it was good to have the time to talk it out with Joe and speak my fears and frustrations out loud.  

I'm disappointed in myself for being here AGAIN. 

I'm frustrated that I can't seem to find the motivation to just get moving. 

I'm remembering that becoming active when you are overweight means things hurt.  It's hard to push through that pain and keep going.  Our natural response to pain is to stop doing the thing that hurts, duh.  

I have been annoyed with Joe for bugging me about working out and then hurt when he stopped asking me to work out with him.  Totally not fair to him and I 100% knew it.  But emotions can be dumb and I'm owning the extreme stupidity of this one.  But it was good to tell Joe what I was thinking and feeling.  Big advantage of being married 35 years is that he knows to listen and love me in spite of my stupidity. 

I have set some new goals for myself for January.  (Taking small steps and small goals to start.)

I made a tracker to put in my planner and I'm hoping to get at least one, hopefully two bubbles filled in every day of the tracker for January.  Here are the categories I make:

Drink 8 glasses of water a day. (Hard as a teacher but I'm going to try).

• 30 minute walk.
• 30 minute swim.
• Bike Ride.
• 10,000 Steps.
• Strength Training

I did give myself a little slack for the first five days since we were on a vacation. So I haven't done accomplished one every day since the first but I've already done more than in December so I'm okay with that.  

Joe and I explored a new trail on our way back to Sisters from the hot springs.  It was called the Flatiron trail and is just east of Bend on Hwy 20.  We just did a little over three miles but could see on the map that there are lots of ways to extend the hike and possibly get some great mountain views along the way.  I'm excited to go back!

The Juniper smelled SO good!

💜💜💜

The house we were staying at in Sisters had a great view of the mountains.  Unfortunately the rain clouds covered them up almost the entire time we were in Sisters.  We did get a peak at one for a while in the late afternoon and the sunrise was beautiful, even without the mountains showing.  

Sunrise

Sunset

The locals joined us for breakfast.

Today I did a bunch of meal planning and made all my lunches for the week at school.  I also set alarms on my phone in order to remind myself to have my snacks to keep my blood sugar and protein steady throughout the day.  

I'm having to let go of where I was versus where I am now. 

I'm having to let go of goals I had for where I would be at this point in my life.  

I'm having to let go of beating myself up for "failing"....again.  

Basically, I'm letting go of all the yuck and working on getting back to the good stuff.  

Writing this blog was one of the good things that helped me in the past.  Writing it today and adding all the pictures reminded me that I haven't been a complete slug.  Just sluggish in between adventures.  

I will enjoy the adventures if I am a little less sluggish in between.  

I have some goals I'm percolating on but haven't decided on yet. 

So that means you all get to follow along on my journey, once again, in becoming a healthier more active version of myself.  

Lucky you!  😂

Silver Falls Trail Run 2023

Birthday Weekend! 

Once again we planned to spend the first weekend of November at Silver Falls State Park camping and running in the woods. 

Usually my birthday falls on the weekend or super close to the Silver Falls Trail Events so we always celebrate at the same time. This year my birthday fell on the Friday of our adventure weekend.  I spent the day getting lots of love from my students and a beautiful boquet of flowers from my hubby.

Hanging out with some of my favorite people at one of my favorite parks? That’s a BIG win! Joe, Wendie and I had signed up for the 7 miler. Josh was signed up for the Half Marathon. 

But coming off my epic 50k the week before I caught a cold. I didn’t stay at South Beach and camp with Joe. I went home and slept most of Monday. Good thing I had taken the day off! Although being actually sick was not how I had envisioned my “day to relax and recover”. 

I spent most of the week using DayQuil and NyQuil to make it through the day and sleep through the night. I didn’t have a fever and I tested negative for COVID. So I just had a yucky cold. 

I also had a really sore toe. I did really well avoiding blisters this year at Dia de los Muertos Endurance Run but I got a blister under the toenail of my second toe on my left foot. It hurt quite a lot and then I caught the edge of the lifted toenail on a blanket and OUCH! 

