Tri Tuesday~ FOUR WEEKS until MTWomensTri!

You guys... it's only ONE MONTH until my Triathlon!!! I'm already getting excited and NERVOUS! But, I continue have solid training and to stick to my plan, and that is definitely building confidence. Read on!

www.Mtwomenstri.com

Training
As far as training goes, I have been really good about sticking to my training plan. I've been doing one swim per week and one brick of bike/run, in addition to just running and just biking. I've definitely noticed myself feeling pretty tired in general, and I'm attributing that to just the overall load of training. With a few races in the mix over the past few weeks, including a 10K and a 5K, that has caused me to make a few adaptations as well, and probably contributed to the overall feeling of fatigue. I don't think what I'm doing compares apples to apples with half marathon or full marathon training, but I imagine the feeling of tiredness/fatigue is similar to what you'd get if you were training for a big race like that.

The bike/run workouts continue to be a the most challenging, yet the biggest confidence booster toward my overall training. I've got some doozies left yet in my schedule, so I know I'll be prepared well on race day.

My toughest workout so far was a brick where I did a twelve mile ride followed by a two mile run. The ride was very challenging. Remember that I do all my rides on gravel roads on a mountain bike. The route I had planned included a one mile section that I thought had a trail, but turns out, it did not. So even though it was only one mile, powering through clumpy grass was very tiring. The route also had a lot of hills and loose rocks, and on that day it was pretty windy. Normally, I do 12 miles on flat road in just under an hour, but this took me almost an hour and a half! I was exhausted for the start of my two mile run, which felt like about six miles! ha! I was very thankful for my hydration and fuel during this workout, which you can read more about later!

Gear
Last time I wrote a Tri Tuesday post, I had given myself an assignment to buy a 5-gallon bucket, and a bike helmet. Well, I did both! Hooray! I will be using the bucket in my transition area, as suggested on the Montana Women's Triathlon website. It was inexpensive at about $5 from the local farm and feed supply store. Way cheaper than a fancy triathlon bag. And, when I'm not doing a triathlon, I can use it on the farm! lol

I also bought a bike helmet. I didn't get the cheapest one that Scheels had to offer, but not the most expensive one, either. I felt a little out of my element trying to pick one out. I really wasn't sure how they were supposed to fit, and felt like I was in between sizes. I went with the larger size of the women's specific helmet and was able to tighten it up to fit my noggin. It's comfortable overall, and when I ride, I forget that I'm wearing it, so that's good. The only thing I don't like is that I have to adjust where I sit my ponytail to be able to fit with the helmet. Annoying, but only a minor inconvenience.

Fuel and Hydration
Something I've been aiming toward working on for weeks, and finally got to in the past week or two. I had a scary moment and learned the hard way after Governor's Cup that I'm not superhuman and need to be smart about fueling and hydration. I barely had anything after that race, and became extremely dehydrated later in the day, to the point where I had vertigo and nausea, and even threw up several times, on the way home from Helena. Stupid, and probably could have been avoided.

Since then, I've been much more deliberate about staying hydrated and fueling for long workouts, and even shorter runs. What I've been using and really liking is Nuun and Honey Stinger products. I also read a great tip on a Dietition/Runner blog that I follow, Fannetastic Food, about a natural fuel source for running. She likes to use dates or figs rolled in sea salt for a pick me up on long training runs. I like dried apricots better, so I am experimenting with that. So far, I've been very happy with these products, and I've been able to score some very good sales and discounts on ordering both Nuun and Honey Stinger.




On that tough 12 mile bike ride/brick workout I mentioned, I made sure to plan out my hydration and fuel so that I'd stay strong through the workout. My strategy was 5-6 swallows of Nuun (tropical flavor!) as I get on the bike, then drink every four miles. Fuel strategy was have a snack at six miles and then at twelve as I transitioned to run. I ate salted apricot pieces and one or two Honey Stinger gummies. I felt like it did make a difference in my energy level, and I noticed after I finished the workout that I didn't feel as dead as I thought I might.

New-to-me Swimming Pool and Clothing Choices
I also had my first pool/bike combo workout last week. For this one, I tried out the Chester swimming pool, an outdoor pool. Chester is a little closer to my house than Havre and I thought it would just work better to bike in this town than around Havre. I was really impressed with their pool- it's pretty new and just overall better than I expected for a small town pool. Plus, I had lap swim all to myself, which was kind of nice!

