Back in the land of the living... and running...

Turns out running in Montana = not so easy. Or maybe it's just running at 8AM. Or maybe it's just running on gravel? Or maybe running while your back is hurting? Heck. Maybe it's just running at all! For me, certainly, my one (and only) attempt at running while in Montana ended in a twisted, mangled, crashing ball of flames. I packed it in after a mere 1/2 mile. It was hot. My back was hurting. It was all downhill from there, really. I did get one short hike in, as well, but honestly... does that really even count? I think not. Boooo me. I slacked off a bit.

I had a great time in Montana, though. I did lots of fishing and relaxing and chitty-chatting with SoxFan and his dad. I spent lots of time throwing the ball for Ini and Misha, the dogbeasts. One night we went on a really awesome sunset sailboat cruise on Flathead Lake, and I even managed to avoid puking! I was so very proud. The whole week was relaxing and quiet and exactly what I was looking for. I got plenty of sleep and had lots of good food (including a cookie or two and some home-made ice-cream...yum).

Now, I'm back in the land of the working world, and I actually have to get up at a responsible hour again. It's really a bummer. But Tux, my cat, sure is glad I'm finally home. She spent far too many days alone in the house (many thanks to LaCrosse Man for coming by to check on her and make sure she didn't starve), so now she's me-ow-ing non-stop!

What is not a bummer, however, is that NewMama's baby is now walking! It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. If you get a chance, go visit DigitalBoy's blog and watch the video. She's just the most adorable thing you've ever seen.

This weekend, I'm planning on a 4 mile run on Saturday somewhere down in Denver. There are no races available in the Denver area this weekend, but I'm planning on running a 10K soon, so I need to get back out there. I hope you've all had more successful running weeks than I have.

Does a bear run in the woods?

Well, it's Day 3 in Montana, and still no running to report. I had planned to get a run in this morning, but after staying up toooo late with SoxFan and his dad last night, I overslept. I hope to rise early enough in the morning to do a quick 3 miles, however. I've scoped out a route from SoxFan's parents' house, and it's effectively a trail run. Except that it's on a road. So the only "trail" part of it is that it's not paved. And it's through the woods. We'll see how it goes.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures yet to share, but I can tell you that yesterday we all spent the day at Glacier National Park, which was tons of fun. I took loads of digital pictures and I even spent some time with the ol' 35mm as well (these will obviously be screened by NewMama before they're posted here). It was a very long day, but it was a lot of fun.

Today we went fly fishing at Martin Lake. SoxFan's dad caught one Cutthroat Trout, but SoxFan and I got skunked. It was a really fun day, though, because I got to float in the pontoon boat while the others were in their float-tubes. At first I was terrified, then I sort of got the hang of the whole paddling aspect and it was great fun. Still, it would have been nice to catch one fish.... ah well... maybe tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a pleasant holiday weekend! I'll report back soon with pictures and running splits.

Does my butt look like meatloaf?

Dilemma.

So last year I did the "Evergreen Town Race", aptly named because it is in the town of Evergreen, CO. This event is a 5K/10K. It is all downhill.

I know what you're probably thinking: "All downhill? Piece of cake!" But, not really. It's more like "All downhill? Piece of knee/back pain the likes of which will make you want to hang up your running shoes forever."

Now for the dilemma: I am planning to run the Denver 1/2 marathon in October. I just did a 5 mile race. Therefore, I should probably shoot for a 10K as my next event. And, though there are about a zillion 5K races between now and October, unless you want to run the race tomorrow, or on some ridiculous mountain trail, there aren't too many 10K offerings. So, it seems I may run the Evergreen Town Race again, just to get the 10K experience.

And in lieu of a formal training plan, I've just decided that I should probably try to run a 10K race and a 10 mile race at some point between now and the 1/2 marathon. Maybe I'm going about this all wrong? Seeing it all in print like this makes me worry that I'm setting myself up for failure (or injury) with a very loosely defined training schedule. Jeesh... Because I sometimes run on the dreadmill, I don't even keep track of how many miles I'm running per week! This is very unlike me. I must build a spreadsheet to keep track of this important data. I must develop a real plan.

On to other things...

Now that I've done the post-NYC laundry, I'm re-packing my suitcase this evening for another vacation! Tomorrow morning, SoxFan and I head out on a road trip to his native Montana. Unlike the trip to NYC, this trip should be very laid-back and relaxing. But like the trip to NYC, I expect it will be a lot of fun. I have a few other expectations for the trip to Montana, as well.

This trip should be:

1. Much less expensive than the trip to NYC - No hostels/restaurants to pay for, no expensive museums or broadway shows for which to purchase tickets.
2. Much cooler (temperature-wise) than the trip to NYC - Luckily, the climate in Montana is more similar to Colorado than it is to NYC. Therefore, everything we do outdoors (read: everything we do) will be minus the layer of sweat that we carried all around NYC.
3. Much more conducive to running - This is really only true because I expect to have a bit of free time in Montana, which I certainly did not have in NYC. I hope to get in a few good runs while I'm there, provided that I can find my way around in the wilderness without being eaten by bears.
4. Much more conducive to dieting - I haven't really brought this up a lot because... well, I'm not proud of myself for it.... but when we were in NY, I totally fell off the weight watchers wagon. I mean, seriously... I had pizza (fantastic NYC pizza, but pizza nonetheless), I had hot dogs (from street vendors, because they were cheap), I had hot pretzels (again, with the street vendors), I had delicious deli sandwiches... During the bike tour, we stopped at a Polish restaurant, and I ordered meatloaf. And this wasn't your momma's ordinary meatloaf. I swear to you it had been deep fried. Needless to say, I went a bit overboard, even though I had sort of planned to allow myself a few culinary indulgences while on the trip. This trip to Montana, however, is much more similar to my ordinary life and my ordinary routine, and therefore I expect to stay on plan.

We're driving to Montana tomorrow and Saturday, so I hope to be able to post again early next week. I'll be taking my camera and my garmin (and perhaps even my fuel belt) along, obviously. I hope you all have a pleasant 4th of July weekend! Be safe out there.