Weekly Review Through Feb. 17

Another week in Fitness, Farm, and Life!  I just realized I never did my weekly review post for last week. Oops!  Oh well. It was a relatively quiet week for us anyway. Here's a look at this most recent week

Fitness:
February 11- rest. Daily #RLYCORE challenge pose.

Executing a side plank!

February 12- rest, again. Daily #RLYCORE challenge pose.
February 13- Evening treadmill hike, 30 minutes. Daily #RLYCORE challenge pose.
February 14- Rest. I had planned to exercise when I got home, but Jeff surprised Genevieve and I with a surf and turf dinner! Daily #RLYCORE challenge pose.

This was such a fun surprise and Jeff executed it all PERFECTLY! SOOOO GOOD!

February 15- Treadmill hike, 45 minutes.
February 16- Indoor cycling via Rouvy for 50 minutes, covering 11.3 virtual miles in Kona!
February 17- 45 minutes of snowshoeing outside with Harvey!

This week, I did a one-week-long challenge from @runnersloveyoga (find her on Instagram!) called #RLYCORE, with a new pose each day focusing on core strength. It was a lot of planks and plank variations. I am proud of myself for sticking with it and doing each pose each day!

This was a fun, quick challenge. Can't wait to see what she does in March!

Even though I didn't have a ton of dedicated workouts this week, I was still happy with my overall step counts. I've been working hard to walk more while at school, breaking up the time I'm at my desk. I actually had a great week in our Shape Up Montana team, too, and I'm on my way to reaching my goal of scoring 600 points overall throughout the three month duration.

Farm:
Wow- thanks to everyone who checked out Jeff's guest post on Country of Origin Labeling for beef and meat products! It had a great response! Jeff actually went to Helena to testify on Tuesday in front of the Ag committee. He said it was a great experience and that he learned a lot. He has also done a few radio interviews, which were aired on AM radio ag stations this week. Did anyone happen to catch any of them? We'll keep you posted on how the bill ends up, but either way, I'm really proud of Jeff for his hard work on this! 

Life:
Temps have been very frigid outside! It hasn't been above zero for a week at least, with no end to the freeze in sight! We are doing our best to entertain ourselves indoors, but we are also all getting a little cabin fever! Yesterday (Sunday) it was one whole degree above zero, so I bundled up and took Harvey outside for a snowshoe hike in our field. The windchill was still -20 or so, but we hiked right along the shelter belt and honestly, I didn't feel the wind at all! I was actually OVER dressed!

Harvey and me, enjoying some chilly sunshine!

He has the sweetest face! He was so happy to be outside!

I also attempted some yeast baking, and I'm happy to say it turned out great! I've always been pretty intimidated by baking with yeast, and yet it's something I'd like to get better at. I love the concept of possibly grinding our own flower from the wheat and grains we grow, and then baking them into bread and other treats, right here on the farm. So, this being a very simple recipe from Bettie Baker, I thought it would be a good one to try. Jeff, Genevieve and I all gave it a thumbs up! I'm definitely going to check out more recipes from her website.

That's all for this week! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, we'll catch up again soon!

Family Pasture Hike

The weather here lately has been really nice, as in, not at all wintery! This past weekend, it felt downright Spring-like, so we tried to get outside and take advantage. It wasn't even windy! Sunday was nearly 50 degrees, so Jeff, Genevieve, and I packed up for a hike through our pastures. We really enjoyed ourselves and took a bunch of pictures!

Starting off! 

 Genevieve spent most of the hike in the backpack carrier, with Jeff. This was an old hand-me-down from a friend and, while it's probably on it's last legs at this point, it still gets the job done. I think Genevieve enjoys the vantage point for the most part, although she would really rather be walking on her on volition. Sometimes it takes a few distractions to keep her interested. She "helps" us look for deer and bunnies, or we sing songs, or encourage her one-year-old babbling.  It's just great to get outside as a family!

Snake Grass in Sage Creek.

