Stacy's Blog

Temps in the 40's. HEAT WAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Treadmill and loud music.

Beautiful sunset! My favorite time of day to run!

Beautiful day in North Dakota! Sunshine, 60's and blue sky. The snow is almost gone! Yea! 

The romance novels have returned. There are 2 of them laying on the same mile stretch they always are. This has been going on, off and on, for 5 or 6 years.

Signed up for the DMTM June 1st in the Blackhills. This is my first marathon in 4 years. My training plan was a little ambitious so I took it down a couple of notches. Since this is a trail marathon I am just going to enjoy the day.

Temp in the 30's. Legs felt tired today, but still had a good run. It is sooooooo nice to run without having to dodge snow and ice.

Geese are making their way back. Yea! Sure sign of spring.

Interval training on the treadmill. Bye Bye Spring.

Too cold and to windy to go outside. Spring? Really?

I was supposed to run half today, according to my training, but could not find one close so just made it a long run. 

My 4-legged running buddy went 6.5 miles with me. He doesn't seem as tired. :)

Temp was in the 20's and breezy, but not a bad day for a run! 

Chilly run with Miles. Sun was shining, so no worries. :)  I don't have the grandkids for the next 3 days so am going to try to get the bulk of my weekly mileage in since the weekend is looking busy.

The ad for the Polar Circle Marathon does not even look fun. I feel like that guy in the picture all winter. Why would I want to pay to do that!!! Give me the Hawaii Marathon!!!! :) :) :)

Interval workout on the treadmill. 

Wanted to go outside, but Ron needed my car so I didn't have any way to get Miles out to our running spot and there was NO way he was going to let me go without him!

Treadmill and a movie. Ugh!

Took Miles out. It is always a speed workout with him pulling me along. Then he veers off to sniff something and nearly pulls my shoulder out. He is getting better on our runs and always feels bad when he causes an abrupt stop, but sometimes his nose gets the best of him.

My legs felt good and as always it was a good run. 

Big storm headed our way. According to the experts we are set to get 4-20 inches of snow (they have really narrowed that down) and lots of wind. Ugh! Hoping they are wrong.

Great evening run. Temp 35, no wind. It is ALWAYS a good day for a run in North Dakota, no matter what the temp, when the wind isn't blowing!

Miles spotted some geese in the field and there was no way I could hold him. Away he went with his leash flapping behind him. Fortunately we have been working on the word "come" with treats so he came back as soon as I said "come". Good thing, otherwise he probably would have chased 'em to Canada!

Treadmill and tunes. Yawn

Ran with Miles on the bike path. He did pretty well. Wanted to stop at every tree. :)

I'm thinking about running the Rocky Mountain Half on August 2. We will be in Estes anyway, so why not! I have never run at that altitude before so it will be a challenge. Ahh, but what scenery!

Ran in Fargo today for a change of scenery. Chilly morning, but warmed up nicely. 

My legs felt good until about mile 13. Not a bad run, since I haven't run this far for 4 years.

Beautiful early spring evening.

Got out this morning before the wind kicked up. Awesome day! The geese are returning! Always good to welcome them back. Miles is loving the fact the frost is finally out and he can dig for critters again. We had to stop a few times so he could bury his head in a hole!

If we don't get rain the farmers will be out soon. Bye bye quiet roads. Sigh.

Ran in Fargo again. With the nice weather and the Fargo Marathon less than a month away there were runners everywhere.

My training schedule was for 16 miles but by mile 12 I knew I was not going to make it. Legs just weren't working for me. This week is supposed to be a lower mileage week so I just flip flopped the weeks.

Too cold and too windy so I "chose" the treadmill (it's like watching paint dry). My legs felt like they could run 20 miles. To bad I was on the treadmill.

Going to be a clear, crisp night tonight. I think I am going to set the alarm and catch the eclipse.

Legs felt great again today. Decided to finally check my AP for a change. I haven't kept track of it all winter since the running conditions have been less than delightful. Some days just standing upright was an effort, so keeping track of my pace was not a priority. Anyway, it was 9:19. Not bad. 

