2012 in Review

2012 was a busy year for me.  It of course did not go quite the way I had planned it, but what does in life.

January
I was feeling great and running strong.  I was putting in a lot of miles and enjoying the mild winter.   Cola got really sick and nearly died.  I didn't do any races in January except for a virtual one I think.
I ran 156 miles. 

Febuary
Still running strong with 150 miles this month.  Beginning to toy with the idea of doing a marathon this year thanks to the Marathon Training Academy podcast, which is a much less scary podcast to listen to then Anything Ghost. Again no races this month. Just running for the joy of it. I also had jury duty that lasted a whole week of my life!

March
168 miles this month! Feeling great.  I did a 5k and got a PR for that course.  I offically signed up for my first marathon. 

April
An amazing 183 miles were ran.  I did my first Peaks to Prairie Adventure Race as part of a team.  I also ran a 10k where I got lost and only ran 5 miles. 

May
173 miles ran.  I did the Montana Women's Run 5 mile and PRd on the course.

June
184 miles ran  Did a 10k and set a PR, barely! 

July
108 miles ran
First marathon.  I ran the Missoula Marathon and felt great for 20 or so miles and then the wheels came off the bus and the last 6.2 were the hardest miles I have ever run.  I had planned to do a half marathon later in the month but never did enter.  I had a harder time recovering from the marathon than I anticipated.

August
138 miles ran
Hood to Coast Relay.  Pure awesome and so much fun! 

September
58 miles ran.  I felt like I was dealing with some burnout and my hips were bothering me, my hamstring was injured.  Not a good month for running.  I did start using my bicycle more. Didn't enter the half marathon this month I had planned too.  Just not feeling it.

October

108 miles ran.  Cola got hit by a truck and broke his pelvis.

November
98 miles ran.  I did a 5k Turkey Run on Thanksgiving and surprised myself with a great time despite no speedwork in months. 

December
I was really bad about keeping track of my miles this month for some reason.  I only have 15 miles in DailyMile but I know I ran more than that.  Cola is back to running effortlessly.

DailyMile has my year total at 1664 miles ran even with December all messed up.  That's a lot of miles!  Whew!

Overall I am happy with how the year went. I didn't run as many races as I had planned to, but that's okay.  I think it is better I sat them out than ran them. I had a great time with Team Beef and am looking forward to another great year of running with them.

Thursday's Three

1. I participated in the sock swap that Courtney at Third Time's a Charm Runner hosted.  I was lucky enough to have her as my sock sender.  Check out my great haul!  GU in Tri-berry and Mandarin Orange, Dove chocolates, a huge box of Gobstoppers, Sport Beans, 2 packs of hand warmers, Lindor Chocolates, cute candy cane knee highs and the grand finale was the Lululemon Brisk Run Headband.  I am so in love with it. 

My daughter had to pose with the goodies, mostly she couldn't wait to open the box of Gobstoppers.

"Like you could either, what of it? I also took the strawberry EOS chapstick, it was pink and should be mine"

2.  Christmas was good, we went up to the in laws in Ronan which is a 7 hour drive for us.  We were going to leave Saturday but with Rance and the kids both having a really bad cold we delayed a day so everyone could heal up a little.  Little cowgirl was about over it by then but little cowboy had it pretty bad all weekend.  I felt my worst on Christmas Eve and am feeling mostly recovered now., but am still scratchy throated and have the snot going on.  Joyous.

The kids and everyone really made out like bandits with lots of great gifts.  My little sister was awesome and filled the stockings at home and set out Santa gifts and left a Santa note so that when we got home it looked like Santa had been here.  My son had been so worried about that.  He did not want to go to Ronan for that reason.
.
3.  We got home around 3 in the afternoon yesterday and this guy was so excited to see us

I took him for a quick 4 mile run.  I wanted to run longer but it was getting dark and I had lots to get put away, organized, and I wanted to play with the kids.  The picture of Cola is not from yesterday as we now have snow on the ground. It is from Saturday.  Pretty sure I looked all frosty like that too.

I took nearly a full week off from blogging and running and working out.  Feels good to have a break and good to be back!

Three for Thursday

1. Coffee and laptops aren't really a good combination. Just as I was sitting down to write this post this morning Rocky managed to trip me with my very full coffee cup.. I unplugged it and tried to turn it off but I have to admit it was a minute or so before I thought to pull the battery. I have it drying now and my fingers are crossed. such a bummer first thing in the morning. I hope it is not an indicator of how my day is going to go.

I tried to take it apart and couldn't find the right size screw driver. A big tool box full of tools and I don't have the right one.. I am hoping I can find my warranty information and that this would be covered under it...

