It has started again!

and it's on again!  I started up half marathon training again this week.  My next half marathon is September 20 and that makes it just under 8 weeks away!  For whatever reason I had no energy for my 5.35 mile run on Monday so I was a little apprehensive about how speedwork would go yesterday, but I felt great for it.

Look at how overcast it was! 

I did quarter miles intervals x8 with an easy three mile warm up and mile cool down for a total 8 miles.  We had a cold front blow through yesterday and it felt like a nice cool fall day with a cool breeze and 65 degrees.

Then I did a 24 minute HIIT workout and kinked my back with 12 seconds to go in the workout.... seriously.  UGH.  I took it easy the rest of the day, but it is still pretty stiff and sore this morning.  SO.. the plan is to take it easy until my back feel better. Hopefully that won't take too long and I can get back at it!

Sunday I picked up a desk for my son that my aunt was getting rid of and it turned into an all day project of deep cleaning first my son and then my daughter's room complete with rearranging and rug shampooing.  The end result was worth it! It had been awhile since I went through their rooms and got rid of too small clothes and worn out toys.   A huge garbage bag of trash came out of both of their rooms and they look like whole new rooms!

Although on the way home with the desk we did stop and play some bale tag on some bales that were waiting to be stacked.

I wasn't all work and no play!

You like to eat right? Learn a bit about your food!

My Dad and brother started combining the wheat recently so I knew I had to get the kids up for combine rides... or maybe it was me wanting one most of all.

I spent a lot of time riding in the combine when I was little, I think I like it more now than ever.  Maybe it just has a lot to do with getting to spend some quality time with my Dad.

My Dad grows food for you :)

When I was little I had to sit on the floor of the combine, but now they are bigger and have buddy seats. Enough room for my Dad, me and one small cowgirl!  His dog had the floor occupied anyway. Can you see the top of Roscoe's head in the picture below?

The wheat is combined, unloaded in to truck and the truck either takes it into town or empties it into a grain bin for storage.

How about some wheat facts?

• Montana ranks third in the nation for wheat production
• 80% of Montana wheat is exported.
• A family of four could live ten years off the bread produced by one acre of wheat. 
• Assuming a sandwich was eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it would take 168 days to eat the amount of bread produced from one bushel of wheat.

• Wheat is a member of the grass family that produces a dry, one-seeded fruit commonly called a kernel.
• More than 17,000 years ago, humans gathered the seeds of plants and ate them. After rubbing off the husks, early people simply chewed the kernels raw, parched or simmered.

• The Roman goddess, Ceres, who was deemed protector of the grain, gave grains their common name today – “cereal.”
• If all of Montana's wheat stayed in the US, every man, woman and child would have to eat 8 loaves of bread a day to consume it all.
• More foods are made with wheat than any other grain the whole world over
• It was introduced in the US as a hobby crop in 1777
• Montana is the only place that has commercial production of five of the six major classes of wheat grown in the U.S. – Hard Red Winter (HRW), Hard Red Spring (HRS), Hard White (HW), Durum, Soft White (SW), and the one we do not grow – Soft Red Winter (SRW). (In the U.S., wheat varieties are classified either as “winter” or “spring” depending on the season each is planted.
•  There is no genetically-modified wheat in commercial production in the U.S. but researchers are looking at ways to breed wheats better able to withstand pests and drought and produce more with less pesticides on smaller parcels of land to feed ever-increasing populations. 
•  The wheat and barley industry in Montana is second only to cattle as the top agricultural revenue source for Montana
•  Never refrigerate bagels or any bread product. Bread products go stale up to 6 times faster in the refrigerator. Leave these products at room temperature or freeze them.

Farming.. especially dryland farming like my family does is a bit of a crap shoot every year.  Farmers are very dependent on the weather, too hot, too cold, too dry, too much rain, rain at the wrong times, hail that can knock a field flat and once you get past all that  they are dependent on the markets.  The price of fertilizer, fuel, weed control, machinery up keep, and taxes all cuts into the profit.

I get a paycheck every two weeks  Like clockwork.  Farmers get one once a year.  or if like my Dad you also are a rancher twice a year (also dependent on a million factors).  Let that sink in.  One or two paychecks a year.  All the hard work and hours spent in the fields.  There is no 40 hour workweek.