I ended up cutting off a bunch of the toenail and then spent the week with Neosporin and a bandaid on my toe. Shoes and socks were not my favorite. 🤣

We got to the campground and got all set up before 5:00 pm and then hung out until Josh and Wendie arrived.  We had originally planned to have a "fend for yourself" evening.  Joe and I were going to have leftovers from home.  But Joe thought it would be fun to head into Silverton and try out a pub instead.  Josh and Wendie were on board with that so we headed to Silverton when they got to the park. 

Dinner was at the Silver Falls Brewery.  We sat outside because even though it was raining it was quite warm out.  And they had a covered area and the table had a table top fire container.  The food was amazing and we had a great time!  Good idea Joe!!

Birthday dinner!  Fifty-Four is off to a great start!

Sign on the door of the bathroom at the brewery.  Accurate!! lol

We headed back to the park to get settled in for the night.  

I was thinking about my race Saturday and how I was going to make it happen. 

Then suddenly I realized I didn’t need to. 

I had nothing to prove. 

I had nothing to prove to anyone. Especially myself! 

You have to understand that in the past I have done this race (and others) even when I wasn’t healthy or had injuries. 

I was so worried that people would think I was a quitter or a pansy that I pushed through migraines, massive blisters, aching knees, etc. I didn’t want anyone to think I was making excuses. 

This week was different. 

I didn’t care.

Want to know why I didn’t care? (Because I am going to tell you.) 😂

I already know I’m a badass! 

I don’t have to prove it to anyone! 

Especially myself!!!

That is such an amazing and freeing realization. 

I didn’t give a shit what anyone thought. 

My toe hurt, I had a cold all week, I was tired, and it was supposed to rain all day.

And I didn’t want to suck it up and do it anyway. 

So I didn’t. 

And I had a fabulous time!!

Josh was going to take my race instead of doing the Half Marathon. But he caught the same yuck I did the weekend before and decided he was also badass enough that he didn’t need to race. (He got 100 miles at DDLM!) 

I got to see all my various friends that were there off on their run.  I went over to where they had a big fire going in the park shelter.  The lovely ladies volunteering let me have a piece of Marionberry Pie.  Always fun to chat with people at events and find out about where they are from and what they do.   Then I wandered to my truck and watched a live stream of my volleyball girls playing in the state playoffs. After that I went back to the finish line to I watch my people cross the finish line. 

We talked and laughed and cheered for people and it was so much fun. 

Joe and Chad before the race!

At the start, only 7 miles to go!

South Falls never disappoints, but in the fall it is spectacular!

Love all the fall color!

Coming to the finish after conquering Nutcracker Hill!  (If you know, you know)

Nice work Joe!

Wendie kicking ass at the finish, with Josh holding out a beer for her!

Beth finishing strong!

Didn't get pictures of Suzanne, Breck or Holly but they all did great too.  Suzanne beat Breck and anytime you can beat your teenager, its a good day!

Then we went back to the trailer and got a solid nap in. I love naps! Especially all cozy in our travel trailer! 

For dinner we had chicken enchiladas that I had made at home and all we had to do was heat them up. Joe got me firewood so we could have a fire in the fire pit. It was awesome! 

Always fun to sit around the fire and just talk and laugh!!!

We got up the next morning and had a leisurely morning since we weren't volunteering until 8:30 am. We had breakfast and then did somethings to get the trailer ready to leave.  Then we headed out to the start line so we could volunteer for the Half Marathon.  We usually help out at the aide station that is about 3.3 miles into the race.  Always fun to cheer for people!  I especially enjoy cheering for the people at the very back of the pack since I can completely relate to where they are.  

Even got to cheer for some of the people I met the day before when I was hanging around at the start and chatting with people!  So fun!

It wasn't long before the race sweepers came through and we were packing up the aid station.  

Back to the trailer to finish closing it down and then we were heading for home.  

It was nice to get home and not feel like we had to rush to get things put away and then go to bed.   We had the entire afternoon to take care of things and just be chill.  

So I don't have a medal for this race. 

And I am okay with that. 

I know I do need to get moving and have a regular routine with being active. 

I also know I need to decide on my next adventure, because it's part of what helps me keep moving.

But for this race weekend I was totally okay with not having to prove my badassery. 

Giving myself more credit then I have in the past.

Must be growing up a little.  

Silver Falls 7 Miler

 

I have joined the crazy people.  

One week after doing the Dia de los Muertos Endurance run I had signed up to do the Silver Falls 7 Mile race.  

