I’m a hunting failure

excuse the absence.

I’ve been in the mountains looking for food.

Hubby and I went hunting for the past couple days.

Hubby had to work tuesday night and got off wednesday morning. I was up and in the gym at 0630 to crank out my 4 mile run on the treadmill. didn’t feel like running in the dark in 20* weather. Hubby got home and we quickly loaded up the truck.

we got to our first campsite around noon-ish. Hubby hadn’t slept all night (obviously) so he took a nap. I read a book and played with the puppies. Hubby then woke up and we went for an evening walk/hunt to see if there was any deer in the area.

 

remember how this is what Hubby sees when we run together?

well this is what I see when we hunt….I let him lead the way. just to be sure he’s the one scaring off all the lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

not a freaking thing in sight. we saw some tracks, but not a heavily used area.

we decided to stay the night at this spot and move locations in the morning.

our new little camper has officially turned out to be a great purchase! it kept us all plenty warm in the teen degree weather. the puppies even managed to stay plenty warm!

the next morning we were up, rocking and rolling before daylight. we had driven down a road to check if elk were moving (Hubby has an elk tag to fill too). nope, still haven’t see anything.

we got back out on the highway and I looked up on the hillside and saw a deer! a deer! a freaking deer! I was so excited. Hubby slammed on the brakes I looked through my binos and it was a buck. a buck! a freaking buck! just what we needed (we could only hunt anterled deer). Hubby pulled up further and we were hidden from the buck.

we climbed out, grabbed our guns and slowly climbed this hill. I laid down in the snow and tried to get my sites lined up in this buck. I had them lined up and then he started to move. I was petrified to pull the trigger for numerous reasons:

1. I have shot this gun 3 times in my life.
2. I was so scared how the kick of the gun was going to fill in a laying down (prone) position. I have only shot it sitting down.
3. I was terrified of the muzzle blast. I had one ear plug in, but had taken the other one out to hear Hubby whispering to me.
4. I was shaking so bad. I was slightly cold from laying in the snow, but I was so nervous. this was my first deer EVER seeing through a scope.

I had literally 5 seconds from the time he turned broadside and I had a perfect shot at him to pull the trigger before he started moving and moving away from us.

at this point I told Hubby to shoot while he was moving away from us. Hubby shot and missed. the buck only traveled farther away from us and eventually headed into the trees. Hubby and shot a few times and we weren’t sure if he hit.

we hiked up the hill where the buck was when Hubby shot. we followed his tracks clear to the treeline and didn’t see any blood. we turned around and started walking back to the truck and I just cried.

I felt awful. I should have freaking shot. I shouldn’t have been such a wimp.

I felt disappointed in myself. I felt Hubby was disappointed in me. I felt my dad would be disappointed in me even though he wasn’t even there. Hubby tried to comfort me, but I was just plain mad.

we had gotten back to the truck and decided to come back to town.

we got back to the house about 1230.

we went out to a walk in area and walked out there to see if there were any deer out there. nope. no deer.

I had calmed down a little better then and decided I wanted to go back up the mountain and camp and hunt one more day.

we hunted all afternoon and finally called it a night. we found a camp spot around 7pm. made some dinner, got the camper heating up, watched a movie and made a plan for the next morning. I wanted another shot a that freaking buck. I wasn’t going to let him get away this time.

this is what I woke up to (only I was IN the camper). I wished I could get into this spot in the middle of winter. it was so peaceful. both nights we heard coyotes howling, which for some reason makes me extremely anxious!

the next morning we went back to the same spot where we missed the buck the day before. we sat and let the sun come over the hill to see if he would show with the sun on the hillside. we never did see him again.

until next year. I will be back and I will redeem myself!

the season for antlered mule deer ends monday. but we have well into december to get a white-tailed deer.

it was a success because we tested out the new camper that we just bought. temps were well into the 10s and maybe even single digits last night. we all kept plenty warm and there was plenty room for the two of us and 3 dogs.

the dogs had a blast even if they were stuck in the truck most of the time.

no we didn’t get a new dog…we are puppy sitting for my parents again!

I will get a deer this season. it just may not have antlers and I’m ok with that.

I haven’t wanted to talk to anyone about this, especially Hubby, Mom, or Dad. Hubby told Dad what happened; and when Mom called today I told her I didn’t want to talk about it.

so…this is it. I won’t talk about it again…until I fill my tag.

even though I missed a cross-training/lifting day yesterday…I think I made up for it with all the hiking we did!

back to the gym and getting some miles on my legs tomorrow.

#runbuddy

after a failed attempt via twitter to find someone to move to wyoming to be my fulltime running buddy, I roped some familiar faces into going with.

Hubby had just gotten home from an interview and Twogs…well she’s always up for a run!

