yesterday I hated running

true story. I hated it.

I set off for a quick morning run and made it only a few blocks before I stomped back home mad at myself, running, and my body.

my body was totally rejecting everything.

I decided I wasn’t going to force it. I knew I had 9 miles on my schedule today and wanted to try to enjoy them. plus I hadn’t had a rest day in over a week.

I tried not to dwell on the fact that I didn’t hit my goal mileage for the day or even the week. I just tried not to think about it.

I worked at the shoe store all day.  when I came home for lunch Hubby had mentioned that the local Legion baseball team was in town. he headed down to watch but I still had an hour and a half of work left. I told him I would call when I left work and would probably meet him at the field. I got lucky yesterday and the Troopers ended up playing the later game so I got to watch a full game and not just an inning worth.

diamonds are a girls best friend.

this morning was a new morning. we had a soccer game to be to at 930 so I knew I needed to be up and out early in order to make the game. and beat the heat. the high today is suppose to hit in the 80s.

it was already getting warm. I easily ran in shorts and a tank…but was still soaked and stinky when I got home.

I can tell my legs are getting stronger. I’m able to hit the hills and still average under an 9:00/mile over a long climb and its easier for me to slip back into my grove after peaking on the hill. I remember when it would take my legs a half mile before they would recover and feel ready to speed back up.

even though it was totally the butt crack of dawn when my alarm went off, I easily rolled out of bed, got dressed, got some food in my tummy and was out the door in no time.

first couple steps ached, but once I settled in it felt easy. easier than normal but I knew I still had about 8.5 miles to go. I did a normal loop in town this time and found the miles flying by. in no time I was half way done and headed back for home. I ended up being short on mileage and that usually just drives me up the wall so I did a few laps around a couple of the blocks in my neighborhood and hit 9 miles on the nose.

I slammed down a protein smoothie, showered, dressed and headed out to the soccer fields. the team we went to watch won! and they play in the championship game this afternoon so we’re headed back out there soon.

I’m thinking a nap sounds fantastic right now though.

What’s Beautiful Campaign

As a Fitfluential Ambassador I was selected to participate in the What’s Beautiful Campaign sponsored by Under Armour.  The opinions in this post are all my own.

Have I got some pretty fantastic news for you!

I’ve been selected to participate in the What’s Beautiful Campaign sponsored by Under Armour! Pretty cool right?

so what’s this campaign all about?

directly from the What’s Beautiful website…

Declare a goal. Then show us how it's done.

Together we're redefining the female athlete by setting epic goals and pushing past where we've ever been and where we thought we could go. Join us. Set your own personal goal. Then document your journey by posting videos and photos that tell your story from start to victory.

We'll continuously post challenges for you. But that's just the beginning. Show us your journey. Show us what makes your story the one that stands out from the rest. If you meet your goal, set a new one. Make it even bigger. Prove to everyone, and yourself, that you have more than what it takes.

The Competition.

Every week we'll give away Under Armour Swag Bags full of gear to women who are seriously getting it. We'll also feature profiles on our home page and in the "Top Performers" section of women who are really setting an example for all of us.

After 8 weeks, we'll announce the 10 finalists who've documented the most impressive, motivated, monumental stories.

Winners will be announced mid-July.

The Prize.

Three winners will be flown to Costa Rica to attend a four-day yoga and surf retreat. In addition to the lessons led by world-class instructors, winners will be treated to transformative massages, spa treatments and healthy, locally-sourced meals prepared by personal chefs. All while staying in plush accommodations looking out at the ocean. A retreat worthy of the women who earn it.

 

Sounds fantastic, right?

it doesn’t even have to be a fitness goal. it can be anything!

so I’m calling all of you lady friends I have to join the cause and set up a profile and join the movement!

