Tag: journey

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My 5 Most Epic Ultra Fails

I have to be honest with you. I’m sick of social media right now. The whole presentation of “this is my perfectly curated life, and my perfectly executed run” just gets old after awhile. It’s not real, guys! It’s just not.

Most people have a LOT of hard stuff going on in their lives, and no a lot of it is not “instagrammable”, but it’s happening nonetheless. And all the while, people are comparing their innermost thoughts, fears, and failures to oftentimes fraudulent presentations of other people’s successes.  We all know it. I am guilty of it, too!

Sigh.

We’ve got to end this. Can we all please stop trying to be these inspirational beings of success and hope, and instead just maybe kind of suck a little?

Well, y’all know I’m always down to help the suckfest. I have plenty of suckage that’s accumulated in my run life. And though you probably already know the stories, I want to bring them up again, because they’re worth remembering. Some people say, “forget the bad”, but I disagree. I think it’s good to remember the bad, because it helps us stay humble, and reminds us how far we have come or how we can improve! So without further adieu….

My most amazingly awful ultra and run fails, working up to the most epic of them all!

Continue reading “My 5 Most Epic Ultra Fails”

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Stuck in a Pit

This is Part 1, of a two post series about my latest adventure- the S.M.A.W. Please note that while I was in a bit of a funk last year when this was written, I’m in a much happier place! Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll stick around for the entire story.

From the outside looking in, everything would seem to be flowing smoothly.

But if you were to scratch the surface of my life, you’d find that this outer shell– as is often the case– isn’t quite as happy as it seems.

Continue reading “Stuck in a Pit”

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Nine Out of 100

I wrote this in 2013, but finally decided to publish today. It took place at the 2013 Pinhoti 100, but it’s not a race report. You can learn more about that race HERE. Thanks for reading, and happy trails!
Continue reading “Nine Out of 100”

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To The 15-Year-Old Me

I was driving home from a trail run the other day, windows down, feeling amazing, listening to my favorite radio morning show on KLove.

Ahh… endorphins flowing, sun shining… everything is just… right.

The host began a discussion that instantly grabbed my attention: “What if you could somehow write a letter to your 15-year-old self?” he said, “What would you say?”

Ha… I thought, everything wasn’t always “just right”, was it?

I started to reflect upon 15-year-old me.  The rebellious, bratty, out-of-control, drug addicted failure daughter of a Baptist preacher… oh, I’d have a lot to say. So, why not actually say it? Where to begin… Continue reading “To The 15-Year-Old Me”

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Grindstone 100: Hanging On To Hope

The last time I ran over 10 miles was at Grindstone 100. The race was back in October, over 5 months ago. My 6th hundred wasn’t a normal one for me …if there is such a thing as a normal 100. Most hundreds hurt in more ways than one. But this one– it was pure mental, emotional, and physical hell for reasons I could not have foreseen… Continue reading “Grindstone 100: Hanging On To Hope”

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The Pistol Vendetta

It was cold in Alcoa, Tennessee that January day. Really cold for a Georgia girl; fourteen degrees to be exact. I was bundled up tightly in my heavy WeatherEdge jacket, old thermal gloves, and layers of sweats, but nothing could ease the bite of the windchill. I pulled my jacket up a little higher over my mouth, and I breathed in and out to feel some kind of warmth…Man, it’s freezing.

I glanced over at my husband, Dan, who was staring back at me….Thumbs up… a reminder that being cold was the least of my worries that day. I was standing outside of a local middle school, under a huge banner, surrounded by people of all shapes and sizes with one common goal— to finish an ultra. The Pistol Ultra. And the gun was about to signal the start of another 100 mile journey for me. Another life lesson I would never forget… Continue reading “The Pistol Vendetta”

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What You Need to Finish a 100

Before I write, let me backtrack a little bit. Summer was amazing!

After Amber and I road tripped from San Diego to San Francisco, I took off to the beach, and then spent the remainder of my summer with my 5 and 7 year old, Brett and Brooklyn, in the Smoky mountains. My goal was to just break away and focus on some serious family time.

My kids, even at such young ages, are both avid hikers. So needless to say, we had some wild adventures!

Continue reading “What You Need to Finish a 100”

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Going Rogue at Salton Sea

If you are here looking for a traditional race report on the inagaural Badwater: Salton Sea, you’re not going to find it. If you’re wanting mileage splits, blister pictures, and name dropping,…you’re in the wrong place. This is my story about a journey…and running… it’s always about running. Continue reading “Going Rogue at Salton Sea”

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Walk the Line

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A few months ago, the editor of a major running magazine spent a long time interviewing me for an article about addiction in running. I poured my heart out, but never saw it published.

So I battled back and forth for awhile, torn between letting the story go, if I wanted to go there, yada yada, until I finally just said …ya know what? Screw it…. nobody can tell my thoughts better than me…. So here we go. Prepare yourselves.

Continue reading “Walk the Line”

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Drinking in a Desert

You can’t break away from it.

That thirst–that insatiable wretched beautiful thirst–it calls to you like a siren.

Continue reading “Drinking in a Desert”

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