TRAILMOMMA ~ Page 30 of 44 ~ Trail Running + Plant-Based Living = the best adventures

September 5, 2014April 21, 2015

CHALLENGING WEEK

This has been quite a challenging week for me in many regards. It started off with the holiday weekend which was absolutely wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but it deletes a day out of your “normal” work day routine which is essential when you have a child in first grade who gets more homework than any child I have ever seen. Okay, maybe the homework is “average” compared to most but they must not have a child who drags her feet and complains endlessly for 20 minutes about a ONE page worksheet that she has to do. We’re instructed to do “20 minutes” of homework a night … if I followed that rule, the Peanut would still be doing first grade homework when she turns 45.

Another challenge this week for me has been trying to fit in running when I can. The holiday weekend brought us to Tahoe, our home/heart away from home. The Trailmomma family has been itching to get away to our “usual” Tahoe place and all the stars aligned at the last-minute to allow us this amazing get-away.

I am not complaining in the least. The girls had an amazing time just running wild and riding their bikes.

Vans and I had a chance to relax and unwind leaving work worries behind as well.

We just did what we normally do when we go to Tahoe and that is chill. I was given a day of running while Vans was given a day of biking. The girls just found whatever adventures they could find throughout the property.

Super tiny humans playing in the hammocks.

After a few days spent in Tahoe, we then moved to Donner Lake where we joined our friends in our Annual Camping Trip. You can see the other annual camping trips here: Camping 2013, Camping 2012, Camping 2011Â andÂ Camping 2010.

The one downside of our trip was when we realized that we had forgotten to bring the ADULT sleeping bags. We had to steal some of the girls’ blankets which they clearly noticed, but if we didn’t, Vans and I would have either frozen to death or gotten divorced … neither one really appeals. 🙂

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Overall, the camping and Tahoe trips were a success. While they took away from our usual routine of things, it was nice to get out of town.

When I had to return to work, I tried to run on my lunch hour to squeeze in an extra few miles wherein I think I almost left my lungs on the side of an old deserted street in Rancho Cordova. Why does a flat fast few miles kill me more than running uphill at 3,000 plus feet of elevation?! Ouch.

Combine that with some Rouxbe cooking assignments that I have been putting off. We are in the “Batch Cooking” segment of the course which I love the idea since I batch cook my grains all the time on weekends. Still, my first real graded assignment was a risotto, which I love, don’t get me wrong but a risotto requires time, patience and a little fineness.

This little assignment came about at about 9 pm on a Wednesday evening after I put the girls to bed since I really could not fathom finding time toÂ do this assignment once Vans left for Canada. Yes, he has left for Canada to visit Be-Well-Run and her hubby Dokeg to participate in the Whistler Grand Fondo! I am super excited for him and I hope he has a fabulous time but cooking and cleaning dishes at 10 pm at night on a Wednesday was pretty grueling.

Now I am a solo parent trying to schedule a night at concert in the park, a birthday party, a soccer game, a girls morning and a swimming clinic this weekend. Easy peasy right?

Or….maybe we’ll just hang out in our monkey jammies all day and call it good. 🙂

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

September 2, 2014April 21, 2015

AND THE ROUXBE WINNER IS …..

Before I announce the winner of theÂ Plant-Based Rouxbe Online Cooking School give-away, I want to thank ALL of you who commented on my post, shared on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I also want to thank all of you who emailed me personally or stopped me while out and about to ask me more about Rouxbe and their plant-based program.

Like I have said numerous times, Rouxbe’s program is pretty unique with their online approach and use of technology and even though I have been plant-based for over 20 years now, I am learning even more. Not only am I discoveringÂ tips on how to cook certain vegetables or grains, I am learning proper cutting techniques as well as storage and handling for certain foods to prevent spoilage and prolong the length of my produce, legumes and grains.

Currently I am only a quarter of the way through the program myself and my oldest (age 6), now declares that she likes brussel sprouts because of the method I learned through Rouxbe.

Also, if your name is not listed below as a winner and you are really interested in this course, Rouxbe has decided to knock 20% off their tuition prices for their October session! How cool is that!? Just use the codeÂ BACKTOSCHOOL upon registration (offer good until Sunday, September 7, 2014).

So without further ado, let me announce the winner of the free tuition to Rouxbe’s Online October Plant-Based Cooking Certification Course! The free tuition goes to…(drumroll please)….. Sarah!

