I really ramped up my running in May, and it feels so good to be back at it! I feel like I'm finally getting in shape for some good summer adventures.
Sidewinder:
Ashlee, Ashley, Becky, and I hit Sidewinder on opening day! Felt good to be back on this one, but it kicked my butt. My uphill at the beginning of May was definitely not where it use to be, but by the end of the month, I could tell I was making good progress.
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| There is a lovely collection of these along the trail. 😅 |
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| The flowers are starting to pop! |
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| Tricia-Ashlee-Becky-Ashley |
The Foothills:
I will run the foothills in May, but by June I avoid that area because of snakes. Jenn, Becky, and I got in a good 15 miler early in the month. We had to go in the afternoon, and it was so hot. Definitely not my favorite run, but we did some new sections up there, and I always enjoy exploring new trails.
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| We saw a snake, but it was not a rattler, and it was a tiny one. |
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| Pretty picture of Anna running into the sunset. |
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| We finished up right as the sun was setting. |
Women's Run: Little Kellys
We had a Women's Run scheduled for Little Kellys. That isn't far from my house, and there was crazy rain and wind going on. I debated just jumping on the treadmill, but I decided to put on my old shoes, head to the meeting spot, and see how it played out. The drive there was nuts! Sideways sheets of rain pelting my car. By the time I reached the trailhead it was turning to sleet, with crazy wind. Lots of ladies showed up, and we decided to just go for it, hoping it would be better in the trees. The beginning was cold and wet, but we ended up having a great run. The wind and rain calmed down, and we hit snow a little ways up the trail which made everything look so pretty. The mud was horrendous, but that just added to the fun adventure. No one can ever call us fair weather runners! 😆
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| Amanda-Georgina-Tricia-Becky-Ania-Nora |
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| The flowers were a little confused. They thought it was spring, and then poof, winter showed back up. |
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| Snow! |
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| The mud was ridiculous! |
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| This is how excited we were that we stuck it out! |
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| We were a mess! 😅 |
Kelly Heart Loop:
It's so fun to be back on these trails that we couldn't access through winter. The heart loop is always a favorite! We had a beautiful evening with stunning Idaho skies.
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| Ashlee-Tricia-Becky-Cris-Ashley |
Sidewinder:
I did a second round of Sidewinder with Joyce. We hiked up and ran down.
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| I saw a moose in a farm field on my way to the trailhead. |
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| The collection on Sidewinder is getting bigger. |
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| 😍😍😍 |
Gibson Jack-Slate Mountain Loop:
Cris does her long training runs on Thursday, so I joined her and Rhonda for a 19 miler in Pocatello. So pretty down there in the spring! Lots of wild flowers and blue skies. I really love running with these ladies!
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| Cris-Tricia-Rhonda |
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| So pretty! |
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| The flowers always make the miles easier. |
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| This is Cris. She is an amazing lady! She has spent a lot of months training for the Tahoe 200. Yes, you read that right, she is going to run 200 miles! I can't even wrap my mind around that! I will be joining her at Lake Tahoe in June to crew and pace her. I'm beyond thrilled for her, and am so excited to watch the whole thing play out. I'm giddy just thinking about it! |
Gnarly Climb to Cranky Cowboy:
First Cranky Cowboy run of the season! I'm so grateful we moved to Ririe, and all these awesome trails are so close.
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| Becky-Ashlee-Tricia |
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| All of Kelly Canyon is looking amazing right now! |
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| So good to be back on Cranky. I'm sure I'll see a lot of this trail this season. |
Arco Peak:Joyce and I drove out to Arco to do a peak there. She saw a post about it and thought it looked cool. We picked the perfect time of year to do it. We had great weather and lots of wildflowers. I don't think it would be fun in the summer. It would be dry and super hot, because it's 100% exposed.
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| So pretty! |
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| We made it to the top! |
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| There were a lot of cool rock formations. |
Greenbelt:I never really run in Idaho Falls anymore, but we've been meeting at the Greenbelt once a week in May and getting in some good miles. I've missed running by the river. It's especially great for speed days.
