Moving the Finish Line: Why Route 66 Was Just the Beginning
Havasu Falls: An ideal potty training destination?
Every project starts with a single spark. For me, that spark was Route 66—the sheer, audacious idea of mapping out a life across two thousand five hundred miles of asphalt from the saddle of a bike. I wanted to see if I could do it, sure. But more than that, I wanted to see who I would become on the other side of it.
But a funny thing happens when you start training your body and your mind for the seemingly impossible: your horizon expands.
As I logged the miles and mapped out the logistics, I realized that Route 66 wasn't the final destination. It was just the first entry on a much longer, much rowdier bucket list.
So, we’re changing the script. This space is evolving from a single-focus cycling chronicle into something bigger: a home for chasing bucket-list endurance goals in midlife.
Next up for me? Swapping the bike saddle for the open water to tackle Swim the Suck—a 10-mile marathon swim through the Tennessee River Gorge this October. And after that? The road to qualifying for the Boston Marathon. And who knows what the future holds?
The "Why Now?" (And the "How??")
Let’s be entirely honest for a second. The internet is flooded with fitness influencers who have genetic lottery tickets, twenty-somethings with infinite recovery time, and elite athletes who have been winning races since childhood.
That’s not me.
If you’re here, it’s probably not yours either. I am carving out this space because of three distinct realities:
I am in midlife. Recovery takes longer, joints are louder, and the stakes feel different. But the mental grit? That’s at an all-time high.
I am a mother of two young kids. My training plans don’t exist in a vacuum. They are constantly negotiated around bedtime routines, family logistics, and the beautiful, chaotic rhythm of raising small humans.
I am not naturally athletic. I wasn't the star track athlete or the high school swim champ. I am a "made" athlete, built entirely out of grit, stubbornness, and a refusal to let go of my immature dreams.
What We’re Diving Into Next
This blog isn't just a highlight reel of finish lines. It’s a tactical, unfiltered deep dive into what it actually takes to pull this off, hopefully without letting the rest of your life unravel.
Moving forward, we’ll be breaking things down into a few core pillars:
Deep-Dive Sport Training: The exact, gritty mechanics of transitioning from high-volume cycling to marathon swim yardage and marathon pacing. No fluff—just the data, the workouts, and the adaptations.
The Family/Adventure Balance: The real-world logistics of balancing peak training blocks with being a present parent and partner. How we make big adventures a family affair.
Nutrition & Midlife Physiology: Fueling a body that is working harder than ever, optimizing recovery, and respecting the unique hormonal and physical landscape of midlife endurance.
Gear & Event Logistics: From the specific tech required to navigate open water to the mind-bending logistics of crew support, road trips, and remote event planning.
Mental Wellness: The psychological shift required to stare down a 10-mile river swim or a multi-week endurance trek and say, "Yeah, I belong here."
Join the Chase
Whether you are looking at a map of Route 66, staring at a massive peak, or just wondering if, after kids, you’ve still got it—this is for you.
We aren't slowing down; we're just getting started.
Drop a comment below: What is the one "irrational" athletic goal you've been quietly harboring? Let's figure out how to build the engine to get you there.