What was I thinking?

My feet were still trashed from the week before.  I had been wearing sandles all week because of all the blisters.  I was not sure how I was going to wear shoes and hike on trails for 7+ miles!  I lost the entire toenail on Friday on the toe that had the epic blister the week before. Yikes!

We left on Friday afternoon with the travel trailer to spend the weekend at Silver Falls State Park.  There was a big storm warning and it was a very windy drive up to the park.  We got there early enough to be able to get all set up while it was still light which was nice.  

We drove back to Sublimity to have dinner with Josh and Wendie (partners in hijinks and shenanigans) to have dinner.  A fun dinner with lots of talking and laughing, as usual.  Then we headed back to the park to settle in for the night.  

The wind had settled down but it was absolutely pouring rain.  I love the sound of the rain on the trailer!!

I woke up about 1:00 am because my C-PAP machine stopped working.  I didn't realize until later it was because there was a power outage.  At the time I thought it was a problem with the machine or the outlet in the trailer since our track lights were still on in the other side of the trailer.  

Once I woke up I realized I had a pretty bad headache.  Then my stomach started feeling awful too.  Not a fun time.  I finally got up and took some Advil to help with the headache.  That's when I realized that the microwave was off and the power had gone out.  The lights were on because they were drawing from the trailer battery.  

I went back to bed but had a hard time sleeping because I felt so crummy.  I finally managed to get back to sleep for a couple of hours.  

When I woke up my head felt better but my stomach was still not feeling great.  

Between the blisters on my feet and not sleeping well with an upset stomach I wasn't feeling very confident about being able to do this race.  

We had two friends who were starting the marathon at 8:00 am so we decided to head over early so we could say hi and cheer them at the start of the race.  

It was a little drizzly but not too bad of weather considering how much it rained the night before.  But there was water everywhere!  

Joe's bib number won a raffle so he let me pick out the prize and we got a really cool picnic backpac with a growler included.  Can't wait to use it on some of our adventures!

Getting ready!

It wasn't long before Joe was starting the 7 miler.  He was in the 9:00 wave.  The rest of us were starting in the 9:15 wave.  

Joe waving at us from the other side of the crowd!

Last time I saw these crazies until I finished the race!

I still wasn't feeling good but I figured I would start and see how it went.  If I felt like it just wasn't working I was pretty sure that I could get someone to give me a ride from the North Falls (a couple of miles into the run) back to the South Falls parking lot.  

We got going and my friends took off.  I started out slow but felt pretty good overall.  I was able to trot a lot of the Rim Trail.  Then when I got down to North Falls I decided to keep going. 

All in!

North Falls

I was able to run different parts of the trail and was moving along pretty good considering how wrecked I was just a week before. 

Lower North Falls

As always, no matter the weather or time of year, Silver Falls State Park does not disappoint.  The water was raging because of all the rain and the falls were awesome.  Full and loud!  Lots of yellow leaves on the trees.  It was gorgeous!

I was making pretty good time and started thinking that maybe I could finish in less than three hours, which all things considered would be pretty amazing. 

Then I got to the lower South Falls. 

I love this waterfall because we can walk behind it and it is the closest to the water of all the falls you can walk behind.  

I also don't like this waterfall because once you are past it, you have to walk up a bunch of stairs.  

A lot of stairs!

A ridiculous amount of stairs. 

One Hundred and Eighty Five steps!

I know this because I counted them.  

Every single one of them.

I trudged up them very, very slowly. 

All the aches and pains that I had last week came roaring back.  

My hip got pissed off, my knee hurt.  I could feel all the blisters on my feet.  

The stairs are a weird thing because they are really hard but also I know that they mean I am getting close to being done.  

Basically there is the South Falls to get around and up and then Nutcracker Hill to go up and back down to the finish.  

But those are two really big climbs when you are hurting.  

Five miles done and a little over two more to go.  

I can gut out two miles.  Right?

Now here's the weirdly cool part.  I hope this makes sense. 

I was so done. 

But kept going.

AND I didn't question it. 

I wasn't mad about where I was at.  

I wasn't crying because I was fat or slow.  (I was crying but it was because everything hurt, lol.)

I was digging deep and making it work.  

