Were back from the snowboarding trip 

Now that we are back I am back in the full swing of my half marathon training. I took roughly a week and a half off from running for a few reasons. One was because my foot has been hurting a bit since I got back from the Grand Canyon trail that we did back in September/October with my Dad. It was an on-and-off pain since then but it progressed due to a pair of shoes that I had been wearing running in. I learned over time in running in them that I was heel striking and I think it caused a bruised bone to form. Which is the worst because you can't do anything about it and you have to take it easy for it to heal. So this time I took off has helped a lot. I didn't do much, just walked, snowboarded, and took the time from running to take off the pressure from the heel. Along with taking the time off I also switched back to five-finger shoes which I had used for a very long time before trying other brands and my posture, running form, and overall feel changed immediately. The pressure was no longer there and it helped a lot to stop using the shoes that were causing problems. 

Now that we're back and im rested I did my first 4-mile run and it wasn't great, felt off, but I managed to do the 4 miles without stopping which I think is a good sign, along with my foot no longer hurting/feeling numb from time to time. Im hoping to get into the full swing and push more and more for this half marathon training. I would love to get into the swing of doing a 10 k with a 9-minute average pace and push myself hard from there to try and see if I can get sub 2. Of course, I have no idea if that will happen but it has been a goal for a long while. 

We shall see if I can make that happen this year. I think that would be a big accomplishment for me to finally have that ticked off on my list of things to accomplish as a runner. 

If you are a runner here is a question for you. What kind of shoes do you wear? Is there a brand you absolutely love or hate? Let me know. 

It's funny what you remember when you're going down a road you have traveled many times before. 

On our way up to Wolf Creek, (the way we have to go anyway) we end up taking the road to Trinidad which is Interstate 25. It was pretty late when we were going up that road and of course, I get flashbacks to a few years ago when my Van was not in the best of shape. Coming up that road ended up being one of those times when my van decided to quit on me. It started in Trinidad and I somehow managed to make it up to Pueblo where my van had to be serviced. At that time we were going out to Yellowstone to run the half marathon there and I got lucky enough to have connections, through my father of course, to have someone to come get me from Denver and rescue me while I waited for my father to swoop in and come pick me up. 

I learned a lot from that trip. I learned that I'm not all that smart with vehicles and we learned what other issues the van had at the time. It had an issue with the gas tank deciding that it was half full when really it was completely full whenever you went up any kind of hill or mountain. The best part of that is when the van would randomly stop working and turn off. That came into effect whenever I got into high elevations or went up mountains. Along with the transmission puking on me, we realized that the leak that it had when I bought it was more than a "little" leak. It was what it ended up killing my transmission and driving a diesel my whole "driving" life I was not well versed in how transmission fuel was supposed to look. Not my Dad's fault by the way, just me thinking that I could get away with not looking as often thinking the leak was "small" and deciding that it will ALLLLLL BE OKKK...yea ok. We all learned what happened then and if you have been following this blog and my father's blog long enough you remember that time as well. 

Now coming into Wolf Creek with that memory it makes me smile at what I have learned and how thankful I am to have this platform and to have met so many from the Ticker. Over the years I have met many in different areas and some have helped me out on my adventures, teaching me so many lessons and giving out a helping hand with my vehicle troubles. Truth be told when the transmission died I really thought I was going to be more serious trouble. If you know Colorado Pueblo is NOT a good area and when one of the Tickers follower's Daughters came to save me it also put me back in touch with someone I met on a cruise ship which is really a small world. 

This time around I'm not in the van and will be going back to Tennessee but I am grateful that I have learned all these lessons and of course, I'm sure there are more to come when I take off again In September. I hope you all will continue to follow along and I can't wait to share those stories with you when it happens. 

We are hitting the slopes in Wolf Creek here in a few days. I'm excited to get back out in the powder and work on my skills as a snowboarder. 

Last year when we were at Wolf Creek I was able to stay up on a board for the whole run and even do the blues over there. it was wonderful and for the first time, I didn't feel too scared to try boarding. I felt pretty strong and found out that I am better on a twin board than I am on a regular board. For me, that was an interesting thing to learn and changed the whole game for me. Being able to switch from one side to another whenever I needed to was a way for me to keep upright. It's apparently not as common for people to be able to use a twin board which I found interesting and a little exciting in its own way. 

My least favorite part is the journey out there. Unlike last year I'm not in the area and I will be coming back home instead of traveling to a new location/area after we are done. I'm excited to get back on the board and give it a go and of course, to have an espresso at the top of the mountain with Dad. 

So here we come Wolf Creek. We will be shredding the slopes here soon. 

Recently I did a test for my new job. The test was to see if it would work in the van with the new setup I have for it. The answer came to a solid yes. I can work from anywhere again and it excites me to think that I will be back on the road enjoying the freedom to explore whenever and wherever while still being able to make money and afford this amazing life that we live. I want to go back to Vegas and explore more of the areas out there. I want to climb, hike, and get out in the amazing Red Rocks area. I also want to go visit nearby states and head back to Utah. 

Utah has been one my favorite states to visit and every time I go there I love it more and more. It has so many wonderful trails and it doesn't take long to get in complete isolation. It's perfect for those of us who just want peace and quiet. When we get back I know I will be ready to sit out by the fire and watch as the sky comes to life before my very eyes. Will it be as bright as it once was before we polluted our planet with so much light? No, but it will be enough for me to still enjoy the sky while we still see it. 

In another life, I could have chased the stars and been happy that way. Traveling all around the world to take pictures in remote places of the stars sounds like a wild and crazy dream. But for now will take my quiet time with the sky in the desert. With this job, this will offer me the opportunity to make more money while I am on the road and have the weekends off. This is a win-win in my case because then I get to go outside and not stress about times dropping on Saturday or Sunday just to make an extra buck. This job may be the door I needed to open up more chances to change my life. And man am I taking it by the balls and running with it. 

I hope everyone had a great new year and a great start to 2024. 

  2024 is going to be an interesting year and I have this feeling that it will be filled with interesting change. So far it has been a good start. I have officially settled into my new job and have set goals for what I want to do for the year. From now until September I will be doing a small amount of traveling and spending time with my father and my boyfriend. When September rolls around I will be doing my fourth half marathon and it will be the Smokey Mountain Half. Its in early September and if anyone is interested in joining in please sign up and come out with me on this beautiful course. If not cheer for me. It will be an interesting one. 

While I am preparing for that race I have small trips planned out. Going to Colorado to SNowboard here soon, going to P.A to visit my boyfriend's family and enjoy the sites, WIll be going to Nashville to enjoy a Passenger concert, Hiking in Glacier National Park to celebrate two years with my man, and so many other adventures. We will even be starting the planning for Peru, Scotland, and Ireland. Not all in one trip but two separate ones. I also have a new plan for my artwork now that my life has slowed down a bit when it comes to my jobs. My schedule is not longer so hectic and is manageable which I'm really excited about. The opportunities are endless and im ready to jump in fully. 

With this new job, I can now relax a little bit and move forward with what's needed. There are a lot of goals to achieve and I can't wait to see what comes my way this year. 

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