For the bike portion of the workout, I just left from the pool and went for about forty minutes. I didn't rush through my "transition," just wanted to see what it was like for the first time through without any added stress of trying to be fast.

The biggest test for this whole workout was actually my clothing choices. For the first time in my life, I swam in shorts and a sports bra. My tri shorts, which I've written about before, were excellent. I also wore my Oiselle Runway Sports Bra, which also performed very well in the water. Both pieces dried out quickly on the bike ride, and by the time I was done, there wasn't a drop of moisture left. Perfect. You can see in the picture that I also threw on a tank top for the ride- Oiselle O Snap top. So soft. Loved it. :) I was really, really happy with the way everything worked out-- this whole ensemble will likely be my raceday combo.

Budget
I have done a bit more spending over the past two weeks. The helmet was $40, the bucket was $5, and I spent about $40 total on Honey Stinger and Nuun (but bought enough to last for well beyond the triathlon!). My total has now reached about $435. It's adding up, even with offsetting some of the purchases with sales of old workout clothes. Time to sell more stuff!

Stay tuned for next week's Tri Tuesday post! I'm in the midst of my biggest two weeks of training. :)

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!

Weekly Review March 27 - April 2

Another busy week in review comin' at ya here on the Prairie Sun Life! Read on to see how the week went in fitness, farm, and life! 

A view of Sage Creek from our pasture.

Fitness
In addition to continuing Shape Up Montana, I also kicked off two new April fitness challenges on April 1. You can read about them in this PREVIOUS POST, but just to sum it up, they are the Million Mile Month challenge and the #OiselleFullHalf challenge. For Million Mile Month (MMM) I pledged to run 50 miles in April. For #OiselleFullHalf, my goal is to run 13 different runs or treadmill workouts in April. I had two days this past week where I woke up early to get my runs in on the treadmill before school. Not my favorite, but sometimes it just has to be that way.

Also, the weather has been nice lately, and Jeff and I were able to fit in a long bike ride on Easter Sunday-16 miles. My longest ride ever on a mountain bike. I was tired at the end, but it felt good.

Here's a screenshot of my route from Strava.

I'm also fitting in slightly more yoga lately, as I've been leading more sessions myself! I lead a brief 15 minute after-lunch yoga session for students every Tuesday at the Elementary School, and we've been incorporating yoga into our Track workouts (I'm a coach on the local high school team) at least once a week. I find that I really enjoy sharing yoga with others, and the kids are really liking it, too!

Here's how the week went:
Sunday- 16 mile mountain bike ride, 3 mile walk in town
Monday- complete rest.
Tuesday- 45 minutes yoga
Wednesday- 3.1 mile treadmill run before school. That 5:15 alarm is harsh!
Thursday- 15 minutes yoga
Friday- 2.8 mile treadmill run before school.
Saturday- 2 mile walk with dogs

Kicking off my April challenges! 

And, here are the Year to Date Stats:
Running: 137.7 miles
Walking/Hiking: 37.2 miles
Yoga: 655 min 
CC-Ski: 500 min / 14.1 miles *Done for the season
Alpine Ski: 3 days *Done for the season
Mountain bike: 26 miles WOOHOO! Movin' on up! 

Farm
We are really starting to transition from calving season into the beginning of Spring farming and seeding. The cows are still up in the corral area- not out to pasture yet- and we have about eight more animals that still need to calve. We continue to feed hay bales every day, but the calving has slowed down enough that we thankfully don't need to walk through and check them so often. So, my morning cow checks are done for the year.

Jeff spent some time on the disc last week to prepare our newly tilled organic farm ground for seeding later this spring. The disc is an implement that is pulled by a tractor and works to break up ground. We have some newly leased farm ground that we have decided to farm organically, and we're really excited about the new challenge and opportunity that will bring. Jeff and Tom also spent some time preparing the sprayer (sprayer only to be used on non-organic, or "conventional" fields!) and other implements for spring work. We will likely start seeding peas first, probably later on this week. This year, we are again seeding yellow field peas. They are primarily ground into flour for human consumption or processed into snack foods.

Life
Jeff and I were able to attend the Montana Farmers Union Young Producers Conference this past Friday and Saturday, along with our good friends Dan and Adria. It was a nice event and we enjoyed spending time with them, and meeting a few new people, too. I'll do a separate post about it soon.

