March was my first breath day month and it was full of lots of great things! One of the best things…seeing more and more daylight hours! Oh…and I’m so grateful that I got to race for the first time in 2024…racing in a swim meet and racing a 1/2 marathon! ⚡️
training highlights:
life highlights:
gratitude highlights:
How was your month of March? What are you looking forward to in April?
If January was a free trial offer for what 2024 has in store, I might not sign up for the rest of the year. With 3 visits to the vet, a cracked filling needing to be replaced, and windchill temps as low as -47F, January wasn’t all that. Thankfully February is showing signs of turning a corner with happy + healthy baby girls, much warmer temps (umm…hello flip flops + shorts in Iowa in February), and my tooth has been fixed!
Training highlights:
Life highlights:
Gratitude highlights:
How was your month of January?! What are you looking forward to in February?!
I FINALLY found my stride and created a change for myself and my health just in time to kick off 2024. Creating a race calendar + signing up for races for the 2024 racing season really lit a fire in me! I had a month with lots of swim/bike/run/strength/family/fur baby/puzzling love! Oh…and I wrapped up the year with a head cold, but I listened to my body and gave it the rest, fluids, sleep, and fuel it needed to recover so that I am ready to kick off 2024 healthy!
I love looking back and thinking about all of the amazing things that I’ve accomplished and all of the challenges I’ve overcome! I’ve reflected for the last 10 years and now it’s time to reflect on 2023! You can look back at my previous posts if you’d like: the best of 2013, the best of 2014, the best of 2015, the best of 2016, the best of 2017, the best of 2018, the best of 2019, the best of 2020, the best of 2021, and the best of 2022. 2023 was full of a lot of darkness, but I am not going to focus on that. Instead, I am going to reminisce my favs from 2023.
Best adventure?
In September I visited family + friends and got to experience Lake Tahoe for the first time. What an absolutely amazing place! It is a place I will definitely go back to and one that now holds a special place in my heart!
Best swim?
OMG…did I mention I got to spend Labor Day weekend with my sister and her family in Lake Tahoe?!?! As a result, I got to swim in Lake Tahoe (more than once) and it was seriously the most amazing swim(s) EVER! The water was so crystal clear (you could see FOREVER) and was so refreshing (hint…cold). If we had the time, I would have swam here for hours at a time without getting bored!
Best bike?
Biking from Mom and Dad’s in Okoboji up into Minnesota with my fav. The roads up in Minnesota are so peaceful with little traffic and smooth surfaces. It is definitely one of my most favorite routes!
Best run?
Getting to run with Isabella for her first ever 1/2 marathon! There were highs and there were lows, but the grit and determination she displayed was so inspirational! We are all already signed up for next year!
Best finish line?
I decided spur of the moment (literally 3 days before race day) to race the Okoboji Triathlon. I love racing at home-home, but getting to cross the finish line with family and friends surrounding you is the BEST! Oh…and then finding out you won your age group and were in the top 5 overall female finishers was icing on the cake!
Best race-cation?
Sadly we didn’t travel far this year for races, but we did take a week off work and spent it at home-home with Mom and Dad to relax, swim, bike, play on the water, and enjoy life.
Best moment out of my comfort zone?
This was the first time ever racing two 70.3 races one week apart. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me in new and different ways than ever before! I raced Ironman 70.3 Des Moines on Sunday, June 11 and then followed it up with Milkman 70.3 on Sunday, June 18. You can read more about the double challenge here.
Best enCOEURaging moment?
The Ames Triathlon was so fun!! It is always great to see people achieve their goals and do things they once thought were impossible. The absolute best part of my day was creating an opportunity for first time athletes to complete their first triathlon ever. If you want to experience the Ames Triathlon for yourself, come to Ames in June 2024! You won’t be disappointed!
Best new gear?
Coeur Sports recently started producing the Merino Wool Long Sleeved Run Top which has become a clear fav for fall/winter/spring running. This shirt is super soft, light weight, warm, and has amazing moisture wicking capabilities. If you live in a cooler climate, this is a MUST HAVE!
Best help with perimenopause?
Acupuncture…this year has been rough with the symptoms of perimenopause, but I was able to finally get some relief with acupuncture. I have since been sleeping better, experiencing fewer hot flashes, and overall feeling more and more like “myself.”
If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be?
challenging, dark, ebb, lost…2023 was a rough year, but even in the darkest of times, there were times of light that shone through and that is something to be grateful for.
