Sage Burner - Can I do it?

I have been training to run the Sage Burner at the end of May.  This is a 25K trail run where the first 3 miles is all UPHILL and it is a long and tough uphill. 

Yesterday I headed out to do about 14 miles of this race as a test run.  I wanted to bail the first 4.5 miles.  I was so ready to turn around and head back.  It was also hot outside.  I know I should not complain about the heat because in Gunny hot is 70 or 75.  But I was in the desert and sage brush so it seemed much hotter than it actually was.  I was glad when the clouds moved in.

At one point I took a cutoff because I did not want to do the entire 15.5 mile run.  I was walking up just about every single uphill, no matter how small, on the downhills at the end my knee was bothering me and I kept thinking am I really up for this??? 

I have also found out that the race is closer to 17 miles not 15.5.  If I knew for a fact that this race was 15.5 miles I would be ready for it - it would be long and hard but I could handle it - but 17?!  I just don't know.

This was also the longest, and slowest run I have ever done.  12.43 miles in 2 hours and 55 minutes at a pace of 14:04.


For the last three weekends I have done long, hard trail runs so maybe I am burnt out and need a week off.  I want to take a few days off and then head back out to Hartman's and do the first couple of miles again and see how it goes.  If it is easier I will fill better about the whole thing.

Signal Peak Trail Run

Last weekend I ran to Signal Peak and back.  Signal Peak is accessed by the trail system behind Western State College or you can also access it from the Tomichi Heights subdivision east of town.  I have lived in Gunnison for almost 14 years and I have never made it to Signal Peak but I have always wanted to. 

Most of the run was pretty easy with a slow and steady uphill until the last 3/4 of a mile.  At this point the trail was going straight up and it was too steep to run and so I was hiking at this point.

It was wonderful to stand on top and say "I DID IT!"  It was awesome.  The total run was 11.70 miles and took me about 2 and a half hours.  I felt great at the end and I loved every minute of the run mostly because the weather was so nice and this was the first warm /hot run of the season.

New Layout

Do you like the new layout?  Do you like the colors?  I was playing around with the layout today and thought I could use a change since I have had the same layout since I started this blog over 5 YEARS ago.  Let me know what you think.

Best Brownies EVER

I forgot to post the links to the best brownie recipe.  Click here to head over to my food blog to find out more.

April Miles

My goal for the month of April was to do 60 miles. Well, I came up short and did 45.6 miles.  This month I have the same goal but I am pretty sure I will be able to run 60 miles because I have a 25K (15.5 mile) race at the end of May and I need to get in a 10 to 11 mile and a 12 to 13 mile long run before the race.  With those 3 runs I will hit 37 miles easy.

Now that May is here the weather is getting nicer outside so hopefully, keep your fingers crossed, no more running in the snow!

Awesome Giveaway

Head on over to Tall Mom on the Run and check out the awesome giveaway she is hosting.  I could REALLY, REALLY, REALLY use some of this stuff.

Food Blog

I just posted some great recipes on my food blog - Farmer's Cheese and Yogurt and Spelt Crackers. 

Tomorrow I am posting on my food blog about some AMAZING brownies I made.  They are truly the best brownies EVER!

Ipod Runner

For years now I have always run with my Ipod.  If for some reason I left it at home or the battery was dead that run would be awful.  Lately though I have been leaving it at home more and more often and the thing is, is that I am enjoying my runs more and since I am actively thinking about my run I am pushing myself to run faster than usual.

So, do you run with or without an Ipod?

10K Sage Grouse Race

10K race turned into a 7 mile race.  This race was TOUGH.  It was so windy it was almost pushing me backwards at times.  I tried to beat my sister's time but it was too windy to consider that.  Her race was also fairy flat and my was hilly. 

Another thing, how many of you have ever ran a race that was what it was suppose to be in length?  I can understand a race going a little over the distance it is suppose to be but come on - this 10K was almost an extra 3/4 of a mile!  All of the races I have ever done have been a little bit longer than they were suppose to be  - never have they been shorter.  I wonder if my sister's race was shorter than a 10K - I just say this b/c I know what her pace is and it is not 9:40. - Sorry Sara.  But for now I will just suck it up and admit that she is faster than me.