One key takeaway was that people in agriculture can and should be using social media to tell their story. We had more than one speaker who addressed this, and they were convincing enough that my husband has started his own Instagram account! Now, you can follow BOTH of us on Instagram @katie.r.bangs and @farmerjeffinmt  -- Look us up!

Here's a screen shot of one of Jeff's recent Insta snaps. :)

Have a great week, everyone! 

Harvey, Iggy, and Abby on a recent pasture walk with me. 

April Fitness Challenges, a.k.a. AM I CRAZY?!

You guys know I love a good fitness challenge. I've signed up for several in the past, including a mileage challenge last October, the #RunLoveChallenge earlier this year, and the Pulse Pledge Challenge, to name a few. I don't know what it is about challenges that draws me in. Typically, I set a manageable goal that is a bit more than I normally would do, and strive to get better in some way throughout the challenge. I think I like seeing what I can do. Maybe it's the structure of having a plan.  Or, maybe it's just my inner crazy finding something new to obsess over every so often?? (Don't answer that!)

Well, suffice to say that my inner crazy is being unleashed for the month of April. I'm committing myself to not one, but TWO challenges this month! WHAT?!

This is no April Fools. This is for real.

Is that a crazy twinkle, or just sweat?!

First off, introducing the Million Mile Month challenge, or MMM. I'm doing this one as part of my Team Beef Montana involvement. It's pretty simple. Everyone who signs up pledges to total a certain number of miles or minutes of physical activity in the month of April. I pledged 50 miles of running. For me, that's a bit more than I normally do in a month, so it's a stretch, but not impossible. I typically run between 10 and 15 miles each week (lately closer to 10), and with a few races penciled in for April, I think I'll be able to do it.

This is the old-school paper calendar I made to keep track of April mileage.
I also have potential races written in, and wrote in our Track Meet schedule.

Second, I'm also participating in the #OiselleFullHalf Challenge as a member of the Oiselle Team. For this one, the idea is to highlight 13.1 (or round down to 13) as being a FULL distance of a half-marathon. Full Marathon gets all the love, right? But achieving 13.1 miles is also quite an undertaking. So, for this challenge, we're supposed to set a goal of doing something 13 times in the month of April. I decided to run 13 different running routes/treadmill workouts during April.

The sign I made, expressly for the purpose of taking an Instagram photo. Yep. 

Since I had already committed to MMM, but still wanted to do #OiselleFullHalf, I wanted to choose a goal that would work together with what I'd already planned to do. I've decided that my 13 different runs could be done outside or inside on the treadmill. Outside runs cannot repeat routes exactly, but could build off previous routes. I'll continue to challenge myself to run trail routes on the farm, and to keep working to find new routes to and from our house, or in town. Inside treadmill workouts are allowed, but may not be repeated more than once. Again, they could build off previous workouts to extend time or distance. I think both challenges will help work together and will build off each other as running different routes/workouts will help keep things fresh and exciting as I work toward hitting my goal of 50 miles for MMM.

I added a #OiselleFullHalf tracking log under my calendar to help make sure I don't double up on runs!

Or, maybe I'll just go crazy trying to track both challenges, AND Shape Up Montana, which continues through April 30, while also balancing home life, farm, and the busiest month of Track Season.... WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!

Follow along all month by checking back on the blog, on my Facebook, Strava, and Instagram (@katie.r.bangs) to see if I'm able to keep it all in check, or if the craziness will overwhelm me!

And here's one more Pro Tip for you... Oiselle is on Zulily today! Go ahead and shop the sale! You won't be sorry... :)

Here's a screenshot I took of the Zulily event.
I own those Charcoal leggings and I LOVE them. Favorite tights.
I also have the Flyte top in a different color and wear it a ton.
Needless to say, it was easy for me to find a few more items to add to my collection from this sale!

Do you have any fitness goals or challenges lined up for April? 

Weekly Review January 17-23

Taking a look at the week that was, in fitness, farm, and life. If you missed last week's review, you can check it out HERE.

Sunset over the Sweetgrass Hills Friday evening while skiing.

Fitness
Jeff and I started the week on skis as we trekked over the mountains for double duty skiing on Sunday and Monday. Sunday was Nordic at the Izaak Walton in Essex, MT, where we also stayed the night in their historic hotel.