When I worked for my Dad in the summers we had 60 hours workweeks.  10 hour days from Monday to Saturday. Funny but sometimes those days went by way faster than my 8 hour ones now.  Haying, planting, calving and harvest all mean even longer days.

What is your favorite wheat product?  Me.. I love cake!

Ragnar Northwest Passage: What happened besides the running

I meant to make this all one post, but I was so tired when I wrote up the first part I decided to save this for another day.  I wrote about the legs I ran at Ragnar Northwest Passage already here. I didn't get to all the other details though!

The girls of Van 2: 6 kickass women

This year thanks to the Ragnar App, we never got lost in the van and thanks to well marked routes none of  our runners got lost either.  If you are doing a Ragnar I highly recommend the Ragnar App for leg maps and updates, as well as driving directions to each check point.

While we did not get lost, we did leave a runner at an exchange and had to turn around and get her.  Luckily when she hopped out of the van she had her phone with her.  In our defense, we thought she was in the back of the van sleeping. So when Sarah, who was driving, got the call from Evie and asked us why Evie was calling her, wasn't she in the van?, we were all a little confused.

There was one new girl in the van this year and she just also happened to be a Christy.  I convinced her to go for a run with me in Spokane Thursday morning and had a fun time getting to know her better and talking running,

Four of us girls saw something very interesting and questionable in the night... we saw a runner quit running and get in a van and drive away.  WHAT!?  Yep. Four of us saw it happen. No idea if it was all the same team, different teams etc as a) it was dark    b)van wasn't clearly marked  c)no one got a look at team number .  It is a little discouraging though especially if this team placed high and didn't earn it.  Isn't half the fun of an overnight relay surviving all your legs and living to tell about it?!

We didn't stick around long at the after party choosing instead to hit the line for the ferry back to Seattle.  Lucky for us we only waited a very short time to get on, maybe 15 minutes.  I saw on Facebook later that some people had to wait up to 2 hours! YEESH! I was impressed with how fast the ferry ride was,

This is the third year we have done girls van and guys van for the team. I love it more every year.  The time spent with other women who come from similar backgrounds, live similar lives and are passionate about similar things.  Running, Beef.  Being healthy. Having fun. I have to admit having some withdrawals from them now that it is over.  No crazy drama, just awesome fun, support and good times.  I really love that I am a part of this group of dynamic women.

Before I was ever a part of this team someone and a baggie of smashed raw shrimp carefully placed just under the carpet in the back of the van at the start of the race which proceeded to make said van very stinky over the course of an overnight really started a tradition of van pranks.  You can read about 2014's pranks here, 2013's pranks here and 2012s pranks here.

We decided the boys needed to experience the condom water we went through in 2013 so we covered 48 bottles of water for their cooler with condoms.  Except I had bought lubricated so our hands were sticky and nasty trying to get them on.  The morning of the relay Sarah broke out the Liquid Ass and ran over to their van to spray some in.

She got busted and in the battle that ensued had to change clothes. So did Rachel.  and we lost the bottle of Liquid Ass.  This stuff smells a lot like it sounds and drives fear into the hearts of anyone who has ever experienced it.  They were afraid of whatever else we might have up their sleeve and we were afraid of the Liquid Ass and a truce was called.

It was nice not to have to constantly worry about leaving someone to guard the van.

Also I tried a raw oyster for the first and last time.

I would recommend this Ragnar! Northwest Passage was beautiful, had lots of awesome volunteers and seemed to be well organized.  There were some super tough legs,but it is always canceled out by the fun and memories made.

Ragnar Northwest Passage

This is the fourth relay I have done and the third Ragnar.  This was probably my favorite.  I might say that about every relay though.   I left Wednesday and drove to meet up with 4 other team members. We headed to Bozeman and picked up the vans for the team then drove on to the next meet up point and picked up some more runners. We drove to Spokane Wednesday night and then drove up to Blaine Thursday where we spend the night at the Semiahmoo Resort and Spa.  It was beautiful!