2. My back is starting to feel a lot better but still seems a little grouchy especially at the end of the day so I am scaling back my half marathon training plans. At this point I still have every intention of doing a March half marathon, but it may not be a PR attempt. I was supposed to start speed work last week and at this point don't think I will start it next week either, so hopefully in January,

I don't want to push it too hard and then not have a racing season at all! I was running up to 10 miles prior to my back starting to hurt two weeks ago so I am not worried about getting up to the distance at this point. 

3. Not sure how but so far I have managed to avoid the crud that everyone else in my family has been suffering through. I have a bit of a stuffy nose but that is all so far. My poor husband has had it pretty bad the last two days. He always seems to get it worse than I do. My theory with that is I have my tonsils to catch the cruddy stuff and he doesn't. His first symptom always seems to be a scratchy throat and I almost never have that. Coincidence?

With as many kids that roll through our surgery center getting tonsils out I am always surprised when anyone has them although both of my kids still have theirs. I know sometimes they do need to come out, but if my theory is right I hope they get to keep theirs.

Do you have your tonsils?
Ever spilled coffee on your laptop? A full cup?

Running is music

So after taking nearly a week of running off I FINALLY went for a run yesterday.
My lower back has been grouchy so I wasn't even sure I should have gone yesterday, but I was really itching for a run.  After missing out on such great weather I couldn't let another day go by without at least trying.

Verdict.  It felt pretty GREAT!  My right hip flexor has had a bit of a niggle but seems to be okay as long as I avoid hills. (not real easy to do here) so I went with a route with minimal hills. 

Five miles in I was feeling so good and was feeling like I could keep running all day.  Guess my legs were happy for all that rest.  I did force myself to call it a day after 6.28 miles.  The 28 was for all the people that died in CT.  Yes I even ran for the gunman.  He was somebody's little boy once.  I just wonder if he could have got the right help or maybe even just been raised right, if it could have been prevented.

I have to admit to being pretty shaken up by the whole thing and made Friday a kid night complete with pizza, ice cream, cream soda, cousins sleeping over and movies.  Lots of snuggling too!

I also have not done much cross training HIIT workouts since I stubbed and bruised my toe.  It was pretty sore for awhile.  I did do a ZWOW on Sunday and another on Monday and today I am feelingit in such a good way.

I did use my elliptical on my 6 day (wow almost a whole week) no running spree.  The elliptical didn't bother my back or hip flexor so it was great for exercise, but really is not the same as a good run!

Saw this in Runner's World last week and LOVED it.  It was in ask Miles, someone asked if they should start running to music.  Miles answered that

 "Running is music"

 

It is.  The steady or maybe not so steady sometimes rhythm of my breathing, the different sounds of my feet

crunching on gravel,

 swishing through fresh snow,

splashing in puddles,

sucking through med,

pounding on pavement

 the varying sounds as I step on grass, dirt,

or break through films of ice over puddles

the sounds of nature or cars in the background,

mooing cows, barking dogs, the howl of a coyote,

birds singing, geese passing overhead

the beep of my watch for another mile logged

the water sloshing in my water bottle

the wind blowing through trees

 

Tell me some of your favorite running sounds

 

 



Thursday's Three

1.  I managed to do something that threw my lower back out of wack and Tuesday at work my right sciatic was killing me by the end of the day.  I think it might have been a very steep hill I ran down Monday, but not sure.  So yesterday I ...gasp.. skipped my run and went to the chiropractor instead.  I had referred in my little sister also since she was feeling out of wack so I got a free visit. YAY!   The chiropractor laughed when  he looked at my back and said he didn't even need to write a new note my back was the same as my sisters and we had the same problems.  No doubt related to packing kids on one hip all the time and running.

My back is feeling much better but I took the day off yesterday and will take today as a rest day too.

2.  Race photos from the Run Turkey Run 5k on Thanksgiving. The first is much better than the second.

 Here I have the "I might heave" look

3.  Totally random, but it annoys me when I see jumping jacks listed on workouts.  They seem like a filler move to me.  Unless you take them low so they can really work out the legs better.  I never do a workout if I see jumping jacks listed.  I immediately discount the entire workout.  Maybe I am being a little hard on them, but if I seem jump lunges/ split lunges, I am on it!   Jumping jacks are more like a warm up move to me. They always seem to be listed on workouts on Pinterest!  Aaack!  I saw four this morning first thing.

What is your take on jumping jacks?  Am I missing something with them?