I was a little concerned about the run today since I tried to do it last Saturday and only went 14. I was really tired and my legs ached for about an hour after I finished but I was happy with the run. The temp was only about 40, but the sun was brilliant and I treated myself to Noodles and Co. and Easter candy afterwards. :)

My knees are giving me trouble. Either I am over training, I need new shoes, or I am getting to old. The latter I would rather not think about. I have noticed that it is taking me longer to recover from my long runs than past marathon training. Think I will start with the shoes first. :) 

It was a beautiful spring day so Miles and I took our time and he stopped several times to sniff the new scents! Planting season has started. Can't wait for the smell of fresh dirt!

I have officially switched to the Deadwood half marathon. I have also decided to cut my miles and stay on dirt roads for longer runs.

I was all set to run outside tonight and as I was getting ready I noticed some rather ominous looking clouds to the west, checked the radar, and decided to wait out our first thunderstorm of the season. By the time it was over it was to dark. 

Since I am only doing the half I decided maybe I should put a little speed work in my training.

Treadmill: warm up, 1 mile @ 8:34 pace, cool down. Played Boston loud!!!!!!!!  (That was for you, Mom!)   ;)

5 miles with Miles

This was just a local race in memory of a beautiful little girl who lost her battle to brain cancer 4 years ago. 

I was happy with my time, it was a good speed workout. 

On my way to Bismarck to hang with Tara and Alexander for the weekend.

Ran with Mom's pic. This was in memory of her battle as well.

 Really windy today so Ron took me north and dropped Miles and I off, so we could run south. Miles loved it since it was all new roads. We had 2.5 inches of rain over the weekend so the ditches were full and the rivers are rising. Nothing new. 

I ordered new shoes with more cushion. My legs felt pretty good and the sunset was amazing. Another good day for a run! Thanks Lord.

Spent the day with Zoey as she had a fever and could not go to daycare. Cole came over for supper so by the time I could get a run in it was dark and I was stuck on the treadmill.

Still waiting for spring. Ugh! It seems to be taking forever again this year. 

Wind was blowing like a hurricane!! I felt like I was running in place going north, then I was flying down the road going south. This wind keeps up and the fields will be dry in no time. The farmers are getting anxious to get out. 

Ron and I will be in Florida next week. Can't wait to run in heat and then jump in a swimming pool! :)

Off to Bismarck again for Cole's State Music competition.

So Ron and i were down in sunny Florida for a conference. Actually it was a conference for him and vaycay for me! The conference decided to have their first annual 5K. There were about 85 walkers and runners and we ran on the cart path of this beautiful golf course at 6:30 in the morning. I had tried to run the day before in the heat. I forgot that it is better to ease into running in the heat instead of going from the 40's to the 90's and thinking there will be no effect on my body. Ha ha. And I was getting sick so the combination was not very productive. Needless to say I was just hoping to have a good run and have fun. Next thing I know everyone is telling me I am the first place woman. Well, not knowing where 2nd place was I kicked it down, felt good and turned it into a speed workout. And I won a $100 gift card!!!

Last week was a bust as far as running. The day after my 5k my cold kicked into high gear and I have been sick since. Finally, felt better today. But the weather would not cooperate. Probably  better I was on the treadmill. Spring is NEVER going to get here. Sigh

Miles and I bucked a pretty strong wind and a gray, cold sky but we ran outside and had a great run. I finally got to try out my new hot pink Sauconys. I love new shoes!!! "Running" the Chocolate Run with Tara this weekend, so it is off to Bismarck again. 

I have the dirt, I have the flowers, now I just need Spring!

Great night for a run. Calm and chilly. I know I will be complaining about running in the heat by the end of summer, but right now I could use a little Spring sunshine and heat. 

Finally a sunny, nice day for a run. No wind. Yay!! Ran in Fargo then went to Bismarck.

Tara and I are doing the Chocolat Run 5K on Saturday.

