Summer Shenanigans: Mixing Work + Play

Spring showed up in February…but winter came back with vengeance in March. The mountains still aren’t sure what season it is, bouncing between fresh powder mornings and slushy afternoons. We might get another dumping of snow, in true Colorado fashion, but in my mind…summer is just around the corner. So close!

Heck, my version of summer kicks in before April is officially over! I actually have a lot on deck for my summer, but not in the traditional sense. I’m trying something new — combining a full-time job with a consistent travel-for-fun life. I’ve spent the last few months plotting, planning, working + negotiating to make this happen, and now it’s about to start happening!

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#GameOnPGH: Still Running

Cross training is essential for a successful, injury-free race…right?! I sure hope so, because that is currently my game plan for this upcoming marathon. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still running! But I’m not running nearly as much as I thought I would be considering how many times I threatened myself + my lack of training during the Steamboat Marathon last year. I’ve been active + playing outside a lot lately, more often than not with my running shoes on my feet; however, I’m not always doing the whole arms pumping + legs churning running thing while I’m out there. #GameOnPGH, right?!

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Hello? Spring? Is that you?

Okay, so weather is weather is weather and whining about it isn’t going to change anything but…spring seems to think it has arrived here in Summit County, Colorado. Since early February we’ve had only a handful of days that didn’t get above freezing with most of our days hitting 40-50 degrees before noon rolled around. Sounds like spring, right?!

Except it’s March! Spring should NOT be here yet! 

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m loving this weather — it’s fantastic for running on the roads or trails, it’s doing a great job of kicking off my runner tan lines + back country packs are lighter because you need more sunscreen than layers.

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Are You Alone?

 

“Are you alone?”

It sounds like a really simple question, right? I’ve been asked “are you alone” a handful of times while out on the trails and I never know how to answer. I mean, the person asking me sees only me on a wide open trail or next to an empty mountain hut…obviously I’m alone.

Every time I’ve been asked I impulsively answer with the truth. Yes. Yes, I’m out here in the middle of no where all by myself. There is no one to pick me back up when I fall, no one to navigate for me, no one to defend me against hungry critters or crazy humans…just me.

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#GameOnPGH Update: Running…Uphill.

So, running + marathon training. I’ve actually been doing it, lately. With varying levels of success…but considering everything else going on in my day-to-day life I’m feeling pretty good at where I’m at with running. I’ve been getting #GameOnPGH 4+ days of running in each week, I’ve sprinkled in a few days of snowboarding/hiking to spice things up and I feel pretty good about the amount of effort I have to put into my runs, physically + mentally. Not bad, right?!

I’ve only topped out at 12 miles, so far. And while I had a minor “gah, that’s not enough” spaz the other day I’ve done a little counting + scribbling and I feel pretty good about it. My upcoming weeks of training [only 10 left!] are going to look something like this, in terms of long run mileage…14, 10, 16, 18, 14, 20, 22, 16, 14, 12, race day. Seems like a solid #GameOnPGH plan, eh?

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The Four Mile Warm-up

I’ve spent the last few weeks in a mental rut of sorts, but I’m not about to start complaining about that. Instead, let’s ponder the cause/solution for my rut. Since I started training for the Pittsburgh Marathon I had not made it past 7 miles in a continuous run. Heck, that one 7 miler I did get in was the longest 100% run/no hiking distance I’ve gone in…months? Considering a marathon is nearly 20 miles further than my current “longest run” I needed to get my act together! I needed to run…longer.

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Running The Numbers: Zero.

My story-worthy runs are very rarely the picture perfect, everything-went-as-planned, no-misery-could-be-found events. Nope. Those runs are boring. Or at least I think they are — it’s been a very long time since I’ve had one of those runs! Instead my runs usually come with random bouts of drama, excitement or whining. Either I’m squishing a run into a tiny window of time or I’m getting lost in random Denver neighborhoods or it’s just too damn cold…there’s always something keeping any given run from being spot on perfect.
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Getting Snowy

Welcome to the new version of my little snippet of the internet. Whatcha think? You best like it…because I kind of do so I won’t be changing much. BUT, if anything isn’t flowing/working for you let me know, I’ll whip it into shape!

I’ve been living in Summit County — the home of 4 big Colorado mountain resorts — since December. My mountain job came with the perk of a season pass. It takes about 15 minutes to get from my bed to the base of a ski run. Yet, somehow, I’ve only been on the mountain 6 times this year. That’s sad. Really sad. Especially when you consider the fact I managed to get nearly 30 days a few years ago when I had to drive up from Denver every stinking day!
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Currently.

Life has been crazy…a different kind of crazy than I’m usually giddy about. The “adulting” kind of crazy where everything revolves around going to work, working, washing clothes for work, making lunches for work and sometimes sleeping. Not exactly glamorous but I’m surviving and finding a way to enjoy it.

I’ve also found a little snippet of time to make a few changes here in my little corner of the internet! As of today runaroundaroo.com will be fading away while I spend my time writing + oversharing here, on heidikumm.com. I’ll give you no “growing up” or “moving on” explanation simply because I don’t have one. I wanted a change and this just kind of happened! You’ll notice both Instagram + Twitter have switched over to @heidikumm, too. Of course, run.around.aroo won’t be going anywhere, it’s fun to scroll back through old photos + recaps + stories, it just won’t be updated from here on out. Update your readers and all that jazz…because, why not?!
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Balancing Life, Sort Of.

Some people seem to have that perfect balance of life — everything in order, everything at ease, everything balanced out. I am usually not that person. I prefer chaos. It’s harder to be upset about the outcome when you’re not really sure what to expect because you’re honestly not really sure what’s going on. All this chaos I let into my life is awesome — it’s energizing, it’s motivating and it’s exciting. It also makes planning difficult, which means my life very rarely has any sort of consistent structure. It is extremely difficult to balance anything in life when you are just bouncing from a motivated morning to an overworked afternoon without so much as a lunch break.
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