Congratulations Sarah! Please email me at trailmomma@trailmomma.com and I will tell you what you need to do to register and claim your amazingly awesome plant-based prize! You are now on your way to improving your plant-based knowledge and I really hope this helps you educate those 8th graders and show them how eating a plant-based diet doesn’t have to be a big deal. Please stay in touch and keep me posted on your progress throughout the course!

Thank you again to all who entered. I truly feel honored to be able to offer such an amazing experience and I cannot thank Joe Girard and the whole Rouxbe team for allowing me to do this give-away.

If any of you have any questions regarding my progress or experience withÂ the program, please do not hesitate to contact me or just follow me here as I will continue to share my experiences with Rouxbe on my blog – just as long as you don’t mind some trail running posts thrown in every so often. 🙂 OR better yet, … follow me on Facebook! I am finally going to launch my Trailmomma page on Facebook because I know there is a large group of people in my inner circle who could care less about the amazing plant-based meals I had for dinner or the 20 mile trail adventure that I had on some random weekend. I will be posting my meals, Rouxbe experiences and trail running adventures on my Trailmomma Facebook page and leave the family random personal stuff for my regular one. The Trailmomma Facebook page should be live within a day or so.

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In the meantime, congrats to Sarah and I encourage all of you who entered to look into Rouxbe. If the time and money situation is not quite right at the moment, keep it in your back pocket for future reference. If you are truly stuck on how to succeed at a plant-based diet, this course could help you. Of course you are always welcome to email me with any questions you might have as well: trailmomma@trailmomma.com or use my Contact page above.

Thanks once again to Rouxbe!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

August 27, 2014April 21, 2015

ROLLING WITH IT

Things have definitely been busy. Training forÂ my November 50K has officially started, Vans is getting ready to head internationalÂ for a fondoÂ and the Peanut had her very first soccer game. Squeaker is doing great, becoming quite the dancing queen actually.

This past weekend I ran a fairly “new-to-me” trail, Salmon Falls. I have been there only once before. Super close to my house, these trails offer some beautiful views and some pretty technical terrain.

StonegateÂ (formerly GCRS Girl) and Burning Girl suggested this run and I was down for a new adventure. We had planned onÂ running 10 to 12 miles as it was the first weekend of soccer games for all kids as well as Van’s birthday weekend.

The girls picked me up and we headed to the trail. It was a cool and quiet morning. We saw one mountain biker head out before us. The trail starts up hill which is always a great way to wake up the legs and lungs. Speaking of legs, mine had been quite tired prior to this run. We had done some hill repeats earlier in the week and I don’t think mine ever recovered from that effort. We didn’t do too many and I felt amazing after and during but the days following left me with some pretty slow turn over.

Regardless, I just plopped myself at the back of the train and followed the girls as we continued up Skunk Hollow. StonegateÂ and Burning Girl run run, they don’t walk, not even the climbs. Even though we were not going that far mileage wise, I would hike the climbs especially since we were all just chatting away. I think they got the hint as they started hiking with me. One of the biggest misconceptions of a trail ultra is that you have to run every single step. I have heard countless interviews with elites who agree you have to power climb the uphill sections if you want to survive the longer mileage of an ultra. Running with new(ish) people is always interesting and I adore these girls. We just have to figure out our groove. I know how Pigeon operates when she runs and now I have to adjust to these two awesome girls.

Stonegate & Burning Birl — Stonegate & Burning Girl

We finally had gotten into a groove and were running down hill. I was in the back and I was watching the ground noticing all the rocks, mentally telling myself “Watch out for the rocks! Do NOT roll your bad ankle.” What do I do? Hit itÂ a rock with my GOOD ankle. Snap! (Yea, I heardÂ a snap). Instead of just running through it and shaking off the pain, I was sidelined pretty quick. To be honest, I was pretty afraid I broke or tore something in my foot (not necessarily my ankle). I made the girls wait a few minutes with me to see if I could power through. Eventually I thought the pain was subsiding enough that I could continue on and so they put me up front so as to dictate the pace. I was feeling okay for about three-quarters of a mile and then we hit another down hill section and I could feel twinges of pain shoot through my foot. That’s never good so I called it. I don’t generally quit things but having had a history with ankle issues, I didn’t want to risk making things worse.

We turned around and ran the 3+ miles back to the car, hiking the ups. 😉 At the car I took off my shoe (I know I know) and there was no swelling OR bruising but it hurt like HELL. It hurt even more when Burning Girl dropped me off in my driveway … hobbling was pretty much all that I could do.

Inside I iced and elevated it and thought things were fine. I felt well enough to head to the Peanut’s soccer game. There was no way I was going to miss her very first soccer game as a Hummingbird!

