Mom in the Mtns

Hi everyone!  Sorry it’s been a few days, but I’ve been crazy busy this week!  School started this week and between meeting with principals and teachers, recruiting students to join my classes, and writing lesson plans I’ve been totally swamped!  But I’m honestly getting really excited about the arrival of back to school because it means that fall is almost here!  In fact, we’re already getting cooler mornings in the 50s and dark nights where we can see the northern lights!

This will be my first real fall in Alaska.  Last year I left in mid-september when the leaves were just starting to turn, and then I came back in mid-October to 30 degree weather and bare trees.  So I’m looking forward to being here to see Anchorage’s fall foliage!  The leaves aren’t the only thing that changes color – the tundra does too!

I had to google this picture, but I’ll have one just like it in a few weeks!

For the fall, I’m still trying to decide what my running plans are.  I’m still occasionally feeling that same pain that I got in mile 9 of Her Tern – a weird pain behind my right knee near my hamstring.  It happens occasionally and I’m just trying to be super conscious of my milage each week.  Now that Ragnar is over I’m looking forward to doing some fall racing and some different things to keep myself healthy.  As of now, I’ve got the following things  on my fall list:

• Run another relay!  I don’t even know if I’ve mentioned this yet, but I’m running the Klondike Road Relay the weekend after Labor Day!  It’s a 24 hour, 109 mile run from Skagway, AK to Whitehorse, YK in Canada!  I’ll literally need my passport to run this race!  Two of my coworkers are on the 10 person team, and the rest of the people are acquaintances from around Anchorage.  I’ve got an 8.8 mile leg that should set out at around sunrise somewhere in Canada, so I’m really excited!
• Join another training group.  I was about to sign up for the local running store’s Run Club group, but then I found out that some of my friends are doing a different group that costs less money and runs longer.  It focuses on both speed and technique with specific pacing based on my actual pace, not just feel.  It starts in a few weeks and I’m excited to see how it differs from what I’ve done in the past.
• Clean up my diet.  I eat okay during the day, but after work I’m a hot mess!  Lately I’ve been feeling super tired and sluggish, and I think my sugar addiction and crappy diet are probably part of the problem.  I’m thinking that in September I’m going to try to cut out many of the processed foods I currently eat.  It’s going to be a huge struggle because it’s almost PSL/pumpkin everything season, but I really need to clean up my diet and cut back on a lot of the sugar and bad stuff I’ve been eating.  I think if I give myself at least 3 weeks of some serious change it will become an easier habit to keep up throughout the rest of the year!  I’m not sure how intense I want to be about this – I’m not comfortable doing Whole30 because I feel like I’ll need carbs with all the running I’m doing, but if you know of any other clean eating challenges I’d love to try them out!  I seriously love a good challenge  🙂
• Join a better gym.  My one month intro membership to Anchorage Yoga is done, and I’m not sure if I can swing the full price membership plus my Planet Fitness membership too.  I got lucky and one of my friends got a job at the Alaska Club, and she signed me up for special privileges to get a membership as long as she works there!  They’re a pretty intense gym to join, but since I’m not paying I get to skip that awkward part and go straight to using the multiple facilities all over town and the endless amount of classes they offer all day.  I’ve been wanting to do some strength training, and now I’ve got the opportunity to take some really great classes!
• Get outside as much as possible.  Alaska is gorgeous all the time, but fall is stunning and it makes for the best hiking weather!  I can’t wait to spend every free minute outside enjoying it.

It seems like the end of the summer is the perfect time to make some big necessary changes, and I’m looking forward to seeing how things turn out!  My main goal always is to be healthy enough to run, and I think these things will get me there.  And hey, I’m always down for some healthy new fall recipes to try, especially if they contain pumpkin!

Have you ever done a clean eating challenge?  What would you recommend, and would you want to do one with me?