I sit here, Wednesday morning, kids in school (yep, they start in early August in Chattanooga!).

It's quiet.

I can hear the occasional bird, dog, cicadas, the sounds of summer. During the summer, it was rare to find even a few moments of this kind of quiet.

Yet here I am, five days in to my kids being back at school, and it feels amazing, like I am able to get so much done, available to do all those things on my work to do list that were simply impossible when kids were home.

Still, I find myself restless, almost craving their "MUM! Can I have a snack?", craving a distraction from doing the work I craved doing just a week ago. I find myself wanting to go clean the bathrooms, get another drink, check my phone, go through my email (again). Seeking anything to avoid getting into the hard work that requires deep concentration.

It's hard not to slip into shame around that. To not yell at yourself and say, What is wrong with you?!

There is another area of life where I feel this too.

Ten days out from my goal race in Whistler, my second 100k, and the race I know I am physically fit for, ready to really see what I am capable of. It is taper time.

After a summer of relentless humidity, feeling proud of myself for the 80-90 miles per week I have been putting in (and also exhausted!), I looked forward to this time. I wanted to reach the point where the miles start coming down and I don't need to spend 15-16 hours a week training. For the next month, I get more time back each week. I will race, and then take time off, gaining a lot of time back.

And yet, that feels scary too. As much as I have been pushing myself out the door every day to get my runs done, as I dreaded the sweat-soaked drip monster I ended up each day, now that it is here, taper feels intimidating, feels uncomfortable.

It's been a long time since I have felt this way. I haven't committed to my training like this in a decade, so I am a little out of practice.

Getting back to focusing on the hard, project-based work, that too, it's been months since I had the house to myself in quiet, I need to give myself time to settle into that feeling.

While we are in these periods of transition, we just want to be out of them, just want to reach the other end, and in these times, it's so easy to take the path that isn't best for us, but simplest, most within our control, most comfortable.

It is tempting to reach for the phone and get lost in quick hits of dopamine.

It is tempting to go do all the things except the one thing you need to do.

It is tempting to push back what you need to do, even if you know it will stress you out later.

While I like to think I push out of my comfort zone a lot, I have not been proud of my phone use of late.

Rather than reading a few pages of a book I claimed I wanted to read when I had 20 minutes, I chose to scroll on social media.

Rather than putting my phone away for blocks of the day like I used to, I kept it within sight, "just in case."

Rather than creating content on my phone, I chose to consume, ending up feeling blah and envious of others for making instead of lurking.

That's not to say I expect perfection of myself. Nor do I expect to ever glide on by these transition periods.

I know it is very likely that over the coming weeks when I "only" have to run 7 miles, it will feel like the longest run ever and feel terrible.

I know I will get the work done that I need to do. Racing For Sustainability is doing really well, and I am excited for what is ahead, but to get there, I need to get us set up. I will.

I know with traveling to my race, and another incredible opportunity I will be sharing soon, I will have plenty of potential for judging myself and feeling shame for choices made.

One thing I do know though, is like with everything else in life, I have to give compassion, understanding, and maybe a little time to adjust, then knuckle down and find a way to get it done.

I got five-hour long runs done by breaking them down into ten thirty-minute chunks (which, yes, still sounds insane!), and I did it.

I got big work projects done in the past by writing down what they involved and checking the parts off on a piece of paper one by one.

So maybe for today, I'll start there. Doing one.

It's not all I wanted to do, but it's better to start than to sit there in a swirl of shame, berating yourself for not being good enough.

What is something you can do to take a step forward where you hesitate today?

We have spots available for 2027 races already (yep, the ones you want!)

Go fill out this (one question) form, and let us know which ones you want to be informed about:

Still looking for a 2026 race? Most of these races are sold out, but we have a few bibs left; don't miss out and regret it!

and no, not just marathons, we have some halfs, 10 miles, and other distances available.

Our news came out yesterday, and I am EXCITED I can finally speak to it!

Chattanooga is the newest UTMB race, debuting next June with a 25k, 50k, and 100k. I initially felt torn about this, and this relates to my general thoughts around UTMB (and yes, my race is a UTMB race).

For those who don't know what UTMB is, which I am sure is many, if not most of you. UTMB stands for Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, which is a set of ultramarathon races around Mount Blanc (Chamonix, France). It is probably the most famous and prestigious trail race in the world.

The company who puts it on, has gone to put on events all over the world, keeping the UTMB namesake.

They haven't always done a great job of going into new cities and supporting the local communities, so have a bit of a bad reputation for being a corporate machine. That is why people are often surprised when I say I want to run their races, that I chose UTMB Whistler as my 100k, or that running UTMB in Chamonix is the greatest goal I have in this round two of my elite running journey. My goal at Whistler is to qualify for 2027 UTMB.

So, with it coming into my city, I think most would expect me to resist it. But actually, they have done a really good job of leaning into the local and allowing local experts to do every part of it. I believe they understand and accept they have not been perfect and need to do better. I admire that actually.

So yes, I am excited, and would love to have you come to my city next June.

PS. the webpage for UTMB Chattanooga is beautiful, check it out!

--

I have been going to our Chattanooga farmers markets as much as possible this summer. This is your reminder to go look yours up and head on down there. Food grown locally, fresh-baked bread, and eggs raised by families taste so much better, and you are sending your money to people who have a family business and give so much to your local community. You won't find everything you need, but start there, then top up at the store. You will feel inspired and be glad you went!

--

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Thanks to our partner, Precision Fuel & Hydration

I am just 10 days away from my Precision flow gel joining me every 25 minutes for around 13 hours. I will be drinking PH 1000 in my bottles the entire race. I have practiced and practiced and practiced, which is one of the most critical parts of training, but it is also the comfort I look forward to to break the race down. I shared earlier that I break my run down into 30-minute chunks to mentally wrap my head around it. On race day, I break it down into Precision chunks, and look forward to those moments where I have flow gel (out my reusable bottle).

I am so glad this company is showing up in the road racing scene in the US (Nutrition partner of CIM and Boulderthon), look for them at more races ahead, and you will see why I love their product so much. It is easy to enjoy, sits well in my stomach, and works!

--

Be kind to one another, yourself, and this beautiful planet of ours.

Enjoying these? Why not forward to a friend who may enjoy. Encourage them to sign up and get these emails too. And if you missed an email, or would like to reread one, you can find past newsletters here.