The sky was painted was painted in pastels and the rock walls were glowing in the sunlight creeping over the horizon. Wow, I thought, this is absolutely incredible. The second morning of our Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim adventure was already a complete 180 from our first day filled with rain and thunderstorms.…
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Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim – Part 1
Read moreA flash of light above us, and I instinctively started counting under my breath, “One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, four-” BOOM! Thunder reverberated off the canyon walls. I dug in with my poles and tried to hike faster up the trail that had become a river of water. Who would have thought the first…
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Injury Recovery is not Linear
Read moreHow many times have you heard the phrase, “injury recovery is not linear?” If you’re like me, quite a few times. And you give a small sigh and resigned nod, “I know” and promise you’ll be patient. Injured athletes know this and secretly hope that this time it’ll be different. I’ve been battling an injury…
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Spirit of the Trail #6: Ebey’s Landing and Bruichladdich Classic Laddie
Read moreWelcome back! Spring has arrived in the Pacific Northwest, and it’s a perfect time to venture out and explore some new trail and whisky pairings! Here’s a brief refresher on my Spirit of the Trail series: I pair a trail experience (hike/run/race) with a whisky. It’s all about distilling an experience and whisky and sharing…
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2020 in Review (haha), 2021 in Preview
Read moreI almost didn’t write this post because… do we really want to review the dumpster fire of 2020?? But maintaining this small tradition is a tiny sense of normalcy that I needed to start off 2021 right, and there were some good things that happened. As always, let’s start with the numbers! Stats: 1,730 miles…
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Spirit of the Trail #5: Tolmie Peak Lookout & Compass Box Spice Tree
Read moreIt’s summer, and we all want an escape from the isolation of our homes, so what better time to (safely) explore some trails and whiskies? In my Spirit of the Trail series, I pair a trail experience (hike/run/race) with a whiskey. The pairing may be based on the physical trail itself or a specific situation…
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Injury Update and Goal (and Life) Adjustment in 2020
Read moreYou may have noticed things have been a bit quiet on the blog. The big reason is that in the face of a global pandemic and an (overdue) societal focus on systemic racism, it felt colossally insensitive to publish posts about adventures and whisky like everything was normal. (Whatever normal even means anymore.) However, I…
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7 Ultrarunning Skills to Use During Quarantine
Read moreImagine someone who: chooses to run 27+ hours without sleep; wears short shorts on a trail full of nettles or cacti; gleefully consumes pickle juice followed by salted watermelon; and shamelessly applies anti-chafe cream to delicate regions in broad daylight. That person’s life choices seem questionable at best, and hardly useful during a pandemic. However,…
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Are You An Injured Runner? It’s Going To Be Okay.
Read moreIt’s been over 17 weeks since Javelina (but who’s counting?) And I’ve been healing from one of my patented Vague Soft Tissue Injuries ®, that take forever to heal. Immediately post-race I had a strain in my left tensor fasciae latae that made even walking extremely painful. For those unfamiliar, the TFL is a small…
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Spirit of the Trail #4: Javelina Jundred and Whiskey Del Bac Dorado
Read moreLast year I was so focused on training for my races that I temporarily set aside my Spirit of the Trail series. And now it’s back! So grab your trail shoes and an empty glass for number four in this playful series. (If you missed the previous installments, you can check them out here.) If…
