300 Days of Sunshine

Happy Memorial Day! Unfortunately for us hospital workers, this is just a  normal weekend followed by just another Monday, but I enjoy being able to play a small role in my patients' holidays.  I was also happy to have the  day off on Saturday for some hiking, BBQ-ing, and enjoying the sunny  weather.  I took the pooch up Atalaya mountain for our first hike of the  spring!  This is one of our regular hiking trails in the foothills of Santa F e that begins at St. John's College and ends at the peak of Atalaya  mountain at 9,200 feet elevation, offering a gorgeous 360 degree view of  Santa Fe.  The snow from last weekend has melted completely, and there were  pretty wildflowers starting to bloom.  I hope to have a green and lush s ummer after all the moisture we've had this spring.  I was reminded, h owever, that tourist season is upon us, so the trail was crowded.  With summer right around the corner, I need to reme...

Today was the 30th annual Santa Fe Century!  But before I go on, some background... Spring in Santa Fe can be pretty awful. In fact, my Midwestern friends and I complain about it quite frequently. First the snow is dirty and slushy, too slippery to hike but not deep enough anymore for snowshoes. Then you get a few sunny days and your tulips bloom! You think there is hope that summer is almost here, then it freezes overnight and all your flowers die. We'll get a week of beautiful, 70° and sunny afternoons, where you can't help but be outside all day, and you decide you just have to buy a grill, then it rains for three days straight.  Finally it's May and you pack away all your sweaters and boots for good, only to wake up to snow on two Saturday mornings in a row.  By far THE WORST part of spring in Santa Fe, though, is the oppressive and relentless wind.  I would gladly welcome snow any day and exchange for this unforgiving wind. I've been training for my hal...

I have been fortunate enough to be a Girls on the Run coach for three seasons now.  GOTR is a nonprofit organization that offers curriculum-based, healthy lifestyle education in the form of an after school program for elementary school girls.  I have had a blast being a part of this program, and this season a lightbulb went on for me and my coaching experience became even more meaningful.  We had many girls returning from last season, and it was so rewarding for me to see them grow and change in the course of a school year.  The girls have so many smart and inspiring insights about the lessons, and it is truly a joy to get to know each of them and discover their unique personalities, perspectives, and individual struggles that they overcome.  Through GOTR the girls learn a lot about the qualities that make each other unique, the importance of teamwork, the impact of choices in life, and issues affecting the greater community as whole.  I learn so much from ...

We are so in love with our house!  I still can't believe that we own it and that there's no end date awaiting us in the near future.   It was worth the months and months of saving, making smart financial decisions to keep our credit scores up, filling out paperwork, meeting with our realtor, packing, and preparing.   Since closing seven weeks ago, we have now transitioned from the relatively short process of home BUYING to the never-ending process of home OWNING.  The first week after moving in we were busy with change of address forms, installing shelves in the pantry, changing the locks on the house, doing minor repairs, decorating, and getting in touch with our handyman.  I spent some time weeding, doing yard work, and trying to figure out what the heck is growing in my garden.  I have become the queen of bargain shopping for artwork, decor, colorful accents, and a few pieces of furniture.  At least 50 hours of our lives in the past month were...

Part Two of our double race weekend was the Run for the Zoo Half Marathon in Albuquerque.  It was a beautiful morning for a race!  The course started and ended at the zoo, and looped around on the Bosque trail along the river.  I heard a runner behind me say, "Just seeing water gives me energy.  If it can keep flowing, then I can keep flowing."  (Love it!)  The trees provided a lot of shade and the course was entirely flat.  For someone who loves hills (me), the flat course was boring at times but I was able to maintain a strong pace and never felt short of breath.  I stayed under a 10 minute/mile pace for the first half of the race, then got a second wind at mile 7, which I have NEVER felt in a race before.  (Usually my only second wind is the sprint to the beer tent after a 5K...)  I was a little nervous about picking up the pace with 6 miles left to go, but I went with what felt good and was able to increase my speed and pass a...

My last mountain bike race involved an over the handlebars experience resulting in a sternum bruise, knee contusions, and fear of downhills. I took about seven months off from any mountain riding at all, and here I am doing another off-road race. This morning Jaycob and I competed in the La Tierra Torture!  I did the beginner version of the race, a 9 mile loop with a few technical sections and about 1000 feet of elevation gain. I started the race with a friend of mine who was also getting back on the horse after a crash in her last mountain bike race, and we had a great start!  I was focused and aggressive and maintained a good pace on the climbs. The adrenaline gave me the confidence to stay on the bike around some sharp corners and rocky parts that I might ordinarily walk.  The course is mostly single track, with a few wider sections passing.  There were two technical sections that I hadn't anticipated, and I spent a minute or so gearing myself up on an espec...