Soccer means a lot to Vans and myself. We both grew up playing (starting at an early age) and we alsoÂ met each otherÂ while playing soccer. The Peanut didn’t want to play but we encouraged her to try one season.

While at the game, I tried sitting down as much as I could but with Squeaker in tow, who is DYING to play soccer … it was a bit hard.

My foot started throbbing severely. I had worn some loose-fittingÂ shoes thinking that it was better than wearing flip-flops. Wrong. People around me were concerned. I looked pretty terrible but I kept cheering!
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Later that afternoon when we finally arrived home, I was done. I couldn’t bear any weight. I couldn’t wiggle my toes. I was crawling on hands and knees all around the house until I could put my foot up and ice it. I called a Doctor who advised I take some Tylenol and they scheduled x-rays for Sunday.

The Tylenol did wonders. The throbbing stopped and I was able to bear weight again. Whew! Sunday came and I took myself to the hospital while the family slept. I met some Sunday Doc who said she didn’t see anything in my x-rays that screamed “broken.” So she gave me new shoe and sent me on my way.

Throughout the day my foot would feel better but there was no way I was going to be able to put on a shoe. I also didn’t love the boot so I opted for some supportive sandals instead. 🙂

Monday came and I saw my miracle worker Dr. Lau. He thinks there may be something else going on and advised me to get new x-rays which I did. Now I am just waiting to get those results (my foot surgeon doctor is reviewing them). Overall things are feeling MUCH better. I tried going to the gym and wearing a regular shoe and it was ‘ok’ but not great. It looks like more rest is in my future right now and wearing regular shoes is not exactly high on my list.

I am rolling with it though. Just letting this brief period of rest happen. I know it is nothing serious so I am just riding this train and letting my body heal. Vans’s trip will also be a form of rest for me since I will be solo-parenting (love me some girl time). I am just looking forward to getting back on the trails healthy.

Meanwhile, I will dive deeper into my Rouxbe Cooking Course (don’t forget you can enter to attend as well for FREE – see my post by clicking here).

And of course, watching my girl experience soccer for the first time. She may not love it at the moment, but she does like the social time she gets with her friends and it is a few hours out of the house and into the sunshine (go Vitamin D!) which of course we love!

Not to mention (terrible) treats after the games!

Â Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

August 15, 2014April 21, 2015

WHAT IS ROUXBE AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOU?

So a few days ago, I posted my very first give-away on www.trailmomma.com (you can find and enter that give-away by clicking here).

Since that day, I have had quite the reaction to that post. Some friends on Facebook commented or “liked” my post, but did not “enter” the contest. I had friends approach me on the street about the blog, who looked at the syllabus and thought “Oh geez, I do not have that kind of time!” I have had friends and/or family email saying that they do not think they could “stick” with the course for a full six months.

I probably should have written this post sooner but I will be completely up front about my experience with RouxbeÂ to date. And no, I have not been paid to do this. I paid for my tuition (granted, with a discount from the company when I stressed the same concerns that have been expressed to me) out of my own pocket. But in no way, am I being compensated for doing this give-away. I am already enrolled. My time is committed. I do not get ONE single thing out of whoever wins this giveaway EXCEPT the knowledge that I have given the gift of learning more about plant-based cooking, being more efficient in the kitchen and how to live a healthier happier life.

The students in my current course class, are not all 100% plant-based. They are not chefs or professional cooks. Some of them have battled diabetes, celiac, being over weight or even cancer. They just want to know MORE and so should you. Why not? My give-away is FREE. What does it matter to you? If you don’t find the course to your liking or a fit for your family, then don’t finish. I would hope that you would notify Rouxbe and let them know. They truly value the opinions of others. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t be enrolled right now. I stressed my concerns about the course in an email, and because I Â did, I was given a tuition discount. Note, not FREE tuition, just a discount.

So the bottom line is, what does this mean for YOU right? Everyone wants to know that. It is a valid question. Our lives are valuable. Our time is critical. We have jobs, families and commitments. Why should YOU give up some of your time? More precisely, just how much of your time will you give up if you enter my give-away?

Rouxbe’s prediction is 5 hours a week. Some weeks may require more than others. Right now, I am on the fourth unit. So far, I have not logged into my course dashboard every single night. How can I with swim lessons on Sundays and Tuesdays and soccer on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and let’s not forget my full-time job and the job that I work on Sundays and oh yea, that 50K and marathon I am training for later in the year. Am I more of an extreme case? Yes. Absolutely. Are my “assignments” the absolute best of my ability? Probably not but I try.

