About Beth

My name is Beth. I am a wife and mother of 2, and have a passion for running. I was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, but do not want that to define me, and hopefully it won't slow me down! This is my journey to stay active and healthy while looking for joy in the trials of life.

Heading to Cali

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Beth

We are leaving today on a road trip to California for the marathon on Sunday. My BRF, Sherri, and I will be running and our wonderful husbands are driving us there in style and then cheering us on come race time. We are traveling in Sherri and her hub’s motor home and doing a true road trip to Cali!

The last time I road tripped in an RV I was in middle school, so I’m looking forward to this adventure. Hopefully it won’t turn out like this:

The Upcoming Race in Numbers:

65 – degrees that the weather in Ventura is predicted to be. Hopefully it will be cloudy and overcast near the coast, because 65 is a little hot for this MS runner.
6 – miles that my last taper run was and it felt harder than it should have. Isn’t tapering for my legs to get rested and feel refreshed and ready to hit it hard in a few days? I did not feel like anything close to that on this run.
903 – miles to drive from Albuquerque to Ventura
3:45 – Boston Qualifying time that I hope and pray that Sherri and I both make on Sunday!
12:1 – my go-to race verse from Hebrews

I’m not sure what the WIFI situation will be like this weekend, but I will be sharing updates of the road trip and race on Twitter and Facebook.

Ever done a road trip in an RV before? What plans do you have for Memorial Weekend?

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Marathon Monday – 6 days to go

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Beth

My next marathon, number 7 for me, is in 6 days. I am running the Mountains2Beach Marathon in California. Seeing as this race is just 6 weeks after I ran the Boston Marathon, it has been an interesting training cycle, with some recovery, some long runs and a tiny bit of speed work thrown in. After the 20 miler I did with Sherri a few weeks ago, we did another long run the following week. So I feel good having gotten 2 long runs in (20 and 18). My weekly mileage has been lower than my Boston training, yet I’ve done longer long runs using a training plan from the Advanced Marathoning Book. I really don’t know what to expect come race day. I’m just hoping to stay in one piece and run as smart of a race as possible.

This races starts in Ojai, California and ends in Ventura Beach with the last few miles running along the ocean on the beach path. I love the ocean, so I’m hoping that this will help pull me through those last miles of the marathon when things get tough.

Have you been to Ojai or Ventura? Any tips on things to do or places to eat?

Marathon Mom Article

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Beth

I was shocked to see this picture of my family on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal Sunday morning:

(courtesy of Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)

A writer from the Journal contacted me last week saying she had heard about me being at the Boston Marathon last month and then found out that I was diagnosed last year with MS. She thought my story would make an inspirational Mother’s Day article for the newspaper. I was honored for this opportunity and was surprised when I saw the article on the front page of the paper. Here is a link to the story.

Since the bombings in Boston, I have been interviewed by a few different news organizations, including some international media the day after the marathon when I was still in Boston. I was not close to where the bombs went off (I was in the finisher’s chute a few hundred yards away), nor did I do anything worthy of being interviewed, I just happened to be there, like so many other people that experienced the horror on that day. Talking about myself and having the focus be on me is definitely out of my comfort zone, but for whatever reason these opportunities have come my way, so I am doing the best I can to embrace them. I do believe that God can bring good out of a bad situation, and I pray that perhaps something good can come from me talking about being at the Boston Marathon and sharing my story of living with MS. I’m not sure what that is, so I’ll just have to leave that up to God for now.

Have you been out of your comfort zone at all lately?

Ever been interviewed for something?

Any examples of how God has brought something good out of a bad situation in your life?

Happy Mother’s Day

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Beth

I want to wish all the moms a happy Mother’s Day this weekend. What an honor it is to be a mom and be blessed with the responsibility of raising a child. Although, we all know that along with that blessing comes a lot of hard work, tears, challenges, and tough times. Sure the rewards are many and the simplest “I love you, Mom” after a rough day makes it all worth it, but in reality, it is the toughest job in the world!

Often I get caught up in the day to day hustle of life with a job, husband, dog and all the kids’ activities, and it can feel overwhelming. This seems to be going on quite a bit lately, so I’m hoping to take this Mother’s Day Weekend to slow down a little and reflect on what is truly important in my life. God, family, friends. I know I only have a brief time with my children under the roof of my home (my daughter turns 13 the day after Mother’s Day!), so I need to decide how I want to spend these next few precious years. I need to remain focused on the job I have been given to raise Godly children.

Unfortunately my mom passed away 14 years ago, which makes Mother’s Day bittersweet for me. I am sad when I think of all she missed out on by never getting to experience having grandchildren or seeing me become a mother. This serves as one more reminder in my life to not take a single day for granted.

beingtakenforgrantedquotes

What plans do you have to celebrate Mother’s Day?

Marathon Mondays Return

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Beth

It’s hard to believe it has been 3 weeks since I ran the Boston Marathon. Even before arriving in Boston to run this infamous marathon for my first time, I knew that I wanted to be back there to run in 2014. The race next year is on my birthday and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate than doing what I love to do at one of the greatest venues in the world. Not to mention I feel the “need” to return to Boston next year as a show of support to the city and the families that have been impacted. The evil that was done cannot be allowed to spoil the greatness of Boston and its marathon. Good (and God) will always prevail.

You may recall that I was tempted to run the Tucson Marathon back in December because it’s a great course, my dad lives there, and I wanted to get a 2014 Boston Qualifying time. However, I was having some minor health issues and was not feeling my best, so I decided not to run it. I had my doubts going into the Boston race that I could run a qualifying time there. It’s a difficult course (for me) and I had some bumps in the road with an injury during my training. I did not hit my qualifying time in Boston for 2014, so I’m still working away to make this happen.

In 3 weeks I will be running the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon in California with my friend Sherri. We have big dreams of qualifying together for Boston at this race. Hence, the return of Marathon Mondays to my blog.

3 weeks post marathon and I am feeling really good. I took the first week after the race very easy to allow my legs some good recovery time. The challenge of running back to back marathons with only 6 weeks in between is to get enough recovery time, but not too much, because you have to jump back in and maintain your fitness level and then get ready for another taper. Whew, that’s a lot to think about! I’m loosely following a 6 week between marathon plan from this book. This past weekend Sherri and I did a 20 mile run together, and while we were not breaking any speed records, it was good to get the time on my feet and I’m happy that my legs are feeling decent. My challenge the next few weeks is to get to the marathon without injury, while still getting some worthwhile training runs in. So far so good!

Have you ever run back to back races? How did you train for it?

Do you like the “Keep Calm” sayings, or are you tired of seeing them everywhere?

Finding joy amidst the trials of everyday life

Author Archives: Beth