It was a great morning for a race and we got LOTS of chocolate. We ran easy, and just had fun. Tara just started running again about 2 weeks ago so our pace was nice and easy. She kicked it down at the end. We were in the top third of the runners. Great fun, great day, great chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Total mileage for the week. I have been in Colorado since the 23rd. I have been sick for most of the month and trying to run through it. Last week it finally got me. Raging sinus infection, eye infection and generally feeling like I would not care if I died. So I did not run for the last week before my taper week. I almost cancelled our vaycay. Ended up going to go to the doc. She gave me meds. I hate meds, but I wanted to get better fast so took them. I love my native state, just to many people now.

This is by far my favorite half marathon!! What a way to see the Black Hills. It was beautiful and all on a gravel trail. They took us by bus, dropped us off and we ran down into Deadwood. My only complaint was that we had to wait 1 1/2 between the bus dropping us off and the race. It was cold and rainy and not fun. There were 2200 runners/walkers. 1885 finished. 

Considering I was sick for most of May and my training did not go well at the end I was happy with my time. I wanted to finish in the top 10 of my age division. The course was a slight downhill except between mile 5 and 6. It was a gradual incline but it was tough for me. I prefer something steep and quick. My legs were tired after I got over the hill but they recovered. I kept my pace steady and I was glad I did. By mile 11 things were starting to hurt but I was able to keep it steady. The sun came out and the temp was just right. 

I'm done with a set training schedule for now. Going to enjoy summer running without a goal. Summer running with the team starts on the 8th. :) :) :) I love CC season!!!!

Warm night and my legs were tired and Miles did not run much in May so we took it easy and enjoyed the evening.

This has been a slow running week. I have been playing catch up on yard work and laundry after being gone all last week. Trying to ease Miles into running longer distances again since May was a sparse running month for him. The heat is not helping, because I don't want to push him. He would run 10 miles even if it killed him. I am also enjoying not having a training schedule. I would like keep a once a week long run between 6-10 miles. We will see how that goes.

We got a Croozer for the Grandkids. Finally got it put together and took them for a test drive. They both had fun but G-ma was about dead after a mile. Wow, pushing 40 extra pounds is harder than it looks!!! Props to all those moms and dads who do it regularly. After the kids left, Miles and I went out and did another 3 and raced the sun. We got done just before it set. Awesome!!!

Tonight's run was the kind of run I dream about in January when I can't feel my face and my eyelashes are white. It was a fantastic summer evening. Blue sky, black dirt and green everywhere else. The corn and wheat are coming up and the sun is so far north it doesn't get dark til 10:00 pm. Love it! Miles even slowed down to savor the evening...or he was just wore out from chasing birds the first 2 miles of the run. :)

Slow and easy on a warm summer evening with my pup and my husband. Doesn't get any better than that! :)

Another easy run with Miles. He is the eternal optimist. He continues to dig for critters. I am pretty sure they are safe in their little underground bunkers.

3 this morning with team for summer running and 3 tonight with Miles. Windy day in the lower 70's. Ron is flying back from Iowa by way of Denver tonight. Wedding tomorrow and celebrating Jared and Jen's b-day's and Father's Day on Sunday. Trying to keep my mileage around 24-27 miles a week. Could be a challenge, life is busy. ;)

I almost talked myself out of this run. Glad I didn't listen to me. The day started out rainy and depressing and ended with blue sky and gorgeous sun! In between, the kids and grandkids came over for lunch and to hang out. It was a good Dad's day! 

Miles and I went out and enjoyed the evening. Fresh water for him to play in and all kinds of new smells!!! Looking forward to a less busy week and getting some yard work done. :)

Elliptical for 30 minutes.

Went in to Fargo and ran with the team. So begins my season of trying to keep up with high school kids. :) Can't wait!!!!!

Miles and I went out this morning and took advantage of an overcast sky and nice breeze. The storms are starting to fire up off to the west so I'm glad I decided to get out early. :) Not wearing my garmin these days so I am not sure what my pace is. With Miles dragging me along it is usually faster than I planned. 