Like wearing a blanket

Yesterday I got out for a pretty nice run.  I was going to do between 8 and ten miles depending on how I was feeling.  Turned out I was feeling like a 9.  i slightly overdressed for the run, but I hate hate hate being cold and would rather shed layers than wish I had more.  It was about 27 degrees when I got done running.

 

 

 Then I beat my Dad playing some cribbage.  My husband won't play cribbage with me.  He claims that I gloat too much when I win. (for the record I seem to win a lot).

Then I went home and finished making my new fleece snuggly pants. I figured sinceI was making some for the kids, I might as well make a pair for me too.  I  Talk about warm and snuggly!

Kind of like wearing a blanket.

What are some highlights from your Monday?
Do you play cribbage?

Motivation for Monday

 I had a great weekend.  My husband and I went up to Bozeman for a football playoff game.  The Bobcats lost, but it was still a fun trip/date night with my husband.  The kids stayed home with their grandma since it was cold out.

I did take the kids to see Santa Saturday at a Polar Express event.  I made their jammies and they had no idea we were going to the event.  So they were really excited and maybe a little confused when we got to town.  The event seemed way oversold and unorganized, but the kids had a great time.

My little cowboy and his cousin made the online edition of our newspaper with this photo.

Lots of kids everywhere!

Little cowgirl and her cousin, hanging in their jammies drinking cocoa.

Here is how excited they were when Santa showed up. 

getting Santa to sign the Polar Express books.  My daughter got really shy once we got to Santa and she wouldn't even look at him!

oh yeah and the motivation part.  Saw this one Pinterest and loved it.

thought this one was funny

 

and finally don't forget!

Have a great Monday.  What did you do fun over the weekend?

Thursdays Three

This one will be short and sweet.

1.   Life feels crazy busy right now, probably because I am working three days in a row this week and I never do that!  I missed out on three days of great running weather this week due to work and just a busy Monday (I had a massage and a  body wrap)  but since I am kicking of some half marathon training soon I am not too worried about it.  I am going to call it a little rest before I get serious :)

2. So excited to get to go to the Cats game this weekend. Montana State vs Sam Houstan.  It is a repeat of a playoff matchup from last year.  Last year we played on their turf and they trounced the Cats.  Boo.  This year it is in Bozeman and it is going to be WINTERY!  Hopefully that will throw the Texas boys for a loop.   The kids are staying home with their grandma so it will be like a date.  :)
The game will be on ESPN2 Friday night.

3. Since my Hood to Coast team from last year did not get into Hood to Coast again this year we are looking to do a Ragnar Relay.  Maybe Napa, or the ones in Minnesota or Washington.  It is all very up in the air at this point, but it would be very exciting!


and .. I am thinking I want these.. but do I need them?  I am hoping they come up with a St. Patricks Day sock too.

Random things I have been doing

Life seems to have been busy but good.  Running is going good and I am getting ready to officially kick off half marathon training soon.  This week and the week of Christmas will be a little off, but I am not too worried about it except for stress levels. Training in the winter in general can be a little iffy with no treadmill, but I accept that and will just work around the weather the best I can.  I do have an elliptical which is not ideal but it does help.

The weather has been amazing, the first day of December I was out running in a skirt, YAY and should have been the second day but I just got some new tights and wanted to try them out. They were a little hot for the weather.  Which is good since I bought them to run in the cold weather with.  I got them with a gift  card from my parents for my birthday.

I got the Brooks Utopia Thermal tights.  Not as heavy as my other ones, but still warm.

I don't know why but my kids seem to think going to the local running store means they have to run around and chase each other in it. This doesn't make shopping there fun when I am constantly threatening my kids!

I experienced a body wrap for the first time in my life yesterday.  I didn't know what to expect.  I had a momentary freak out when she first wrapped me out.  My forehead had a small itch as soon as I was all wrapped and I realized I was too wrapped to scratch it...I can't move!  I forced my self to take some deep breaths and relax. 

As soon as the scalp massage started I was able to completley relax and not worry about being a human mummy.  All the same, not sure if I would do that again. 

I am making my kids fleece jammies out of fleece they picked out and am taking them to a Polar Express event this weekend.  They don't know it yet.  I am so excited.  I am going to get them in their new jammies and not tell them where we are going untill we get there. 

Boogery eyes seem to be making its way around here five out of eight cousins have had them, including one of my kids.  My Mom got it too.  I keep waiting to wake up with my eyes crusted over too.  So far I have been safe!

The next time I post hopefully I will have pictures to make this more interesting!

Three Things Thursday

1. I stubbed my toe on the top stair coming up from the basement on Monday.  It cracked so loud and hurt so bad I was convinced I had gotten at least three of them.