I had a new route planned, but didn’t know how far it would end up being. I had 3 miles scheduled and figured it would be in a ballpark figure of 3 miles.

Twogs usually just wants to play for the first 0.25 miles. but then she settles down nicely. we opted for no leash today and hoped that she didn’t make us regret it.

weather was a little on the windy side, but I kind of don’t mind it. makes ya a stronger runner. especially when you have a head wind going UP the hills. tends to make you a little stronger physically and mentally.

we look like we’re having fun. I was. not so sure about Hubby’s answer there.

I’m trying to get Hubby into running regularly since we’re both signed up for the Winter Sun 10K in moab, ut in december. so…he needs to get training. he’s typically ready to be done at 3 miles…so he needs to double that. time to cowboy up cupcake!

we ran my favorite hills close to home. we even added some hills and we both pushed through them and didn’t take walk breaks.

miles 1 and 2 were on the slower paced side for me. mile 1 = 9:05/mile. mile 2 = 9:18/mile.

mile 3 was quicker. Hubby pushed the pace. we were also going downhill and finally had the wind at our back. felt nice.

when we headed back Hubby said “give me the camera. I want you to know what I see the whole time we’re running.”

I think he’s saying I always leave him behind. but today I stuck with him. I didn’t leave him and if I got in front I slowed up.

mile 3 = 8:11/mile

told you we pushed our pace. or maybe the downhill and wind had something to do with it!

Twogs with no leash did amazing! we passed people on our route and she would do a quick sniff as she ran by. and for the most part stayed right at Hubby’s or my side!

we even had some major roads that we ran on and she listened great! puppy training success! now Hubby wants me to get to working on Jaggar’s manners. slowly but surely we’re getting there.

I have an interview tomorrow for a winter job here in town! I’m still excited about it. so excited that I have thought….”what if I stay at this job for the rest of my life?”

decisions, decisions. the answer is probably won’t happen. I love being outdoors too much. the thought of being inside…scares me!

breast cancer awareness weekend

this weekend small town wyoming had its 3rd annual breast cancer awareness 1.5 mile walk, 5k walk/run, 10k run.

but FIRST!

friday morning a certain little 12 week old puppy had his vet appointment. when he went in at 8 weeks he weighed 13 lbs. since our other golden weighed 10 lbs. at that same age and gained 10 lbs. every four weeks after that. I had guess that Jaggar would be pushing 30 lbs. at 12 weeks. and pushing 30 lbs. he was. 26-ish lbs…how’s that for exact?

after the vet, Hubby and I came home and cleaned house like mad people. I need company to visit every week so I’m basically forced to super clean my house.

my parents came over the mountain to spend the night at our place, drop off their dog, and run the race on saturday.

we ate carbs (lasagna), drank some wine and beers, and watched a movie. seems though, Jaggar just wanted to have snuggle sessions with my parents.

we all turned in before 10pm.

everyone was up bright and early. Hubby was covering an extra shift at work so he had to be ready well before us. Mom and I went and got breakfast and coffee at starbucks. I felt hungry so I got a breakfast sandwich and a small pumpkin spice latte. I was praying it didn’t come back to bite me in the butt in the middle of the race.

since I have slowly been getting back into the running 3 days a week I signed up to run the 5k. I physically felt strong enough to do the 10k, but was more worried about an injury since this was my highest mileage week. it felt great to run 3 days a week though!

we got to the park about 0940. people were slowly filing in.

I really hadn’t decided if I was going to sick with my parents or run off on my own. and didn’t really decide until they ditched me at the starting line! thanks mom.

the shirt my dad is wearing is the shirt we received for signing up. last year we also did this same race but the shirts were cotton. this year tech tshirts! total score! that’s probably the most pink my dad will ever wear! go dad!

I tried to get up to the front to avoid being stuck behind the walkers. phew. dodged that bullet.

less than 0.50 miles in. I felt good. I always pay attention first starting out so I’m not chasing someone who’s doing sub 7s. I finally settled into an average right around 8 minutes. when my watched beeped at 1 mile I checked and said an 8:09/mile. perfect! that’s right where I wanted to be!

mid run. this is the first time ever that I’ve carried my camera. it wasn’t bad. and yes, I’m running in this picture! it doesn’t look like it though.

mile 2 was UPHILL. but I knew this and have been training on the hills so I was prepared. I pushed through the hills. no walks for me.

at about 1.5 miles there was a water station. I grabbed a water, took a sip and pitched the cup. this was the same spot that the 10k’ers broke off from the 5k course. so the girls I was chasing the entire time took off on the 10k course. damn. guess I better start chasing the guy in front of me.

the course flattened out here and even started going down.

right when I hit mile 2 my garmin beeped and I got passed.

these guys were great! they passed me. I told them great job. and they YELLED (!!) “great job girl! keep it up. 6 minutes of hard running!” they also were 2nd and 3rd placed boys of the 5k.

mile 2 was an 8:31/mile pace. pretty freaking good considering most was uphill.

right here the rest of the course was downhill. I could see a girl in front of me and picked it up to catch her. fail!

my garmin registered this course to be 2.99 miles. course routing fail! if I had that extra 0.11 of a mile I feel confident I could have caught and passed her.

