Portsmouth Herald Features Julie Flygare’s Quest to Honor Father in Mt Washington Road Race

Today’s Portsmouth Herald features an article about my quest to honor my dad, Tom Flygare by running Mt Washington Road Race on Saturday while living with narcolepsy with cataplexy. Read: “Flygare to run Mt Washington race in honor of her dad,” by Charles McMahon, Portsmouth Herald, June 15, 2012. Please consider supporting my quest here. Packing for my…

Read More

Blindsided: Navigating Life’s Construction Zones

With one week until I take on “one of the most grueling road races in the world,”  I must admit, I entered this race blindly. My heart said “Yes!” before my body and brain weighed in. I wanted to honor my father on Father’s Day weekend. When I began training, I realized this mountain was a bit…

Read More

The Best & Worst of Climbing Mt Washington

There are many ways to climb Mount Washington.  Let’s start with the best:  #1. BY CAMEL:Meet Josh, the first Camel to reach the summit of Mt. Washington! On July 8, 2009, Josh and his entourage left the base at 3:00am to begin the 7.6-mile trek to the summit. Accompanying Josh were two horses named Kid and Mariah,…

Read More

Quit It To Win It

I QUIT! In less than one mile. I felt more exhausted than after finishing the Boston Marathon. How could this be? I was scheduled for one of my hardest training workouts for MWRR, yet I was truly running on empty.   Oddly, this was not an episode of EDS (excessive daytime sleepiness) associated with narcolepsy, I’d…

Read More

Hello, my name is NOT G.I. Jane.

“Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you.All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly.” -Richard Bach  “I don’t wanna run.  I don’t wanna climb. I’m sick of fighting. I’m exhausted.” These thoughts cross my mind daily.  I do not wake…

Read More

The View From Dreamworld

Did you know that the boundaries between dreaming and consciousness are broken down in the brains of people with narcolepsy? I experience my night dreams as real as reality. So during the day, I chase down my life dreams. Current dreams I’m chasing: the steepest road race in America and my memoir. Is it selfish…

Read More

Hello, Beast.

“The only way to truly conquer something, as every great philosopher and geneticist will tell you, is to love it.”  – Christopher McDoungall, Born to Run     On Monday, I met the Beast while running up the steepest hill in my neighborhood 8 times in a row.    As I started up the first…

Read More

Legs on Fire: Starting My Training for Mt Washington Road Race

    Exciting update: I’ve received an official registration to run the Mt. Washington Road Race in my Father’s honor!   The CEO of Northeast Delta Dental (the event sponsor) got word of my quest and contacted me to offer a complimentary registration. Turns out, a friend in the narcolepsy community tweeted about my quest and…

Read More

When Motivation Doesn’t Grow On Trees (Part I)

Let’s be honest, motivation doesn’t grow on trees. At least not where I live.  Here, it’s getting darker and colder by the second. A perfect time to talk about motivation and where to find it! NIKE says, “Just Do It” as if it’s that simple.  Maybe it is for some – but not me.  For me,…

Read More