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!

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? 

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!

Oiselle Flight Friday ~ Set A Goal

Oiselle Flight Fridays!



First, the basics:

Who is Oiselle?
From their website:
Oiselle is a Seattle-based women's athletic apparel company that believes in the transformative power of sport and its ability to inspire strength, courage, and sisterhood. We live and breathe the sport of running, and we live and breathe the art of apparel design. In both, we seek quality and innovation. And to know that everything we do supports women who want to move, run, and fly.

I'm a recent joinee to the flock, running for the Oiselle Volee Team. This is a team made up of runners from all over the country, from your Average Jill like me all the way up to Olympians like Kara Goucher. Oiselle (pronounced Wa-Zell) is an athletic apparel company specializing in women's running gear that is designed by and for women. This stuff is the real deal and the company is not only committed to providing the best gear on the market: they are all about growing a culture of strong women. My kind of company! In my new series Oiselle Flight Fridays, I'll be bringing you one of the seven Principles of Flight from the Oiselle Volee Flight Manual each Friday. I'll also be reviewing a piece of Oiselle gear with each of the seven principles.

Oiselle Flight Manual. 

Last week was all about the first principle: Build The Sisterhood. You can read my overview of that one by CLICKING HERE, but I also wanted to share this little image that my Mother-In-Law had on Facebook this past week. I think it really fits with the message of building the sisterhood!


This week, I'm going over the 2nd Principle of Flight from the Flight Manual: Set A Goal, and also telling you all about my Embossed Roga Shorts!

So, without further ado, here's what the Flight Manual states:

2. Set A Goal
Athletic, personal, realistic, or wild and dreamy. We seek big accomplishments on significant stages and we define what those are for ourselves. No matter the speed or goal, the effort is marked by a willingness to see what's possible--to go fast, take chances. 

Photo taken of the Set A Goal page from the Oiselle Flight Manual.

I'll be honest and say that goal-setting is not the easiest thing for me. I have a history of not giving myself enough credit or not believing in myself enough to set very challenging goals. My goals tend to be centered on small measures of progress and are often only very loosely defined, maybe not even measurable. Typically, I have goals like: "I will be better in this race than my last race." Better how? Faster? Feel better? Have more fun? Wha...? 

Or, I'll make a quantifiable goal that's probably too easy for me to fail at. Like-- I will build up to being able to hold a plank for one minute. Ok. Nailed it. On like, day two of the thirty-day challenge. Did that really feel like something worth celebrating?

Last winter before the running and racing season really got going for me, my husband asked me what my goals were for my running and fitness for the summer. I think I said something vague like, "I don't know... I just want to do a lot of races." He said, "I think you should do a triathlon," which is something I've always had in the back of my mind to do, but instead of agreeing with him, I found reasons why I couldn't train for a tri. "We don't live near a pool..." and "I don't have a road bike..." Again, I let self-doubt get in the way of setting goals for myself. Others believe in me, but why do I struggle sometimes to believe in myself?

That is why it is so huge for me that I set a goal in the middle of February to hold 5K On the Farm. I made it official at our annual Montana Farmers Union Women's Conference by telling a room full of women that I would do it. Even as the words came out of my mouth, I wasn't sure if I believed myself. But, I kept it in my mind, and talked it over with Jeff several times. Then, in June we decided on a date and made it really, REALLY official.

We are now less than two weeks away from Race Day. We have 40 registrations for the race, as of this morning. You can sign up by clicking here: https://runsignup.com/Race/MT/Inverness/5KOnTheFarm
My goal is to have at least 50 people and I think we'll hit that. I waffle back and forth between-- "Wow! I'm DOING this and it's REALLY HAPPENING!" and thoughts of... "Holy shit! What if something goes horribly wrong? Can I really do this?" Yes, there are A LOT of last-minute details to work out, and not everything has gone as planned already, but I already feel like we've accomplished a lot. I made a big goal of planning and holding this race with the secondary goal of a minimum of 50 sign-ups, and I know we're going to achieve it.