 Despite the warm weather, Sage Creek is still iced over. This is near the natural spring, to the south of our house and yard.

Views!

Genevieve and me with the Sweetgrass Hills in the background.

 Little Miss Independent and Mama!  Genevieve got out for a little hiking on her own. She was thrilled!  What a lucky girl to get to have such a wide open space to grow up in!

Her very own Pride Rock!

 Don't worry- Harvey came too! He was just as thrilled as the rest of us to take a hike!

Harvey entertains Genevieve while we adjust her pack a bit.

 Seriously, what a nice day! 

Cow paths make great running and hiking trails!

That may be the end of our pasture hikes for a while. I think the weather is supposed to turn colder and possibly snowy later this week!  If I'm being honest, I love snow, so I'm kind of excited! Plus, I really like my seasons to be how they're "supposed" to be!!! It's supposed to be cold and snowy in January, darn it!  Stay tuned...

Hope you enjoyed this photo post from our hike!

Hiking in Refrigerator Canyon

One thing I really love about Montana is the access we have to the great outdoors. All across the state, there is excellent hiking and outdoor recreation. Jeff and I decided to take advantage of this access with a nice hike last Sunday to celebrate our anniversary weekend. We did about 10 miles on the Refrigerator Canyon Trail near Helena. This post contains a lot of photos, and I hope you'll enjoy looking through them. 

Within about a quarter mile, you find yourself hiking through a slot canyon. This is the actual Refrigerator Canyon and it was easy to understand why it was so-named. The canyon was much cooler than the surrounding environs, and a cool breeze was whipping through as well. I imagine it would feel very refreshing on a hot day. 

Here's a photo looking back toward the slot canyon once we had left it--

The wildflowers were blooming in great abundance along the trail. One of my favorites, Indian Paintbrush is below. There were many other flowers all along the trail as we hiked. And interesting to notice different flowers and plants as we climbed in elevation. 

The trail was a gentle uphill climb, mostly through forrest. Nothing too strenuous, but work nonetheless. 

At about two miles, there's a nice overlook with a rail fence. It would be a great spot for a picnic and a good turnaround spot for a shorter hike. Also nice for photo ops! 

We decided to press on and go a little further. 

After a while, we entered the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness Area, which is different from National Forrest in that no motorized vehicles are allowed in Wilderness Areas in Montana. There are a few more protections to preserve the land as it occurs. 

We kept trucking along and came to another scenic vista. Neat to see how far we had come!

When we planned our hike and left the car, we intended to do between 6 and 8 miles of hiking. We had read about a trail junction that we thought was about three miles in, and decided that would be our decision point. Turns out, the trail sign was actually four miles in, not three. At this point, we thought we were close to cresting the ridgeline and wanted to try to go for that accomplishment, so we went on, still uphill. 

After continuing on switchbacks for a another half hour or so, we started to feel like we would never reach the top of the ridge in a timely manner, and we'd already done more than we had planned. We decided to go back to the trail junction sign and stop for a snack. The downhill effort to get back to the trailhead took about half the time as the uphill climb, not surprisingly, but our legs were completely shot by the time we got there. Thankfully the wildflowers kept our spirits high!

This is a plant that I was told is called "Mountain Sunflower," but I'm not sure what it's official name is. It's cheery and so pretty. 

We encountered very few people on the trail on the way up. We did see one older gentleman with his dog at the trailhead as we headed out and spoke to him a bit. He was planning a multi-day hiking and backcountry camping excursion and was getting his gear organized as we struck out. He said he had hiked the trail "probably fifty times," and knew it very well. We didn't see another person until we had turned around and started heading down. Then, the closer we got to the trailhead, the busier the trail became. We did run into the older gentleman again and he asked how our hike was. We described how we had turned around at a point that we thought was just below the ridgeline and he confirmed that we were close, but also said that once you get to the top, there isn't a good view of anything anyway, and that we had already seen the best views by that point. That made us feel better about turning around a little early. Then he asked us, "Are you going to the York Bar for a burger?" In my mind, I thought, "Yes, Definitely!" even though we hadn't planned on it at all. At that point, a hamburger sounded too good to pass up. The man said they were really good. We thanked him and wished him well on his hike.

