Mountain Monday!

Happy Mountain Monday (is this a thing, yes I believe it is)! Once I heard about #mountainmonday, I knew I had to incorporate this into my corner of the internet because I LOVE MOUNTAINS and beautiful things that you are only able to see from hiking!

This week to kick off this new series, I am sharing with you one of my first experiences with backpacking (no, I didn't just grow up backpacking through the mountains believe it or not) through the Zirkel Circle in NW Colorado. This is a FANTASTICALLY BEAUTIFUL hike and the views are stunning, but it is not easy! I believe the hike is around 11.5 miles and includes some serious vertical (we did the circle in the clockwise direction- the only way I'd recommend it), but also some pretty fun downhill!

We did this trip from a Friday-Saturday, so headed out on the trail later on Friday evening. I believe we made it maybe 3 or 4 miles in before we decided to pitch up camp for the evening and we would finish out the circle on Saturday. It's always so difficult to find a flat spot for your tent when backpacking and we haven't had TOO much luck thus far (unless it's been a pretty utilized trail system for backpacking). 

Since this was one of our first backpacking adventures, we had our food all over our backpacks (not organized & not recommended) and carried WAY too much in general. We've since switched over to almost all Mountain House freeze-dried meals (they're actually really good) and keep our food in one dry-bag to make it easy to pack up the next morning (and hang our food at night). 

We also have previously had a lot of trouble hanging our food, but gotten better at it with having just one large (22+ gallon dry bag) and a very long rope. We used to split our food into multiple food bags and have rope-like material (also not recommended). 

I was so concerned that we were going to get eaten by a Mountain Lion that I think I slept for maybe 3 hours that night (I've gotten way better at just believing that no animal will "get us") and we headed out to finish the circle bright and early. The entire trail brings your around the first lake that you come to and up and over a pretty high ridgeline (with spectacular views). The trails between the two lakes have some amazing campsites if you're able to get to that point before turning in for the evening. 

Some things we always bring backpacking with us:

• Rope
• Large dry-bag
• headlamps (1 per person)
• book of some sort
• JetBoil
• Map of trails
• Compass
• Bear Spray
• Water & lots of it
• Snacks!
  • My favorite snacks are: Honey Stinger Gels, Almonds, Starbursts, Dried Pineapple, Larabars, Luna Bars, Pop Tarts

Ever gone backpacking before? Have any good secrets or suggestions? What's some things that you always bring backpacking with you?

Backpacking on the CDT

Last weekend we went backpacking on the Continental Divide Trail to the 6 Fishing Lakes in Routt National Forest and it was amazing! We had previously done this hike (but camped on a different lake this time) and last year, it was raining/lightning almost the entire time. We got lucky and had spectacular weather the entire time! 

We decided to begin our hike earlier than we normally do backpacking (we typically don't start our hike until 2 or 3pm, but went out at around noon) and this gave us so much time in the afternoon to just relax and read and fish. We set-up our camp 3.5 miles into the trail at the 3rd lake we came to (Lake Elmo) and were the only ones there the entire time. The trail passes by our campsite a bit, but it was nice to have some passersby once and a while and still feel like we had the entire place to ourselves. 

At first, I was a little skeptical towards backpacking as being out in the woods by yourself and far enough away from anything & everything is a bit scary, but this trip was SO wonderful it really began to change my outlook towards backpacking. I also think this is a great trail for beginning backpackers (I've gone on maybe 10 backpacking trips & still consider myself a beginner) because it's not so remote that you feel helpless if something were to go wrong, but it's also a good distance from anything. 

We arrived to our campsite by 2 and cooked up some lunch (we typically just pack along some snacks and a few mountain houses to make clean up easy and keep our packs light) then set up our tent and relaxed! I think I probably read about 100 pages in my book on the trip and we saw maybe 30 fish jump (but sadly caught nothing...I'm beginning to think that there's some consensus between all the fish to not latch onto just our pole because others around us ALWAYS catch something). We also saw a giant moose pass about 200 meters by our campsite- it was so out of the blue that I didn't even have my camera on me to take a picture!

Sunset views from our tent

The views were so wonderful and my photos definitely do NOT do it justice! We got up the next morning around 7:30 and I headed out for my solo trail run shortly afterwards. I ended up getting stung by a bee on the top of my ankle about a mile in, but luckily I had my compression socks and that really kept the swelling down and I managed to get in 4.5 miles and reach the final 6th fishing lake, Long Lake (the biggest one) at an altitude around 9,200 feet (we camped at an altitude of just over 10,000 feet). 

