Monday Motivation and New Shoes for my Birthday

Sometimes I wonder where my motivation for running comes from.  I am not training for anything right now, yet I still try to get in a long run every week or 10 days.  I love the feeling of running long. I love proving I can, even when the wind chills are below zero like my last three runs have been.

Partially of course the season is a huge motivator.. along with the all the Christmas goodies that are baked  by relatives and co workers, it's cold out and that tends to mean more time spent inside curled up watching movies, reading books, playing cards, etc instead of being outside and being active.

Hard to believe a week ago I was running in shorts and a tank and only 4 days later I was in double layers and super cold!

We did take that kids out an a sledding, hiking, Christmas tree hunting excursion Sunday afternoon that I think everyone loved.

Also did I mention I had a birthday?  I did, and I even got my husband to buy me new running shoes!! I did have to agree to get rid of three pairs of old shoes.  I got rid of three and am taking a fourth to work.  YAY!

From Balaclavas to Bare Arms

After a cold windy freeze my fingers off run on Saturday I was so happy for a blue sky sunny day Sunday.  From double layers and a balaclava on Saturday to this..

You bet I was loving it!   Weather is pretty much going to be my motivation again today.  The cold is coming back on Thursday and I intend to get in a nice long trail run today before it does.

Yesterday was so beautiful we decided we really couldn't waste it and took the kids out for an afternoon hike.

Lil Cowboy found a rope and had been lost in the hills and used it to try to rope me.

We found this cool tree stump where two trees had grown together. I thought it so neat.

My son took a look at it and declared "It is interesting what you find interesting."

The kids and Cola agreed it was a great day for a hike.

The plan this week is pretty simple..

• Monday...trail run and a HIIT
• Tuesday..rest day.. maybe yoga
• Wednesday... easy shorter trail run and a HIIT
• Thursday.. Run Turkey Run 5k
• Friday.. easy run depending on how I feel
• Satrday.. run and HIIT
• Sunday.. run and yoga

I love this lack of training plan thing.  I just go run based on what I feel like for the day for the most part.  I do plan in a longer run between 8-10 miles and an easier type run.

Due to my birthday this week Thanksgiving I only have to work one day this week.  Don't I feel spoiled!  Yay!

Soon, like December soon, I will be back on a training plan for a half marathon in March.

First Snowy Run Day and Current Goals

Tuesday was my first snowy run day of the season.  There wasn't all that much snow and it was practically all melted off by the time I was done, but it was beautiful

I wore my holiday tech "sweater" from INKnBURN for a festive feeling run.

By the time I got back to my car the road was muddy!

It's felt great to be in a not training for anything mode. No distances to hit, no times to shoot for just running and enjoying the time outside with my little dog.  I do sort of have goals for right now...

• Crosstraining - I feel like I had been slacking off here.  I have been back to 3-4 times a week of HIIT workouts. I think I had fallen back to like 1 or two a week.
• Yoga - I was really slacking off here.  I am back to once or twice a week
• Running - No worrying about pace or distance just running.  Getting out on trails as much as possible, running more hills, and enjoying the scenery/

My next half marathon will be in March so soon I will be back to training.  I have been regularly doing long runs of 8-9 miles so building the distance won't be the focus as much as building up my speed again. Although I have considered relaxing my speed goals a bit and just enjoying an easier training cycle.

I had to share this photo of my little dog enjoying the view and no doubt wondering where we were running next.

How is your fall training going? Any races coming up? Do you love not being on a training plan sometimes? I do.

Broken Leg

I knew I had to get going for my run yesterday shortly after getting the kids on the bus as the forecast was calling for strong winds close to 11 and continuing throughout the day.   The kids had an atrocious morning getting ready for school and couldn't seem to manage doing anything without fighting.  Lil Cowgirl couldn't find her shoes or her boots and nearly had to get on the bus in her slippers.  I found her boots at the last possible second and she ran out the door in tears clutching them to her chest to get on the bus.

I breathed a deep sigh of relief, posted my sentiments on Facebook

Some mornings I am sooooo happy to see that bus pull up. What was with all the drama this morning, holy moly! To top it off Avery couldn't find her shoes and nearly had to go to school in her slippers, I found her boots at the last possible second. Hope her school day is better then her morning. Now it's off on a trail run for me! Ahhhh, I need it after dealing with two crabby kids the last hour. Cripes they even fought over whether he walked down a hall or by a hall.

and got ready for my run.

I am not training for anything and one of my goals this winter is hills, hills, hills and lots of trails, and not to shy away from harder runs.  I decided to park at shop on the ranch and run up to a pasture we call Broken Leg.  It has breath taking views and crazy hills everywhere.  It's a two mile up hill run from the shop to get to the top of Broken Leg.

Love this picture of Cola. He often runs along side me, looking at me as if to say "isn't this great?"

A great view from the top of Broken Leg on a sunnier day.  Yes that is my favorite running shirt right now.

It has some pretty rough areas that I pretty much had to walk through, but all the cool rocks are fun to explore.  Since I'm not training I confess I pause my Garmin and take my time in these areas.  

There was really no running there unless I wanted to end up with a broken leg like the way the pasture got it's name. There were lots of great running spots like this too though.

It started to rain just as I was starting the 2 miles back down hill to the shop and my car. Brr! and the wind picked up.  But I got in a happy, really tough 9 miles.


Cola loved it too.

and I got this as one of the comments on my Facebook post from my sister

I'm still laughing. We had a huge blowup because Chase was convinced his sister had snuck in the truck and covered his backpack in hay...he'd forgotten throwing it in the back on top of the hay on Friday.

Life is great.

A Decade and Random Things

Thursday the 12th, my husband and I celebrated 10 years of marriage.  Time flies!  I look at this picture and can't get over how young we look.

In other news, the weather has been gorgeous of late and I have been running in tanks and shorts still.

While I was busy running this weekend the kids got to help their dad put in some fence. They sure look enthused don't they?!

One of their jobs is fence post hole tester. Tip (the cat) thought this was a great time for a cuddle.

and to cap off a very busy four days we had our 4-H club acheivement dinner last night.  After two years of being a Cloverbud, Cade was a real member last year and got his sign to prove it!  My kids are in the same 4-H Club I was.

Today is supposed to be cooler and windy, so I will have to break out the tights and long sleeves In fact the forecast for the next 10 days looks a lot cooler than it has been.  I guess it can't stay fall forever.  Although I would be all for it. Best running weather ever this fall. There have been so many awesome running days!

How has your fall running been?