Izaak Walton Inn, Essex, MT

Sunday we hit up Whitefish for downhill skiing in thick fog. It wasn't the most fun day of skiing ever because it was a bit difficult to see, but we made it our mission to get better at moguls and I think we both definitely saw some improvement. Plus, my legs felt super strong the rest of the week after that day of skiing!

Progress continued on the #RunLoveChallenge I'm participating in through Oiselle with my teammate, Wendie. I nailed my long run on Thursday after school running "the loop" in town twice for a total of 4.7 miles. It felt pretty good to run outside and even though the roads were snow-covered, they weren't bad to run on.

Run-selfie while running "the loop" in Rudyard on Thursday.

The biggest challenge of the week was actually the "Speed Date" workout we were supposed to do. I spent most of the week stressing about the workout because, let's be honest, speedwork is pretty much neglected in the scheme of my workouts. I wrote out the times and speeds I wanted to try and planned to do it Saturday morning. By the time Saturday rolled around, Wendie had already completed the workout and I was actually sort of looking forward to the challenge and seeing what I could do. And you know what? It was hard, for sure, but it felt great! Huge confidence boost to reach speeds I've never touched before, and it ended up being my longest run of 2016 so far at 5.6 miles! It was so motivating to know that Wendie had done it and that she was cheering me on in spirit, too. Thanks Wendie!

Yes, I wrote myself a pep talk alongside the workout. I'm cool like that.

Here's how the week looked:
Sunday- 8.6 miles/120 minutes of Nordic skiing at Essex.
Monday- Downhill skiing at Whitefish.
Tuesday- 3 easy (slow) miles on the treadmill, 20 min stretching. My legs were beat after the skiing.
Wednesday- 30 min. hip strengthening exercises
Thursday- 4.7 mile run after school.

Snowy roads, but traction was good.

Friday- 2.2 miles (40 min) Nordic ski through Harry's field on our farm. **snow melting fast. May have been my last day on skis at home this year.

This is what Harvey does after going for a ski- nap time. 

Saturday- Speed Date challenge/5.6 miles running, 30 min (1.6 miles) walk with the dogs, 20 min stretching.

My #RunLoveChallenge calendar is really filling up! Half-way there!

And the YTD Stats:
2016 Year to Date, through 1/23/16
Walking: 140 min/6.7 miles
Yoga: 135 min *no yoga this week. sad face.
CC-Ski: 380 min / 10.8 miles (since I started tracking mileage on 1/17)
Alpine Ski: 2 days
Running: 30.55 miles

If you remember, my knee and hip had been a little sore last week. I rededicated myself to stretching in the evenings and it really seemed to help. No issues with it whatsoever this week, even after Jeff and I skied pretty hard at Whitefish on Monday. Stretch, stretch, stretch, people!

Farm
This week on the farm the biggest new piece of action was that Jeff sold some winter wheat to one of the local elevators and then began taking semi loads to town. It can be quite a bit of work at times to haul grain, especially when cleaning out the bottom of a grain bin. Messy, dusty, labor and time intensive. The weather was warmer this week, so Harvey spent quite a bit of time outside "helping" Jeff with this task, although he didn't appreciate being left behind when Jeff would leave in the semi headed for the elevator. Harvey is a smart dog and knows that if he sits down in the road right ahead of the vehicle in which he would like to ride, at the very least, the driver will stop and pet him...

"Guys, I'll ride now, thankyouverymuch." - Harvey
Photo by Jeff.

Harvey also likes to "help" feed the cows...

Harvey likes to lick their noses, and they let him.

And this bull was taking a peek on the action, too:


Life
This week I attended the Rudyard Commercial Club meeting (sort of like the local chamber of commerce) because they were planning to talk about a grant the community is likely to receive to either renovate our current Senior Center or build a completely new building. It was a really interesting meeting, which you can read more about in my previous blog post. I'm going to be on the committee working on the grant project and I'm really excited about it.

Also, in my sports world, my Iowa State Cyclones defeated #1 ranked Oklahoma on Monday night in Ames (college basketball). It was glorious. Here's a great game re-cap from The DesMoines Register: Iowa State Takes Down #1 Oklahoma. Tomorrow night, they'll take on the Kansas Jayhawks. I may hate the Jayhawks more than I love the Cyclones, so you can be sure I will be watching the game. Don't bother me between 7 and 9 tomorrow night because I won't answer. ;)

That's the week that was, everyone! What were the highlights of your week? 

After completing my Speed Date workout. Feeling good!