Team Beef Montana/ The Montana Running Ranchers

Team Beef Montana's start time was 9:30 so we took some team pictures in the morning and then headed over to the start to cheer on Ed and the boys as they took off on their first legs.  The girls were in van 2 so while we waited for our turn we did some grocery shopping then headed to exchange 6 to wait.

We had lots of jerky that Hi-Country Meats donated for us to hand out and we had no trouble giving it away to other runners and volunteers!

My first run was: Leg 11 6.8 miles rated HARD.  
It was pretty warm out by the time I started running and three miles into the run I was starting to get hot.  I was glad to see my team about halfway through with a bottle of water for me.  I grabbed the water and ran with it and was glad I kept it.  The bottle was full and the water would splash out over me as I ran, coupled with the slight breeze it renewed me. After about half splashed out I rationed the water between taking sips of it and and dumping a little on the back of my neck.  
Time for 6.8 miles was 51:38 with average pace of 7:34

just a bunch of sweaty tanks drying

Second leg was about three in the morning and it was dark out, which was a bit of a bummer since I think it would have been a very beautiful leg running over the Deception Pass Bridges and through the state park there.  It was peaceful in the dark for my hardest leg and there were just enough runners to keep me motivated and moving.  This was the run I was the most nervous about just because of the distance, knowing it would be in the dark and the hills!  It was so hilly! Over 950 elevation gain and over a 1000ft of loss.
Time for the 9.8 miles was 1:21:05 with an average pace of 8:16

Leg 3 was the hottest, but also the shortest leg I had.  Three miles in I was feeling cooked, thankfully I only had to run 3.8 miles so mentally it was easy to power through and finish strong.  My leg ended up being 3.71 miles according to my Garmin so that made me happy too. There were some hills on this leg as well that helped make it challenging, but I was really feeling the sea level effect and finished in 28:46 for and avg pace of 7:45

and done!

My total time and mileage: 

now for the long drive home

Team Beef Montana had a time of 26:59:32 and ended up 26th out of 354 teams in our division and 59th out of 539 teams overall. We had a super strong awesome team and I am so proud of everyone's effort.    We had lots of fun and I can't wait until the next one!  I, am however quite exhausted and am going to post another time with some of the fun we had and my thoughts on the Ragnar NWP overall.

Ragnar Northwest Passage Initial Thoughts

I have been busy packing, unpacking, repacking and making lists of things to pack.  Two days of travel, Ragnar Relay and then one long haul again back home.

Happily the weather conditions look pretty good. Friday highs in the the mid 70s, lows in the mid 50s overnight and Saturday into the low 80s.

Team Beef Montana is slated to start at 9:30 on Friday morning

Leg 11 6.8 miles rated HARD.
Initial thoughts: I am guessing this is rated hard because of the distance?   7 miles is a normal distance for me so I am going to re rate it as moderate. The plan is to take it easy and not use up all my energy since this is my first leg.  Don't get me wrong I still plan to push it, but not go all out.

 Leg 23, 9.8 miles and rated VERY HARD.  This leg is the reason I have been hill training the last 6 weeks,  I am going to agree that it will be very hard, not just for the hill but for the distance too! This will also no doubt be in the dark. 9.8 miles of hills, in the dark.

 Leg 35, 3.8 miles, rated EASY.  Initial thought, YAY it's not even four miles! This will be my first relay where my last leg is not my longest leg! and that makes me happy, especially after running all those hills in the dark!

Edit: meant to post this yesterday, we are now on the road! 

Three Things Thursday

1. The days are again getting shorter again and that makes me sad in the mornings when it isn't starting to get light at 4:45 anymore.  I don't run in the dark.  Too many rocks that want to trip me, no street lights, and bears.  Mountain lions.  No thanks! 

I am still running first thing in the morning though, but soon it won't be light enough to get in a quick run before work anymore.

I just love having my run done before breakfast and the kids are awake!

 I don't generally stay up late so it getting darker earlier does make me happy.

2. I saw this on Facebook yesterday, thought it was pretty awesome so I had to share.

3. and this too. 

I think I used to believe running was a cheap sport, but I have come to grips with reality. 

Almost Friday and 8 days until Ragnar Northwest Passage!  Woohoo!