My overall time for the 7 miles was 1 hour and 14 minutes - an average pace of 10:40ish.  For me, especially with the wind, that was pretty darn good.

Updated - March Running Miles - CHALLENGE

Yesterday as I did my post and realized that I needed less than 2.5 miles to hit 50 I decided that I HAD to hit 50 for March.  So after work I did another 2.5 miles.  The last mile was the best mile I have ever run because Mikayla did it with me!  I picked her up from dance and asked if she wanted to run 1 mile with me and she was up for it.  Our pace the last mile was between 11 and 12 minute mile with only walking a very little bit.  I am so proud of her!

So my running totals for March are 50.15 and April I am challenging myself to run 60 miles.  Anyone care to join me?

93 Miles in March - Did I do it?

Tall Mom challenged her readers to run 93 miles in March or 3 miles per day. I knew that I would not hit 93 but I was thinking I could do 50 or 60 miles. On her site she allows us to count running, walking, swimming or biking miles. For biking miles you convert it to running miles so it takes me about 5 minutes to bike 1 mile and 10 minutes to run 1 mile so 2 biking miles = 1 running mile.

I ran 47.65 miles in March. Man - I wish I would have looked at this before I went to lunch today. I did not feel like running but if I knew I was this close to 50 I would have made it happen.

My total miles (counting walking and biking) for March are 70.60 miles. I though this would have been closer to the 93 miles.

I am going to challenge myself to run 60 miles in April and have a total number of miles of 80. I enjoyed this challenge because it was not as overwhelming as it could have been.

Running

I am slowly getting back into running but I am just not loving it the way I use to. I really think my problem is that I am already tired of running the same old streets that I have been running for years. Also, I am not training or focusing on anything. I am anxiously waiting for the trails around Gunny to melt so that I can start trail running again.

The Sage Burner is a 25K or 15.5 mile race at Hartman Rocks that I am thinking about training for. I thought about doing this last year but running at Hartman's is tough because it is a lot more uphill than you think it is. I think if I start focusing on that it might give me the boost I need.

My only concern with running the Sage Burner (other than the hills) is that it is a cupless race and I will need a good running camel back. In the past I have used the same camel back for running that I use for mountain biking and I hate it. It is heavy, big and rubs on my arms.

93 Miles in March?!?!?!

Tall Mom hit me with a March challange to run 93 Miles this month or 3 miles a day. Of course I signed up. I can count my walking and biking miles and since the weather is getting nicer (bearing any snow storms of course) I should be able to do this. Running 93 miles this month will be difficult but maybe 50? My back is better, my foot is better - maybe this is the challenge I need to get back on track. But it is also March 2nd and so far I am behind by 1.5 miles.

Silly Lily

In our house Lily is often called "Silly Lily." She will even call herself that. The other night I put her PJ's on for bedtime and she said that she wanted to be a princess when she woke up but she couldn't because I took off her princess stickers. So I said "How about you wear your princess nightgown to bed so in the morning she will be a princess?" She agreed to this so she went to bed in her PJ's and her princess nightgown on top.

When she woke up in the morning she said she did not have her princess wings on but she wanted to wear her bumblebee costume. That was also my day off and I thought she looked so cute I never even bothered to dress here. We went to Mikayla's school, the library, grocery store and Dad's work dressed like this:

I know - too many pictures - but she is too cute!

Talented Mikayla

Mikayla decided she wanted to audition for the talent show this year. Remember she is only in kindergarten. Joe and I were not sure what her talent was but after talking about it we decided she should memorize two very short poems.

Mikayla made the talent show and went to practice every day. She worked very hard on her poems. We video taped her preformance and here it is on youtube. You have to watch the youtube video because it is so cute. I am so proud of her and I can only image what will happen next year!

