Up next

 2022.  Enough said. Man this year has felt like a beating. I speak to enough people to know that I am not the only one feeling this way.  Like many others, we are short handed at work, so we are having to accomplish the same things with a smaller staff. Working for a local nonprofit means we always try to stretch our money as much as possible so we can be good stewards of our donor dollars, and this year it meant covering 19 parishes in South Louisiana with two staff people - myself and my amazing social worker, Ashley.  (For more info on the nonprofit I manage, click here:  www.MaddiesFootprints.org).

What this meant for me was cancelling my races in Kansas, Texas and Wisconsin (so I am probably not the person to complain to about lost race fees, lol).  I am the type of person who needs to have a scary race on the schedule to motivate me to get out the door.  If I ever give up racing, I don't know if I will continue to run.  It's just the truth.

So, without races to motivate me, my training has fallen off.  Now I find myself 2.5 months from a tough 50k and 7 months from a 100 miler with some work to do.

I "hired" a coach.  An old friend who is very accomplished and who knows me as a runner better than anyone.  We have shared many miles and more than anyone, he knows how to get under my skin to get me moving.    Training is officially underway and I honestly could not be happier about it.  I need balance in my life.  My work life is very demanding, so in my head, my training needs to be the same so I can have balance.  It makes sense to me.

So, if you are interested in following along, I will post updates along the way.  Warning - I am very honest and may share more info than you were looking for.  I will share insight into what it is like training for a 100 miler while in the early stages of menopause, I will talk about my faith, and I curse a lot.  I know - God and I have regular conversations about it - I think we have come to an understanding.

In the meantime, I will spend time rereading this post from when I achieved a big goal of mine for the first time - 100 miles in 1 day.  See, my next 100 miler - The Badger in Wisconsin (and Illinois) may very well be my last, so of course, I don't just want to finish - I've already done that.  I want to compete.  So I have work to do, and that makes me happy! 

https://edieruns.blogspot.com/2013/02/100-miles-in-1-day.html

Happy Running Y'all! 

Edie