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| Tricia-Ashlee-Becky-Ashley |
Palisades:Ashlee, Ashley, Becky, and I did upper Palisades and headed into Waterfall Canyon until the snow got too deep. It was a really great run for me! We did 18.5 miles, and I had to work really hard to stay with these ladies. It's just shy of the farthest I've gone since my 100 miler, and I felt really good about how I did. It was tough to keep up, but I love that kind of challenge, and I was proud of my effort. I'm gonna be where I need to be in no time if I keep running with these ladies. They have pushed me in May in all the ways I've needed.
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| Tricia-Ashlee-Becky-Ashley |
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| I love this canyon so dang much! |
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| The Lower Lake |
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| Running along the Upper Lake. |
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| We followed bear tracks right after the inlet to the Upper Lake. |
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| Upper Lake |
Cress Creek Hike:Kim and Russ came for a visit, and we went on a hike along the Cress Creek Canal. It rained and was cold for most of the time they were here, so I'm glad we had this small window to squeeze in a short hike.
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| Tricia-Jonnae-Adler-Noah-Kim-Russ-Mark |
Cranky Hill Intervals:
There is a killer hill on the way to the Cranky Cowboy trailhead. We did a hard hill workout on it that about killed me. I'm so glad these ladies love hard challenges as much as I do. Suffering is so much more fun when you have company. 😅
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| There's that Idaho sky showing off again. |
Glen's Grunt-Buckskin-Rolly Polly:
This felt like the hardest 8 miles I've ever done! I rode the struggle bus the whole way. I love this route, but after a tempo run on Monday, and a killer hill workout on Tuesday, this was rough!
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| Becky-Mat-Ashlee-Tricia-Jennifer-Ashley |
Gibson Jack-Sterling Justice:
Jenn, Kevin, and I went to Pocatello to do Gibson Jack-Sterling Justice. We wanted to hit this one while the wildflowers were popping. It was so gorgeous! We did a nice 20 mile out and back, and I feel like I'd be fine on a 50k now. My goal for summer was to get in and stay in shape to be able to do a 50k in case anyone plans any cool mountain adventures.
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| I didn't want to get up as early as we did, but the sunrise start was pretty. |
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| I love running on a flower lined trail. |
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| We stopped for pictures on the swing. |
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| 😍😍😍 |
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| The whole hill behind us was covered in flowers. |
Glen's Grunt-Buckskin-Rolly Polly:
Round two of this route. This time I was with Jenn and Mat (for a little while).
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| Hidden Vista |
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| Mat-Jenn-Tricia |
Stout Mountain:A group of us ladies decided to climb Stout Mountain. I've done it once before, so I was prepared for how steep it is. It's 3 miles up with 3000 ft of gain. It's like back to back to back Bigelow's, but without the downhill in between. So gorgeous though!
I love love love this route! Come run through the wildflowers with me.
This run was the perfect way to finish off my May running. It's one of my all time favorites. I try to do it at least once every spring, and at least once in the fall. Anything in between is just an awesome bonus.
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| I love this trail so much! |
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| Everything is so freshly green and pretty right now. |
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| We met a friend on the trail. |
Ashlee filmed me on the way back running through the flowers.
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Starting up Bruno! It's a climb like none other.
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| Here's a picture that includes Ky. Mark is usually our token guy on the trail, but he's in the midst of farm projects, so he hasn't wanted to get back at it quite yet. |
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| This was the perfect little bouquet! |
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| The climb up Bruno is always worth it for this view. |
May was such a fun running month for me. There is something about coming off of an injury, or coming back after a long break, knowing you need to get back in shape fast, that is so motivating. I've ramped up my miles a ton, I've increased my intensity to keep up with these kick butt ladies, and I've felt really proud of the progress I've made. I have been able to feel my improvements each week, and I've had so much fun! I'm so grateful for a group of strong women that have helped me every step of the way. They are encouraging, motivating, supportive, and amazing athletes. I'm grateful I get to run with them. I hope I never take this amazing running community for granted. I get to be a part of some fun stuff in June, so stay tuned! I hope I continue to love being on the trails as much as I did this month.
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