Rendezvous Fun

My kids wait all year for Rendezvous, and it started on Friday when my friend Carrie and I took our kids around to look at all the street vendors. They all found something they couldn't live without, the boys bought spears, and the girls ended up with fans and fur pouches. Saturday morning it was time to run in the ramble, they changed the course this year so it was shorter (this way we didn't have to go up the last, steepest hill), my garmin said 4.66 miles at the finish. This run was so slow for me compared to years past. I keep wanting to run like I did 3-4 years ago, but I don't train as hard as I did then, and running 3 mile runs doesn't cut it. So I have decided to train hard for the 10k this year in September, back to focused speed work and tempo runs. I am going to follow the "own it" plan in Train Like A Mother. I will have 1 more week before it starts, so I am just planning on running 4 times this week. I did 4 miles this morning and it felt good. After running it was time to take my kids to the parade. They decided to be in the pageant this year so they walked in the parade as Indians. That night was the parade, which we lasted about 30 minutes before it started raining. It didn't last long but our clothes were completely soaked so we headed home. The next day was the pageant, which tells the story of the Green River Rendezvous and the people who met in this area to trade. My kids were so excited to be Indians and want to be in the pageant again next year.

Weekend Plans

Over the weekend we went camping with my sister and her family, as well as JR's aunt and uncle. We had a lot of fun playing in the lake and enjoying downtime. I did run 2 times, and it was hot! My sister is doing a relay in August over Teton pass, they were looking for a sub last weekend and I had debated on doing it and just decided it wasn't the right time for me. After running in 60* weather I am thankful I turned her down, because I think 100* weather would kill me! I am definitely a cold weather runner, give me 15* and I am happy. This is why I usually train for a spring race, everyone who runs in heat and humidity (we don't have humidity) is my hero. You are amazing! This weekend is Rendevous for our little town, there will be lots of vendors, a rodeo, parade, and pageant. There is a 5 mile run/walk benefiting a local organization that works with disabled kids and horses. I have a friend who has a son who has participated with this group and he loved it. It is not an easy course, as the first 2.5 is mostly up, then a fast second half as you come back down. I have not been running very much since the half so I am just going to go have fun and enjoy being out with other runners.

Vacation

Wow, summer is flying by! So much has happened since I last blogged I'm not sure where to start. I ran a half marathon, the Yellowstone Half on June 14. I planned on running it for fun, hoping to come in under 2 hours. I knew that we would have to run on a trail for part of it but I still thought I could keep a good pace. We started on a gravel road that was not flat and by mile 2 my knee was hurting, just a constant ache so I knew if I kept it easy I would be fine. Then we hit the 2 track road and the pain moved up my IT band into my hip. I slowed a little but kept running, we stayed on the 2 track for most of the miles with about 3 miles of more techinical trail. It was a beautiful run and I just tried to enjoy it, not worrying about time. The last 2 miles were hard and I just wanted to walk but I didn't. When I came around the corner for the finish J.R. said I was leaning to one side, I didn't believe him until I saw all the pictures and I was leaning a lot! Guess it's a good thing I didn't push the pace! My knee/hip took a few days to feel better but it didn't cause any major injuries. My sister also ran the half with a group of friends. I think we all thought the course was harder then we thought it would be, however if we had trained on trails it would have been fine. It is always fun running in new places, and we didn't see any grizzly bears while running (they did have bear spray at all water stops)!

After the half it was time to start our vacation! We stayed in West Yellostone for a week, visiting Yellowstone throughout. It was a fantastic trip, we ended up seeing 7 grizzly bears, 4 wolves, osprey, bison, elk, and a lot of other animals. I had never seen a grizzly in the wild before and it was as cool as you think it would be. We also visited the bear and wolf refuge in West Yellowstone. Here are our "wolves" in their den, walking down the 300 steps to look at the falls in Grand Canyon, at the bottom.

First Day of Summer Break

My kids finished school yesterday, today we picked up my niece and nephew for the weekend. We didn't even make it out of the driveway before my kids started arguing! Fortunately I had fit in a 4.5 mile run beforehand so I was able to calmly fix the situation. I just hope I can keep them occupied without spending all my time this summer keeping them busy. Now that my niece and nephew are here they are all happy. My kids are now 10 and 7 and my niece, Marlee is 5, and Brekken is 2, so my day changes when they are here. I sometimes forget how much work little ones are, mine are becoming so much more self sufficient. This morning I was able to run without worrying about them, I made a loop around my house so I was able to see them a couple times throughout my run, but I didn't have to be right with them. I will need to fit in a run sometime this weekend, but the rest of the time will be spent enjoying my family. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Running with a Friend

Yesterday was a great day. I had a 10 miler to do and my friend and running partner C joined me. We trained for the marathon together last year but have only done a handful of runs together since. She has only been running 3-4 miles a couple times a month, concentrating more on biking this year. She ran the first 4 miles with me and I didn't want the miles to end. The conversations you have on a run just don't happen as easily when you are doing other things. I have been doing all my runs by myself which I have enjoyed, I didn't realize how much I missed running with C. I am hoping to be able to run with her throughout the summer, we have plans to take the kids to the track. They are old enough now to run or there is a park next to the track, and of course plenty of hikes since she is also my hiking partner! After school my kids did the Hershey's track and field event. They both ran the 50 meter, 100 meter, and standing long jump. Neither one placed top 3 but they had a lot of fun and has spurred them on to do better next year. We started exercising in the morning about 3 weeks ago, (with about a week of when we got a new puppy). They have been loving it and Brooklyn gets right out of bed which is amazing, since all year I have had to drag her out of bed. We started back up this morning, they did a circuit of jumping jacks, dribbling a soccer ball, squats, box jumps and jumping buckets. They had a blast.

Changes

This past year has brought so many changes! I have become a group fitness leader, Insanity instructor, swim instructor, and a lifeguard. I am loving my job and teaching kids to swim has been so much fun. It's amazing to watch the progress that can be done in 8 sessions! I am also teaching Insanity 2 times a week. This has changed my running, and I am enjoying the scheduled cross training. I am currently training for a half marathon and I am only running 3 times a week. In the past I would run 5 days a week and still try to squeeze in cross training, at least until the weekly mileage added up and I would be to tired. Now that summer is finally here (yay 70* days!), gardening and work are keeping me busy. My kids will be out of school next week and my schedule will surely change again! Every summer seems to be better then the last. My half marathon is June 14, and then I will probably scale back running for the summer. I don't have the time or energy to train for a race and keep up with my kids. There will still be some shorter runs but also lots of biking, swimming, and hiking.

Back to Blogging

It has been over a year since I posted last! So much has happened in that time and I wish I had an account of all of it. Every time I thought about blogging I wasn't sure where to start. I have missed blogging though and want to get back into it. I am planning on writing a few times a week. Since I last blogged I have run another marathon, dealt with injury to my knee and am trying to figure out what's next. I ran a marathon in June and started training with so much excitement, however it ended up being one of the hardest training cycles I have gone through. I battled sickness and then my IT band started messing with me which hurt my knee. The marathon itself was great for the first half and the last half I just wanted to be over. I finished but it was way slower then my first. I wasn't able to run this summer and have been trying to strengthen my hips and legs. My knee is much better now, and I have been able to run short runs the last 2 weeks. Running is slow and hard now but I have missed it so much!