We made it back to our car about four hours after we had left, and were pretty tired and hungry from our effort on the trail. Jeff and I deliberated if we should stop and have a hamburger in York, which is a tiny, tiny town that you drive through between the trailhead and Helena/Interstate, or if we wanted to just get gas station snacks and get on the road for home. As we drove back down the canyon and hunger set in strong, we decided we had better stop. Plus, it's probably bad karma to ignore on-trail advice from a seasoned veteran, right? 

Pulling in at the bar, the patio was full of people. A good sign that this was the place to be. Then we walked around to the front and were greeted with this-- absolutely classic small-town Montana, right here. It's not just the York Bar, it's "The Friendly York Bar." We instantly knew we had made the right decision to stop.

 The atmosphere inside was very much a friendly, small-town Montana rustic bar. It was just perfect. The hamburger and onion rings tasted pretty good after our efforts on the trail, too. If you're ever in the area, definitely stop at the York Bar. It's definitely a slice of good old Montana Americana.

And if you're in the Helena area, the Refrigerator Canyon trail is a good one to consider hiking. We really enjoyed our hike and would definitely plan to do it again and recommend it to others. Gotta love Montana!

Thankful Thursday ~ SNOW!

I've decided to bring back my weekly Thankful Thursday posts!

This week I'm thinking a lot about SNOW and how thankful I am for an appreciation of winter. Honestly, when I hear people complain about winter, I wonder if they've ever tried skiing or snowshoeing. When was the last time they went outside and enjoyed watching snowflakes fall onto their eyelashes? Was it not since childhood when they felt the wonder and magic of snow? When I hear things like, "I wish it wouldn't snow," in my mind I'm thinking, "What is the matter with you!? We want MORE snow!" This is because I have developed not only an appreciation but a love of winter recreation. If you've been following along in the blog, you've probably noticed I've been doing a lot of skiing and getting outside in the snow, so this won't be a surprise.

To be fair, there was a time when I was entrenched in the "Winter Sucks" camp. This was when I was still in college, living in Iowa, and snow and cold weather was nothing more than a nuisance I had to scrape off the windshield when I was running late for work. Yes, snow was pretty to look at, but more often than not, it was in the way.

It wasn't until moving to Wyoming in 2007, to the mountain paradise of Jackson Hole, that a true appreciation of snow and winter weather struck me. That winter was a record snowfall winter with something like 500 inches of snowfall. It started snowing one day in October and it didn't quit until spring. I'm not lying when I say that it literally snowed every. single. day.

What was a girl to do but ask for snowshoes for Christmas and learn how to ski? That first pair of snowshoes my parents gave me got a lot of use tromping around the mountain trails of Grand Teton National Park. You don't know peacefulness until you've been alone in nature on a snowy day.

Learning to ski took more effort. I began on the bunny hill at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, piggy-backing on lesson groups and trying to pick things up here and there. Thankfully, I'd been graced with strong thunder thighs and a natural athleticism that definitely came in handy. I'd ask friends for help and advice, and even some of my Couchsurfing guests. Gradually, things began to click, and I'd notice small improvements each time I went out. One time, a Couchsurfing guest told me that if I could learn to ski any run at Jackson Hole, I'd have no problem skiing anywhere else. So, I made it my mission to do that. Each day off of work, you'd find me on the mountain, working on becoming a better skier.

Riding the chairlift on a recent trip to Whitefish.

I've had my ups and downs with skiing since then. I had a classic ski injury in tearing my ACL, requiring surgery, in 2009. But that didn't keep me from enjoying winter. I rehab-ed my knee over the spring and summer, transitioning to hiking mountain trails in Bozeman. I kept my knee and legs strong and started winter recreation more simply with snowshoeing and Jeff also introduced me to cross country skiing. Eventually, I went back to Alpine skiing. Though I'm still working through the hit to my confidence that knee surgery left me with, every time I go to the mountain, a little bit more of it comes back, one run at a time.