I was really worried about running on it.  I taped it to the one next to it and ran 7 miles yesterday morning with minimal pain.  YAY!

Sorry for the ugly foot shot.

2. My iPod got wet Monday and will turn on but that is about it.  I can't do anything with it other than light up the scree with the button on top.  Christmas is coming! Coincidentally the ipod nano 7th generation is out there.  and they are so pretty!

I would be happy with whatever my generation of them is, 4th maybe, the crazy thing is they still sell for nearly as much as the new ones.

3. It snowed over the weekend and the snow wasn't ideal, but we did manage a small snowman.

He didn't last long though.

My sister and I got in a snowy run that was like running in sand, sort of.

and Cola got to go too.

Thanks for all the great birthday wishes!

What kind of mp3 player do you use?  Would you recommend it?

It's my Birthday! I will eat it if I want to.

I love birthdays.  There is just something about them that makes me happy. Sure I am older, but who doesn't want to get older?  Until they invent some new technology the alternative doesn't sound very good to me.

Look what was waiting for me at work today....

Despite what it says I did share.

Did I really need to eat it?  No, but birthdays only come around once a year!  Woohoo! Besides I can run it off, or at least some of it anyway, tomorrow.

Maple bar for second breakfast and german chocolate cake for lunch.  YUM!  Now to see what I get for supper...

Motivation Monday. Getting out the Facts

I do not participate in "Meatless Mondays" there are days I may not consume some meat, but I can't remember the last time that was.  I like meat. I like the flavor, I like the texure.  I like pork, chicken, turkey, and of course BEEF!  Fish is good too. 

I don't hold it against anyone who wants to abstain from eating meat. Some people don't appreciate the things about it that I do.  And that is okay.  I hate onions, large chunks of raw tomato gross me out and saurkraut is gag worthy.  I don't hold it against people if they don't like meat.

I do hold it against people when they are spreading false information and too readily buy into what the enviroquacks want people to believe.

Part of Los Angeles touting their Meatless Mondays was to help save the environment because..

 Between feeding them, providing them water and using up land to keep these animals housed, livestock use more natural resources than virtually anything. Not to mention transportation of animals and their products.  source

Excuse me?  Last I checked

• water was a renewable resource
• grazing lands account for 783 millions acres or 35% of the US,much of that (about 587 million acres) is unsuitable for growing crops. Raising livestock on it doubles the land area that can be used to raise food for a very hungry world.
• Fruits and veggies also have to be trucked to the market

“Clearing the Air: Livestock’s Contribution to Climate Change,” a study by Frank Mitloehner,

Ph.D., associate professor at University of California, Davis, points out that raising livestock in developed countries, such as the United States, results in far fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than in developing countries. According to EPA, the U.S. transportation sector accounts for at least 26 percent of total annual anthropogenic (man-made) GHG emissions in this country, compared to less than 3 percent associated with total livestock production. source

If we aren't producing the beef there are many other countries willing to step up like Argentina, Brazil and Russia.  We do it more efficiently. Why not produce our own beef supply?


Will Meatless Mondays really help the planet?

• Miniscule impact: According to Dr. Jude Capper at Washington State University, the environmental impact of every American following Meatless Mondays is miniscule – the impact of one meatless day per week is less than one half of one percent of the U.S. carbon footprint.
• Sustainable beef: U.S. cattlemen raise 20 percent of the world’s beef with 7 percent of the world’s cattle, making the United States a leader in raising sustainable beef, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (2011).
• Vested interest in the environment: America’s cattle ranchers have a vested interest in sustainable environmental practices – after all, the beef community thrives on multi-generational family farms. On average, each cattle farmer has 13 different practices in place to accomplish environmental goals such as nurturing wildlife, preventing erosion and conserving and protecting water.

Farmers and Ranchers have actually reduced the carbon footprint of producing cattle by 16 percent in the last 30 years. 

I could seriously go on about this all day. If you want to read more about debunking some of the myths about meat, health and the environment I encourage you to check out the links I provided.  A great one that is brief and concise can be found HERE.

Nobody cares more for the land these cattle are raised on than people who take care of the land.  97% of livestock operations are owned by family operations like mine.  We have a deep love and connectedness to the land.  We want it to be there for future generations to love like we do.

I really would love to answer any questions that are out there.

Silent Sunday

Had such a great run today with my dog.

8 miles of big fluffy flakes.

 

dont judge the glasses they were free

Run! Turkey Run 5k Recap

It was a bit of a bummer to have such perfect weather all week and then have a cold and windy day for the 5k.  Acutally I don't think it would have been too bad if the wind wasn't so cold and I think there were up to 20 mile an hour winds.  With temps in the 30s already it made it feel pretty cold.  At least the sun was shining!

