Back in the Game!

I just pounded out 4 sweaty, grueling miles!  I decided that since my snake-filled driveway was giving me too many excuses to not run, I'd head to town and get my miles in on the treadmill.  It's been several months since I've stepped foot on a treadmill, but today I was just feeling it for some reason.  I did 3-1 and 4-1 intervals, and even though at one point I thought I might puke, it felt SO GOOD!

My half-marathon training doesn't officially start until next Sunday, but I'm going to do the first week twice.  "Long run" number one is outta the way!  Could be sad that 4 miles is my long run, but I think it's a pretty good starting point!

Life...and a WEDDING!

Where do I even start?  So much has been happening in my life that I can't begin to tell you what has been going on.  Here's a try:

I got married last weekend! It was perfect--a ton of work before, but so worth it in the end.  We had it right in our backyard, and about 400 people attended.  Crazy, huh!  That's what we get for having huge families and lots of friends!

Not the most high quality pictures in the world, but I haven't got many back yet.  I'll post more as they come!

As far as half-marathon training has gone....well, it's been non-existant.  I'm supposed to run in the Haulin' Aspen Half on August 8, but it's not going to happen.  I'm disappointed, but I know that I'm not giving up my dream, I'm just postponing it for a few months.  I already have another lined up for October 30, so official training begins on August 8!  Until then I'm just going to get in a few runs to get my mileage back up!

I was going to run yesterday, but as I was driving home a long, huge snake slithered across the driveway about 100 yards from the house.  Needless to say, I'm scared to death of any and all snakes and didn't leave the house for the rest of the night.  I live out of town and love running out there, but I think I'll be keeping my runs in town for a few weeks during the height of snake season!

That's it for now!  There is lots going on, but I haven't been around to blog about it!  I'm working on that and I'm going to make a conscious effort to keep up the blogging...it helps me stay accountable!

Softball and a Run

Last night Dustin had his second softball game of the season.  I love softball season, by the way.  I'm not sure why, but for some reason I love sitting my ass down on those hard bleachers and watching my love and his buddies play.  With the exception of one or two teams, our boys usually ten run rule the other team in five LONG innings.  It can be downright boring, but I just love it.

It was a good game last night, and we did ten run the opponent in five.  Before the game I laced up my sneaks and headed out on a 3.6 mile run.  I took a different route, and it helped me stay on track.  The first 1.5 miles I had some extreme cramps!  I blamed this on the half of a banana I consumed before heading out.  It wasn't until I had made it back that I figured out that it was probably the greasy pizza I ate for lunch that was the likely culprit.  Damn bananas anyway...

Tonight Dustin has another softball game...two actually.  It's a double-header in a town about an hour away, and I'm going pretty much so I can be the DD.  I might be the only fan there, but I'm going to get some good Thai food and watch the boys play.  I might consider a walk while I'm there to get my blood flowing today, and then tomorrow I've got a quick 2-3 mile run planned...it's going to be a busy day!

We're branding calves tomorrow, which normally I like, but we don't have a ton of help because most other people had obligations for the day already.  We have a lot of work to do with not so much time, so hopefully all will go well.

Tomorrow night I have my second bridal shower!  I'm pretty excited to see everyone...it's mostly a family ordeal because my friend already threw me one with most of my friends.  Even though it's just family, we're expecting around 40-50 people, so it should be fun.  The only thing I hate is having to open gifts in front of everyone...don't get me wrong, I appreciate it all.  I just don't necessarily like the whole spotlight being on me.  I better get used to it since MY WEDDING is coming up shortly...36 days to be exact! AHHH!

Do you miss me?

Cause I miss you guys!!!

It's been awhile since I've posted...a little over 3 weeks actually!  Time sure does fly!  Last time we talked, I was sick.  I finally got over that after about 5 days, thank goodness!

The first weekend in June, I was in a wedding!  It was a ton of fun, and I had a blast celebrating and dancing the night away.  Since then, I've been busy planning and sorting out all the little things I've neglected for my own wedding.  I've definitely been busy.

And last weekend, again, I was in ANOTHER wedding!  It was pretty fun, and Dustin was also in it, so we got to practice walking down the aisle together before our wedding in July.  I've definitely been really critical of these weddings, only because it helps me figure out how I want my wedding to go!

Half-marathon training....well, it hasn't been going as planned, but now that I'm not in another wedding until my own, hopefully I'll have more time (excuses, excuses) to get in my training.  I got in a nice run last night in my brand new running skirt!  I loved it, but I think my parents thought I went nutty when they saw I had a skirt on to go exercise.  They just don't understand the phenomenon.

I also just invested in one of these babies:

I bought it used on Ebay for a pretty good price, so cross your fingers that it actually works!  I've been wanting one since I started this blog and saw that all of YOU had them, but I couldn't ever get it in the budget.  I still really can't afford it, but I splurged anyway!

Eating has not been passing the bar lately, but since the wedding weekends have come to an end for now, I actually invested in items that I can COOK, and things that are GREEN!  That's right, folks, vegetables have made their way back into my life!  It was a great reunion.

