Real Talk: Monday Musings

It’s been awhile since I’ve sat down and chatted about life. You know, the stuff that happens smashed between outdoor adventures and physical challenges? It’s been taking over lately and I’ve been pretty mum on the topic. In fact, I’ve been fairly quiet around here in general.

Y’all, things are crazy. I realize bloggers say that all the time but from my perspective, I’m about up to my ears in the real world. As a child, I remember wondering what adults did all the time that made them feel so busy. At the ripe ol’ age of 34, I’m finally piecing it together. Shit gets crazy as you tack the years on!

So, what’s going on? 

Busy Season at Work. If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, this won’t be news to you. Every spring, our family business ramps up and the months of April and May are all-out, balls-t0-the-wall crazy. As is normal in seasonal companies, you have to capitalize on the work when it’s available, and installation season in Colorado is a finicky thing {as evidenced by this past week’s late-season spring storm!} My parents are getting closer and closer to their retirement which means I’m getting closer and closer to being a full-fledged business owner with 100+ clients to my name, and my name alone. It’s intimidating and stressful, but it’s also exhilarating in the challenging nature of the entire endeavor. And as I delve more into the intricacies of running a small business, I realize there is always more to learn.

Side note: I talk about this kind of work stuff a lot on Snapchat. If you’re interested in seeing more of my daily life happenings, come follow me —-> CO_Gal. 

Freelance Writing. Even though I don’t want to make freelance writing my main gig {I think anyway!}, I enjoy it too much to let it go. I still am running a handful of sections for Backpacker magazine in both the Spring and Fall gear guides, and copy is quickly coming due for the Fall section. While managing the section always takes some effort {arranging the gear shipments, identifying good testers, making sure they use the stuff, etc}, the true challenge is writing the reviews based on the feedback received. I’m culling through notes now and the next few weeks should be sporting!

To top it off, I was approached awhile back to be part of a team of writers for a new publication called Experience More. Sponsored by Gore-Tex, the digital pub assembled quite a crew of writers and I was honored to be included. We punched out article topics a few months ago, and I’ve been writing and editing my first two pieces {focusing on the trail-to-town trend in the outdoor industry and the anatomical benefits of solid hiking footwear.} It’s quite different than the usual share-my-story style of writing more frequently requested from me, and I’ve enjoyed the challenge.

SNEWS’s Influential Outdoor Women. Speaking of challenging….! A few weeks ago, the team at SNEWS magazine approached me, asking if they could interview me for inclusion in their month-long April series about influential women in the outdoor industry. Truthfully, I was beyond flattered. I’ve been reading some of the other pieces on women like Julie Ellison and Kelly Bastone, and I never in a million years thought that I could be included in a group of women like them. But, nevertheless, the SNEWS team decided that me and my lil’ ol blog warranted inclusion, and the article went live last week. You likely won’t be able to read it– unless you subscribe to SNEWS!– but it was flattering nonetheless.

No More Races For Me This Summer. To put it bluntly: I’ve pulled out of all my races for the summer, including the Bryce Canyon 50k in June. It was a tough decision and I waffled on it for quite awhile. The run looks so damn beautiful and fun; I really want to tackle that course!

But whether I like it or not, this summer is just not my summer for long races and training runs. Part of it is time: I just can’t seem to carve out time for long runs, or really any run over an hour. I could mash something in at the end of the work day, but I simply don’t feel good about neglecting time with my little family when we’re all so busy to begin with. The other part of the equation is life changes. Will and I have experienced a lot of positive life changes over the past couple of months, and I’ve gone out of my way to keep stuff offline {due to privacy and stranger danger and all of that goodness.} But with those good changes comes a lot of discombobulation and adjustments, and I’m still learning to cope with our new present. When I found myself really struggling to seek out some singletrack, I knew my priorities for the summer needed to shift. I deferred my Bryce Canyon registration to next year’s race. {Thank goodness for race directors who are so understanding!}

All that isn’t to say that I won’t be out running and hiking and CrossFitting this summer. We’ll be operating same as usual in that regard–just without the pressure of training for a race. I’m even hoping to run the Four Pass Loop with this gal in July, so lord knows I need to lace up my Hokas soon!

Planning Some International Travel. 2016 is shaping up to be a good year for traveling and I’m really psyched! We held off on major {read: expensive) trips in 2015 thanks to our wedding and everything that came along with that. But now that the bridal madness {and costs!} have subsided and are paid for, it was time to wipe the dust off our passports.

First up? The Camino de Santiago in Spain! I lived in Alicante, Spain back in 2002 as part of a study abroad program I did in college. Through the university, I hiked the last 100 miles of the Camino and have always wanted to return to see other sections of the 485 mile, cross-country pilgrimage.

This time around it is going to be different though– because my parents are coming too! Both of my parents are turning 60 in June and they wanted to do something *big* to celebrate the milestone. While they can’t take the time to hike the entire thing, they wanted to piecemeal the hike over the next few summers.

Ushuaia, Argentina: El Fin del Mundo

While Will and I can’t get away from work for two whole weeks, we were more than happy to jump at a Spain vacation, especially since Will has never been. That said, we’re heading to Europe in September to celebrate both our one-year anniversary and my parents’ 60th. We’re flying into Paris and then catching a train down to Saint Jean Pied de Port, the official start to the Camino Frances. From there, we’re going o hike up and over the Pyrenees with my parents, concluding our small portion in Pamplona, Spain. There will be more to come on this in the coming months, so stay tuned!

In addition to Europe, it looks like I’m finally going back to where my wanderlust began: South America. And y’all, I couldn’t be more excited. After spending an entire year on this continent, it truly is the one place that helped me evolve into the person I am today, and I’m beyond curious to see what has changed in some of my favorite places over the past 10 years.

Details on this trip are still hazy and nothing has been booked yet, but it’s looking like it will be a 3-4 week adventure once our company closes for the season. I suspect we’ll spend almost all of our time in Patagonia: it’s beautiful, it’s wild, it’s remote, and Will has never been. We’re torn between iconic hikes like Torres del Paine in favor of lesser known adventures with fewer people and less worldwide reputation, but haven’t decided on anything yet. It’s been a handful of years since my Spanish skills have been used, but I was fluent for many years {and even taught the subject in a middle school!}, so I’m hoping to brush up on the language before heading down. If I learned anything while down there the first time, it was this: speak the language, and you will discover so many beautiful places and peoples that you would never find otherwise!

What’s going on in your world these days? I feel like I’m so behind on my favorite blogs, so I’d love to catch up!

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