 

I didn't really have a specific goal in mind for the race, I was thinking, hoping to get right around 7 minute miles.  I was pretty confident I could pull that off and for the street mile I wanted to at least come close to last years time of 6:32.  (I know I can do a mile faster, but coming off of a 5k with tired legs, not so much)

 

We were so cold waiting for it to start, we even ran a little trying to get warmed up.

If I look cold here, it is because I am, my teeth are chattering, but the beer was good.
Obviously a post race picture since I am drinking beer.



 

 

I lined up near the front and felt like I was being passed by lots of people right away, but I glance at my garmin confirmed that I was still going faster than I wanted to at 5:55 pace, so I slowed down a little more.  I knew a lot of those people were starting out too fast and I would start passing some of them soon.

I did.  It is so much funner to pass people than to get passed.  First mile was 6:52 and my legs were feeling tired, so I was little worried about how the rest of the race was going to go.

I settled in for the second mile, most of which seemed into the wind.  My toes were freezing.  I was still passing quite a few people, most all of which were males.  HAHAHA. I couldn't see any girls ahead of me though, so I knew the front runners were way out in front of me. Second mile 7:02.  Little worried for the last mile at this point. 

No need to worry.  I seemed to really get my legs under me at this point and pulled off a 6:44.  with a 6:10 pace for the last .14.  I may have dry heaved several times after crossing the finish line.  (I am such a heaver)

 

Final garmin time for 3.14 miles was 21:33.   Fastest 5k of the year.  and all with no speedwork since June.  :)

My little sister had her fastest 5k time ever with a 23:30, with her last mile a 7:12.  I think she surprised herself.

We were 3rd and 9th in our age group.  I was a little disapointed that the age group was a 30-39, instead of a 30-34 since it would be my very last race while 34.  WHAT!  Yup I have a birthday Tuesday :)  Especially since the two girls who beat me were in the 35-39 age group. I could have won the age group and   (okay done whining)

So after that I was signed up to do the street mile.  I was waiting outside the beer garden for my sister to get her beer and watching the street for the people to get lined up.  Except somehow I missed my sister and they lined up somewhere different from last year.  By the time I found my sister and figured out I should find the start line somewhere else it had already started.

I briefly debated running down to the start line and running it, but I could see people coming in already.  I didn't want to have to weave through all the walkers so I went and filled up my free pint glass instead :)

 

 

We waited for the awards and then ran to our vehicle and had the heat on high all the way home trying to get warmed up.

The shirt was a cotton long sleeve shirt and despite what it looks like in this picture is maroon and a dark grey.  A very comfy lounge around the house type shirt.  Not the kind I won't ever wear again.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Running Sister and being thankful

My little sister and I took our youngest children to my Grandmother's house (the older ones were busy in kindergarten) and ran together for our long run this week.  I think we are going to try to do this more often.  The run went by so fast!

We did one of my favorite runs that was a 9.75 out and back. The weather was PERFECT,  the company awesome.  Too bad it is supposed to be back the in the forties next week.  I am kind of loving the 50s we got this week.

We may also have made time at the end of our run for a small photo session.  

We were trying to get a good jumping picture, but never really did.  It is hard with a self timer and then we got busy laughing.

AND our Grandma even fed us lunch afterwards and agreed this was something we should do again.  She loves spending time with the her great grandkids.  

Some things I am thankful for on this Thanksgiving Eve

•  my very awesome family
• my health 
• having a running buddy (even if it is only until the end of May)
• my Cola dog is doing better and is doing short runs with me again
• food on the table
• I have a job I like
• getting to do a 5k and a street mile on Thanksgiving

Yup I have a very blessed life.  

Monday Motivation: Winter is Coming

If you watch Game of Thrones or better yet have read the books, (because they are so much more excellent than the movie) the phrase "winter is coming" makes you think of so much more than just winter being on the way. 

(totally a side note, but do you ever look at a word and even though you have seen it, used it and wrote a thousand times, suddenly it looks strange and wrong and sounds weird?  That just happened to me with winter.  I mean look at the word  winter.  Looks similar to winky. )

Wow is this post about anything yet?.. 

Oh yeah what is motivating me on this Monday morning, winter is coming.  Right now however the weather is slightly chilly but great for fall running.  I intend to get out and run every chance I get before the artic air makes it's way south and we have subzero temps for what feels like months.

I am throwing on a running skirt every chance I get.  It was 40 degrees yesterday when I set out on my run, which is where I draw the line for skirts, especially when it is a little breezy and the sun is hiding behind the clouds. It was a little chilly at first, but once I got warmed up, it was perfect.