I’ve got my profile set up and a BIG goal picked out.

in 4 short weeks I will run my 6th half marathon. I’ve been playing with the idea of doing something bigger.  A MARATHON. this morning as I went to the registration website I sat in front of my computer nervous, scared, excited. fear was all over my body. what if I can’t do a marathon? what if I’m not good enough? but you know what helped me…knowing that I had declared my goal to the What’s Beautiful family I’ve gained through this experience; knowing that there will be a bunch of people cheering for me all across the country when I toe the line for my marathon. so I did it.

I registered for a FULL marathon. and now I’m totally ready to take the bull by the horns and conquer this bad boy. I posted this picture on my profile and the response I got was so welcoming and encouraging. I know I can do this. I will be ready October 6th to run 26.2 miles in the hills of South Dakota!

pick a goal. put it out there for people to see. don’t be afraid! there will be plenty of people rooting you on!

so will you join me?

Kickoff to Spring

I know. I know. you don’t have to hound me. I’ve been MIA. so what. my winter got a little lot crazy and the blog fell to the bottom of the important list.

but I’m back. and hopefully bigger than ever. maybe not quite. I’m going to try to make it a regular thing.

I feel like every spring Hubby and I try to make a trip up tongue river canyon. its our go to hike. its easy and we can make it as short or as long as we want for that day. but I’ll get to more of that in a minute.

this morning our local community college sponsored a color run. all the proceeds went to the wounded warrior project.

the weather was gorgeous. it was just a complete down pour for the better part of yesterday. so it was a welcomed site for the sun and warmth.

one of my co-workers and her son ran the color run with me.

we’re all nice and white and clean, but that sure didn’t last long.

there was a lot of confusion on the exact course. so somehow we were in the middle of the pack to the last people crossing the line. but all that mattered today was the amount of color we all got on ourselves.

we probably did the 3 mile jaunt (or maybe more with that dang extra loop we did).

but when we crossed the finish we weren’t white anymore.

it was a blast! I wouldn’t hesitate to do another one…but more color!

we quickly ate some lunch, showered and headed up to one of our favorite hiking spots.

over the winter we added another dog to our crazy family; and today was her first hike!

breaking in the chacos for another thrilling season in the mountains.

the weather stayed perfect all day long and we had just enough cloud cover that it wasn’t dying hot.

like I said everyone and their dog had the same idea as we did. I have never seen the parking lot overflowing with cars like it was today.

we took just a nice easy hike up the trail.

these views never get old.

twogees had a minor run in with some color at the color run. but it washed off easily enough once she was in the water.

all 3 of of soggy wet kids. they just couldn’t help themselves getting into the water. and sibley (the little chocolate dog) took to the water ok. she just needs some more practice. she wanted to be out there swimming with the big dogs so bad but she just couldn’t muster up the courage. she’ll be a water dog in no time. just need some swimming lessons.

and every year we try a big family shot….but can never get any closer than this. it will have to do.

we were all ready to be home when we got back to the house about 5ish. the pups are still passed out on the floor and I feel like I could easily fall asleep right now.

another successful kickoff to spring/summer. let the outdoor adventures begin. we have quite a few on our list this summer.

I can’t wait to see where we’re headed!

our christmas letter

every year my family always wrote a christmas letter and sent it out. when I moved out and got a husband I continued the tradition.

our christmas picture.

Happy Halloween! Wait…its Christmas time already? I guess time really does fly by when you’re having fun. Aron would add in the air quotes… “fun,” if we’re talking my kind of fun.

This year has been filled with fun and “fun!”

We all started off the year happy and healthy (no knee surgeries like in years past…knock on wood). We became even healthier when I became a certified personal trainer in February. By March we were running half marathons! It seems to be a family tradition now that we visit Moab every year (at least once, this year it was 3 times) to run 13.1 miles. It’s just not as fun to run that far in Wyoming apparently. We all survived, and we’re all headed back in 2013 to do the same thing over! I started working as a personal trainer and am still employed with the gym today. I have slowly built my client base and it keeps me busy when I’m not working one of my other million jobs (right now I only have 1 other one; and no its not Maurices. It’s the shoe store in town. I have been very good and haven’t bought one of every shoe, yet. It’s the holidays, I’ve got gifts to buy, but after the first of the year I can’t promise there won’t be a few new pairs of shoes in my closet).

