Sorta Silent Saturday

I started this post for a three things Thursday.. and am just now getting back to it.  I was going to just delete it because I have so much new news, but then I looked at this picture and all the pretty colors in it and had to share.

I think that was from Tuesday morning, my cowboy had to go to a funeral out of town so I had to check the cows to see if any were in heat, get the kids to my sister's house and head to work, all before 6 am.  Good thing it starts getting light out around 5 am now!

 I also thought the bright colors in this outfit was a fun contrast to the browns/yellows of the corral.

Sunrise is my favorite time of day.  Every time I see a one I am so thankful I am a morning person. 

and the kids had their last day of school on Thursday.

 and finally balls on trucks.. no, just no.

Okay the whole truck is practically a no. 
PS. Running is going great right now :)
Are your kids out for summer yet (if you have them)?
How is running?
What's your favorite: sunrise or sunset?

Cows, a Coyote and a Run

I knew I wanted to get up into the hills yesterday for my run and since my husband wanted to drive up and check on some cows they had moved in the fog Saturday morning to make sure all the mommas and babies were happy so I rode along so that I could run home from there. I love when I don't have to do an out and back!

The kids got to play, explore and look for cool rocks while Rance looked at cows and I took off running with Cola.

It was a beautiful morning and I think Cola was enjoying it as much as I was.

We ran through sage brush hills, and along a wheat field for awhile.  It was while running along the edge of the wheat field that I saw what looked like a dead animal up ahead, but when we got about 20 feet from it up, popped a sleeping coyote and off he went.  I am not sure which of us was more startled, probably the coyote who was just trying to take a nap!

The wheat is really growing!

Yesterday was the best my legs have felt since I ran the half marathon last weekend.  I took most of last week off from running and did more cross training.  I spent time on the rowing machine and elliptical as well as getting in some good yoga sessions.

Nothing compares really to getting out and having a good run in the hills all the green and the wildflowers this time of year are so good for the soul.

The great part about starting the run where I did was it was a lot of downhill although I did run some extra hills in order to give the cows a wide berth here.  Cola and I running through them tends to get them excited, especially when they have babies.

 

Although then to get home I had to run up a big hill, like nearly two miles of mostly all up hill.  Not nearly as fun, but good for adding some strength!

How was your weekend?  I know for some people it was a long weekend, but I nearly always have Mondays off so it kind of felt like just another weekend!   My kids get out of school this week for the summer and they are super excited about that.

Race Photos, Random Half Marathon Thoughts, plans, what's next, comparisons etc

I finally remembered to look at my photos from the Women's Run

I look like I am having fun.  Another great race photo

although maybe better than this one, sorry random person.  Hers was right before mine and made me feel a little better about my crappy photo. I bet she was excited to see hers too.

 Lil Cowgirls photo from the 2  mile shows her sprint finish pretty good.

 My 2 mile run photo was a lot better than the 5 mile photo. Eyes open and smiling as I watch my daughter cross the finish line right in front of me.

 I look way more bad ass in this one from 3 years ago, except for the one where I look like I am going to vomit.

What's next for me?  I have half number 2 and race number 4 for the year under my belt and have of course by now already looked at some more half marathons. I am hoping to get in at least 2 more this year, if not 3.  Happily there are starting to be more local half marathon options.  When I started running halfs there were only 2 local ones.

Now there are 5 I believe.  YAY!  One in May, July, August, September and October.  The July one I will be gone for as I will be busy running a Ragnar Relay that weekend in Washington.  I am more than okay with that as that half marathon is always hot and miserable and is acutally run on the same course as the half in October. 

I want to do the September and October ones for sure with the September one being an A race.  I am torn on the August one a) it's still a hot time of year b) it's supposed to be downtown which could be a potentially boring course.

Kiley was incredibly generous and wrote me a plan for this last training cycle. I have never actually closely followed a plan, had one wrote for me or had one written down in general.  I usually just worked in a long run, a speed session and some easier runs.  I followed it pretty closely until the last couple weeks when I had an illness, bad weather and family visiting.  Here are my thoughts on having a plan.

• it pushed me harder than I would have
• it was so convenient to have 
• I would do it again

I took most of last week off from running and used the rowing machine a little, did one easy run and some strength training.  I may take another easy week and then get back into it. 

I am happy with my time difference,  overall I finished two minutes faster on a slightly hillier course.  They both started up hill followed by a lot of downhill.  Bozeman's Run to the Pub then had two hills around mile 9-10 and a down hill finish.  This last half in Billings had a hilly finish from mile 8.5 on and I felt like I finished stronger.

If you are looking for someone to write a plan for you or a coach I encourage you to contact Kiley, she is pretty awesome and she likes writing plans!

Three Things Thursday: Three Things I am Loving

Finally I went got a run in!  I hadn't run since the half marathon on Sunday so I was ready to get out and enjoy the sunshine today!