On tap for today and the rest of the week, I've got a run planned for today and tomorrow, and on Friday I'll either rest or do some cross training.  We've got a weekend home for once, so we're going to get some much needed landscaping and cleaning stuff done around the house.  I think we might also be branding calves, something that needed to happen about a month ago!  Someday we might actually be caught up with all our work!

So glad to be back in blog world!

Out of Commission

So I've been sick for the last few days...meaning my little mileage ticker at the top of the page hasn't moved one tiny bit.  I've had a weird stomach flu and though I went to work today, I'm still not feeling quite right.  I'm hoping it will go away soon so I can start getting my workouts in...I want to prepare for this race as diligently as I can!

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

Merry Christmas?

Happy Monday!  And Merry Frickin' Christmas!  It snowed this weekend.  Like 3 inches snowed.  It melted, but it's May for goodness sakes!

Friday night I got in my miles!  I was proud of myself because I almost decided to go home without going to the gym first...I talked myself into it, though, and got in 3.5 miles!

I had a pretty productive Saturday and Sunday, but not in the way of exercising.  On Saturday, my mom and I went to the greenhouse that my in-laws run and worked on planting my wedding flowers.  It went well, but because the weather is so crappy, the greenhouse is much more full than it normally is this time of year.  We had to really work hard to find a spot for all of my flowers!

After a day of planting, Dustin and I went out to dinner with my parents and aunt and uncle at our local Mexican restaurant.  Good food and great conversation was had, and a Negra Modelo might have been consumed.  It was totally worth it!  We then went to our friend's house for more beer and conversation, then travelled home (I stopped at my first beer, so I was DD) around ten.  After a few miles, I drove through the WORST snow storm I have EVER been in.  It only lasted about 4 miles, but when you're driving about 15 mph, searching for reflectors on the side of the road, it seems like forever!  Needless to say, I'm ready for summer to get here!  NOW!

Yesterday we woke up to snow, but it quickly melted off and actually turned out to be a pretty nice day!  I got the house cleaned in the morning and in the afternoon we set out to work on trimming the trees in the orchard...again.  We started this project a few weeks ago, but there are so many trees (all of which are 100+ years old and haven't been trimmed in at least 40+ years) that it is taking us forever!  We enlisted the help of our friends and got most of it done!

I was supposed to get in my long run yesterday, but it didn't happen.  I'm swapping it today since today's workout is stretch & strengthen.  I'm using yesterday's tree trimming project as my strengthen because I hauled heavy limbs all day!  After work I'll get in my mileage and be caught up again.  I have a feeling my whole training plan is going to work this way...trading days so I can get in the right mileage.  I hope it works out for me!

Wish me luck on my 4 miles tonight!  It doesn't sound long but my motivation is lagging today.  If all goes well I'm going to add in another half mile or mile...

Snow, Snow, Go Away!

The weather sucks!  That's about all I have to say.


Ok seriously...to my east is blue sky.  To the west?  SNOW!  Snow flurries!  They've been happening all day, and honestly the one thing that worries me the most is that my dog is outside by herself all day.  You might think I'm crazy, but I own one of the most spoiled dogs in the world, next to my father-in-law's corgi (notice I said father-in-law...I'm not married yet, but I'm trying it out for size). 

Luckily Tallie loves being outside.  And there is no way in hell she was staying inside all day, because bad things happen.  The last time we did that, I found a ziploc bag filled with needles (for giving cows shots) that had been ripped to shreds, needles laying all over.  She chewed on the caps that cover them and no needles were consumed (we think) so it turned out ok.  And she ate an entire paint stick (for marking cows).  It was non-toxic, thank goodness.

The worst thing, however, is what happens to my underwear when we're not around.  For some reason, she seems to like my underwear.  Not Dustin's, definitely mine.  Now you might be saying, "why doesn't Caitlin just pick up all the damn clothes off the floor?"  You'd think I'd learn, but so far I haven't.  I'm going to have to make a trip to VS soon to get some more butt gear!

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Now that I've shared way too much information, I'll get to the point.

Last night I went to the gym to run on the treadmill.  I had 3 miles planned, but I got to about 1.5 and had to stop.  My tummy issues are really starting to make me mad.  Sometimes I can jump off, go to the bathroom, get back on and be fine.  Then other times, like last night, I have really bad cramps and when I try to get back to running, it makes everything worse.  I really need to focus on my eating in the next few days so I can get in a run without feeling like I need to stick around a bathroom.

So tonight, I've got 3.5 miles planned and we'll see how that goes.  I'm already fudging on my training plan because today is supposed to be a rest day, but I'd like to get my miles in.  Once I get in my groove I'll pay more attention to my rest days, but I'm not worried about it this week.  If I really need to I'll take a break tomorrow before my long run on Sunday (long run = 4 miles at this point).

On another note, Beth at Shut Up and Run! is having a "Choose You" Healthy Lifestyle Giveaway!  Check it out here!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  Thanks for all your support!