About a mile into the run I got a "niggle" in my right knee so I stopped to walk and have a mini photo shoot.

  It worked.  Niggle gone.  I love how bright my green running vest is. I feel so visible, and not at all to be confused with a deer since it is hunting season still.  6.3 miles and it felt uphill all the way.

\What is making you get out there today?
What temp is your cutoff for shorts or skirts?

Things You Wanted to Know

Sometimes I answer questions by replying to comments from my email, but some people are no reply bloggers and I can't answer their questions.  Between, work, kids, running, and life in general a lot of questions sometimes go unanswered.  Here are some that I have been asked lately and not answered.

Tasha @Healthy Diva asked me what half marathon I was planning to run in the spring.  I am actually look at   doing 2.  One in March around St Patricks Day in Bozeman called the Run to the Pub

yes I know that says 10k but they do a half too.

A St. Patrick’s Day celebration not to miss! Here is an early season 10K or Half Marathon to start your year off right. A mostly downhill course will get you prepped for meeting at Pub 317 for your free beer after the race. All proceeds go to local charities. Plus win a trip to the Dublin Marathon! Remember top 3 St. Pattys day costume wins a prize, go crazy!

and then another one three weeks later in Billings that is new this year that will benefit the Chase Hawks Foundation. It is so new I am not even sure they have the course set for it yet, so it could be a little crazy.

 Either one or both could have bad weather or they could have perfect spring weather.

Emily from In the Between didn't know what dive bombers are.  Here is a demonstration of them.  I would have made my own video, but I am too lazy.

Lots of people wanted to know what kombucha is.  It is a fermented sweet tea said to have all kinds of health benefits, none of which I think have been proven.  I do know I feel pretty good when I drink it.

and finally how do you drive without brakes.  First of all, I don't recommend it.  It involves a lot of downshifting and use of the emergency brake. Also, just driving slower than normal seems to help. 

Here are the nutrition facts from my favorite flavor Raspberry Chia from Synergy

Nutrition Facts Serving Size 8 fl. oz.
Servings Per Container 2
Amount Per Serving
Calories 30
Calories from Fat 0
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 10mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 8g (2%)
Sugars 3g
Protein 0g

ADDITIONAL NUTRIENTS (per bottle):
Folic Acid 25%
Vitamin B1 20%
Vitamin B2 20%
Vitamin B3 20%
Vitamin B6 20%
Vitamin B12 20%

PROBIOTIC CONTENT:
Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086: 1 billion
S. Boulardii: 1 billion

ANTIOXIDANTS & ORGANIC ACIDS
EGCG 100mg - Glucuronic Acid 10 mg
L(+) Lactic Acid 25mg - Acetic Acid 30 mg

 

 

It is also said to do tons of great things for your body like boost energy, help prevent cancer, help with digestion.  For a longer list of things check HERE

 

 

Have you ever tried kombucha? 

Did you try a dive bomber yet, or did you know what they were already?

 

Three Things Thursday

1. Here is a great reason why I  keep notebooks of old workouts.  It is fun to go back and do older ones and see how much I have improved.  My upper body strength is so much better!  I killed the dive bombers.  Just saying.

2.  Did a 9.5 mile long run yesterday.  I made Cola stay at home, but he really seems unaffected by the run on Monday.  I think I will let him venture out with me this weekend again.  :)  makes me happy to think about getting to run with my Cola dog, I have been missing his happy running face.

3.  I am getting excited to start training for a half marathon in the spring.  i am oddly excited to start doing 400s and 800s again and to have more structure to my running.  The break has been nice though.  I was feeling pretty tired after my marathon last July.  My little sister and I are looking at doing a half on March and then another in April.  They will be about three weeks apart so that should be plenty of recovery time. 

Do you keep track of old workouts?

You never fully appreciate brakes until you lose them.

Sooo, it must have been when I was driving to work Friday my car was trying to tell me something.  I got a rock in the brakes about a mile and a half from my house.  I couldn't get it out, usually I can go backwards and forwards and it will fall out.  No luck.  So I called my husband and he came down to save the day.  I ended up taking a different vehicle in to work.

Saturday as I was driving in to get my Bountiful Basket I thought maybe the brakes felt a little sluggish, but blamed it on all the snow.  Sometimes when the wheels get all packed in with snow the brakes feel kind of funny.

Sunday driving in to the Hoofin it For Hunger 5k I thought maybe they felt sluggish again, but once again blamed it on the snow.  Once I got off the interstate, I said to my sister something about the brakes not feeling right.  I had to pump them a little to stop.

