Chasing Kris

2018 is going to be a banner year for me.  So far, I've kicked ass on Breast Cancer with my final chemotherapy and surgeries ending in April.  With that task completed, I've thrown myself into recovery and rehabilitation mode.  I signed up for a bunch of races while I was sitting through my chemotherapy infusion in March.   Dirty Secret Trail Race was my first run, at 5.8 miles I thought the short distance race would be an excellent motivator (and it was!).  A sweet deal came across my Facebook page for Gold Country Half Marathon in early June, so I grabbed it.  An Independence Day local tradition in my running group is the Firecracker Trail Run on the 4th of July.  It's an 8 mile out and back race with elevation that kicks my butt every year, but I did it anyway.  At the end of July I survived the short distance Blood Sweat and Beers Race , which also kicked my butt, but I did it anyway.  In August, my husband and I celebrated 27 ye...

Folsom Blues Breakout Race 2017 This race has been on my bucket list for a few years because it's near my home and it's a well attended race among my Moms Run This Town group .  It was my second fall half marathon this season, and I went into it with a new strategy after learning some lessons about pacing and ambition at my last half marathon in August. This year's Folsom Blues Breakout was a new course.  The race organizers had to change it due to a landslide last winter that blocked a significant part of the path around Lake Natomas.  Normally, this race starts near the Folsom Dam and then does a complete counter clockwise loop around Lake Natomas.  This year, they opted for an out-and-back on the Old Town side of the lake.  While there were some rumblings of dissent amongst those who don't like out-and-backs generally, I was actually fairly pleased because the course stayed on my favorite side of the lake. The transportation to ...

I'm not one of those determined Type A individuals who can make a decision to do something and then doggedly keep at it until it is finished, brushing off obstacles and setting aside distractions until I've met my goal.  I'm more of a high functioning Type B sort of person: It get stuff done, but I juggle distractions and sidestep obstacles all along the way even if it means a few trips down tangent trails until I loop back around to my original track.  Somehow, I get to the finish line but it's definitely in a more relaxed manner.  I know this because I live and run with a Type A husband and he and I have very different attack strategies when it comes to things. Take running as an example.  In 2000, he decided (rather out of the blue) that he would like to get into running.  He'd never been a runner before, but somehow he decided he'd like to take up the sport.  Being the Type A determined guy that he is, he decided his first big goal would be no less th...