10 Miles and a Year of Marriage

Monday June 11, we celebrated our first year of marriage. How did that happen already? What a wonderful day that was.
A little frozen wedding cake...

The following Monday, my sister-in-law and I hiked an 8 mile round trip out-and-back called Bridge of Heaven. I seriously cannot believe I live in this place and get to play in my "backyard" anytime I want. #blessed

Ty has been out of town for a few days and I have had to keep the dogs outside while I am at work. This is super stressful for me.....like a mom sending her kids to daycare. The neighbor was complimenting the little dogs the other day and I was just sure he was going to steal one while I was away... so far so good. Two more days to go. :)

Finally....the best news of all. I was able to meet the running group for the first time today. I ran ten miles with them like it was nothing. All of a sudden I am running again? Somehow? With caution.....but.....ten miles? My inner running goddess is doing backflips.

RUNning out of Breath

I tend to be of the school of thought that follows, "work to live, don't live to work." However, I have been on the overtime kick lately, logging plenty of hours to help pay for our upcoming anniversary trip as well as a winter vacation somewhere warm. I am hoping this streak ends soon. It is really cutting into my carefree lifestyle.
We're on a co-ed softball team, which is a total blast. I never gave it a second thought when signing up to play again this year. Then I realized....softball requires running. Not being much on striking out or letting a ball hit the ground on defense, there will be a varying amount of running involved. I've played two games thus far and ran all out both times. It wasn't the end of the world, but I could feel it. I'm not sure where that leaves me....
So why not just push my limitations like usual and go running? I did it last night and I lived through it. In fact, the biggest point of discomfort was the fact that I am so far out of shape cardiovascularly that I could barely catch my breath the entire 3 mile run. It does not help that we are surrounded by wild fires and our air isn't exactly tip-top quality.
I was planning to get in a nice bike ride tonight after yet another 12 hours of work, but my SIL asked if I would go to the downtown art walk. Free wine and art galleries? I'm trying to pretend like it is a hard decision between a workout and being a wine-o...but let's be honest. We know where my heart is on this one.
I know this post is lacking seriously on pictures. I seriously doubt you wanted to see a picture of me after my near cardiac arrest last night....so here is a picture of my cute princess.

Stella and a Wind Storm

Hi friends. I have been having what most would consider a VERY rockin' Friday night. Thus far I have done the dishes, reorganized the linen closet, and clean my office. When I was cleaning the office, I started looking at my inspiration board. It is something I stared when I knew I was going to run a marathon. Although those plans have been put on hold temporarily, it still makes me smile. I know someday when my leg is healed, I am going to conquer the 26.2. The marathon is something that has taken me years to have the courage to do. I have entered two, and did not run in either. We are stronger than we think. No dream is too big.

I made a quick trip to Grand Junction today to get my hair done and attend a class at Gold's. The wind was OUT OF CONTROL today! Someone must be PMSing (eh-hem Mother Nature). It is finally calm  and lovely outside. I think when Cole Porter wrote the song "In the Still of the Night", he must have just suffered through a blustery Spring day in Western Colorado.

Introducing Stella.

My new-to-me road bike. She is a little small for me, but I took her out for ten miles tonight and two things are immediately clear to me: the padded bike shorts I ordered need to get here NOW, and I LOVE riding this bike! I am planning to do a bike race on July 21. Six weeks away. I want to do the 75 miler, but we'll see how the training goes. They have 33 and 50 mile options as well.

I took my little horse down to the fairgrounds for some practice runs this evening. She's coming along. Training a horse is so rewarding, but frustrating. I am looking forward to taking her to her first rodeo and jackpot. Hopefully that will be this summer and not next....

Have I mentioned how much I love having a treadmill at home? Watching all my shows while getting a sweat on? #winning

Catch Up Tangent

Someone (Clayton!) pointed out that I have not wrote a blog post for weeks. I must apologize to my one fan (Clayton!) for keeping him waiting. Ty if you're reading this, do not feel outsted. I know you are my biggest fan in all parts of life, not just blogging. :)
I'm not one to be a negative person (at least not outwardly), but Christina Aguilara needs to cover it up a wee bit. And the "crown"... wasn't really working for me.

