Liza Howard. Ultrarunning Mom.

Hi friends,
I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch.  It’s been a perfect storm of training, coaching, marriage maintenance and mom-ing through the summer.  Not exactly the storm of the century, but it’s been windy.  I tried to teach Asa to tread water yesterday at the pool.  Right now he can just keep his head above water — and that’s about where I’ve been for the past couple weeks.  Mostly it’s all been good, but I’ve been too busy keeping my nose and mouth free of water for much reflection.
Here are some of the things I’ve seen since we last got together.

That wind making my hair crazy was the promised air-out-of-an-oven hot.

One of our crew vans.  The white cooler is all ice.

And his crew van.

Doug right after finishing 135 miles in 40ish hours.  The store at Whitney Portal was open all night for the first time.  Best $8 burgers ever.

At the finish line with fellow Team Red, White & Blue athlete and youngest Badwater finisher ever Claire Heid.  23 years old.  Dang!

And the next weekend I got to pace my friend Stefan at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100.  (Flew home to San Antonio on Thursday night.  Flew out to Tahoe on Friday morning.  Didn’t arrive until Saturday morning — just in time to pick Stefan up at mile 50.)

(I’m sure I’m standing in some sort of hole in this one.)

And I’ve been training for Leadville.  I would like to say for the record that training with an out-of-school 4 year-old is challenging.  Sure Asa’s only one child and I only work part time, and I have a wonderfully supportive husband but IT’S CHALLENGING to train hard while you’re minding a child. (I don’t want to hear from you full-time doctor/astronaut moms with seven children — three adopted and two special needs — with happy marriages, a clean house, and a wonderful charity organization you’ve raised one billion dollars for — and a six pack. I’m not worthy.) (Okay, I do want to hear from you.  What’s space like ?  And how do you keep your husband happy and your house clean? Six pack?)  The running is feeling pretty good though.  I’m really looking forward to running Leadville.

Asa and I are going to load up in the car late Saturday or very early Sunday morning and start out drive to Leadville.  I find that a good taper requires a 15-17 hour car ride with a 4 year-old.

Whew!  Not bad for the first reflection in two weeks.  More tomorrow.

PS.  Almost forgot about Asa’s pre-birthday party!  Why, yes, Eliot and I did make that Lego piñata.  I wish I’d captured the Lego cupcakes before the children devoured them.  Little Lego figures holding up candle letters spelling “Happy Birthday.”  (No, didn’t get my run in that day.)

Battle of Helms Deep.  1368 pieces.  Orcs at the gate.  (Didn’t get the run in the day this birthday gift arrived either.  Binge trained over the weekend though.)