Product Review: Wazzie Wool Funnel Neck Top and Gaiter from Oiselle

For Christmas, I received two new pieces of clothing/gear that very quickly became the winter workhorses of my closet. Both are from the Wazzie Wool product line from Oiselle-- the Wazzie Wool Funnel Neck and the Wazzie Wool Gaiter. I'm going to review both of these pieces today in the blog. Spoiler Alert: I'm in love with both of them!! Read on to find out why!

Wearing my Wazzie Wool Funnel Neck from Oiselle on a recent outdoor run!

First off, a little background on what exactly Wazzie Wool is. It's similar to Icebreaker or SmartWool products in that it is a wool blend fabric using responsibly sourced high quality Merino wool. Wazzie Wool is Oiselle's proprietary wool blend fabric that is similar to those other brands. In this blog post from Oiselle, you can read even more background on the how and they why Wazzie Wool came to enter the collection back in 2014: Bird in Sheep's Clothing: Introducing Wazzie Wool.

I've always been a huge fan of wool clothing in all forms. It feels authentic somehow and truly the performance characteristics of wool are outstanding--something I learned about in depth in some of my textile science courses in college. Wool is a great fiber for sports and performance activities because it insulates very well, but best of all, it is inherently "dry" as a fiber. Wool has a somewhat magical property in that when it gets wet it doesn't feel wet, so if you get snowy or sweaty, you don't get chilled. If you get a fine gauge wool fiber such as Merino and blend it with something stretchy and soft like polyester or spandex, you also take away the itch-factor that some people notice with wool and add even more performance characteristics. Boom! Now you have Wazzie Wool! A fabric that performs well, feels warm and soft, and looks great, too.

This season, Oiselle expanded their Wazzie Wool selection a bit to include three tops, bra and underwear set, leggings, and a neck gaiter. I own one of the tops-- the Wazzie Wool Funnel Neck.

Wazzie Wool Funnel Neck from Oiselle Front

Wazzie Wool Funnel Neck from Oiselle Back

Wazzie Wool Funnel Neck from Oiselle Detail of sleeve and back seams.

Besides that this top is made of amazing Wazzie Wool, I love the fit and style of it, too. The style lines and seams are simple but stylish. The fit (I have a size 6, for reference) is good--not too loose, not too tight. I love the long sleeves with thumb hole. The overall length of the top is good at mid-hip. I also really like the color-- Bolt Lightning. It makes me think of fast, powerful running, and, well, also of Harry Potter, which I also love. I like the funnel-neck top because it gives a little more coverage and warmth for my neck and everyone knows that keeping your neck warm goes a long way towards feeling like your whole self is warm.

I have used this top for casual wear, and even have worn it to school, but it truly is made for cold weather outdoor pursuits. I've worn my funnel neck for Nordic ski one day and out for a run the next. I'm pretty sure I even left it in a wad on my bedroom floor rather than hanging it up in between. Even after the run the next day, no stink, no wet, no mustiness to be seen, smelt, or felt from this top.

But it's wool!? Don't I have to dry-clean wool? you may be asking... Nope! Not Wazzie Wool! That's the other thing that the blend of synthetic fibers lends to this material-- supreme washability. I've worn and washed this thing loads of times (har har! loads...of laundry...get it?!) and it always comes out great. Doesn't shrink or change shape and dries super fast.

Even Harvey loves Wazzie Wool...

Harvey the Vizsla loves Wazzie Wool from Oiselle, too! 

The other piece of Wazzie Wool that I own and love is the Gaiter. It's just basically a double-layer tube of Wazzie Wool fabric that you can wear around your neck. I've also seen some people wear it on their head like a really large headband. People who have this item really, really love it, as you can read here in the Ode to the Gaiter written by Oiselle professional runner Kate Grace.

The gaiter is reversible. One side is Bolt Charcola pattern and the other is solid black.

Pretty much if I'm doing anything active outside, I have this gaiter on. It has all the same performance characteristics I've already written about, plus it's double-layered because it's reversible. This means it's even warmer! See if you can spot my Gaiter peeking out in this collage below...

Winter running and skiing made better with a Wazzie Wool Gaiter from Oiselle!