Today, Jeff and I own our own snowshoes, Alpine, and cross country skis. Even though we don't get a ton of snow where we live, when we do get it, it's so great to have equipment on hand to go out and enjoy it, and we're only a few hours drive from several downhill ski resorts in the state. I've grown to adore my cross country skis as I've gotten better at remaining upright on them. I had a mental block that they were "so different" from my Alpine skis and I "couldn't do this," but in the end, I think the balance and basic maneuvering is more similar than I once thought. Credit also a basic mindset switch I've been working on in myself in the past several years.

Taking a break while skiing at Essex.

So, yes, I'm thankful for snow. I'm thankful for it as a means to have fun in a season that used to be drudgery for me. Snow provides a way to get outside, be active, and find joy. Remember the feeling you used to get as a kid when you'd play outside in the snow? Building forts? Making snow angels? Snowball fights? It also lends itself so naturally to feelings of peacefulness and contentedness.  If you take a hike on freshly fallen snow, you'll feel it. You can still have that! All you have to do is get outside and enjoy the snow.

Jeff and I on the trail at Essex.

And if you say something about wishing it wouldn't snow and then you notice me giving you a funny look...well, now you know why! :) I'm on the other side of the fence, praying for more snow, and wondering how many more days I'll have on skis this winter.

Lastly, this quote is only tangentially related to this post, but I liked it. It makes me think about the fears that creep into my mind post-surgery when I'm on skis. What if I fall again? What if I get out of control? A dear friend of mine recently posted this on her Facebook: "Always regulate your fears according to the situation, and then you will not go into the valley of the shadow of death when you are only lost in the mountains." ~ Grace Seton, A Woman Tenderfoot. You have to learn to be comfortable with discomfort and know that even if you are uncomfortable, it doesn't mean you're not in control. Don't give up. Being lost in the mountains can be pretty transforming.

What are you thankful for this week? 
Do you love snow? 
What fears can you better regulate?

Could be a poster for Coors Light, no? Born in the Rockies!
What can I say. Beer tastes great after a ski! :)

Summertime Coulee Hike

As I mentioned in my previous post for Thankful Thursday, my good friends Steven and Jessica came to visit us for about four days. I've been friends with Steven since the first day of seventh grade when we were seated next to each other in Mr. Renz' homeroom class. I was in the upper left-hand corner because that's where last names beginning with A always start. Mr. Renz had taken his alphabetical order backwards behind me, so that meant that the start of the next column was Steven, last initial D. We both had a quirky sense of humor, nonjudgmental attitudes, and discovered many similar interests. We were fast friends and remained such throughout high school, going to college at Iowa State, and even beyond. It meant a lot to me that Steven and his wife Jessica (whom I had met and gotten to know in college at ISU as well) wanted to come to the farm for a visit. 

They were here over the Fourth of July. We spent part of the day in Havre at the community BBQ, and at the brew pub, then watched the rain and hail storm for our own version of fireworks. The next day was cool and muddy but we still managed to take a four-wheeler tour of some of the pastures and see the cows. 

The day after that, it was sunny and ideal at about 72 degrees with not much wind. Perfect day to get outside for some hiking! At Jeff's suggestion, we drove up to the coulees north of Tom's house. We had several possibilities in mind for places to go, but Jeff thought this would be the most accessible. Other routes would probably be too muddy. This turned out to be just perfect. We spent a few hours all together, with Harvey, exploring the coulee banks and looking for fossils. 

Jeff, Steven, Harvey and Jessica at the beginning of the hike.

 The coulees are like a big "badlands" area north of where we live, right along the Canadian border. They're like really big, sandy ravines created by wind and water erosion. The erosion exposes the many layers of earth and history. It's neat to see a slice of time right before your eyes.

Harvey, taking a pause in the action.