Tell me about your 2023 year!! What are your “bests” from 2023?!
November started off great! We finished a 1/2 marathon with our niece (her first ever 1/2 marathon ⚡️) and had some great workouts before getting sick the week before Thanksgiving. I went to urgent care to be told that it was “just a head cold” that needed time to vacate the premises. After 2 weeks off from training, I finally felt good and healthy by the end of the month. Here are some of November’s highlights:
October was a pretty mild month here in central Iowa. We didn’t have to run the a/c or heat for the majority of the month…thank you Mother Nature! Because of the beautiful weather, we were lucky enough to get outside multiple times for outdoor adventures. Here are some of October’s highlights:
At the end of July I took a break from the blog. I thought my weekly updates were getting redundant with mostly the same things week after week. Things have been mundane, and I’ve felt stagnant with my writing, training, and life in general this year. I took a break from following a training plan and racing…I lost myself in the process. It’s easy to lose yourself sometimes. I have taken some time recently to reflect and really sit with my desires and dreams. While 2023 hasn’t really been the year I wanted for myself, it is what I’ve had. It’s been a year of change, learning, and growth.
What have I been up to? We spent the first week of August at home home in Okoboji relaxing, spending time on the water, in the water, by the water, on the bikes, walking, etc.
I spent Labor Day weekend in California. I got to spend 24 hours with my friend, Michelle, in Sacramento and then 4 days with my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces in South Lake Tahoe. So many amazing memories were made!
While in South Lake Tahoe, I got the wonderful experience to swim in Lake Tahoe…not once, but twice in 3 days. The water was absolutely magical! I have NEVER swam in such crystal clear water that you could see FOREVER in. It was definitely one of my top 5 favorite swim experiences EVER!
We have been cheering on our niece as she has been moving her way up the field in cross country. I am so proud of her and with her in the progress she has made. She is so strong physically and mentally!
These things of course are the highlights. The lowlights have been dealing with the symptoms of perimenopause on the daily. While I’m grateful to have lived long enough to go through this transition, it has NOT been easy. The weight gain, the night sweats, the hot flashes, the mood changes (which at times can give a person whiplash), the loss of motivation, the sleeplessness…it is all just SO much!
I have been getting laser treatments on my foot to help alleviate the pain I’ve been experiencing from Morton’s Neuroma. I am happy to report that after 4 treatments, I am starting to feel improvements and am so happy to be running longer pain free!
I had my first colonoscopy. They lowered the colon cancer screening age to 45 and boy am I glad they did. While the colonoscopy prep is the WORST TASTING CRAP I’ve EVER had and a truly miserable experience, I had a 4 mm polyp removed that was benign, but often known to turn cancerous if they remain in the colon. Thank you to the doctor, nurses, my husband, technology, insurance, my snuggle bugs, and everything that brought me through this experience cancer free. Don’t worry…I will spare you a picture from this experience. 😜
Looking ahead…I will be getting back to racing in 2024 and am SO EXCITED! I have REALLY missed racing and all that comes with it…the structured training, the community, setting challenges to push myself to try to achieve, learning + growing in the process, the race day hugs + high fives, exploring where my edge is, and giving my best to get to the finish line. I will definitely be toeing the line of more start lines in 2024 than I did in 2023 and the fire inside me is burning bright! Get excited, because I’m going to be back with my weekly updates soon as I gear up for a racing season that I’m truly pumped for!
Last week I signed up for the Okoboji Triathlon on Wednesday and raced on Saturday. It was definitely a last minute decision and a fun one! I also got to spend more time with my sister and nieces who were back visiting from California.
“Weekend forecast: 100% chance of fun!”
~unknown
Swim highlights: 3302 yards
The swim was a bit choppy on the way to the turnaround buoy. Lots of people didn’t self seed correctly on the swim as I passed multiple people who went out towards the front of the race and couldn’t hang. After the turnaround, it was “give it all you’ve got” as I was committed to giving my best effort!
Bike highlights: 99.8 miles
I put in the majority of my miles on the trainer last week.
Run fun: 3.79 miles
Running during the triathlon was the first run I’ve had in a month (since the last time I raced). I started out a bit fast in the first mile and really felt heavy chested, so I backed off just a bit in the last 3 ish miles. I thought it was because I haven’t ran in a month, but I found out after the race that the AQI was 140 and unhealthy for sensitive groups, so we probably shouldn’t have been racing in it.