1st Third Of 2019 – Updates

Well, my monthly update posts didn’t continue from 2018, but I’d like to keep my blog as updated as possible….

While this blog is supposed to a focus on my lifestyle with racing (running in general) and wandering (travel), this year hasn’t brought much of either of these things. However, 2019 is bringing a lot of different type of adventures, one in particular! This July we are expecting a baby boy to join us in this crazy household – whether we’re ready or not. 😉

If you missed my announcement from my end of the year post, SURPRISE! Yes, I am pregnant! We know it’s a boy and his due date is July 4th! We are busy preparing for this little one while stressing about what life will become and the changes to our jobs, finances and more. It has been quite a stressful start to the year trying to figure things out, get the house ready (yes, it’s still a construction zone around here), all while balancing my many jobs. With all that, I haven’t been writing in my blog, barely have been posting to social media, and haven’t had time to hang out with many of my friends socially.

As for running…
While there are tons of strong women out there that run all through pregnancy, that has NOT been in the cards for me. Frankly, it just feels weird for me and kinda hurts, plus my heart rate goes from 65 to 130 instantly (which isn’t a great thing for pregnancy)! So, as much as I imagined being that super cute, running pregnant lady, alas, I am not. I see lots of happy running women on my Instagram feed and they make it look so easy! But for me, it is just not working.

For the first half of pregnancy, I didn’t have much “morning sickness,” just a lot of nausea,  and was trying to exercise regularly between walking, the elliptical and weight training, but as pregnancy progressed (and my work schedule got 100x more busy with the start of track season) I have not been exercising as much and it has been hard to start back up. Nevermind the fact that I am SO TIRED and UNCOMFORTABLE! In the past few weeks I have been trying to walk more and get some hikes in to stay somewhat healthy and as to not have to start from ground zero after the baby comes (because I do want to get back to running as soon as I can – I miss it).

As for the travel part of this blog…
That has also not been in the cards for us for a while; since last year really. We haven’t been able to take much time off with all our jobs, and with home renovations, pregnancy, and finances, it’s been pretty tough to get in any type of travel, even small local trips. We did get a chance to go to Florida for a wedding (thanks to Ben’s family) and snuck in a trip to Epcot, Disney World.

And for the rest….
Yes, I am still working three jobs (helping Ben with our own business, Golden Mountain Guides, marketing and race directing for 3W Races, and coaching high school track and cross country.). It was a tough end of the year in 2018 and into 2019 for Golden Mountain Guides as we try some new pricing and marketing things, but we’re figuring it out. My other main job has some troubles I won’t get into on this blog and track has been a little more stressful this year than it should be….but we’re making it through! We still have our priorities in sight and our minds on our goals and are working every day to keep positive! No matter how stressful homelife is and finances are, we know that it will get better as long as we keep working on it and wont give up.

The first third of the year was not how we expected 2019 to start, but we’re working through!

January:
-I worked every weekend day this month.
-Between timing and race directing (sometimes both on the same day!), that was 9 separate running events I worked. Woof! That was tiring.
-Pre-Season Track also started this month.
-I also got to attend the CHSCA (Colorado High School Coaches Association) clinic and listen to some cool speakers.

And a lot of those races were FREEZING cold to work!

February:
-The weekend working streak keeps going through February until the last weekend.
-We do get to go to Florida! Ben’s family helped us travel so we could attend his cousin’s wedding!
-While we’re there, we get to sneak a day at Disney World and we went to Epcot! We also visited the beach, Disney Springs, the town of Celebration and play some putt-putt golf. It was a much need break after working so much the previous two months.
-The end of February marks the official start of the Track season!

March:
-The running job scene starts to slow down this month, and I only work four events this month.
-Track season is well under swing and the meets start to ramp up!
-I get to hang out with some of my family members that involve dinners and maternity clothes shopping!

Sometimes this is want coaching looks like

April:
-We like to call this “angry April” in track because there are a TON of track meets.
-I race direct one event this month.
-And have lots of Golden Mountain Guides meetings.
-We celebrate both my birthday and Ben’s birthday
-And we also get to celebrate Ben’s sister new addition with her baby shower!
-Then, right at the end, Ben and I are both a part of our friend’s wedding celebration. We get to be part of bachelorette and bachelor parties, a bridal hike, rehearsal dinner and a wedding ceremony in the snow!


