Well…I didn’t intend to take six months off from blogging, but here we are. I had every intention of sharing my final two hikes of 2025 and continuing on my merry blogging way, but every time I thought about writing a hike recap I just…didn’t want to. Weeks went by, then months, and then winter did its wintry thing and I had minimal motivation for most everything. I knew I would be bit by the bug again eventually, and I was willing to wait until that happened.

SO. I’m not going to word vomit every little detail of my life the past six months, but I will share some of the heavy hitters. I hibernated a good bit during the winter, and there isn’t much to report from those few months, but as the frost thawed and the flowers bloomed life became more exciting (and a bit shitty, but that’s life right?)

First and foremost…because I know we are all dying to know…yes, I did take Little to see Christmas lights in December.

Homie wasn’t vibing like he used to, and I think these days less is more for our car rides. He seems to become a bit nauseated and less interested in longer rides. In fact I don’t really take him in the car much at all these days, but I couldn’t let tradition die. This was one of three highlights for my winter months. Another highlight was a bike ride with my pals. I had ridden this route before, and I knew of all the Little Free Libraries.

I convinced them to stop at every single one.

I found a book on this ride, which speaking of reading – I have been struggling to get into a groove lately. I read 70 books in 2024, 52 in 2025, and so far this year I have read 17. 2023 Brittany would be so proud of 17, but I have been struggling to focus on most things that require mental focus right now. Thankfully there is a reason for this, but I will get to that.

The third and final winter activity I was jazzed about was doing some good ol’ community service with my pals. My workplace “adopted” a section of a local trail system and we have had monthly volunteer sessions where we go and maintain the trail. In Jan/Feb/March this was spending two hours picking up trash. It was surprisingly satisfying, and also loads of fun. So much so, that I bought my own grabby device and wrangled some pals to do this unaffiliated with work (but we do all work together, minus our family members.)

Ok, let’s move on to Spring. Two major highlights happened during this time – I celebrated Little’s 18th birthday, and I ran my 9th half marathon. One of these events went much better than the other. Little is the light of my life, and it has been such a gift to see him thrive in his 18th year of life. He is doing amazingly well these days and his birthday was nothing short of wonderful. I bought him a birthday crown, some treats, and he got some time outside.

The back patio has since been pressure washed, it no longer looks like it does in that last photo. But even the grit and grime of winter couldn’t stop Little from rolling around like a hog in the mud. He must be drinking the youth juice because I swear his zoomies have become zoomier in his old age. I’m not complaining, I love nothing more than running late for work because I had to oblige the king during his morning zoomfest.

It should go without saying Little’s birthday was the event that went smoother than my half marathon. I started training for my half in February, a tradition I have maintained for the past three years. A spring half marathon keeps me active in the winter, but from the start of my training I struggled. I could not find my energy, and every long run became progressively harder. Something similar happened to me last year, but that time it didn’t hit until halfway through my training.

I’m not one to quit, so I pushed through every run and just let my pace get slower and slower. Last year I let my slower pace bother me, but this year I let every expectation go and all I wanted was to finish a run without wanting to die. I finally got to the last few weeks of my training, and I was convinced this had to be my last half marathon for a while. My training was too much of a slog, and something wasn’t right. Normally, I blame any excessive fatigue on my autoimmune disease. This has worked well for me in the past, but this time it turned out to be something else.

Honestly, it’s probably a combo of things (including autoimmune chaos), but it’s validating to know there was something else brewing too.

I went to the doctor at the end of April for a massage referral and while I was there I decided to mention in passing I was struggling with extra fatigue than usual. I thought maybe it was hormones, I’m 37 now and we all know what’s just around the corner, but as it turned out I am severely iron deficient. This nugget of news was like a light bulb going off. Suddenly everything made sense. I now believe I have been in this deficient state since March 2025 because I never quite got my gumption of energy back.

My half was scheduled a week after my doc apt. Every fiber in my body wanted to skip the race. Running felt awful, I didn’t want to drive the three hours to the town I was running, and my motivation was at an all time low. The cherry on the cake was when I discovered there were only 28 people signed up for the half. TWENTY EIGHT. This is literally my worst nightmare. I chose a half in Leavenworth, which is a HUGEEELY touristy area and I was convinced it would be a popular race. WRONGO.

So now, even if I wanted to do the race and let myself walk I was terrified of being last. This is NOT to say there is anything wrong with being last, but it’s an irrational fear I have and my anxiety was through the roof. Ultimately I got over myself and ran the race. Well, I ran/walked/ran/walked. The race was a looped course which was amazing because I got to see Duncan multiple times throughout, and I had him walk with me during some of the moments I needed to walk. I ran more than I anticipated, but I also walked over 25 minutes of the race.

I managed to finish the half in 2:31, and I BEAT FOUR PEOPLE. I hardly saw anyone for the majority of the last two laps, just me and the volunteers I bantered with. I thought this would be tough, but being alone actually made it easier. I was able to just focus on myself and do whatever I needed to finish. At the end of the day I couldn’t not run this, I had to get my cow bell medal!

I’m very proud of my time, and under normal circumstances I wouldn’t think twice about it. It wasn’t the pace that was the issue, it was how difficult it was to put one foot in front of the other. It was how hard I had to work to get air into my lungs, and to move my legs that felt like lead. These situations continue to give me perspective on running as a whole, and I hope to find my way back to runs that are enjoyable. Running doesn’t always need to feel easy, but it sure as heck shouldn’t feel like running with anvils on your feet.

Big shoutout to Duncan for rewarding me with not one, but two gluten free cupcakes from the downtown bakery I love. That’s really why I made the three hour drive. Since the race, I have been obsessed with finding ways to increase my iron reserves. It’s been a month since my race, almost two months since my initial doc apt, and I’d be lying if I said I felt much better. I have been on a few hikes already this season and the first two were really difficult. I am currently taking supplements and have increased my red meat intake, but from my non stop research I know this is going to be a long and slow journey.

I can’t help but wonder if this has happened to me multiple times throughout my life. I was iron deficient in my early 20’s, and it tends to be a common theme for people who do higher intensity sports (running, cycling.) Back then I blamed it on being vegan, which likely was a huge factor (I still don’t eat red meat much), but it was possibly a combo of running and diet. Who knows, but what I do know is something wasn’t right and I am thankful to have an answer. I’m only running 1-3 miles right now, and very sporadically.

I’m doing everything I can to ensure I have even the bare minimum energy to get my hike on this summer.

So that’s my update. Now I know why it’s been hard to focus on things, why I have limited motivation, why the world was a little extra dull, and why my running has been hot garbage for a longgg time. My work days are a bit brutal too, I manage for an hour before being absolutely gassed, but the years of practice acting normal during excessive fatigue have been paying off (lol.) I eventually get a second wind halfway through the day, but I look forward to all of that ending.

I have a three month follow up next month to see if the supplements are working, and I am trying to stay optimistic. I only occasionally wallow reading reddit stories of those who have been struggling for years despite diet and supplement changes.

I’m hoping to get back in the swing of blogging things. No promises, but I have been hiking which is always fun to share. I managed to scorch the ever loving life out of my legs after hiking in the snow this past weekend. What a rookie mistake. Shorts on top of snow…whoops. Alright, that’s all for now. If you made it this far thanks for sticking around. Also, big thanks to my pal John who checked on me not once, but twice via e-mail. Appreciate you friend.

Q’s:

• Has anyone else experienced iron deficiency? Please tell me it will get better…
• Whatttt is new with everyone?! I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on.