A Miserable Sixteen

This week in training I had to run 16 miles. Will dropped me off 16 miles outside of town and I ran back. I was feeling pretty good up until the one hour and forty five minute mark, then I just crumbled. Will met me at mile 12 and ran the last 4 with me and had to put up with my crying (literally, I was weeping). It was by far the hardest run I have ever done.

I knew it was going to be a rough run because I started late (9:30 am), I woke up with knots in my calves from backpacking, and I did not get much sleep this weekend. I think this is the part of training where one realizes they are absolutely nuts for wanting to run a marathon. Well at least I feel that way.

I decided to ice my feet and knees because they always seem to hurt the most. The feet ice bath felt not so great, but hopefully it will help me to walk tomorrow.

Even though it took me a billion hours, I can now say I have run 16 miles.

We are off to eat at a Chinese buffet. Being able to eat whatever I want is one of the best things about training for a marathon.

Just in case there was a bear...

Will found this video a while back and we often exchange quotes from its ridiculousness. I am usually not a fan of watching videos other people post, but this is great.



So basically Will and I decided we would just take his advice and fight off a bear by saying, "Get away from here! I say, get! get!"

Back Packing

We successfully went on our first backpacking trip. I really like being able to go out into the wilderness on a whim. I have grown to not so much dread camping in the mountains (it is freaking cold up there), but get a teeny bit happy about it (the sleeping pad Will bought me plays a huge factor in this). Yet, there is always a brief moment of panic about an hour after we are snug in our mummy bags, and I think, "what about the bears?" Luckily, no bears last night!

On our way up to the lake... Everyone kept commenting on how "hard" Aspen was working with her pack on. She was carrying a cup of her food and a pair of sandals. So really, she was only working hard at looking cute.




Finally, me made it!The hike was 5.5 miles. The picture on the left is the view from our tent.



On our way back home. We had to cross several waterfalls and creeks. Overall, it was just gorgeous and I achieved my "adventurous badge" for the weekend.

The trip apparently kicked Aspen's butt because she has been sleeping since we got home. I like to think its because she was up all night standing guard.

Five Things on Friday

1. My watch is about ten minutes too slow. It seems to get increasingly slower each month, strange. This really bothers Will and he insists I should set it on the correct time, which makes sense. My hesitation is that I have grown accustomed to adjusting to calculating the right time whenever I glance down at my watch. This is great at work. I see my watch says it is 1:09, but wait, it is really 1:19 and I will be off in ten minutes. I am pretty sure time goes faster this way.

2. Witnessing a three year old nursing while I am talking to the mother makes me really uncomfortable.

3. My housemates who live across of the hall have picked up singing. It seems they enjoy belting out songs for five hours at a time. They literally sound like screeching hyenas. Will gets embarrassed when I try to sing back to them to give them a taste of their own medicine, he is the polite one.

4. This photo makes me laugh. If you look hard you can see Aspen staring down the cat. It is also funny because Will does not like cats, yet they always make their way into his lap.

5. We are going camping tonight. We are hiking up five miles to some lake on a mountain, camping, and then hiking up the rest of the way to the peak tomorrow. I get to use my backpack Will bought me for the first time. I am sure I will take lots of awesome photos of it.

Well I am off to pack my pack, ha. Have a good one!

High Waisted

One more post for today because I will probably be exhausted tomorrow. I will be at the track at 6 tomorrow morning to run 800's. Brings back such sweet memories, you agree Claire? They say speed work will really be beneficial come marathon time, but I still feel rather nauseous just thinking about it.

As many have observed, high waisted attire is quite in style. However, most fashion trends are set for women by women, and men often struggle to understand the appeal. I have attempted to pull of this look by wearing a skirt my mom made a little higher than my waist line, but Will only attempts to pull it back down. He wanted to show me how silly I looked by pulling his pants higher than normal. Here is the result...

Bozeman Bucks

Have you heard of them? Ya, well I had not either until we went to their game on Tuesday. The team consists of boys that look about Sophomores in high school, and weigh a total of 180 pounds. We got more enjoyment out of watching all the moms and their teeny bopper outfit selections. I wanted to tell them, seriously, cubic zirconium sparkles are not necessary on every item you own.

We took only a few pictures. Me with my Root Beer (it is a rarity to find Dr. Pepper here) and microwaved popped popcorn. I took a picture of the field because it still amazes me that those mountains are the back drop of our life here. You can see them from literally every part of town. I wish I could emphasize to the kids how lucky they are to be raised in an environment that consists of things other than concrete.