This summer brought on more adventure and “fun” than I think Aron was ready for. I was once again employed at the Forest Service, but this summer I was in charge of building a database that included road/stream crossings on the forest. Most of my time was spent in the office, but occasionally I did get to go play in the field. I was also fire girl on some days. Even got to IA (initial attack) a fire in early September. We rolled to the fire Wednesday around 3ish and I came home Thursday night. Before I could even get all the way in the door Aron says, “woah you’re dirty!” Well…what did you think I was doing when I told you I was going to a fire? Painting my nails and getting my hair done?!

In July we bought a house! Our very own place. Now we don’t have to worry about clearing it with our landlords about having another pet…not that we ever did in the first place, but we’ll keep that hush hush. It’s a very cute little 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath. Nice big yard for the dogs and a very quiet neighborhood. When we let the pups in the yard for the first time after the house was officially ours I felt like I could literally see their smiles! I had tears come to my eyes I was so happy they were happy. So now, even more reason to visit. We have plenty of room to sleep!

I finally convinced Aron to let me take him on a “fun” backpacking trip. We took a 3 day/2 night trip to Bomber Mountain in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. It was a 6 mile hike into base camp the first day. I may have forgot to mention to Aron how much “fun” it was going to be to hike uphill roughly 5.5 of those 6 miles. We made base camp with plenty of time to spare though. Mother Nature had it out for us and we weren’t able to summit Bomber and make it to see the bomber that is crashed on it (google Bomber Mountain and you can see the story. It’s really cool). We already have plans in the works for a trip in 2013, but this time 5 days and summit Bomber and Cloud Peak (highest peak in the Bighorns).

We have our rookie backpacking trip under our belts that didn’t end in divorce. Remember our honeymoon trip kayaking the Napali Coast? This was a walk in the park compared to that.

We were back in Moab in October and earlier this month again for more races, a half marathon and a 10k, respectively. Once again we all survived! I’m telling you…try running in Moab, it will be the most fun (or maybe “fun”) had by all. One of these trips we’re going to take longer than 3 days and spend some time backpacking around the National Parks. Aron has agreed to this “fun.”

Aron is still working his tail off in the Sheridan County Detention Center. This past summer he was back at the academy getting certified to become a FTO (Field Training Officer). He gets to train the new officers that are hired in the jail. He enjoys being able to teach and is really good at what he does. He tried his hand at bow hunting this fall and had his chance to shoot a nice bull elk, but was frozen in the moment. He did end up filling the freezer with a couple of deer (one with his bow even), so don’t worry about us starving this winter. Even if he hadn’t got any big game I think we would be okay with the amount of birds he brings home every couple days. He takes the dogs and off he goes. Occasionally I go with them. If Aron misses a bird, I don’t have to say anything; Jaggar usually does a pretty good job with “the look.” If he could talk he would say, “seriously dad? That bird was right in front of you. How do you miss that?” Jaggar and Twogwotee both work hard for Aron no matter the outcome.

Speaking of animals, we were given another horse. His name is Easy. He’s a big ole paint gelding. Super sweet boy. Very easy to ride. I’ve laid my claim to him, but Aron thinks he can use him for his roping horse…he usually asks my permission though. We also added a little feline friend for Remi. His name is Mopup (some days we call him Demon Kitty). He’s a little Siamese kitty with a black face, black ears and black paws…looks like he’s been mopping up a fire for days. Snuggling little bugger. Mopup and the pups get along great. Remi doesn’t care for Mopup one bit, so the whole “friend for Remi” idea totally back fired.

We can’t wait to see what 2013 brings (if we make it past December 21^st …pesky Mayans)!

We hope this letter finds you healthy this holiday season. Wishing you the best for 2013!