I crossed the finish line at 24:01 according to my garmin. official result was 24:02.

I got 3rd overall female for the 5k’ers!

got a sweet coffee cup and coffee! score!

dad and mom finished behind me. dad finished so fast I didn’t get a finishing picture. so I took a couple extras of mom.

it was a gorgeous day out! we were just missing sister and my hubby!

and somehow…I managed to have a pair of PINK! toe socks that I cut the toes off of and used as arm warmers! P.E.R.F.E.C.T.

now I’m at home. relaxing. I did go to a potential job location to fill out some more paper work. I’m oddly excited about this job even though it would just be a winter job. we’ll see.

what’s in my gym bag?

I figure if I’m missing anything…you can help me!

I recently decided that a gym bag would be a smart idea…even though my gym doesn’t have a “locker room.” there are bathrooms, single rooms, but no changing rooms. so basically you kind of have to be pretty dressed to go to my gym.

I also decided that a gym bag wouldn’t be a bad idea, because it keeps all my gear in the same place! and then if I leave for a vacation and want to workout…I grab my bag and go.

so without further waiting.

my bag is the perfect size! not too big, but hasn’t hit that “too small” status yet.

shoes. shoes are a must. I have my cross training shoes from under armour and my running shoes that are saucony. I also have a roadID on my running shoes! very thankful I haven’t been in a situation to use it, but am happy its there!

shorts, buff, shirt and sports bra. I tend to wear my same workout clothes for running for about a week. less if its been warm and I sweat a lot. I always have an extra sports bra and shorts in my bag. my buff is essential. especially if I’m dealing with my ipod. I try to sick with the “running shirts” instead of cotton while I’m running. they keep me cooler. most cross training days…I just grab the next tshirt out of my drawer. this may seem funny, but I have cross training socks and my running socks. and I have every single pair in my gym bag. you just never know.

can’t forget the key card. our gym is 24 hours. works best with Hubby’s schedule!

entertainment. ipod with extra head phones…just in case. I like to read if I’m I on the elliptical of bike. seems to pass the time a lot better! yeah…I’m in an A-Rod book right now…and the more I read…the more I’m disliking him. still a yankee supporter, but an A-Rod hater!

horrible picture! these are my lifting spreadsheets. folder for me is a must otherwise they would be crimpled and unreadable!

I know I need to add hair ties to my bag. and I have some…just have to find where Hubby put them.

I also take a water bottle and most times leave it in my bag, but its in the dishwasher.

am I missing something vital?

fit fluential ambassador!

I recently joined twitter.

mainly to follow companies such as the forest service (since they often tweet about fires and such).

I came across a company called FIT FLUENTIAL.

I read into it more and knew I wanted to be an ambassador!

I’m always wanting to help people getting fit. I have given much thought to becoming a personal trainer or running coach, but with me living in remote wyoming I would have to travel a decent distance to get certified and right now the travel funds just aren’t there, but where they are…you bet your sweet ass I’ll be looking into certification.

one way to “apply” to become a fit fluential ambassador is to make a photo collage of my life basically! well… here we go.

 

I truly enjoy sharing my healthy active lifestyle with my family and we don’t just do that by running! we do snow sports, we ride horses, we hike and we enjoy time on the lake!

we don’t just limit ourselves to our mountains in our backyard. we often travel to places and still manage to stay active. first to south dakota on a 6 mile hike to a fire lookout and then to the shoshone national forest to where my uncle was tragically killed in the 1988 yellowstone wildfires.

my town of sheridan, wy and my backyard of the bighorn national forest is truly God’s blessing and the best kept secret in wyoming! never a dull site!

I have my “me” time…I keep busy with my own run training.. and also with my job during the summer I’m kept busy with wildland fire which is never a walk in the park!

I keep active with my golden, Twogs. She loves to go for runs, walks, and is always in the mountains when we go to explore.

this is Jaggar and he is our newest addition and he is already super active with us…going everywhere!

I am always changing up gear usage. I have a gym bag that I only keep my workout materials in it! that way I can grab it on the run. I have my workouts planned in advanced and am always working towards a goal!

I try to remain active! being a couch potato is not my strong suit! I am always looking for new adventures and am always up for trying new things and meeting new people!

I want to help people achieve their fitness goals and if I can do that by becoming a Fit Fluential ambassador then please pick me!