This little slice of heaven

My aunt texted me as I was making supper Monday night.."its a beautiful night, anyone want to go for a ride on the rims?"

My first thoughts were no it's dinner time, I have to work tomorrow, I have a mess to clean up, but then the words "on the rims" kept getting to me. So I said yes, the kids said yes and we hurried through dinner to get our horses saddled up.

We met up with my brother and his daughter along the way and up, up, up we went. My daughter was worried the road up to the rims would be too scary for her, but she did great and was ecstatic with the views once we got to the top. You will see why in a minute.

Little cowgirl and Shorty

little cowboy and Pepper

The views are out of this world.  This has always been one of my favorite places on the ranch and I love that my kids found it just as stunning as I always have.  To me its always like a glimpse into heaven.

This is one of my favorite places to run too. Horseback or on foot it's good for the soul up here.

and I think it gives a different perspective on the ranch and the places we explore down below.

I really love this place.

My aunt took this picture of my brother taking a picture of the kids and I while I was looking at a picture I had taken. It amused me.

I love this picture my aunt got of the kids and I all taking in the view.

I didn't get into bed until well past my normal bedtime, but it was worth it. The dishes were still there when I got home the next day from work but I have to admit I didn't care.  Time with my kids on horseback in this little slice of heaven is always worth it.

A double run day and #1Millionminutes

Happy Monday, I managed to pull of a pretty good double run today in preparation for Ragnar Northwest passage that is coming up soon! 

I got up and ran early in the cool 52 degree weather and it felt amazing! Run was done at 6:30.

 I went out again at 11:15 and ran again, thankfully it was still only 64 degrees and quite lovely out. Both runs felt so good!

 and I have to admit were way speedier than I intended or thought they would be. I have been meaning to get in more 2 a day runs, but mostly due to kids have settled for rowing so I was glad this worked out today.

 I am participating with Fit Approach with a fun, Mad-Lib style blog prompt to help them kick off #1MillionMinutes!

And just to make it extra fun, their awesome sponsor Puritan's Pride is offering a prize to everyone who participates!

That's right, you'll automatically get rewarded just for completing this mad lib.

Here is my mad lib

I’m so _ looking forward_____ [adj] to fuel my #1MillionMinutes goals with Puritan’s Pride! All summer I plan to ___run, hike, and HIIT___ [verb] my way to a healthier, fitter me, and I’ll need help staying hydrated and fueled during all my __awesome____[adj] adventures!

I will make sure I stay on track and will rely on __good food__ [noun] to keep me well fueled before, during and after workouts, and my __Cocogo___ [noun] to keep me hydrated!

I’m most excited to try _Kind Caramel Almond with Sea Salt bars______(product) and __Kind Dark Chocolate Almond Mocha Bars__ (product) from Puritan’s Pride because they look __yummy_______(adj).

One supplement I’ve never tried but am curious about is _melatonin_ [noun]. I think it might make me extra __energetic (after it helps me sleep)____[adj].

Bring it, #1MillionMinutes! I’m ready to go!

Ready to go? Just copy the mad lib and change my answers to yours and share, share, share!

HOW TO GET YOUR PRIZE: share your link on the #1MillionMinutes page so they can make sure and send you your prize! Make sure your address is updated, too, so they know where to send it!

and afterall that running I took my kids and two of their cousins on a picnic and a hike! Whew.


Now to get out of these sweaty clothes and take a shower!
Are you participating in Fit Approach's #1MillionMinutes? 
Do you try to do some double run days in prep for a relay? 

Fourth of July Weekend Recap

We did not have any plans for the 4th.  We toyed with going to a rodeo, but my hubs really wanted to work on the shop he is building and it was HOT so with things drying up, fire danger going up, we decided to stick around.

A cousin who lives in Wyoming drove up so we had an impromptu family picnic at my grandmas house.  We spend the afternoon out in the shade swinging and talking.

my daughter, niece, grandma and I

and my aunt, cousin, daughter and I..swing selfies!

 I did get up early on the fourth and get in a good 7 mile run. I rocked my InknBurn liberty shorts and my MT Love hat.