Ran with the team this morning. There were only 5 and when 2 decided to go 2 they all decided to go 2. Kind of frustrating because they were capable of going farther. But like the Coach said, at least they were there this morning.

Rain rain go away. We have had enough for awhile. :(

Hot run.

Summer decided to show up! I think Miles long running days are over for awhile. :(

Was going to make this a rest day, but the evening was to perfect not to take advantage of it. Humidity dropped and there was a light breeze. Running at 9:00 at night and the sun is still up is awesome!

Elliptical

Ran with the team again this morning. Cool, cloudy, humid day. I was able to keep up with the lead group today. That won't last long. They only get faster as the year goes on. :)

Kaylie and I took Zoey and Rylan for a 3 mile bike ride. Pulling 60 pounds of kids around is a workout!

I thought it was cooler than it was so Miles and I only went 2.5. Brought him home and went out for 3 more. My legs felt heavy. I passed a guy on the bike path, he looked like he was just gliding along and I felt like my legs were glued down. It was a nice evening though.

Three muggy miles with the team this morning. I was going to run 3 more when I got home, but as usual they were forcasting rain and Kaylie wanted to take Zoey swimming in Fargo so I mowed the lawn, went to Fargo, drove home in a torrential downpour, cleaned the house, ate pizza, watched Shark Tank, stuck my head outside to find it was still a sauna, ran 3 on the treadmill and called it a night. I think that was a run-on sentence. :)

2 miles with Miles. 3.5 on the bike path and track. Warm, breezy night. The humidity seems to be getting better. My legs felt good and Miles was a crazy pup so the first 2 miles were fast. :)

It's Monday night and incredibly windy so after I watched Jack Bauer (can't miss 24)! I did the treadmill (yawn). Turned it into a speed workout:

Started @ 10:00 mp and ended @ 8:00 mp. Did some core work (another yawn). I should do more core work, but I find it sooooo boring. I am better at doing it in the winter since I workout on the treadmill more. Going to try to make it a goal before CC officially starts. We'll see. 

This is going to be a bi-polar post:

July 1st and the temp did not hit 60 degrees!!! Seriously? It was cold, windy, dreary, misty, crummy weather. Ugh!

Miles and I were going to go 4 miles, then 5, finally went 6. What a great night for a run! Cool, misty, overcast evening. The wind was a little stiff, but gradually died down while we were out. There was lots of fresh water for Miles to play in and we were both feeling good so we kept going. Great run!!!   AP 9:26

Not worth talking about last week's running. To much going on to focus. Camped with J and J and Rylan and Austyn on Friday and Saturday. :) Tara and Alexander visited. Hurt my foot. Thought I maybe fractured it, but ice and Advil made it feel pretty good so I am hoping to be back at it on Tuesday. 

Summer is going by waaaayyyy to fast! :(

Had a Dentist appt. (I hate Dentist appts.) this morning. Had lunch with Ron, ran some errands because that's what I always do when I am in Fargo. (sigh) I took my running clothes and decided to run in town for a change of scenery. Ran from Lindenwood to Dike east and back. The river is finally down and the bike path was cleared but parts of the route looks like a waste land where the water sat and all the vegetation died. Had the path pretty much to myself and the weather was perfect! 9:21 AP

Going to try to get Miles out for a slow 2 miles tonight. Oh wait...Miles doesn't know what slow is.

2 miles with Miles, AP: Dog fast with a weight attached to the end of the leash.