Luckily the race was only two stoplights and turn off the interstate.  About ten feet away from where I parked the brake light came on.  I managed to pull in and call my husband.  He came in after the race and needed one look under the car to diagnose the problem.

Somewhere along the way I had snagged my brake line and it had a pretty good leak in it.  He drove my car home with minimal brakes and I got to drive his pickup with the trailor on the back.  I was a little nervous driving it, but at least I knew I had brakes! 

After we got home, he made me drive around in my car, with no brakes and practice driving without brakes. ( Don't worry our roads are never busy.)  I told him it neither sounded like a great nor a fun idea, but he didn't care.

We both survived, but he is still going to be fixing my brakes before I drive my car willingly again.

In running news..
I did a fabulous 7 miles Monday in the cold and stayed warm enough while running but once I got home I was freezing!  Guess who came with me.  Yup one small Cola dog.  He did pretty good, but still has a bit of a limp.  I will make him stay home the rest of the week.  Progress! YAY Cola!

Muscle Gauge Nutrition Whey Protein Powder and a Pumpkin Protein Pancake recipe.

I recently was able to try out Muscle Gauge Nutrition's Premium Blend whey protein powder.  I picked the cinnamon bun flavor since it is fall and I figured it was mix good with pumpkin flavor.  (I have been really wanting to try pumpkin protein pancakes and pumpkin protein smoothies).

Flavor: Love the flavor, possibly a little bit much on the sweet side when plain, but mixed in a pumpkin protein pancake it was perfect.  I also added a scoop to my oatmeal a couple of times in the morning and found that a pretty good addition to my oatmeal.

Mixability:  I had no problems mixing it up, no clumps.  I usually used a shaker mixer bottle.  It also mixed up good in my pancakes and I never found any clumps.

mixes easy and I like the flavor..yay! (excuse the post run hair)

Each serving has 22 grams of protein.  Or as they put it on their website it is:

 Fully loaded to build lean muscle and strength quickly, each serving of this advanced whey blend formula contains 22 grams of pure protein and only 1 gram of carbohydrate. Every sip of this protein blend is power packed with biologically active micro-fractions, delivering the full range of amino acids to feed your muscles.

There are some other really fabulous sounding in addition to the chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry standby flavors like

Cake Batter

Rocky Road

Ice Cream Sandwich

Yum.

Here is the recipe I used for Pumpkin Protein Pancakes (or waffles)

1 scoop Cinnamon Bun Protein Powder

1 scoop pancake mix

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup pumpkin puree
 

made two pancakes or 1 large waffle.  The scoop that came with the Muscle Gauge Protein Powder was about 1/4 of a cup in case you were wondering.

Value : a 2 lb can costs $51.43 and contains 30 servings or is about  1.74 a serving. 

 

I was provided with a 2lb can of Muscle Gauge Nutrition's Premium Blend Whey Protein Powder.  The opinions expressed are my own.  I was not compensated in any other way for this post.



Hoofin it For Hunger 5k Race Recap

I could see all week that Sunday was going to be cold. Luckily the race was at 1:30 in the afternoon, so the temps for the race would be about as warm as we could hope for, and they were.  I wasn't about to skip my first race since Hood to Coast in August!

It was in the mid to high twenties, with only a slight bone chilling breeze and best of all sunny.  The sun really makes all the difference at those temps.

The race was held at Riverfront Park in Billings so I knew it would probably be a trail run of sorts, but with the snow it was a whole other matter.  I brought my Yak Tracks just in case but as the course was mostly just snow covered grass and trails with a very small portion of it cleared, I didn't feel like I needed them.

It was a loop with an out and back in the first loop and then another loop. 

My sister and I ran the loop as a warmup and to see how the running would be.  I could tell right away this would be no PR attempt.  (not to mention no speedwork lately anyway, but with all the loose snow it was a lot of work running!)  We took a pause for a photo shoot.



so tough I don't need my ear warmer on my ears, I wear it on my neck

It was a beautiful place to run, but here is what our running paths looked like.   Snow covered!

Unfortunately there was not a great turn out for the race only 66 brave people showed up.  There were a number of Team Beef Montana runners including Amber from my Hood to Coast team. 

yay Team Beef!

The first part of the run was through loose snow on the grass and I though "this is going to feel like a long 5k"  It was hard to get good traction! At least we had lots of pretty scenery. 

Finally we hit some cleared trail and it felt good to shake all the weight of the snow off my shoes and run.  A guy dressed in a cow costume passed me about a mile in and I spent the rest of the race trying to catch him again. 

