Icebreaker 5 Mile Race Review

Finally... I ran in an actual RACE! haha!

It's been ages since I've run in a race. I think my last one was last October when I did a local Bozeman 5K with Jeff and family. That was in my big break from blogging, so there's no review. There just aren't a ton of races near where we live in Montana. But today, I bring you a race review, because I actually did a race! So, sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy this recap of the Icebreaker 5 Mile Race!

Jeff and I had been talking about doing the 5 Mile race at the Icebreaker in Great Falls for a while, and had both been training for it. It was always sort of a loose plan, though. We had just decided that it would be a last minute decision depending on the weather and where we were at with seeding. Basically, if it was raining at home, we could do go down and do the race. When Jeff texted me on Saturday evening (I was on the bus home from Missoula with the track team) saying that he thought we were a go for Icebreaker, I was a little surprised. Honestly, after being gone on a trip with the track team on Friday and Saturday, and getting home at a little after midnight Saturday night, I was ready to bag it and stay home from the Icebreaker. But, I knew that we had been training for this race, and that Jeff really wanted to do it, and I knew I'd feel good about having done it once it was finished. Off we went!

We had planned to pick up our friend and neighbor Brett along the way and carpool, but about four miles from our house, we heard a loud POP and our tire pressure light came on. We had a flat tire! Thankfully, Brett was able to drive up and pick us up. Damned gravel roads!!!

Flat tire. Cue sad trombone music.

We still made it to Great Falls (2.5 hour drive from our house) in plenty of time to register for the race, which Jeff and I still had to do. One great thing about Icebreaker is that it is very economical. It's only $20 (or $22 on race day), which I think is a steal. It's a high quality, well-organized race on a nice course with plenty of support, and you get a really cool long-sleeve t-shirt and a sack lunch afterwards. I think it's a bargain.

The Icebreaker is a very popular race and attracts people from all over the state. This year, the weather was cool and humid, hovering between 45 and 50, with the slightest of drizzles falling at times. I think many fair-weather runners stayed home this year. It seemed overall like the race had fewer participants than in past years when I've done it. However, I've always done the 3-mile, the most popular distance, and this year we did the 5-mile. Icebreaker also offered a 3-mile race and a 1-mile race. Even though it was cool and slightly drizzly, the weather was really pretty ideal for racing this year. Not hot, no glaring sun, and no wind!

With the cool temps, I debated on how to dress. I ended up with knickers (Oiselle KC Knickers), my Oiselle Volee jersey and Oiselle Verra bra, and an old UnderArmor quarter zip. Rounding out my look with my new favorite HankOrange headband. I should seriously do a blog review just on these headbands. I love them! I also wore my Brooks Glycerin shoes, which I absolutely love. In the end, I felt like I had the perfect layers.

Flat Katie.

I spent quite a bit of time warming up, since it was cool, and I know that I perform way better after a solid warmup. I jogged an easy mile in my sweats before ditching them for some dynamic stretching, form running, and short excels. Then it was time to hit the bathroom again before taking to the starting line.  Another great thing about this race is the start at the Civic Center- plenty of access to REAL BATHROOMS before the race gets started!

Great Falls Civic Center, just behind the start line for the race.

Jeff and I started the race together. Our friend Brett is way faster than both of us, so he went up near the front and we found a place in the middle of the pack.

Pre-race photo! Jeff looks great. I look drunk, which I'm not.

We ran a together for a just a little bit before each settling in to our own paces. I wanted to get ahead of some of the pack, so I sped up to get around a few people, but really worked hard to not go out too fast, which is something I've had a problem with in the past. At the end of the first mile, my split was 8:17. Only slightly faster than my overall pace of 8:30, so I was happy with that.

Crowd support at the beginning of the race was pretty good! Also, you can see a lot of people wearing their white, Beat the Chill t-shirts, which was the official race shirt this year. 

The 5-Mile course is really nice. Overall it's flat, and it goes out over the Missouri River across one of the bridges for a short loop on the west side of the river.

Here's an image of the 5-mile route, which I took as a screenshot from my Strava app.