3 miles without Miles, AP: 9:15

Running Adventures with Stacy and Miles

Miles is a black lab mix. He has a nose like a bloodhound and enough energy to power a small factory. We run on rural roads with ditches on each side and corn and bean fields beyond the ditches. There are birds everywhere and they insist on antagonizing him by flying right over us or running ahead on the road. I keep him on a longer leash when we run so he has a little more freedom. Not always the best idea. :0   I try to see the furry critters before he does so I can reign him in before he is dragging me down the road. Today I spotted 2 deer on the edge of the corn field. Fortunately his nose was glued to some other scent so I was able to spook the deer and get them moving on down the ditch before Miles saw them. However, he smelled them and being curious deer they stopped to check us out. So there I am running, telling Miles NO and STOP and yelling at the deer to move along. I finally got control of the whole situation and Miles and I stopped and watched the deer bound out across the cornfield in the fading sunlight. It was really quite an amazing sight! :) I will save the turtle/racoon incident for another day. ;)

Went to Fargo and ran with the team. Hazy day, apparently it is from forest fires in Canada.

Didn't have the grandkids today. Temp was 87 and I did not want to run outside or on the treadmill. So I biked 10.63 miles and called it good.

My favorite time of day to run: sunset. Oh what a beautiful evening!

5 miles with the team this morning and it was total speed work as I decided to try and keep up with the lead group. Ya, not going to happen. Great morning for a run since the high temp today was only 65! 

3 miles with Miles tonight because the high today was only 65! ;)

3 miles with the team.

Progression run @ sunset. I had my times but then erased them. Miles was not happy when I left him at home. Too hot for him today.

Hot and getting humid. 

1 mile with Miles

4 miles on the bike path and track

The shadows are changing. 

Sunset run with Miles. Trying to get back into the swing of things after vacationing in Colorado. Jared, Ron and I climbed Longs Peak. Jared summited, I made it to the Key Hole and Ron made it to the Boulder Field. I intended to summit again with Ron and Jared, but Ron got dizzy on the hike up and I knew I wasn't going to let him go any farther than the Key Hole. When I got to the Key Hole my legs were sapped and I remembered what was after the Key Hole. So I told Jared to find a group and get to the summit and I went back down to Ron and we headed back down. It was a great day and lots of people on the trail, so we took our time and chatted with everyone. Jared summited at 8:00am and made it down to the trailhead at 1:00pm, safe and sound. Thank you Lord.

It was a great vacation! Getting ready for our next adventure in 10 days. Backpacking in the Beartooth Mountains!

Happy Anniversary!!!! 31wonderful years!! Looking forward to at least 40 more! ;)

Went for a sunset anniversary run.

First day of XC practice. Can't believe it is that time of year already. I got sick on Friday with a raging sinus infection and now I am debating whether to go to the doc. since we are leaving for backpacking on Wed. Ugh. My mileage is REALLY suffering this summer.

Looking back on the last month my running schedule has been less than stellar. I think I can finally put that nasty sinus infection behind me. 

We had a great time backpacking through the Beartooth Mountains. What amazing views and people we met. We are already planning next year's trip! Met an ultramarathoner with his pup on the trail. He was going in, we were heading out. He was right behind us at the parking lot. He and his pup ran 28 miles on Sunday. Really enjoyed visiting with him.

Carrying a 25 pound backpack for 3 days made my legs tired. But, wow, did I feel great this morning at practice! I thought maybe I lost a little endurance since my schedule has been a little sporadic, but I sure didn't feel it today. :)

Speed golf with the team in the morning. Coach and I rode around in the golf cart. :)

Sunset run. Hot and muggy. Ugh!

Moved Cole to U of Mary, ran in Sertoma Park, shopped a little and waited for Tara to get  done with school. It was sooo humid. AP 9:35.

Easy run for the girls. Speed workout for me.  A renegade squirrel almost ran over Coach and I. If not for some nice hurdling and fancy footwork there could have been quite a scene. :)

Finally cool enough to get Miles out for a run.  4 miles trying to keep up with a VERY enthusiastic dog!

1.5 warm up with the team before their speed work. 

Recovery run with the team. First meet of the season was yesterday. Everyone did a great job. The newbies were a little nervous but they finished in fine form!

Great early autumn day! LSD with the team. 

Tempo run with the team. Weather has been awesome for running. Just hot enough to keep them in condition if we should get a heatwave like last year. 