Aron and Ashley
(and the rest of our little zoo of a family!)

the other half

hubby, dad and I all went into the beginning of this year with one goal in mind. obtain the triple crown award in moab, ut.

we started out by racing the canyonlands half marathon in march.

the next race on the list was the other half in october.

summer got busy. my training plan fell apart.

hubby and I went into this race with little to no training, but I was just totally going to have fun with it.

dad ran too. this was race 2 of 3 that need to be completed for the triple crown award.

after a little discussion…our faces changed from smiles to “what the hell are we thinking?”

temps were a little cool at the start.

as long as you found a fire pit and could stay close enough to it you were good.

hubby and I made sure to wear our recovery socks. with us…the idea “the more obnoxious, the better.”

before we knew it, it was time to toe the line.

I felt like I was dressed perfectly…for the race AFTER the first five miles. the first five miles were in all canyon, in shadows at 830 in the morning. it was a little chilly. my hands became numb at one point and I remember wishing I had worn gloves.

I thought at this point everything was going to be ok. aron and I were planning on shooting for a 9 minute/mile pace…still trying to get aron a half in sub 2 hours.

the race was on sunday…on friday night I had this weird stomach ache (I get them every other month or so…haven’t figured out the deal yet). basically I can maybe compare it to what contractions feel like (although I’ve never experienced them!). the pain builds and builds and builds and then releases for a few minutes and then it happens again. I usually take some zantac and within 30 minutes the pain is gone enough I can at least sleep. I woke up saturday morning still not feeling 100% and felt a little twinge in my stomach. I drank some sprite saturday night and took some more medicine to try to get it better by morning. sunday morning I was able to eat my normal pre-race breakfast with no issues and I was feeling good at the start.

we had gorgeous weather and gorgeous views.

aron took off on me about mile 3. and mile 4ish is where I lost my entire breakfast…literally. at that point I knew I just wanted to finish.

I took a gel shortly after…breakfast resurfacing…just to get something in my stomach and it didn’t stay down long. I saw the ambulance at mile 6 and gave great consideration to just get a ride to the finish, but I felt so many people up above screaming at me to finish the race on my own two feet.

I was able to keep water down at mile 6 and 8. tried a little more of a gel at mile 8 and was able to keep it down.

I decided to enjoy the views I was surrounded by. do what I could to finish the race and stay strong.

when I hit the top of the last hill I knew I was home free and was going to finish the race.

there was no amazing PR to be had. but finishing was enough for me…with everything that was against me.

they had a beer garden. I was really not wanting a beer, but I wanted the glass.

we tried a sip, but knew there was no way we were going to finish them.

hard earned medals. and race 2 of 3 complete!

winter sun 10K here we come!

always sending the girl to save the forest

fire season had been fairly quiet throughout the year…at least in our part of the world. the boys would get sent out all over the country but for the most part sheridan was all quiet…until september. then things got a little crazy.

my normal job for the forest service during the summer is working for the aquatics shop doing all sorts of fun fish and stream work. I am qualified to fight fires if things ever get crazy and the fire crew needs an extra body. I had been asked a couple of times throughout the summer if I could commit to two weeks, but with my commitment to the gym I wasn’t able to.

we had a fire on the south end of the forest that had been in some nasty country and it wasn’t safe to get people into it so they just let it burn.

all of the seasonals had left for the year. they typically leave at the end of august to go back to school and there are only 2-3 people left to cover specific parts of the forest. the fire management officer was down to the bare minimums when it came to people fire qualified. most of the permanent people that were fire qualified had responded to a fire in the county to help a few days earlier. he came to me on a wednesday morning and asked if I was available to roll to a fire if they needed someone. they only had one fire guy left out of the sheridan office to cover the north end of the forest. “sure” I remember saying. thinking to myself…”there hasn’t been lightening for more than week and none in the forecast. there is no chance that we’re going to get a fire.”