1. I got home from work Tuesday to find a box waiting for me.  I didn't think I was expecting anything so when I opened it up to find a complimentary pair of shoes from Asics I was excited.  Who doesn't love coming home to new surprise shoes?

I wasn't completely sold on them when I first put them on, but I ran in them today and was happy with them.  Cushioned enough to run on gravel roads and wide enough for my feet.  I also have to admit to loving the bright colors.  The pink laces inspired my outfit for today.. which brings me to my next point.

2.  If you haven't already, do not buy INKnBURN running shorts.  I made that mistake and now I have fours pairs and am wondering what I need next.

seriously awesome shorts

I have been off loading tons of gear on eBay to help pay for my new love. 

3. and a third happy thing, Endurance Shield sunscreen.  It doesn't feel all nasty on like all of the other sunscreens I have used.  I HATE the feel of sunscreen on my skin and this stuff is actually very tolerable. 

If you are like me I really recommend trying this sunscreen. 

PS Cola wanted to say hi, but was too busy getting a drink out of this stock tank.

Cola and I saw 4 snakes, 2 of which I nearly stepped on, and 3 dung beetles on our run today.  What did you see interesting?

Run For Heaven's Sake Half Marathon Race Recap

I of course was busy weather watching the whole week before  to see what I should wear for the half marathon.  The forecast kept coming up rainy.  and then it kept forecasting Sunday colder and colder.  Race morning showed up with 60% chance of rain, 16 mph winds and 45 degrees.

Hmm what to wear! I had a long sleeve and a short sleeve shirt picked out as well as tights and shorts.

45 is normally shorts weather, but with the wind and rain I decided to wear long sleeves and tights.  I threw on some gloves, a buff over my ears, and a rain jacket.  I don't like to be wet and cold.  I think for a 5k or a 10k I wouldn't have worn the rain jacket, but I was glad I did for the half as it rained nearly the entire time.

First a little about the race. RUN for heaven’s sake is a 5k,10k run/walk & half marathon to benefit The Ramsey Keller Memorial. They pay for funerals for babies under the age of one (categorized infant death) in the state of Montana. Something worth supporting. No one should have to worry about the cost of burying an infant. So crappy weather or not I was in!

Okay.. on to the race!  There were only about 55 people entered in the half marathon and it started an hour before the 10k so parking was a snap.  I parked close to the porta potties, cycled through them once and then hopped in a vehicle with my friend Jaydee who was also running it and we visited for a little bit until it was time to head to the start line.  Jaydee and I went to high school together and went to state track with our 400m relay.  Now our kids are in school and 4-H together.  In fact, my daughter thinks her son is quite dreamy.

The gun went off and so did all the little beeps as everyone started their Garmins.  The first part of the race is uphill. Not my favorite way to start a race, especially since I hadn't bothered to warm up.  I paid for the not warming up thing.   I think I was 2 miles into it before I felt like I had my breathing under control and wasn't going to die.  Maybe that also had something to do with the first mile being  all uphill and the second was mostly uphill too.

that's me in the blue rain jacket, black tights, red hat on the right, apparently some people are tougher than me and ran in shorts and tanks.  I call them stupid, it was cold!

Happily after that there was only two uphills and it was all downhill until mile 8.  About mile three I had settled into a group of three people.  I was running beside another girl and right behind her was a man and was right on her heels.  I don't know if it annoyed her, but it annoyed me.  I could imagine him behind me like that and how I would want to stop running and make him run into me.

Could be I am used to running alone.  I decided to try and lose them, but the guy seemed to determined to stay with me.  and he was scuffing his feet.  I don't know how he had any sole left on his shoes.  It seemed like there was the longest boring straight stretch from about miles 5-8.  I would swear it felt more like 6 than 3 miles.

 The rain that hadn't been too bad for the first half of the race, really picked up for the last half.  I was sorry I had taken my gloves off around mile 3, because by the end they were really cold and I knew it would be too hard to try and put my gloves on cold wet hands while running.

Towards the end of the course we started intersecting with the 10k course, for the most part the route was well marked, but there were a few spots I had to stop and ask the course guards which way to go.  I could only see one other gal in front of me and if that part of the route was twisty I wasn't always sure where to go.  We joined in with the 10k and 5k runners with about a mile to go, which I found motivating as suddenly there were people to pass.

The elevation profile of the race. That uphill finish hurt!

The last mile was tough so all that motivation was helpful!  My legs were pretty shot from the hills in the last part of the race.  I ended up hitting my D goal for the race, which was to just run it faster than my last half marathon and I did by two minutes on a tougher course.  I ended with a time of 1:43:12 and a pace of 7:52.