At this point in the course, you get to see the Elites run back toward you on their way back from the lollipop portion of the course. It was really, really cool to see them heading back, and very motivating. I cheered for several of them, and cheered especially hard for Heather Lieberg, a Oiselle-sponsored Elite, as she ran by me. She gave me a slight wave and smile, which made my day!

There's the first-place male Elite.

If you look closely, you can see Heather Lieberg hitting Mile 3 just before I hit Mile 2.
Heather ended up as 2nd place Female.

Mile 2 was 8:31. Mile 3 was 8:26.

Once we headed back across the river, I felt like I was really struggling in mile four. My hip was feeling a bit tight and I was battling a slight sideache. I worked really hard to even out my breathing and coordinate it to my strides, which really helped. I was a little bit off pace but it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Mile 4 was 8:35.

I tried to give a little surge as my fifth mile began, but it didn't last long. I think the long weekend was catching up to me. I really struggled to find anything left in the tank at this point, but managed to hold on to a fairly even pace. Once I turned the last corner and saw the Finish Line (from about half a mile away) I buckled down and pushed it in to the line. Mile 5 was 8:38.

If you squint, you can see the Finish line up there.
You can see it from about half a mile away, which is torture...

When I was thinking about this race, I made myself my usual Good, Better, Best goals. My Good goal was under 46 minutes. My Better goal was under 45, and my Best goal was under 43. I guess you could say I hit my Best goal right on the money- my official finish time was right at 43:00. The race was chip timed, so it should be pretty accurate. I'm really happy with my time overall. I've never raced a 5-Mile before, so it counts as a PR, right!? You can check out full results HERE. In the 5-Mile, I was 9 out of 36 in my age group, 157 out of 411 total runners, and 51 out of 208 females.

I did run with my phone and my Strava app turned on. Strava had my time as 42:48 for an 8:30 average pace. It also told me that I had my best ever 1-Mile time within the race at 8:14, best 2-Mile at 16:47, and best 5K at 26:08. My best overall 5K PR in a race is 26:10, so I feel really good about running at about that same pace within a 5-Mile race. I'm feeling confident about getting a 5K PR sometime this year, and I think this shows that I'm on track to do that.

After the race, we picked up our sack lunches and then hit up a few of our favorite eateries in Great Falls for some post-race refueling and celebratory beers-- Celtic Cowboy and Mighty Mo. Both were excellent, and the perfect way to cap off a great race before getting in the car for the drive home.

Even though I wasn't feeling it before the race, I'm really happy with my time and happy overall that we came down and did it. I'm even more happy for Jeff who had a really good time as well. I'm so proud of his progress and hard work in fitness and running, and I think the race affirmed this for him, too. As he crossed the line, looking strong, he gave me a big fist pump and I knew he was happy. I love that we can do these things together. Racing together is becoming a really nice tradition in our marriage, which I really love.

Because Icebreaker is a big deal in Great Falls, the local news stations where definitely on site. See if you can spot Jeff in this video at about the 00:26 mark:
http://www.krtv.com/story/31803328/runners-compete-in-annual-ice-breaker-road-race

What's next for Jeff and I in the running and racing world? We are talking about coming down to do the Ulm Buffalo Jump Trail 10K on Sunday, May 15. This one has been on my list for a few years now but I haven't had the chance to do it. Again, it will be a last minute decision based on weather and how we are doing with farming and seeding. One week after the Ulm races, on May 22, our local high school Volleyball team is putting on a 5K Color Run in Rudyard as a fundraiser. You KNOW Jeff and I will be hitting that up! Stay tuned for reviews and updates about training and competing in these events!

Anyone else have any spring races penciled in?! 
Did you race over the weekend?

Jeff and I with our finisher ribbons!

Kickin' Assphault 10K

If there are any of you who are just dying to read about the time Jeff and I had in Washington D.C., you'll just have to wait a little longer. I do have those posts in progress in draft form, but I'm still processing the trip in my mind, so I'm not ready to post those yet.

What IS fresh on my mind, however, is the 10K I ran yesterday!! So, you'll get a re-cap of that race instead! I have a lot of thoughts swimming around in my mind for this post, so it could get a little lengthy. If you're not interested in my running "career," you mind find this post less-than-interesting.