Because I know how to do hard things. 

And there was a moment on the trail, as I was walking along all alone, not questioning the craziness of what I was doing or that I could finish.  

There she is. 

That woman who does hard things and goes after shit.  Sets goals and pushes though pain.  

There she is. 

I've missed her. 

That was huge.

She's not all the way back yet.  But this is the first time in almost three years that I could even get a glimpse of her.  

That was thrilling.  

South Falls

Joe was waiting at the top of the South Falls and I'm not gonna lie, it was huge to see him.  I hurt so bad and was so glad that he was there to encourage me for the last little bit.  He walked with me over to Nutcracker Hill and then was waiting for me as I made my way back down. 

I didn't get under the three hour mark.  I was actually significantly slower than last year. But since I had horrible sleep, bad headache, upset stomach and trashed feet and muscles from the adventure the week before I will take the finish as a win.  

I didn't give up. 

I didn't get mired down in all the things I couldn't do. 

Instead I was stoked that I had done a hard thing when my body was not really in shape for it and already wrecked from the weekend before.  

We had a great time hanging out at the finish line talking to people, meeting dogs and just having fun. We were waiting to cheer our friend Troy over the finish line of his marathon.  At one point Joe and Josh went to get something to eat and while they were standing there, Troy walked up.  Oops.  Major fail! lol  

Me and my favorite guy.

Getting some birthday love.

Just walking in the rain.

Post Race Shenanigans

Joe, Josh and Troy.  Three of the best men I know!

We headed back to the trailer after that and worked on getting cleaned up and having an early dinner.  The shower felt amazing!

Cheryl came to join us for dinner and brought her Solo stove.  That was awesome!  We had a nice warm fire to sit around and talk and laugh.  The rain held off for the entire evening so we were able to enjoy being outside the entire time.

It got to be aournd 6:30 or 7 (I'm not exactly sure) and I was just done.  lol  

I headed to bed and got all snuggled in.  It was lovely to stretch out.

The next morning we got up and got ready to head back to the race to volunteer.  It had been raining pretty steady for most of the night.  So we made sure we had all our rain gear on because standing in the rain, getting soaked isn't fun. 

Sunday is the Half Marathon.  Joe and I were volunteering at the 3 mile aid station.  It's a fun one to do.  It's near the start line so it's easy to do and everyone is still smiling and doing well.  

We got to our spot and met all the other volunteers.  It was pouring rain.  Because of concerns about the timing mats, the race was going to start all at once instead of two waves.  That way if there were problems they would be able to track how long people took easier.  

The race got going and it was still raining hard.  

We had some time to finish getting the aid station set up and cups filled with water and electrolytes.  

And then it started snowing!

Big fat snowflakes!

 It was crazy. 

Then it started sticking to the ground!

Next thing we know, the ground is covered in white and it's still coming down.  

The runners started in pouring down rain and now were dealing with snow!  Wild!  

They are going to be able to tell that story for forever!!

There was this time I did a half marathon in the snow!  On a trail!! 

Once we had all the racers through the aid station we helped clean things up and then headed back to our trailer.  

We had left our pop up canaopy up and the awning to the trailer out.  Snow was not something was on our radar. 

Josh and Wendie had knocked some of the snow off when they got there to pack up their stuff.  So glad they did!  We might have had some broken things if they hadn't.  

The BEST people to have adventures with!!

It took a bit to get the snow off of the slide and the awning so we could close things up but we got it done and headed home in the snow.  

Heading Home!

For the second weekend in a row, we unloaded the trailer, put up things in the garage to dry and then crashed.  

Adventures are exhausting! 

Shoutouts!!

Big Shoutout to Run Wild Adventures.  As always, we had a great time and loved participating and volunteering.  You all do the best job organizing an amazing weekend!!  Thank you for all the work you do to make this work for us!

Thanks Gary!  

Josh and Wendie!  Once again, thanks for a wonderful weekend!  You both are amazing and I'm so thankful to have you in my life! You both ALWAYS encourage and believe in me, even when I don't believe in myself. 

And of course, as always, Joe.  Thanks for waiting for me at the top of South Falls with food and encouragement.  Thanks for getting me going up Nutcracker Hill and being there waiting for me at the bottom.  You are my rock.  I love you!