"she insisted running was romantic"

you can find me somewhere in the mountains 

[musingsoflulu]

hey Laura, how did you race go? I hope you had fun!

Hi! I kept meaning to post about it but was waiting for race photos to come back and then they did and I just didn’t get around to it oops!

A quick recap!

First of all- I have the best friends? My pals here knew I was very nervous getting back into racing. I received several good luck texts and Cody and Logan were texting/tracking me during the race. I got the sweetest video of Logan and baby wishing me luck. Claire sent me a care package with our favorite frozen mac and cheese (dirty mac for the Mac) and nerds clusters and Dani got me flowers and loaned her javelina bracelet for good luck (it said pony up bitch).

The race was so well run and I loved the local feel. This is the only race the directors put on each year so it’s a total labor of love and has a long history! This was its 30th year running. The weather was gorgeous, the trails were buttery, and I got to share several miles with Penn and Alli! Penn and I kept leap frogging the entire race. Overall, I felt really strong and ran a fair amount during climbs. Penn did pull ahead when I started experiencing some right leg cramps around mile 27. Luckily, salt tabs seemed to be a quick fix and I ended up catching her with about a half mile to go and we crossed the finish line together!

This was actually only my second official 50k race. When I ran in my first in 2018, I managed a second place female finish. Funny enough, I squeaked out a PR by about 5 minutes on this course (which was very similar in elevation gain to my first), so that felt like a huge win. But I did feel a little disappointed with how I stacked up competitively in this race (which is to say not at all haha!). My coach and I did talk through some of those feelings and I’m feeling fine about it now. This was a really strong performance for my first race postpartum and I put in a very solid and consistent training block and landed a PR. In the end, I do think my strengths lie in longer distances (👀). It’s funny that the 50k distance, which is still so long, attracts such speedy people but it does! And this race was far more competitive than my first one I did.

Here are a few race day photos! Highly recommend this race (Mac Forest 50k)

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Another gorgeous Memorial Day weekend camp trip in the books 😍

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Recent happiness that doesn’t include K’s face (which consume most of my photos)

Bedtime stories, 10 year anniversary ring upgrade (!!!), race smiles, evening walkies, spring trail runs, and these cutie stud earrings that Tay Tay got me for Mother’s Day 🥹

[musingsoflulu]

so exciting!! I’d love to hear about how training is going and what it’s looking like right now, especially with a young child, if you feel like sharing.

Sure! This training block has just been all about consistency. Very minimal epic or exciting long runs, with the exception of a few beautiful Smith Rock days. It’s been a lot of 45 min lunch runs during my work day and squeezing in the long runs relatively close to town on Saturday and Sunday mornings. One day I did like… four repeats on a local butte to get in vert and miles 😂

Logan and I will plan our weekends ahead of time. For instance, if he wants to ski or mountain bike with his friends and a Saturday works best, then I will move my long run to Sunday. Or if I have planned my long run with friends, he will modify his plans accordingly. I will say- I had hopes that maybe I could do a 50 miler this year but a 50k feels like the max distance I want to train for at this point. I’ve been consistently putting in about 40-45 miles a week for the past 4-6 weeks and that does feel like the absolute max amount of time I want to be spending running right now without sacrificing more family time and more sleep. Because I get out midday during my work day, I’m not having to sacrifice sleep or family time in the evenings. So that’s made training feel more manageable.

I’ve been really proud of the consistency with which I’ve showed up this training block and I’m feeling excited and ready to race and try hard again!

Oh! I’ve also been dedicating one day a week to strength training (this was weightlifting and weighted vest exercises back in the winter and has now shifted to mobility work). I’ve also been doing 50-75 modified push-ups and a 90 sec plank every day (with a handful days I forgot) since 1/1! It take 5 min out of my day but I feel it’s actually made a difference in how strong my running feels. Idk!

[musingsoflulu]

What are you training for Laura!

I’ll be running a 50k first weekend of May! First big race back since 2022 🥲

[musingsoflulu]

Peak week lined up with Tess visiting!

✨ We signed up for a 5k and I worked it into my medium long run on Saturday

✨ We squeaked out a third and fourth overall female finish and then I had to finish out my run 😂

✨ Took our families to High Desert Museum. Baby boy loves seeing the turtles and otters there

✨ I slogged out 20 miles on tired legs today. I finished Broken Country on audiobook and sobbed mid-run

✨Nothing like finishing out peak week, desperately wanting a nap but still needing to parent a toddler 😂

[musingsoflulu]

Happiness on my camera roll lately

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Little weekend down to the Bay to see Kat for her birthday! After 20+ years of friendship, we finally got bestie tattoos ❤️

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Lately!

The theme of January was general illness- I nursed a sore throat for 3 weeks assuming it was viral after negative throat culture swabs. My coworker was finally “like let’s throw a round of antibiotics at it” and boom, it went away in a day. We are guessing it was probably some sort of abscess.

Less than a week later, baby and I both got RSV just in time for a visit from Mom and my uncle David.

Lots of tears over the news lately. I spent much of a Sunday crying after Alex Pretti’s death and the many people that have been kidnapped and harmed by ICE.

But still some good things this past month- painting and milkshakes with pals and sunny baby bike rides.

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Second Monday book date in a month!

This time I started Lucy Foley’s Midnight Feast. I really enjoyed the Hunting Party and the Guest List. Couldn’t really get into the Paris Apartment and DNF’ed a few years ago but maybe should give it another go. This latest one is a page turner so far!

[musingsoflulu]

Bits and bobs over the past few weeks.

Finished the Wedding People- one of my favorite reads over the past few years and highly recommend.

Got bangs because ~postpartum hair loss~ and I actually really love them? The change is fun and I am enjoying styling them.

I have been wrestling with a sore throat since Christmas Eve. We have ruled out a bacterial infection and it’s likely RSV or one of the nastier viruses running around this winter.

We have been working on baby’s holiday box for this coming year. I’m planning to gift him some holiday jammies, a holiday book, and another little surprise in this box at the beginning of celebrating a new big holiday (like Halloween or Christmas or Easter). I’m planning to use it throughout his whole childhood. I used to draw and paint quite a bit in my youth and just fell out of it in college. It’s been so refreshing activating that part of my brain again. My best friend and I joke that my inner Lena has come out again (iykyk).

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Highly recommend picking out a book in the morning with your husband and bouncing from place to place reading it all day

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A cozy Christmas- grazing in pajamas all day, planning up next year’s holiday magic, a little midday easy run, a family walk, and Celtic Christmas music playing from dawn to dusk

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This may have been the best year yet ❤️

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Bend bakery run tour to celebrate our bride Danielle! Perfect Sunday morning filled with pastries, coffee, and giggly miles

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How to even put into words the fun we had this weekend crewing our girl, Dani, at the Javelina Jundred.

Pink Pony Club galloped through the Horseshoe all day long. Face glitter was put on every little girl (and many grown men) that came to our tent. We had hula hoop contests, dance parties, made friendship bracelets, and lost our voices screaming and singing.

How is this real life? I cannot stop smiling thinking about how lucky I am.

First 2 photos from Jacob Banta.

Videography was by the amazing Connor Dyer.

[musingsoflulu]

9 years married to my guy, 14 years together. I love getting new wrinkles with him.