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The “tasks” you see in the course syllabus vary. They can range from 2 minutes to 10 minutes. Some of the more extensive assignments involve a bit more cooking or prep but that just turns into dinner for our family. For example, the baby green beans that I steamed were given to the girls, the rest that was sautÃ©ed in a miracle mix of shallots and garlic (easy and simple) were enjoyed by Vans and myself.

The tofu on the bottom was for lunch. :) — The tofu on the bottom was for lunch. 🙂

So basically, I want to say, whatever questions you have, whatever reservations you may fear, please let me know. You can email me at: trailmomma@trailmomma.com if you want to ask private questions. Remember, the give-away is open until August 31st. You still have plenty of time to enter. You can enter the give-away by commenting on this post (click here).

The entry requirements may seem daunting too and I did not mean for that to be the case. You are not required to do all five. You can do one or even two and that could give you two “tickets” into the drawing. All I am saying is think about it. Do you want your family to eat healthier foods? More vegetables maybe? Less processed? I am sure not every dish I am going to make with Rouxbe will be fabulous. But it will be is DIFFERENT. It will be something I didn’t think of before. Something that I didn’t realize I could make so easily at home and more importantly, something unprocessed, something natural.

On a side note, I created my own Trailmomma Facebook page but I have yet to make it public. I am holding back but part of me wants to let it go because I want that to be the place where people can go for this type of information. My personal Facebook page is mostly for family and friends and I honestly feel like I am imposing upon them when I post things like this. If I go “live” I will post it here but in the mean time, take a look at what Rouxbe is offering you … FOR FREE. Five minutes of your time is all it takes to share on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and to comment. In the grand scheme of things, isn’t five minutes worth it when it could mean five less pounds? Five more minutes in the kitchen? Five more years of your life?

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

August 11, 2014April 21, 2015

THE HIGHS AND LOWS

This weekend’s run was definitely an eye opener for me. I always write about having good days and bad days on the trails and Saturday was definitely one of my not so great days. I completed the run. All 15 miles and 3200+ ft of elevation gain of it including a brutal climb up K2. Yet, I truly feel like I was battling my body the entire way.

I have my suspicions as to WHY I had such a bad run. Lack of sleep for one. Squeaker has been up one to two times a night most days of the week and yet I continued to go to all my morning workouts instead of making up for any lost sleep. I also had some dental work this week that has left me with the inability to chew anything too hard or too “sticky” and ultimately left me on a smoothie only diet for a few days. While smoothies are a great way to get your greens and vitamins in … they are not an ideal source of energyÂ for multiple days on end right before you go do a run in super hot weather with significant climbing. Live and learn right?

I also learned on my run that some of my past fueling habits may have been helping me more than I thought since I was without one of my signature items on this run. Again, lesson learned.

Regardless, I am proud of the run that I had. It was with a group of people who I am fairly new to running withÂ as Pigeon was working. This group is a bit faster than I am used to but I like that. It encouraged me to keep up the pace at times. Challenges are good. They inspire and motivate us.

After the run I hit the canal to clean off my incredibly dusty legs and also cool the muscles and joints down a bit.

I was home by 10:30 a.m. having started the run at 6:30 a.m. which was really nice and Vans was quite surprised by my arrival

I am digging the 15 to 20 mile distance right now. That also seems to be my internal mileage marker anyway. Anymore than 20 and I think I might be pushing things. My body is telling me to be gradual about my runsÂ and for once, I am listening.

The rest of my beautiful Saturday was spent with my girls either doing art projects or watching them swim in the pool.

In the evening we made a family outing to cheer on the Sacramento Republic FC team against Oklahoma in one of their final home games of their inaugural season.
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The girls really enjoyed the game even though it was a super late evening. The Peanut has started playing soccer and for her, it was neat to see a real game in person.

Squeaker was starting not to feel very well. I could tell something was off when she was not enjoying the game. Needless to say, she woke up the next morning with a fever but she’s a strong kid and is fighting this cold with all her might.

Like I said, there have been a lot of highs and lows this weekend. Another one of the high points was having some quiet time Sunday morning to go over my Rouxbe cooking assignments and studying for one of my quizzes.

Just in case you missed it, last week I wrote a blog that contained my very first give-away. Click HERE to vist that post and be sure to comment so your name can be entered into the contest to win FREE tuition into Rouxbe’s online cooking school. I know everyone is worried they don’t have the time to fit this course into their schedule, but if I can do it (with three jobs, two kids, a husband and my training for an up coming ultra) than ANYONE can do it. Trust me. It is worth the time. What have you got to lose? It is FREE!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

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