If you really wanted to pamper your pooch, the Wazzie Wool Gaiter does fit nicely on a dog's neck, too, as Harvey models below:

So, what are the negatives of Wazzie Wool? Honestly, not much. For me, the biggest trouble is that I don't have enough of it to wear every day because I seriously think I would wear it all the time if I had more pieces. I get sad when I have to finally succumb and wash my funnel neck because then I can't wear it. But, really, the biggest negative for me is just that it's kind of pricey to buy. The cheapest top, the Wazzie Wool Base Layer, retails on the Oiselle website for $96.00. The Funnel Neck is I wouldn't even say that it's a bad value because I think for the quality of item that you get, the price is reasonable. It's just that I don't have an extra $100 laying around to buy another top. Maaaaaaybe it'll go on sale eventually?!! If I had an unlimited budget, I'd own one of everything of this stuff. Maybe even two or three of everything. It's that great! 

All in all, if you're looking for a fun, warm, comfortable, performance ready piece to add to your running collection, or for casual wear, or to dress up, or... anything, consider Wazzie Wool! It's amazing! It's Katie Bangs and Harvey the Vizsla approved!

Running, 2016 Goals, and #RunLoveChallenge

Time to talk about running. Or rather, write about running. :)

Even with all the craziness of the last several months of 2015, one thing that remained fairly constant for me was running. I did a few races in the early part of the fall-- a 10K in August, 5K On The Farm in September, and then another 5K in October. I actually got new PRs in both distances at the August and October races. My 10K PR is now 52.59, and my 5K is 26.10. Since both of those races, I've just been working on trying to maintain consistency in running, mainly in terms of frequency. With everything going on, simply getting out for a run of 2-3 miles a few times a week was enough and I feel like I have maintained a fairly good fitness level.

Now that it's 2016, it's time to focus on new goals and challenges for the new year. My main running goals for this year are as follows:
- Sub 25.00 in 5K (So, a drop of over one minute)
- New 10K PR

Other goals I'm contemplating include:
- Beginner-level sprint Triathlon
- Possibly a late summer/early fall Half-Marathon

Thanks to my spots on two running teams, Team Beef Montana and Oiselle Volee, and of course with the tremendous support of my husband, family, and friends, I'm confident I'll have plenty of support in whatever my goals may be. I may not be the fastest person in the race, but I do keep plugging away and dropping little bits of time here and there.

The first challenge and inspiration of 2015 is coming from Oiselle-- the #runlovechallenge! 


For this challenge, participants are to partner up and pick a mutual goal with their partner. I was so thrilled when a fellow Oiselle Montana teammate, Wendie, asked me to be her partner! Our goal is pretty straightforward-- simply increase mileage until we are able to complete a 10K (6.2 mile) run, by February 14. Wendie is just picking up her running again after having her second child, and, well, my mileage could use a boost, so this is a perfect goal for both of us. All we have to do is keep each other accountable and cheer each other on!

I created a calendar to track my mileage and break down each week with a mini-goal of achieving more distance on each week's "long run." It doesn't need to be done on any certain day, just to reach that mileage goal sometime during that week. I find that if I make too rigid of a schedule for myself and then I falter off of that schedule, I'm more likely to get discouraged and give up. For me, simple weekly goals that allow for flexibility work best.

Here's the calendar I made to keep track of my progress. Primitive, but effective. Something about using real paper and a pen or pencil to record things... magic. :)

I'll sprinkle in more runs each week, too, working in hills and speedwork. And let's not forget cross-training! I'm loving yoga lately, and of course, PLENTY of skiing! We've had such a great start to winter for cross-country skiing on the farm! I hope the snow never goes away!!! Right now, it almost feels like my running is cross training for my skiing hobby... I love it!

This past Sunday, Jeff and I spent almost three hours skiing on (or next to) Sage Creek, which runs through our pastures. Here, we're paused next to a spring in the creek. 

Another goal I have this year is to be more organized about blogging about my fitness. I'm going to try to do a weekly recap of my mileage and training each week. I know that some runners find it helpful to read what others are doing (I know I learn a lot by reading other runners' blogs) but mostly it'll just be to help me process what I'm doing each week and what's working, or not. Stay tuned for the first weekly recap coming up this weekend!

And with that, I'm off for a run! Wish me and Wendie luck with our #RunLoveChallenge! I'll be sure to keep you all updated on our progress! :)

All dressed for tonight's run out on the chilly arctic tundra just a few miles south of Canada. 

One last thing, just for fun, I present you with this image-- because deep down, I really do enjoy a good taco!