I didn't stick around long after the race.  I found Jaydee and we talked for a bit and then I went to my car and changed into dry clothes and just sat there with the heat blasting for about 20 minutes before I drove home.

Splits
Miles 1-3  8.02, 8:08, and 7:37 (you can tell which miles were mostly uphill)
Miles 4-6  7:36, 7:58, 7:39
Miles 7-9  7:36, 7:37, 8:05
Miles 10-13.1 7:58, 8:12, 7:52, and 8:02 pace for the last .09

I won the 30-39 age group and was 4th female overall.  Not too bad.

I made a big pot of soup once I got home, and then caramel rolls.  I helped my kids clean their rooms, swept, vacuumed, did dishes, started to do laundry and decided no way!  I grabbed my book and read for awhile instead, it was time to get off my feet!

and just a picture from my run Saturday because it was so pretty. 

Linking up for Race Recap fun

Anyone else do a race this weekend?  How did it go?
How easily annoyed are you by noisy runners during races?

Three Things Thursday: Half talk, goals and more

 1. Sunday I am running a half marathon here locally and it sounds like there aren't too many people signed up for the half.. which increases my chances of placing well.  I do like lots of people around though I find it motivating so that part is a bit of a bummer. There is also a 70% chance of rain.  The temps with lows of 36 and a high of 54 will be pretty ideal.  A little chilly at the start maybe, but better than hot!

 2. I haven't really wrote down any goals yet so here goes

•  A. (shoot for the moon)  1:37.  I think this would be a little fast given the course has hills, but hey shooting for the moon here! This would make it a PR and I don't really expect it, but we will see how I feel on race day.
•  B. 1:40ish or just keeping a pace in the high 7:30s
• C. 1:41, 1:42 ish which would be keeping my pace in the low to mid 7:40s.  
•  D. Just run it faster than my last one, which was 1:45 something.  I was not feeling that race for the last 4 miles.

3. I didn't blog at all while my little sister and her family was here.  I didn't get all my runs in. I didn't do yoga at all.  The kids had cousin sleepovers every night.  We went on hikes, and runs, drank wine, went to a birthday party, ate food, shopped, and talked and talked some more. The time went by so fast and then she was gone again.

This picture is from when we took the kids on a hike and then stopped to play in the creek.  They were busy making boats to float down the creek.  It will be awhile before all 8 cousins are together again.  My son and my lil sister's oldest son went to kindergarten together and were joined at the hip the entire time. They really missed each other!

and 3.1 check out the determination on my little cowboys face. 


Such a tough guy!

Bad Ass 5 Miler Virtual Run

Gone For a Run had so much fun with their last virtual run they are hosting another one.  This one is the Bad Ass 5 Miler and you can log your miles anywhere you want from May 29-31.

After you log your virtual miles you can enter to win some fun raffle prizes from Gone For A Run by sharing a photo of your GPS or running app with your time and distance to their Facebook page.  It can also be shared to Twitter and Instagram and you can use the hashtag #badass5

Entry into the Bad Ass 5 Miler gets you a t-shirt, medal and magnet, as well as your very own bib to wear for your virtual run! A basic entry will cost you $30, pretty good for all you get as well as if you win a raffle prize!

No banditing my bib number please.

I see it's already sold out, so sadly if you haven't already signed up it's too late!

BUT,  you can check out their next virtual run. It is a 5k with a Father's Day theme to it.  Hurry though, their virtualraces are all selling out!

I was given a free entry to this virtual run in exchange for blogging about it.  How often do you participate in virtual runs?  I seem to several times a year.

Womens Run 5 and 2 mile Race Recaps

When I heard several months ago my little sister was going to be here for Mother's Day weekend I was excited since I knew there is always a big local run that weekend just for women.  I even got her sponsored with me on Team Beef Montana for the run and we got some sweet new long sleeve shirts.  The new shirts ended up being perfect since the weather was 37 degrees, overcast and supposed to rain!

I'm kind of a little jealous of her cool camo tights. 

Luckily it only sprinkled and we were left with nearly perfect racing weather.  There was a bit of a breeze but nothing major.

The 5 mile started at 8 am.  We met up with the rest of the Team Beef Montana 5 milers at 7:30 for a team picture and then ran over to the porta potties. Luckily we hit them just before the line got long, whew!

I had 4 kids to get up and get moving in the morning so I had been just a tad late getting out of the house instead of my usual super early so I can stop at a gas station and use the bathrooms early.

Anyway back to the race.  Goals... I didn't really write any down but I KNEW I wanted to be faster than last years time of 37:06 and I of course would have loved to beat my PR for this race of 34:58.  I was planning on starting out right around a 7:00 pace.

The first mile of course was all adrenaline and I kept having to slow myself down. I did a 7:03 for the first mile. The second mile felt pretty good too and was 7:04.  I was happy the third mile was still feeling good but I could tell I was losing a little steam.