I went home at lunch to grab my fire gear just in case.

I was working in my little cubicle and before I knew it I heard people talking in the hall about a smoke report up by one of the lodges on the north end of the forest. I went to find the fire boy I would be going with and he had heard about as much as I had.

that same day…the fire that was being monitored to burn on the south end of the forest had taken off and was putting up a fair amount of smoke. so we thought maybe these people were looking at that fire since it seemed to be right in line. shortly after that we got a 2nd report of smoke up by twin buttes on the north end. I quickly changed into my fire gear and we hopped in the truck and rolled up the mountain. we actually had a real fire!

I wanted to have all my bases covered, so I quickly called my bosses at the gym and asked if they could possibly cover for my classes on thursday since I wasn’t certain that I would be back in time. they were super understanding and very supportive. and even managed to have a firefighter themed workout.

I’ve been on prescribed fires before, but never got to initial attack a fire. I have been on the other end of the radio in dispatch for IA fires, but never on the ground. I was excited.

we got on the fire and there were two other fire guys from the other side of the forest doing their best to catch this fire. we were anticipating working through the night to get this fire under control. as we got on scene we checked the perimeter and eventually found the origin…it was obvious it was an abandoned, illegal campfire. the forest was under pretty strict fire restrictions. the fire ended up making a run up the hill, torching trees and anything else in its path. we pulled off the fire at dark and went to the ranger station and pitched our tents…well I pitched my tent, the boys slept under the stars.

we woke up early the next morning, grabbed some breakfast and lunches for later in the day and headed back to the fire. we worked through the day on getting it lined and putting out the spots fires. I feel like I chased spot fires all day long.  I got home late friday night. I walked in the door and immediately hubby said, “woah, you’re dirty.” that I was. my face and hands were black. I smelled like sweat and smoke. I hadn’t showered or washed up since wednesday morning. it brought me back to exactly how it was when my dad would come home from fires. I remember him bringing in all his fire gear and it would fill the house with the smoky smell. I loved it. I took a shower thursday night, crawled into bed and slept pretty good. I woke up the next morning and could smell the smoke coming off all of my fire gear that was spread out in the kitchen. I rehabbed my bag and was ready for the next call.

I had to be in town friday morning for an appointment. but after that appointment I was right back to being a fire girl for the weekend.

we took some supplies up to the fire friday afternoon and then went back to town. we were available for initial attack. saturday morning we were back at the fire mopping up all the hot spots. we did a grid through the fire looking for spots. after that loop I was again dirty as could be.

we sat down for a bite to eat and kept checking the fire throughout the heat of the day to make sure it wasn’t going to flare up again.

we all spent the night on the mountain on saturday night. thankfully we were able to stay inside the ranger station because a storm had rolled through dumping a lot of rain and some serious lightening.

sunday and monday were met with patrolling the area for fires.

hunting season was upon us at this point and a lot of hunters were wanting to get fires going, but with the restrictions were not allowed so we were hoping for no more human starts through the holiday weekend.

sunday night as we were leaving we got a call about a fire on the mountain. we loaded up and headed up the hill but were cancelled before we made it very far so we were able to go home and sleep in our beds that night.

my holiday weekend rounded out with just patrolling. I was happy to be a fire girl for the weekend, but back to a fish girl on tuesday.

black mountain 2012

every year since we have lived in sheridan I have made a yearly trip to black mountain lookout.

2010. 2011. 2012

my mom was able to finally make the trip. she had been dying to join me.

jaggar was much bigger this year and had no problems making the mile trek up and down.

we had pretty awesome weather. once we hit the top it was a little windy, but overall very nice day. once again we had the whole trail to ourselves.

very rarely have we had to share the trail.

it was late season and we were happy to see some snow in the wilderness. I was in love with the idea of winter right around the corner.

these pictures were so much easier with my mom there to take the pictures for me…

remember the last time I took pictures??

I can’t wait to make the trek in the years to come!