As we get into May, I’m a little over two months from baby boy being born and growing more and more nervous (as well as literally growing more and more). We are working on finishing up the nursery and getting prepared at work for maternity leave.

As for the blog, for now, you can probably expect random, sporadic posts, info on how pregnancy, work, and our house is going and probably posts that I have started and never finished as I go through my drafts folder of this blog! I hope you all stay along for the ride, even as Racing and Wandering turns into Less Racing and Wandering and adventures with a kiddo!

2018 in Review

We are already into the second month of 2019…. but it’s not too late for a 2018 recap, right!? I’ll keep it simple since I never did get my last updates post out at the end of the year.


2018, to say the least, was pretty chaotic and stressful. It wasn’t the year we hoped for, Ben and I, and we didn’t get to do all the things we wanted to, but that’s okay. Sometimes that happens. We worked a lot, A LOT, moved into a work-in-progress house, dealt with business stresses, and got some news that will change the rest of our lives! I’m not even going to look back on the new year’s resolutions that I set at the beginning of 2018 because I know I barely checked any of them off.

Here’s to 2019 being a new adventure with no expectations! There won’t be a New Year’s resolution/goals post to follow. I have no goals for the new year since it’s all up in the air!

2018 Recap (biasedly highlighting the fun/noteworthy things):

January
-Starting off strong with lots of working between 3W and Golden Mountain Guides
-I took a scuba diving lesson. I didn’t like it. Scuba diving might not be an adventure activity I get into ever.
-Saw Silverstein at Summit Music Hall (my favorite band).
-Went horseback back riding in Estes Park! That was pretty fun!
-And whet snowboarding in Steamboat Springs!

February
-Track season starts.
-Ben and I went to Red Rock, NV to climb, camp and run!
-I ran the Red Rock Half Marathon (one of the hardest half marathons I’ve ever done!)

March
-Nothing too crazy exciting. Track is in full swing (at least five meets this month), I worked three races with 3W Races, and a bunch of Golden Mountain guides things and meetings.
-I get accepted as a BibRave Pro!
-I start learning how to chip time races.
-I visit Fayetteville, AR for my Grandpa’s funeral but get to see cousins I haven’t seen in a long time!

April
-My birthday month!
-I went to Moab for a Golden Mountain Guides guided trip.

Those are naked people doing a photo shoot. In climbing gear.

-As I’m looking at my planner, I see so much ORANGE (my color coding for track meets). There’s 8 meets this month! Geez!

One of my Triple Jumpers. Look at the double arm action! #proudcoach 🙂

May
-A friend’s wedding!
-Track finished up with State (we had a handful of athletes make it in!)
-Ben and I climb in Eldorado Springs (one of the many times in 2018).

-We have a team BBQ with our Golden Mountain Guides staff.
-Ran Bolder Boulder again.

And they capture some terrible photos of me

June
-I ran Ragnar Trail Snowmass with the 3W Races teams.

-I help a friend with a course test run of a Beer Chase Relay coming to Colorado in June 2019!

July
-Rennaisance Festival with Amanda!

– I visit Philly for a Run Sign Up (running races registration platform) conference and I get to see the Liberty Bell and eat a real Philly Cheese Steak!

-Up to Winter Park for Cross Country camp.

August
-Cross Country season officially starts!
-A lot of work this month. Very exhausting between all my jobs with the start of the season.
-My first Water Relay with XC! (Two teams, one at a time you run down with cups of water. First team to fill a bucket wins!)

-We move into our new place! YAY! No more moldy, asbestos basement!

-Got in a Hike with Amy

-Went to a Peter Frampton and Steve Miller band concert!

September
-Another friend’s wedding.

-You should see my planner this month – tons of highlighted things between all my jobs!
-Ran the Race for the Cure with Mom.

-Ran the Fortitude 10k in Fort Collins with my friend Katja (and got to be on TV)!

October
-Cross Country finishes up with State! Our girls team and one boy get to race.