The other morning I was driving home from work and came across this poor little deer.

I felt so bad for her! She had three broken legs. A dog kennel probably isn't a gret life for a deer, so I had to have someone come and take care of her. Poor thing. :(

Montrose is getting a Gold's Gym. I love Gold's!! I am so excited for them to open in Montrose (happening in November). The greatest part is I get to teach spinning and body pump!! I am beyond jacked about this. FINALLY.....I get to be paid to workout. ;) In all seriousness, this is something I have been wanting to do for avery long time. The opportunity found me, and I just feel so blessed.

My mom and I spent Mother's Day in Moab. We stayed at the cutest cottages called Three Dogs and a Moose. They have a beautiful courtyard complete with a hottub and grill. There were hummingbirds everywhere, and the flowers were so fragrant. We toured Arches, Canyonlands, and Dead Horse Point. Three National Parks in a weekend. :) I also got a good base tan and made some very special memories with my mom.

The most famous Delicate Arch <3

Final tangent of the day....I got a new road bike! New to me anyway. Pictures coming. She is currently hiding at my brother-in-law's getting tires aired up/fixed up. Pretty excited to log some miles/crosstrain.

Grand Canyon and a Smile

Things have been looking up for me lately. I just got back from an amazing trip with one of my best girlfriends. We drove to Maricopa, AZ for a few days filled with sunning, shopping, and slothing. We managed to squeeze in one walk, but decided it was entirely too hot and ended up in the pool again within an hour.

It was so great to spend some time with Brittani, and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed our conversations and laughter. We decided to take a slight detour on the way home and visit the Grand Canyon. I am SO glad we did that! I had been once before as a young girl, and Brit had never been. So beautiful. I'm already planning a return trip for hiking and camping. Plus, Ty's never been-- this is a MUST see.

So I have news. Not "we're expecting news" (I wish)...but still SUPER good news. My therapist told me to start running in small easy doses to see how it goes in addition to walking and cycling. And I ran. In a small and easy dose. Twice. It felt SO GOOD. My leg still is less than 100%, but progressing.
Another super cool thing....I have been waiting to do this until I could run again....

Ty helped me move this baby into our bedroom. Biggest Loser on the TV. Four miles of glory on the treadmill without makeup or sunscreen or even having to brush my teeth. Heavenly.

Perfect

Well today was just a great day for about 1,000,007 reasons.  We celebrated my niece's third birthday at my in-laws. I was responsible for providing the entertainment...aka...two horses. :) The kids loved it and the whole party was just wonderful. It made me want children RIGHT NOW.

Ty was off hunting all weekend (or so he calls it), and since we are on opposite shifts I haven't seen him in a month of Mondays. He came home this morning and it was so great to spend the day together. We also started planning our next vacation. This always makes me excited.

The only sad part of my day was having to peel myself away from my cozy little home to come back to work. I did ride my bike to work tonight-- the temperature was just perfect. You know what else was perfect? No leg pain. :)

John 6:27

Square One

Monday 10:30 am: Physical Therapist tells me to start walking and cycling ASAP.
Monday 10:40 am: Walking on trail at Riverbottom. 4.4 miles. 55 minutes. Sidenote: this is my favorite route to train hills. Two runners were training hills that day. Run on.
Monday 11:40 am: Strength session.
Tuesday: Rode bike to gym. Strength training. Rode bike home. 6.60 miles. 38 minutes.
Wednesday 12:05 pm: Spin class.
Wednesday 12:25 pm: Walked out of spin class halfway through in full-on pain. Walked on treadmill for one mile wallowing in self-pity, feeling like I'm back to square one.
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So maybe I went out a little strong. I should have known spinning was a bad idea. My new plan is to only walk or pool run and do strength training until (if ever) my leg heals.

And that's all I have to say about that.