I never did, but I think we really pushed each other as at the end of the race he commented on how hard I pushed him as he could always hear me right behind him.
Splits were
Mile 1    7:12
Mile 2    7:16
Mile 3    7:05
last .15   7:54 pace (don't judge I tried to kick but the snow here was really hard to run through.

Final time 22:38 with a 7:13 pace according to my Garmin.  I was shooting for a 7:12 pace since I haven't done any speedwork in months.  Taking the running conditions into consideration I was more than pleased with my time and think I would have smashed my goal had they been more ideal.

Here is the "cow" I was trying so hard to beat and me of course.  I did win top female overall and a gift certificate to Scheels as well as a fleece lined running pullover jacket. They are going to send me the jacket and have it embroidered with top female finsiher type stuff.  YAY!  (it even has thumbholes)

My sister ended up being third in our age group. Yay little sis!

Here is what Rocky thinks of it all.

Did you race this weekend? How did you do?

Three Things Thursday

1. Cola has been continuing to improve, until yesterday when he decided to try to play with the horses and he got kicked.  Apparently he forgot or didn't realize he would be slower since his accident.  I think he must have got kicked in his sore leg because he was limping worse again.  Then I was walking though the house in the dark and didn't see him laying in front of me so I walked right into his sore leg.  Poor Cola is have a hard time catching a break.

2.  He did get a great care package from Xaarlin and her dog CB from over at Pain is Nothing.   I meant to get a picture of it all the first day I got it, but apparently had a major blogger fail, because I didn't and now I can't find the great card they sent either.  I did manage to get a picture of the treats before they were all ate.   I love the little pizza and the cat.  So awesome.  Cola loves them too, although I am not sure that he appreciates all the great details on them.

3.  I am doing a 5k this weekend and it is going to be COLD!  Kind of makes me want to stay home instead, but I would hate to wuss out on a 5k just because of a little cold and snow.  It has been so nice, kind of a huge bummer to have this cold weather roll in for the weekend.  I think it is supposed to stay colder for the next week.  Boo.  I want fall to last as long as possible.

Tuesday Tidbits

1. If you haven't already..don't forget to vote today!  I already voted, I find absentee ballots way easier.  I like to sit with the ballot and research the canidates and the issues a little bit.  I could talk about some of them here, but not really looking for crazy people arguing with me so I won't :)

My husband keeps talking about how he hates the electoral college.  I personally didn't really get what the benefits of it were and why our founding fathers thought it was such a good idea, but once I did a little research it really does make a lot of sense and I found myself defending it to my husband.

Benefits of the electoral college according to the websites I looked at include giving the minorites more of a voice, making canidates appeal to a wider audience not just trying to get a majority vote which would mean they could potentially ignore lower populated areas and minorites.  It is also weighted somewhat in favor of rural areas, which is hard to see when my state only has 3 electoral votes and others have twenty and thirty some.

You can find it explained HERE and HERE

2. I have been on a bit of a kombucha kick lately, especially kombucha with chia seeds in it.  I am not really a fan of  the price of it though so I ration it out a little.  It is supposed to have great health benefits which I guess I haven't bothered to look up yet.  I do know I have been feeling really great lately.  Coincidence?

Do you like the electoral college?
 Do you know you are not really voting for the future president, but just some elector that says he will vote for canidate such and such but he could really vote for the other guy? 
Are you a fan of kombucha?

Cola's Snuggle Buddy

Last week I went for a run somewhere I had meant to for awhile.  Now that I have finally done it I don't know why I haven't before.  The first part of the run is pretty tough and is up up up and up hill some more.  My legs started burning almost right away.  I stopped to walk several times on the way up. 

 

Finally I got to the top and here is a look at where I would be running.  All along the top of those hills. Such a peacefull place to run.  The only thing missing was my little dog Cola. 

The sky was overcast and cloudy but the views were still out of this world. 

I think I could have sat up there all day just staring out at everything.

A great place for sitting and thinking.

I got to the end and decided to find a way down and run back along the bottom of the hills.  It was pretty hard to find a way down.  When I did find one it was steep going and full of little shell fossils. 

When I was younger there was a fire up there which is why there are so many dead trees all over the place in the above picture. 

Cola has slowly improving everyday.  Wednesday I don't think he took more than 20 steps, Thursday he limped around a little more, but finally on Friday we went with me out to feed the horses and Saturday he managed to get excited enough around the horses to bark at them a couple of times.

Progress!  but oh so slow!

Mostly I am trying to make sure he spends plenty of time resting and healing.   Rocky is helping too.

Please don't tell anyone I was sleeping with a cat!