-Golden Chili and Beer Festival
-Golden Haunted Hay Ride! A hayride tour of Golden to all the haunted sites!
-I got to race direct my first TRAIL RACE! That was fun!

November
-The 3W Races racing season finishes up with two Thanksgiving-themed races.
-Westminster Trail Clean Up

-And Ben and I find out we’re going to be parents (See how I just threw that in there? We’ll see how many people read this far!)

-Got in a hike with Tiff!

December
-Finally, take a breath and look at the past year.
-Keep working on our construction project of a house.
-We take a mini vacation that ends up being more stressful than relaxing but we visit Mesa Verde and the Sand Dunes.

-And another Silverstein concert to finish up the year!

That about sums up 2018! Here’s to new adventures in 2019! 

We’re Registered! For The Scooby Doo Virtual Run Challenge with Tristan!

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Scooby Doo Virtual Run Series as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!


I used to do virtual races back in the day and then, for me personally, the trend kind of wore off. However, when I came across this opportunity, I couldn’t resist!

The Scooby Doo Virtual Run Series is hosted by the one and only Scooby Doo himself! Seriously, it’s promoted on the official Scooby Doo facebook and Instagram pages and using the real Scooby Doo images. This virtual race series is intended to be done with your doggie, although you don’t have to have a dog to do it!

I really wanted to do this race with my dog, Tristan, because he is getting older and I don’t foresee him being able to run with me much longer. So, we are signed up for the Scooby Doo Race Series Challenge which consists of TWO virtual races, the Doo Good 5k to be run in September and the Scoobtober 5k/10k in October.

With each race we’ll get swag, both for me and Tristan! The gear is super adorable with a shirt for me and a bandana for your him. Plus, we’ll EACH get a finisher’s medal! The best part is that part of the proceeds benefit the Best Friends Animal Society.


First up, the Doo Good 5k!
I plan on running the 5k during the last weekend of September. We’ll pick a course and tackle the 3.1 miles walking and running. I have seriously been training with Tristan and building up his mileage so we can run the Doo Good 5k.

Teaching him how to Instagram with the watch. 😉


Join Me!

Register for the Challenge by September 20th HERE! Use Coupon Code BIBRAVE to save 10% on registration.

OR The Doo Good 5k by September 20th HERE

OR The Scoobtober 5k/10k by October 20th HERE


Other BibRave Pros Running The Scooby Doo Virtual Race Series:

LivingLovingRunner |

1st Half of July Updates

Like a lot of bloggers, I’d like to regularly do “updates” posts talking about what’s going on, keeping me active on the blog and doing general updates related to my blog. Ideally, weekly updates posts would be relatable for people, but that might be too ambitious for me. I have tried this in the past without much success. So, twice a month to start, I’m going to try to keep some updates including current likes, obsessions, books I’m reading, tv shows I’m getting into, updates with each job have, etc.

Kicking it off, here are some updates from the first half of July!


Where have I been?! That’s been the latest question people have been asking me. I have not been nearly as active on social media, blog posts or even emails. I have not been very good with texts, calls and being social… all for a great reason.

Right at the end of last month, Ben and I signed a new rental (home) lease! If anyone one knows us in person, you know that this has been much-needed and long-awaited. It’s been 3+ years in our grimy basement apartment and that’s 3 years too long in that place. We’ve been living with mold, asbestos coming out of the walls, rodents in the mudroom and a landlord that just doesn’t care and doesn’t take pride in his own property. But hey, you get what you pay for right?! We’ve got stories for days and hopefully, if this place hasn’t already doomed us health-wise, we’ll eventually be laughing about it.

Without going too far into our personal lives, we’ve been WANTING to move just haven’t been able to due to many factors. We have been trying and searching for a while now and finally found an opened door (literally?!?) and took a chance and huge leap.

We found a place that is both residential and a HUGE potential for our business, Golden Mountain Guides. We’re talking office, retail space, parking, storage, bathrooms for clients….it’s pretty amazing and perfect for us and in a prime location – I can literally wave to the people taking the Coors Brewery tour in Golden!