First, I should disclose that it technically was not my first 10K. I did run one once before in something like 2007. At that time, I was running a lot, and had thought I might try to train for a triathlon. So, when Midnight Madness came around, which is a very popular summer race event in my hometown, I decided I'd "train" for my triathlon by doing the Midnight Madness bike race, then following it up with a 10K. I did great in the bike race- finishing as the first-place female finisher.

But then there was the 10K.

Let's just say I don't recommend biking a hard bike race, resting minimally, and then attempting one's first 10K. The race was miserable. I walked a ton. I did not respect the distance, which was more than I'd ever run at the time. It was hot. I was tired. I finished with a horrible time, but what's worse is that I felt absolutely awful in body and spirit afterwards. My self-inflicted poor performance in that race caused me to decide on the spot that I'd never attempt anything longer than a 5K again.

Fast forward three moves, one knee surgery, and seven years later to this summer.

Recently, I have been doing many 5Ks and had gotten to the point where I felt like I was ready for the next challenge. I had been dropping tons of time with each race I did, feeling great mentally and physically strong, thanks to lots of effective cross-training. I started looking into upcoming races and thought that it might be time to try a 10K.

The Kickin Assphault 10Kwas appealing for many reasons. It was close to home (Ok, Great Falls is 2.5 hours away, but to me that's close!). I had a feeling the 10K wouldn't be super popular with the Half Marathon distance being the headliner for this event, all the better. Also, I had thought a lot of the Montana running community probably would have done the Bozeman Marathon/Half-Marathon the previous weekend and may not be interested in another big run. I researched the route and it looked great, so there was that. Lastly, an early morning run (7:45 start time) meant less chance of running in the heat.

With a specific race in mind, I decided this time to actually plan out a training schedule for increasing my running distances. If I could start and stick with the first few weeks of the training schedule, I'd go ahead and actually sign up for the race. Needless to say, I did stick with it and ended up increasing my mileage from about 7-10 miles to between 10-14 miles a week, with steadily increasing long runs once a week or so. I took the plunge and finally signed up for the race about three weeks ago.

The afternoon before race day, I drove down to GF and stayed overnight in a hotel, since I wasn't interested in waking up at about 4:00 a.m. and driving down the morning of the race. This worked out well because I had a chance to pick up my race packet the night before, too. Then, I had a great meal at Moonshine Grill (Eggplant Parmesan- yum!) and slept great in the hotel. I woke up Saturday morning feeling fresh, well-rested, and most important- mentally ready.

Race T-shirt and swag from the race, along with my finishers medal.
The shirt is a techincal tee that is HUGE on me. :/ At least the design is cool!

The race was held at the Giant Springs Picnic Area, behind Fish, Wildlife and Parks on Giant Springs Road, and the route followed an asphault (duh!) paved bike/walking path along the Missouri River. Here's a link to a map of the route: Kickin Assphault 10K Route. The weather was cool- in the low 40's at the start of the race. It was also mostly cloudy and, thankfully, not even the slightest bit windy. Truly ideal weather for running.

I spent significant time jogging, dynamic-stretching and overall warming up, since it was cool, and I wanted to be warm and ready for the distance. It was not a big crowd for the race- I'm thinking between 50 and 100 people. At about 7:40 we gathered at the starting area. 7:45 with the sound of a starter's gun, we were off.

For once, I actually paced myself and went out a little slow at the start of the race. Looking back, however, I do wish I had actually gone out faster. I didn't know what kind of hills the course would have in store and the race actually started out with almost a half-mile of downhill. Now I wish I had capitalized on that.

I should have known, having actually done some walking and biking on the trails the race followed before, that there would be some hills, but I didn't think of it. There were about three significant, long, long, never-ending hills to climb throughout the race. I struggled mentally with each one for a while, but willed myself not to walk. My mantra was, "My spirit is stronger than this hill." I also thought a lot about some of the very, very hard situations some of the kids I work with at school endure on a daily basis and reminded myself that running up a few hills is nothing compared to what they deal with. That kept me going, too.

Finish line for the race.
Race was timed with chip timers attached to our shoes that pinged when we crossed the magic carpets at the finish line. Pretty cool. 