The fourth mile for me is always the hardest in this race, legs are getting tired and the finish line still seems a long way off!  7:14... ouch!  They have a timing mat after the fourth mile and my garmin read 4.16 miles and mentally this hurt me, I was tired!

Luckily the timing mat was just off as when I crossed the finish line I had 5.04 miles and a time of 35:57.  My third fastest Women's run and over a minute faster than last year.  YAY!

As soon as I finished and had the timing chip cut off my shoe I grabbed a water and jogged the half a mile or so to where my daughter and aunt were waiting for me.  I grabbed my daughter and we were off to the start of the 2 mile race.

As soon as the gun went off she decided she had to use the porta potty.  Luckily I could see one not too far up ahead.  As soon as went got to it, someone else went in right in front of us, so we lost about a minute there, but then she was off again.  Just after a mile in she took a short walk break and then ran hard the rest of the way.

She finished hard and was exuberbant to be done. Runners high!  She was talking about her next race as soon as she caught her breath.  That's my girl!

I ended up 4th in my age group.  One year I ran this race 9 seconds slower and won my age group and was 8th overall.  This year 23rd overall.  All depends on who shows up! 

The girl who won my age group and the overall is an elite triathlete.  That's her arm.

and Avery was mad about getting 9th in her age group until she realized she beat a classmate of hers by a long ways.  Then she was thrilled. 

I ended up like 27th in the 2 mile, not that it mattered, it was just a joy to run with my lil cowgirl and watch her determination and grit.

Overall two great races and lots of fun!

Three Things Thursday

1. My little sister and her family flies in today which is also my Mama's birthday! So Happy Birthday to my mom, she is celebrating all this by having all 8 of her grandkids over for a sleepover tonight.  Since it is too cold out to camp out they are setting up the tent in the heated shop.  My daughter has had her bag packed since Sunday.  The kids have all been counting down the days and the hours! BIG TIMES! I picked up this wine for the weekend, just for the name mostly.

2. It's Thursday and I have ran 2, yes two miles this week so far, although I am about to go for a run and make that a grand total of 12.  I was sick Sunday and still recovering Monday.  Worked Tuesday, Wednesday and while I could have got in short runs those two days I opted for cross training.  I did 20 minutes on the rowing machine Tuesday and Wednesday 4 minutes of rowing plus a 16 minute HIIT workout with an arm and abs emphasis.

3. InkNBurn... has the most awesome stuff.  I thought I liked Lululemon but this stuff takes the cake.  I really think I need these.

 I don't really.  But I think I do. I have two pairs of their shorts already.  A dark denim one and the black lace.  Both are cute comfy and great to run in. 

What is your current running need obsession?

Week6 of the Plan to run a faster half marathon and random things

Sunday plan said 1 mile warmup, 1200 x4, with 1200 recoveries, 1 mile cool down

What I did:  1 mile warmup
1200s 5:00, 5:09, 5:10, 5:06 (they were supposed to all be at 5:00)  my excuse?  It was a little muddy and my legs just weren't feeling it!
1 mile cool down
 total of 8 miles

Monday plan said  10 miles easy\

What I did: 10 miles easy with 6 strides at the end.  This run felt great and I loved every minute of it.
Two short HIIT workouts

Tuesday 15 minutes HIIT workout

Wednesday plan said 14 mile long run

What I did 14 mile long run.  My mistake here was that I waited way too long to run.  I knew the day was going to be a warm on and I am NOT acclimated to running in anything over 50 degrees.  By the time I finished my run it was 80 degrees and my sunscreen had worn off.

Remember Bert/Lucky Jr/Milk Dud?  He got a mom this week and I think was very pleased about that.

A cow was found with a dead calf so he was grafted on.

Saturday plan said run 4 miles of hills with 4-5 strides at the end

What I did.. scratching my head a little on this one... I ran 5 miles easy with 8 strides at the end for a total of 5.91 miles and that made it a total of almost 38 miles for the week.
Then I went and did 150 squats/lunges mostly with my right leg giving vaccinations at branding.

Lil Cowboy held a couple calves at branding this weekend, here is with a world champion saddle bronc rider. It looks like these boys all coordinated outfits with their blue shirts!

A much better week than last week! and I am now tapering for my half marathon and looking forward to a 5 mile race this coming weekend! I went ahead and got sick Saturday night and all of Sunday so I got that out of the way, now I can be healthy for my races. 

Sometimes I just have moments where I feel like I should pinch myself... is this really my life?

My horse Pepsi thought I should quit lollygagging and get to work.  He hates being away from other horses and spends a lot of time whinnying when he is.

AND I found the Farming Game last week.  My husband and I stayed up late playing it and I won :)

My siblings and I spent hours playing this game growing up. I am so excited to have it again!

What board games did you play growing up that you still play or wish you could?