Saturday my car said 103 degrees when we left my grandma's house.  Yesterday the high was... wait for it

and it rained.  YAY!  Love rain, especially this time of year when things are really drying out!

I didn't run at all yesterday, which considering the awesome weather seems crazy!  I didn't sleep good and was thinking I would run in the afternoon after I helped my sister with the youth rodeo.  By the time I got home I needed a nap.  I slept for 2 hours and then decided cross training was what I needed.  I sat on the rowing machine and did a 5k in 19:39.  A personal best!  Then I got in 50 pushups while making dinner.

We also found Battle Bots on TV last night.  That was fun TV!  So much better than most of the crap that is on. 

PS my kids did get in on a little fireworks thanks to my brother.

How was your weekend! Laid back or action packed?  Mine was definitely laid back!

How to run early in the morning

First think I will admit here is that this is the only time of the year that I run early.  There are no street lights and I have no desire to encounter bears etc on a dark road, I also have to desire to twist my ankle on the gravel roads.  Therefore the only time of year I run really early is when it gets light out really early. 

I have to leave my house at 6:20 am at the latest to get to work on time so that means my run needs to be done by 5:40  so I can shower, eat breakfast and have a little time with the kids. I do love sunrise runs though.  I find something about running into the sunrise very energizing.

1. Make the decision.  Don't think along the terms of "I am going to try to run early tomorrow".  Nope.  Think along the lines of "I am running early tomorrow".  There is no question about it, the decision is made.  You don't have to lay in bed wondering if you should run because you are going to run.

2. Set out everything you are going to need the night before.  I find the longer it takes to get everything together the more likely I am to get distracted and either talk myself out of the run or not have enough time to run as far as I wanted to.

3. Set an alarm.  I am probably on oddball here but I rarely am still in bed after 4:30 am.  I still set my alarm just in case.

4. Leave yourself notes.  Sometimes I get a bit distracted by Facebook, or blogging, or just plain old web surfing and before I know it... bam no time to run, or yoga, or whatever.  If I put a sticky note on the computer it is a good reminder.

5. Get your gear on and go. Don't over think it, just go!

What is your favorite time of day to run?  In the hot summer months I love to get out just before sunrise, but most other times of the year mid morning is usually when I run.

When do you usually run?

Sometimes you have to deviate!

All I knew when I left the house this morning as I set out on a run was that I was going to run 11 miles.  I didn't have a route planned, I didn't have a podcast picked out.  I made a split second decision to go left as I headed out.  I was a little bit dreading the long run.

I was vaguely thinking to do a quick short out and back, head back the other way and do another out and back, which would bring my miles to 9.5, and then I would repeat the first short out and back for a total of 11.  A pretty easy and fairly flat route, but also kinda boring.

As I got to the turnaround point of the first out and back I remembered I have been meaning to run more hills as part of Ragnar training so instead of turning around I headed down the hill.  I was planning to turn around after a mile and a quarter down the hill and run up it doing repeats.

I looked over and saw this.  See those trees down there. I wanted to run on the road that runs thru the wheat field there. I haven't for well over a month. 

So kept going down the hill.  It's a big ass hill.  It goes sharply down for just over three quarters of a mile, levels off a bit and then down some more.  From the top to the bottom is just over a mile and a half.

The sky was really hazy this morning and made for some beautiful photos. I really love where I live.

I did a couple things different today on my run

• I tried Salted Caramel Gu for the first time today and it wasn't bad.  I still prefer Humagel.
• I didn't listen to ANYTHING  no podcasts, no music.  Just me and my thoughts and the beauty around me. and the birds singing.

I think Cola was happy to get off the same roads and have some variety too.  The long climb back up the hill was tough and I did walk a couple times, but it was so worth it for these views.

The air could not have smelled any sweeter than the wheat fields.  Sometimes a person needs a deviation from the norm.  I have got so in the habit of just running the same routes since I am running so early while the kids are sleeping and before my husband leaves, I want to stay close to home.

I knew today he would be working around the house in the morning so I was able to run long and not worry about being back. 

just a little slice of heaven here on earth.

Once I got up the big ass hill I had about three and a half miles to go, after the hill I felt like I was flying along on the way flatter road.

Ahhh run done!

No regrets today!