When I came to some more level stretches in the race, I alternated some ten-second surges in with some pace running. I know that helped my overall time. I knew my overall average mile pace was slower than I normally run, but I was OK with whatever the results were going to be. I kept thinking throughout the race of my goal-times. I tend to do Good/Better/Best goals for races. For this one, it was Good- 65 minutes or less, Better- 60 minutes or less, and Best- 55 minutes or less.

After climbing and slogging up the last long hill, I knew the finish line was roughly a mile away, and tried to pick up the pace a little bit. The end was near and even though I couldn't see it, I could hear the announcer and I knew I was almost there. The last mile and extra .2 were one of my fastest splits, so motivation to finish definitely worked.

Then, I was there, receiving my finisher's medal, and reeling in the endorphins and pride for having finished the race. It felt so good to be done and to have accomplished finishing the race! I finished in 1:00.04, so pretty much aligned with my "Better" goal. I feel great about the time, especially considering all the hills I hadn't been prepared for. My next 10K, whenever that will be, will be even better! Now I have a time to measure myself against and try to beat.

As usual, representing Team Beef Montana! Felt so good to finish the race.
When's the next 10k??? Sign me up! 

Here are my split times--

Mile 0-1: 8:54.4
Mile 1-2: 8:29.49 / 17:23
Mile 2-3: 10:23 / 27:46
Mile 3-4: 11:16 / 39:02
Mile 4-5: 10:02.07 / 49:04
Mile 5-6: 8:39.25 / 57:43
Mile 6-6.2: 2:20.64 / 1:00:04

I did not stay for the awards or wrap-up ceremony, but as near s I could tell I was the seventh place female finisher overall. I feel good about that. Mostly, I just feel good about doing the race, putting in the time to train, sticking to my plan, and executing on race day.

This was the race tee from the Beat the Deadline 5K, that I had never posted.
It's a cozy, appropriately sized long-sleeve cotton tee. Perfect! 

What's next on my race schedule? The Opera Run in Bozeman on September 27. I'll be doing the 5K distance, and they also offer a 10 mile race. With all the training I've been doing for the 10K, I'm really hoping and going to work for a personal-best time in the 5K over the next few weeks. Wish me luck!

Off To The Rodeo!

Howdy, Folks!  One thing I’ve learned since moving to Montana several years ago is that nothing beats a rodeo on a Saturday night! This past Saturday, that’s just want Jeff and I were off to do, thanks to a lovely Christmas gift of rodeo tickets.  We attended the Montana PRCA Circuit Finals at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.  

Rodeo is deeply rooted in Western tradition of cattle ranching and wrangling. Cowboys depended on roping and riding skills when tending to their herds.  Even though modern technology has greatly reduced the need for some of these traditional cowboy skills, some ranchers still rope and ride to this day.  On our ranch, the only “riding” we do is on four-wheelers and in pickups, and while I’m doubtful that Four-Wheeler Calf-Wrangling will make a rodeo debut any time soon, it’s still enjoyable to take in a rodeo and relish in this great Western tradition.

Events featured at the rodeo included: Saddle Bronc Riding, Bareback Bronc Riding, Tie-Down Roping, Team Roping, Steer Wrestling, Barrel Racing, and Bullriding.  The bull and bronc riding events are always dynamic and exciting, but I also like Barrel Racing as the only women’s rodeo event, and Tie-Down Roping. 

Here’s a really nice photo essay of the rodeo from the Great Falls Tribune—check it out!

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014140113003&nclick_check=1

I like Tie-Down Roping because it is a great combination of strength, skill, and animal handling. The cowboy must ride in on his horse and leaves the chute at the same time as the calf he is to rope leaves an adjacent chute. He must lasso the calf while riding his horse, then jump off the horse, wrestle the calf onto it’s back and tie three of it’s feet together.  The cowboy uses a separate rope to tie the feet from the lasso he uses to still the calf in the first place—the lasso is attached to the saddle on the horse. So, when the cowboy jumps off the horse to tie the calf’s feet, the trained horse will actually take slow steps backward to keep the lasso rope taut, which keeps the calf in one spot so the cowboy can complete his job. It’s a little difficult to explain, but I am always so impressed by the skill of the horses in this event and the training that must have gone into getting them to be competition-ready.