The wildflowers were in bloom throughout our entire hike and the trails were really well maintained (it's a popular mountain biking trail as well). I'm so glad I was able to fit in some trail running because that's been on my wishlist to do for a while. This trial is also part of both a 10k that our local running series puts on (I'm thinking about signing up) and their annual 50/100 mile trail run! It's pretty cool to say that my training run was along these routes, as well as on the CDT. 

Overall, this was a perfect backpacking weekend. We got back to our car around noon on Sunday and that gave us the afternoon to do (what seemed like) a million loads of laundry and meal prep for the week ahead. HIGHLY recommend doing this as a backpacking trip if you're ever in Northwest Colorado- you can tie it into a loop hike for higher mileage (10 mile or 20+ mile round trip) if you want to. Happy hiking and trail running!

Run recap & 10 favorite podcasts

This mornings run was magical. It was one of those perfect overcast (and fairly warm- low 50's) morning and I headed out to Strawberry Park- a pretty hilly run with not much traffic (there are more cows than cars) and a favorite of mine. 

By Thursday, it's always hard to wake up early as I'm tired and drained from the week, but when I remind myself that I get to "sleep in" (relative term: I wake up at 6:45) tomorrow morning that gets me out of bed and when I experience mornings like this it makes it all worth it. 

While I was running (and listening to one of my favorite podcasts...we'll get to that in a minute), I started thinking about how I was planning to go to hot yoga tonight because I feel like I needed that zen-like-feel that you only get (or well maybe I only get..) from yoga and then I GOT that same feeling on my run. It was so quiet and peaceful out, the air felt wonderful, I was relaxed, and when I finished- I felt refreshed (almost exactly like what I feel after leaving a yoga session)! 

Love when my recovery time is on-point for my next run!

Easy-paced miles to get me ready for my last double-digit run before Revel Rockies in 17 DAYS!

I did a few strength training workouts (2 x 10 dips on the assisted pull-up machine (20 Ib weight), 2 x 10 single-leg calf raises (10 Ib weight) on the seated leg press, 2 x 30 side squats with band, 2 x 1 minute planks) then finished up with 10 minutes of soaking in the hot springs (so thankful to be able to rejuvenate in a natural hot springs!). I was super hungry so I grabbed a bagel with cream cheese and coffee before heading into work. 

Now, onto my top ten favorite podcasts to listen to while on the run!:

• Runner's World Podcast : This is one my favorites! I honestly look forward to my Thursday morning runs where a new show is released and their stories are always really entertaining and thought-provoking. Also, I've loved listening to David Willey's Moonshot series and can't wait to hear his hopefully BQ-qualifying story!

• Ali on the Run Show: This show is so amazing and I never thought I'd meet another lover of Celine Dion, but Ali is one! She combines both personal stories regarding running and includes some great interviews with well-known runners (can't wait until her interview with Natalie Morales comes out). This show is great for shorter runs (since most of her podcasts are ~25-30 minutes) and it typically comes out twice a week!

• Sounds of the Trail: This podcast isn't running-related, but that's why I love it! It follows different thru-hikers each year as they attempt to finish their trail (CDT, PCT, AT) and overcome obstacles and interview fellow hikers. I love how honest and funny they are and their being out in the woods brings me both peace and envy of them. 

• Another Mother Runner: Yes, "technically" I'm not a child-mom, BUT I am Stella's mom and this running-related podcast is great for long runs. They interview many different runners on varying topics (favorite one that I just recently listened to was interviewing Elyse Kopecky from Run Fast Eat Slow) and they're normally at least an hour long. 

• Wait Wait....Don't Tell Me! : This game-show based on news that happened throughout the week is funny and helps take my mind off of the run (when I'm struggling or need something more upbeat). They also have celebrities on a guests every week and I actually try not to listen to live on the air on NPR so I can have the podcast to listen to on my runs later that week. 

• Serial- You knew it was coming! When a new season is out, I CANNOT put it down! I will listen to it non-stop on my runs, in the car, when I'm cooking, etc. until I finish. Alex loves to listen to it too so I'll try to wait until we have roadtrips together, but often times I can't wait and then just listen to it again. If you haven't started listening to it, you have to. It's like a real-life mystery unfolding in each podcast. 

