I tend to be one to go after hard things and think, “maybe I can have it all.” When we “grow up,” have jobs, hubbies, babies, houses, so many people say, “there goes your freedom,” or, “you better give that up and settle down.” When I was pregnant with my daughter, Poppy, I was told that I better do my adventures now, because I was going to have to give them up.
To those people, I thankfully called bullshit. I am stubborn as an ass, have been since I was a small child, and would absolutely not accept that having a baby would mean giving up running long distances or backpacking long trails. Things would change, I knew that. Heck, pregnancy and postpartum was a lot of sacrifice: I was too sick or fatigued to get out and do much of anything.
But I recovered and put on my running shoes and started over. I took my mini me with me on backpacking and camping trips. I started small and built up, as we always do with training and life.
And life is different now, that is undeniable. I used to workout or go on adventures for the majority of my free time. Now, I play on the floor, give baths, perform lengthy bedtime routines, do lots of laundry and try to get strength building in by carrying my daughter up and down the stairs or lifting her off for airplane.
So, I’m training for a 200+ mile race in September, and short fast packing trips are my favorite forms of training. So I fit it in- I’ll work long shifts to get time off- leave for 24 to 48 hours and try to get some mileage in carrying all my gear and food. This is what I call a quickie.
Last week I had a couple of days while mini was in daycare to explore the PCT south of Sierra City. 25 miles out and 25 back, and really pretty blissful.
The best part of the trip was camping at Jackson Reservoir under the full moon. Words cannot describe the beauty and simplicity of camping and hiking/ running alone in a place of such magic.
And I was alone. The campground was technically still closed and my 4 am start time meant I could explore the lake properly before heading back on the PCT.
Feeling blissed out after that one- then rested up big time for Burney Mountain 100 on Friday.
Flights of a hummingbird 