She is always making silly faces for the camera.

What Have I Been Doing???

It has been a little while since I blogged so I figured I would update you on what has been going on with me.

Running - I have been trying super hard to get back to running but it is a slow process. My foot is much better - YEA! But now my back is acting up. I feel like I am complaining and my boyd is falling apart which is not me but that is what is happening. My hips have decided that they don't want to sit right and keep going out. On Monday I had a great run and workout and then I spent the evening on the couch. But my hips are back in so I am going for a run on Friday and we will see how it goes.

Mikayla - Mikayla is going to be in the talent show. She is going to recite some poems. She has her poems memorized and has been going to practice. The talent show is on Friday and I am so excited for her. She is not worried at all. She is my social butterfly and makes friends everywhere she goes.

Lily - Lily is doing great and is so funny. She was looking at a magazine the other day and said that is a shark. I corrected her and said it was a dolphin. She said "dolphins have big tongues and otters have litte ones"!

Work - work is work. I am now tutoring two 5th graders in addition to working full time. I love these kids - they are so much fun. When I teach I remember why I wanted to be a teacher - I just wish I was using my degree.

Weather - It is starting to get warm outside. I love 30 degrees so much. It is much better than -20! I am going to either walk or go for a bike ride at lunch today.

1000 miles in 2011 - I am counting my biking miles, walking and running miles. I am still behind but I know as soon as I am really running those miles will pick up.

What is going on with you guys?

Online Cooking Classes

As I mentioned a few days ago I am helping my friend Jen with her website, nourishedkitchen.com. Have you taken the time to check out her site yet? It really is amazing. I just love how she has grown her site from nothing into what it is today.

Jen is offering online cooking classes. They are pre-recorded sessions and you can watch each class as many times as you want and for as long as you want. This set of cooking classses is titled: Get Cultured! How to Ferment Anything: The Full & Complete Guide to Preparing Probiotic, Enzyme-rich Fermented Foods in Your Kitchen.

Not only will you get her cooking classes but you will also get over 50 video tutorials, 100 recipes and the 36 page e-book Get Cultured: Probiotic Recipe from the Nourished Kitchen.

Here is the link to check it out: Nourished Kitchen ecourse. Here is a link for detailed lesson plans.

Give Every Day

Stephanie, over at Metropolitan Mama, and her husband and two beautiful girls have sold all of their belongings, rented out their house, bought a 5th Wheel and a truck to pull it and for a year they are going to travel the country by Giving Every Day. Stephanie and her family left last Saturday and started their journey. Unfortunately their journey has started off very rough with their truck needing a new transmission. Take a few moments to check out their blog at Give Every Day. You will enjoy following this family for the next year.

Nourished Kitchen

I am helping my friend out with her blog/website. Jen has grown nourishedkitchen.com from nothing into a huge website with over 8,000 daily RSS subscribers, 11,000 newsletter subscription and over 13,000 facebook fans.

In addition to her blog she does monthly meal plan subscriptions, online classes and she has spoken as the Wise Traditions conference, and been featured in the Washington Post, CNN.com, Denver Post, WebMD, and much more.

Jen is the one who got me blogging over 5 years ago! Take a minute to check out her site and let me know what you think.

Lily turns 3

My baby is now 3 years old! Where did the time go? I know all moms out there say that but really where did it go? Lily started out being my difficult child that just wanted to make my life and my husband's life awful but now she has turned into this wonderful, funny, little girl who loves to play with her babies, do puzzles, read books and cuddle. I love cuddle time!

If I was a good mom I would have had the camera out last night but I didn't - bad mom, bad mom! She was pretty cute too last night. I came home from work and she was wearing one of her dresses, then a pair of pink sweat pants that were way too big and finally her tinkerbell custom. Well you will just have to image it.

Lily - Hours old

Lily - on her way home from the hospital - less than 12 hours old.

Lily - 6 months old

Lily - 1 year old

Lily - 1ish years old

Lily turning 2

Lily age 3 (or one month before)