Why would this skill be useful on a ranch?  In this case, it seems like if your cattle and calves were in an open range or pasture situation, a cowboy could use this skill to isolate a specific calf if that calf needed some sort of individual attention, such as medication.  I find this rodeo event to be a useful, elegant, and efficient skill if one were proficient. It can take considerable time to round up a single calf at pasture using just a four-wheeler. 

Rodeos are always fun, and while this was not my first rodeo (hardee har har har!), it was the biggest and one of the most entertaining rodeos I have attended.  Other rodeos I have attended in Montana were small-town summer rodeos, which are delightful in their own way, and the annual Montana State University Rodeo. The latter was enjoyable because it was a competition between some of the schools and universities in the area, and I can always get behind the Bobcats.  Most of all, rodeo is best enjoyed when attended with family and friends. I had a great time attending with Jeff—it actually was our first rodeo together, and I’m sure it wasn’t the last!

Here's some photos I took from the rodeo, which are much less professional than the ones in the Tribune essay from above, but still kind of fun. 

Steers awaiting the roping events. 

Bronc riding.

More bronc riding.

Team roping in action.

Rodeo clown (in barrel) and dummy Homer Simpson propped up by a broom, awaiting the bullriding.

Cowboys waiting to ride bulls and others prepare to open the gate...

The gate is opened while the men get out of the way in preparation for the ride!

And that's what bullriding looks like! Trust me, it's much, much more exciting in person!

Lemonade, Baby Goats, and Hillbilly Music!

Lemonade....

 

How do they get them so shiny?

 

Baby Goats...

 

Who wants to buy a goat?!

 

 

Hillbilly Music...

 

 

 

Rhinestones...

 

 

What do these three things have in common?  They can all be found at the Montana State Fair!

Just look at all that Carney Food!

And So Can...

Cowboy Boots...

Yep. Those are mine.
Turns out taking a photo of your own boots while you're wearing them is not very flattering.

Art Deco...

A lot of their buildings are in this great Art Deco style! So cool!

 

and... Rednecks!

 

 

That's right, guys! I took my very first trip to the Montana State Fair last weekend! We didn't get a ton of time at the fair, which is held in Great Falls, since we were actually supposed to be getting ready for harvest, but I was glad we went.  I had some delicious fair food including fresh squeezed lemonade, a funnel cake, and a yummy teriyaki bowl. 

 

Giant pretzel, anyone?

This is what I actually had for dinner.
These guys were from Thompson Falls, MT. So yummy!

 Jeff and I also walked through the livestock barns. The day we were there was only the second day of the fair, so some of the animals we would have been more interested in (cows, horses) were not there yet.  But, we did spend some time checking out the goats!  They were awesome!  This is the mama goat to the babies in the earlier photo. If I remember right, they were Nigerian goats.  Any goat people out there want to correct me on the breed? They were pretty cute. 

Where are your kids, lady?
Hahaha I crack myself up!

The main reason we went to the fair was so we could go to the concert that night-- Dwight Yoakam. Since moving to the West in 2007, I have fully embraced Country Music.  I mean, if we're being honest, there's at least two Country radio stations to every one of anything else, so it was inevitable. Plus, there's something comforting about learning a song very quickly and being able to sing along. 

 

This year's concert lineup, listed on a sandwich board.
Mmm... sandwiches...

It really doesn't get any more Country than Dwight Yoakam, folks. He's got a great twang, almost a yodel-y aspect to his vocal style and the songs are about real people and real problems. Guitar heavy, lots of vamping... Just wonderful. The classics like "Guitars, Cadillacs," and "Bakersfield" can't be beat. He also played a number of songs off his newest album, which I love and would highly recommend.  And, they wore rhinestone jackets! RHINESTONES!  It was a great show and I'm glad we went down for it.

I also want to say a quick Thanks to everyone who keeps reading my blog! I know some posts are not as good as others, but there are also those posts that everyone clearly enjoys very much.  My
PREVIOUS POST about rattlesnakes jumped up to the third most popular post I've ever written!  Thanks for continuing to read and share my blog.  If you keep reading, I'll keep writing!