The thing is, I feel like goal-setting is one area where success breeds success. Once you set a good goal and achieve it, it gives you the confidence to set more goals and achieve them. One of my new goals is to set better goals that give myself the credit I deserve! Goals that are measurable, challenging, yet achievable with hard work. It does no good to say, "I will do better in my next 5K," when what I really want is to be under 25 minutes in a 5K. What I should say is, "My goal is to run under 25:00 in a 5K. I would like to do that within the year of 2015, and these are the steps I'm going to take to reach that goal." And: "In 2016 I am going to register for and complete a sprint-distance triathlon. The challenges I need to overcome to do this are ____" and go from there.

When I saw this post on the Oiselle Facebook page about not giving yourself a Plan B, I thought it tied in really well with goal-setting. Read it here: Run Like There's No Plan B . Yeah, it's about allowing yourself to run professionally if that's what you want, but I think the underlying theme is good for EVERYONE. Don't give yourself a Plan B or an easy out when it comes to reaching your goals or striving for your dreams. Do what you love and let that be your only plan. Live like there is no Plan B.

Now, this is where a crafty writing segue would be nice as I'm going to change subjects to review some of my favorite running shorts: Oiselle Embossed Roga Shorts! 

The Embossed Roga Shorts are the first and only thing I have paid full price for that I bought from Oiselle. This is not because I'm receiving anything from them, but because I'm a cheapskate and while I love running clothes, I do not have an unlimited budget. I almost always wait until things go on sale. But not for these! I wanted a pair of comfortable, neutral colored shorts I could wear with my Team Beef Jersey for racing. I surfed the Oiselle website for a while and weighed my different options. Ultimately, it was Jessie at The Right Fits and her constant praises of her Rogas that swayed me toward these. I went with the Embossed version because they're just a little jazzier than the plain ones.

Here they are on the Oiselle website: Oiselle Embossed Roga Shorts

They are $50 and they come in three colors: Deep Rose, Money, and Charcola. When I got mine, only Charcola and Money were available. I may have been very tempted to get the Deep Rose! Alas, I got the gray because I thought it would go with the most other items I already had.

Oiselle Embossed Roga Shorts in Charcola.

I wear these shorts A TON and they are in heavy rotation with my other running bottoms. I like the length- they have a 4" inseam. It's short enough that they still feel like running shorts, but long enough to have a little modesty. They don't have any extra poof in the crotch area like other brands do, which I also really love. Best of all, the inseam doesn't ride up and get stuck when I run, which is something else that happens to me a lot with other brands, and obviously leads to uncomfortable chafing. The leg openings stay where they are supposed to be, and ensure mile after mile is as comfortable as the first. 

Harvey and I are showing off the embossed fabric of these shorts.

These shorts also have a super comfy yoga-style waistband, which means no muffin top. Ever. And, they have an internal drawstring to ensure a perfect fit. This is great for girls like me who rock an athletic bubble butt. I can cinch up the drawstring to make sure the top of the waistband doesn't gape. 

The dogs were clearly very excited to help me model my shorts!

One thing that's important to note is that general consensus is that the Oiselle Distance Shorts run about a size smaller than the Rogas. For example, I buy a 6 in Distance but an 8 in Roga. The reason is that the leg opening of the Roga is a little more trim than in the Distance. For me, I size up to make sure I have enough material to comfortably cover my strong thighs. In the past, I made the mistake of ordering a 6 in the Rogas and they were just a little too tight through the leg to comfortably wear for me, even though the waistband was fine. Here's a photo collage of those too-small Rogas:

Oiselle Roga Shorts, which I sold on eBay for good money!

Because the original Roga short was so popular, Oiselle now offers many styles in the Roga spirit, using all types of fabrics embossed or regular, including the following:

• Mac Roga - Shorter inseam
• Long Roga- Longer inseam
• Toolbelt Roga - pockets galore!
• Roga Pant - it's a pant. Hence the name. ;)

There is definitely a Roga for every runner! 

Oiselle Roga Pants, image from www.Oiselle.com.

I think the Roga Pants might be a good item for me for Track Practice next season. They *may* be on my wishlist! Perhaps I should Set A Goal to own these pants? ;)

That's it for this week's installment of Oiselle Flight Fridays, this time brought to you on a Sunday! Ha! Maybe this next one will actually be posted on Friday??? Stay tuned for next week's post, when I'll be writing about the 3rd Principle of Flight: Own The Journey. 

In the meantime, please consider signing up for 5K On The Farm! We have a Virtual Run option, too! :)