However, to make it affordable for us, we’ve made a deal with our NEW landlord to fix up the place. Essentially adding value to pay less per month. It didn’t need too much work, but due to our different personalities, the boyfriend decided to do ALL the projects at once and we haven’t been able to move our belongings over yet. Don’t worry, we are remodeling on a budget and using friends and family to help and taking advantage of the many area discount building/construction material places.

So…thats where I’ve been…every extra minute has been at the new place to get it liveable. Even in its pre-remodel condition, it was better than our old digs. We’ve been eager to get in there.

In addition to the new place, I’ve been keeping my time filled with work and a tiny bit of fun:

July, Week 1:
-Fourth of July week was pretty busy for me for the last few years because we have two races with 3W Races that we produce (job #1). I race directed the Longmont Half and we had packet pick up plus the race itself that week.
-That’s always an early morning (report time at 3am) and leaves me pretty beat for the rest of the day. But after a nap, we headed to my Dads’ house for dinner and fireworks viewing. He lives close to Mile High Stadium so the big fireworks display is easy to catch without going farther than the sidewalk out front.
-With the remaining hours of the week we spent, you guessed it, fixing up the new place.
-We did get to celebrate Ben’s brother in law’s birthday at the famous Casa Bonita!

July, Week 2:
-Sunday started off with a trip to the Renaissance festival with my oldest friend and then back to the grind of work and working on the house. That’s literally all I did that week.

July, Week 3:
-I got the opportunity to go on my first ever work conference! The running company I work for, 3W Races, use Run Sign Up for all their races’ registration platforms and we went to network and learn at the Run Sign Up Symposium in Philly!
-A got to do a TINY bit of sight-seeing and saw the Liberty Bell and ate my first ever, legit, traditional Philly Cheesesteak, with cheese whiz!
-As soon as we got back, we were in race mode as I had a race to direct on the weekend, the Summer Prairie Dog Half.


(I think my regular updates post will include stuff like the following…)

What I’m reading: I always have a lot of books on my “currently reading” shelf on Goodreads (follow me!) because I’ll start something and then get a book from the library that I need to return. Currently, I just finished “My Name is Memory” by Ann Brashares (Sisterhood of the traveling pants), a book I’ve had on my shelf from our local library’s book sale and I got it super cheap and it looked interesting. I’m also finishing up  “American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West” by Nate Blakeslee that was on the Outdoors Magazine Book Club for June (way behind). “My name is Memory” started out great, but ended very badly and left the story very open, without a sequel. “American Wolf” is a non-fiction book about the wolfs in Yellowstone National Park and the struggle between the hunters and the people trying to keep them protected. I have one chapter left and it is a fantastic book; I highly recommend it.

What I’m watching: I’ve been watching “Hemlock Grove” on Netflix. One of the original made for Netflix shows. It’s super creepy and has a lot of supernatural characters. I’m 5 episodes in and not sure if I like it! Ha!

What I’m Listening To: Every time I’ve been driving, I’ve been listening to the Game of Thrones audiobook. I’ve never read the book and reading the print version seemed daunting. I’ve only seen seasons 1 and 2 of the show and surprisingly, they’ve done a great job following the story (so far!).

What I’m loving: I’m LOVING my new shoes! Even though I haven’t been running as much, when I do run, I have been using my new Under Armor HOVR‘s that I got from being a Bib Rave Pro to test and review.

What I’m working on: The house. See above. 😉

New in the world of Golden Mountain Guides: As you read, the new house is a HUGE potential for the business. While we’ve been spending most of our time on the house, we’ve been allocating our guided trips to our employees and STILL have seen growth from last year!

New in the world of 3W: After the symposium, I feel pretty special that I got to go. I met a lot of the staff on Run Sign Up team, including the user experience staff and they asked me, personally, for my opinion on features and the appearance of the website. So cool! #geekingout

New in the world of coaching: Cross country camp is NEXT WEEK, marking the official start of the season! YAY! We’ll be up in Winter Park for four days running, talking about running, and dreaming about running with all the kiddos. I really enjoy this part of camp.


As always, Instagram is my go-to social media. So if you want to keep up with my life in semi-real time, that’s the place. Usually.

Follow me on Instagram: @RacingTheStates
Or on Twitter: @Racingthestates