 Harvey had a really great time in the coulees. There were lots of small animals and creatures for him to hunt and chase, which he really enjoyed. He ran up, down, and all around while we humans putzed and hunted for fossils. He chased several rabbits and birds, but also tracked a mule deer fawn. We were only half-watching him, but he made quite a ruckus when he pounced on the fawn's hiding spot and then tried to chase him up the side of the coulee. The fawn was really, really young. We called Harvey off the chase and thank goodness he listened because I'm not sure that fawn knew what Harvey could have done to him! Needless to say, after all the excitement, Harvey was TIRED by the end of the day.

One of the layers in the coulee bank houses pre-historic fossils of dinosaur bones. There is actually an active archaeological dig site not far from our house where they're unearthing some sort of duck-billed dinosaur skeleton, which is pretty dang cool. We looked for a few bones and other fossils of our own. Here's an example of a partially exposed bone.

We forgot our archaeology tools at home (ha!) so we used a stick to scrape away some of the soil housing this bone.

Oiselle Flyte Longsleeve Tee in Pop looking fantastic against a bright blue sky!

I think dinosaur bones and other fossils are cool, but what I find most impressive about the coulees are the vistas and the drama of the landscape. It's always a surprise that they could exist here, where the rest of the land is so, so flat. You can drive right up to the edge of a coulee in some places and still not see it until it unfolds beneath you. 

Looking back toward the pickup on Fox Crossing in Kennedy Coulee.

Here's an example of another bone we found in the dirt. I thought I was really onto something big when I saw this sticking out. Again, we used small sticks to dig it out and then once we freed it we all decided it was most definitely not a dinosaur bone, but probably that of a cow that had washed into the bank and become buried. I decided surely it must at least be an old buffalo bone instead of a boring old cow tibia or something. So yeah, I found a bison bone, relic of the days when Native Americans roamed the plains. That's my story.

Dinosaur, Bison, or Bovine bone?
You be the judge. ;)

Thanks again to Steven and Jessica for coming to visit! We hope we can head to Seattle to see you guys soon!

Puritan's Pride MadLib and Fun Running Survey

Today I'm doing a MadLib as part of my #1MillionMinutes challenge. By completing this MadLib and sharing it on the FitApproach website, I am supposed to win some sort of prize from Puritan's Pride, which is a natural foods source online. I looked at their website a bit prior to filling this in and they have some things I could definitely try out, so... here goes!

I’m so Interested [adj] to fuel my #1MillionMinutes goals with Puritan’s Pride! All summer I plan to run, bike, hike, and yoga[verb] my way to a healthier, fitter me, and I’ll need help staying hydrated and fueled during all my fitness and recreational [adj] adventures!

I will make sure I stay on track and will rely on  probiotics [noun] to keep me well fueled before, during and after workouts, and my endless supply of delicious drinking water from the spring in the Sweetgrass Hills [noun] to keep me hydrated!

I’m most excited to try ProBiotic 10 (product) and Addiction Granola (product) from Puritan’s Pride because they look like they will help me keep a healthy gut, and will be tasty! (adj).

One supplement I’ve never tried but am curious about is Crystallized Ginger [noun]. I think it might make me extra alert during trail runs![adj].

Bring it, #1MillionMinutes! I’m ready to go!

In a similar theme to this post, here's a fun random running survey that I got from The Right Fits. She filled it out for herself and suggested that anyone who wants to could fill it in on their own blog. Read my responses below!

Would you rather run along a beach path or on a mountain trail?
I would rather run on a mountain trail! Beaches are great, but they're for lounging and swimming. Running in the mountains is definitely where it's at! Good thing I live in Montana!

If you could choose the flavor of Gatorade at your next race’s aid stations, what would it be? Bleh! I'll just stick with water, thankyouverymuch! 

If I gave you a $100 gift card to a running store, what would be the first thing that you would purchase with it? I would definitely most prefer a giftcard to Oiselle. I could buy any number of items from there, but the top items on my list right now are: Lori Shorts in Brill Blue, Classic Verrazano Bra in any color, and pretty much any tank top from the summer collection. My $100 would be spent VERY quickly!