So we woke up about 3:00 am to thunder/lightning etc. I checked the radar and turned on the weather. There were thunderstorms backed up all the way to Bismarck! 200 miles of thunderstorms! And they were getting stronger as they moved east. We ended up with hail damage, tornado warnings, high winds and 3 1/2 inches of rain. Oh,... and no sleep.

Ron and I decided to go to the basement when we looked out at our backyard to see how big the hail was and the rain was swirling! I've seen it come horizontal before, but NEVER swirling! :0

Cool morning to take Miles out for some mileage.  This has been a week of speed workouts and my legs are tired so I am taking the weekend off. :)  Miles was wet, dirty, and panting when we got home. He was one happy dog!!

Long run with the team on a hot fall day! Bye bye heat. 

Mileage with Miles. The temp yesterday was 82, the high today won't even hit 60! 

Pre-meet run with the team.

4 miles with an energetic pup. 1 mile or so running around the XC course. Where is the warm Autumn days of Sept?

Recovery run with the team. Another chilly day, but great running weather!

3 miles with Miles this morning

5 miles with the team this afternoon

Easy run for the girls, speed work for me. They're killin' me. The Coach said the other day, "The girls stay the same age and the coaches get older each year." So true. ;)

Not sure what to call this run. Kind of a progression/tempo run. Started out just a long run with Miles, but the mosquitos were so bad I felt like I was running for my life. If I stopped for 10 seconds they were swarming all over both of us. So we ran fast!! Well sort of fast.

Mile 1     9:21

         2     9:24

         3     9:29

         4      9:37

         5      9:16

         6      8:19

         7      8:44

Ran with the team and when we stopped the mosquitos nearly carried us off! The bloodsuckers are unbelievable right now. Everyone is complaining about them. They were not bad this summer, but this fall has brought them out is swarms. Ugh!!!

Summer made a comeback with highs in the 80's. Made for a hot run. CC season is beginning to wind down. Four weeks left. :(

Cool enough to get the pup out. Speedwork for the team, so I was cheerleader. Gave up doing speedwork with the girls along time ago.

4 miles with Miles. Windy

3 miles with the girls. Rainy

Beautiful day for a run. Weather is going to turn winter-like tomorrow so we enjoyed the day. Wedding in Nebraska this weekend and CC meet today. Legs were tired today.

Tempo run with the team.

Pre-race run with Miles.

I always like to run a race in the fall during cross country. Since I have to try and keep up with teenagers I figure I am in pretty good shape. I am pleased with my time since I knocked over 2 minutes off from last year. I felt great and the race went so fast I couldn't believe when it was over.

After the race I went to EDC and ran all over the golf course to cheer on the girls. Busy day and my legs are tired.

Beautiful running weather lately.

Easy run with hill repeats half way through the run. One week until State.

4 with Miles this morning

6 with the team this afternoon. Last long run. 

The weather has been amazing! I didn't intend to run 10 miles today, but how could I not with the great weather. Hope it lasts all winter. :)

Last practice. Off to State tomorrow.  ;)

Easy, peasy run with the pup. Another great fall day. XC is over. The girls did great at State. 

On the treadmill. Rylan was playing downstairs and he wanted to try it. So I held onto him and started it up. He kept saying faster. He thought he was running so hard. Want to get him in his first kids race next summer.

Thinking very seriously about trying to qualify for Boston again. 

Halloween run with my pup. Chilly day, blue sky, no wind. The corn harvest is finishing up. I can see the horizon again. :)

Not lovin' this dark early stuff. Miles and I raced the sun tonight. We won!!

Progression run on TM.

Run with my pup. Rainy, breezy, chilly. The S-word was in the forcast. Ugh! Thankfully we didn't get any. :)

3M on the TM.  "Baby it's cold outside."

Temp was a balmy 19 degrees. The wind finally died down so Miles and I ran outside. Hunting season, so we wore our orange. Miles has a new orange vest. It fits much better than his old one. It kind of looks like a construction vest. Even has reflectors! He doesn't like it.