Do you prefer to follow a training plan or wake up and decide then how far and how fast you want to run? I haven't followed a training plan for myself much at all in the past. I typically plan very little before I head out the door. I typically have a general idea in my mind of runs and workouts I want to accomplish in a given week and then shuffle around as necessary as things come up in my schedule.

Today's running route and accompanying sky drama.

Would you rather start your run with the uphill and end on the downhill or start your run with the downhill and end with the uphill? DEFINITELY start on the uphill and then fly down to the finish! I don't have a ton of hills in my area, so I think this question would be more applicable referring to wind. I'd rather run into the wind on my way out and then let it push me back home when I'm tired.

When you can’t run, what type of cross-training do you choose to do? I do yoga, ride my mountain bike through our pastures and gravel roads, and use the elliptical. In the winter, I'm all about Nordic skiing and snowshoeing for cardio and downhill skiing for fun! 

Nordic skiing this past winter in Glacier National Park! 

What is your preference->  Out and back, point to point or loop runs? I prefer loop runs but I mostly do point to point out of necessity.

If you could recommend ANY running related item to a new runner, it would be a->Buy a GOOD pair of running shoes that are appropriate for your gait, mileage, and type of surface. Spend the money to buy the best shoe for you! Your body will tell you if you don't! 

Do you ever see any wild animals while out on your runs? Yes, all the time! I live out in the country so it would be more rare to not see wild animals. What I see most frequently are all kinds of birds, including hawks, owls, and songbirds. I also see antelope pretty much every time I run. I've seen deer, coyotes, foxes, porcupines, badgers... And typically I have at least one dog running with me!

Iggy is helping me with a little pre-run yoga. :)

Ever gotten lost while out on a run? Nope. I've really only run in places where I live and know my way around very well. Otherwise, I make sure to plan my route thoroughly or take a buddy who knows the area.

If you could have one meal waiting and ready for you each time you got home from a run for the next 30 days… what would that meal be? I couldn't handle eating the same thing each day for 30 days. I like variety. 

Capris or shorts… what do you run in most often? Definitely shorts. I wear my Distance Shorts and Embossed Roga Shorts from Oiselle as often as I can. 

At what mile (or how many minutes) into your run does your body start to feel like it is warming up and ready to go? If I want to have my best race, I make sure I get in at least 10-15 minutes of light jogging, lots of dynamic stretching, and several sprints before the race begins. 

What do you do with your key when you run? I almost never drive anywhere to run, so this is rarely an issue. When I do have to carry a key, I put it in my shorts pocket or carry it in my hand. 

If you could relive any race that you have done in the past, which one what it be? Probably when I did Kickin' Assphault last fall. I was really proud of myself for finishing my first 10K! 

Photo from finishing Kickin' 10K. 

What type of run is your least favorite type of run? Any run that is a long, flat straight line run where you can see the end long before you reach it. Again, I like variety.

What has been your biggest motivation lately to get out the door to get your run on? I'm really inspired by seeing other women getting out there and being active themselves, so reading other running blogs motivates me. I also am very motivated by thinking about the kids I work with at school or the young adults that I coach on the track team. I strive to be a good example of how to live an active life as an adult, using fundamentals learned as a kid or high school athlete. 

When you go for a run, do you leave right from your front door or do you drive somewhere to start? Most often, I do out-and-backs right from my house. Sometimes I drive to my in-laws' house and do out-and-backs from there so that their dog can come with me and Harvey, too. Very occasionally, Jeff will drop me off somewhere and I'll run home. 

When running in daylight->  are sunglasses a must or an annoyance? I absolutely have to have sunglasses any time I'm outdoors, running or not, even if it's not really sunny. I can't stand to squint. 

When you get tired, what keeps you from quitting? I think about the crappy situations that some kids at school deal with and it puts things in perspective that my run isn't so bad. I think about the awesome feeling of finishing a tough workout. 


Thanks for stopping by!