• S-Town: This one is put-together by the same producers as Serial and was pretty good (and similar mystery-drama), but honestly didn't come close to how great Serial was (they set the bar PRETTY high). I listened to this one on mid-length runs and it also helped the time pass on long drives (when we went to New Mexico). 

• TED Radio Hour: Comprised of TED talks about everything from the 7 Deadly Sins to How Things Spread and each podcast is really thought-provoking. If I want to get "in the zone" on the run, I'll choose a topic and download it or if we're going on a roadtrip (or backpacking/camping) , I'll go through and download a few topics that interest us. 

• Outside Podcast: This one has so many great options to pick and choose from and is great for a short (typically 30 minutes) run. They just launched their XX factor series that focuses on women in the outdoors and they are really amazing and inspiring stories. Their first story in the series was about Arlene Blum (my idol) who led an all-women's ascent of Annapurna (the world's tenth-highest peak) in 1978. Her book Annapurna: A Women's Place is definitely my top-five favorite books ever. 

• The Bernie Sanders Show : Maybe not always the best podcast to listen to while running, it's nice to switch it up once and a while and well...because it's Bernie. He has guests on his show that shed on light on important political topics (favorite one was with Bill Nye talking about Climate Change). It's a great thought-provoking show to help get your mind out of the gutter on the run. 

There you have it! My top 10 favorite podcasts to listen to while running, driving, cooking, hiking, camping, etc. You can listen to the podcasts on the links that I provided OR you can download them via iTunes or apple's podcast app (which is what I do). Happy Thursday and go download some new podcasts!

Favorite podcast to listen to?

What do you listen to when you're running?

Favorite way to relax and unwind? Yoga? Running? Meditation? Walk?

First Backpacking trip & Just Another Manic Monday

First backpacking trip of the season was a success! We wanted to head out to Silver Creek (which should have been about 3.5 miles in), however we got 3 miles in and the trail was completely socked in with SNOW! We were able to find a nice campsite a little ways off the trail and we didn't meet any other hikers until we were leaving the next morning! 

I managed to get in my tempo long run on Saturday morning before we headed out to the trailhead! It was 75 degrees out and so beautiful. I did 11 miles (was supposed to do 12, but with my colonoscopy the day before I didn't feel like I wanted to push my body anymore & really my fueling was not the best on Friday to push it) and 6 miles at tempo (8:34min/mi) split between outdoors & in (to get away from the heat for a bit). We slept in until 8:30!! So my run was done later than I wanted, but I'm working on trying to listen to my body more! 

We had a Good To-Go 3-bean chili for dinner and it was amazing! When we go out for just a night, we try not to bring in too much food (easier said than done). We were both pretty exhausted and headed to bed well-before hiker midnight (normally 9pm; but we were in bed by 8pm). It got down into the low-30's at night and I was so thankful that I brought my extra heavy-weight wool socks and hat for the next morning! 

We had a Mountain House Freeze Dried Skillet Scramble, which was super good, but really spicy! Definitely helped warm us up (along with our coffee thanks to my trusty Jet Boil). We headed out around 8:30 and were off the trail by 10! 

The rest of Sunday was spent grocery shopping, meal planning, and I fit in a 20 minute swim! I'm trying to add in some more cross-training as my training comes to an end to prevent injury and/or burn-out. 

First watermelon of the season for the Sunday Afternoon win!

Monday morning came around way too sun, but luckily I was able to witness this BEAUTIFUL sunrise on my drive into town for my stretching & run session! 

I did 30 minutes of foam rolling & stretching before heading out for my run this morning. I felt a little tightness in my left glute, but luckily it loosened up after my run and stretching. 

4 easy morning miles to kick-start the week! I headed to my Jumpboard Reformer class during my lunchbreak and that was HARD. Taking a week off always seriously kicks my butt (in a good way though....)

During my meal-prep yesterday, I roasted a whole chicken that we will use for two different dinners this week! Buying & roasting a whole chicken is one of my favorite ways to save $ and time! I chopped it all up yesterday and we used it in our chicken tacos tonight and will use it later this week for a Mediterranean Chicken Pasta dish for Alex's birthday! Things we added to our tacos: chili seasoning & red pepper flakes on the chicken as I reheated it, taco shells (that I can't remember the brand- sorry!), sliced onion, red pepper, avocado, jalapeños, maple valley plain greek yogurt, mexican blend shredded cheese, and hatch green chile salsa!

How's the weather in your area? 

Favorite backpacking spots or do you prefer camping at campgrounds instead?

Do you include more cross-training in the final weeks of your training cycle?

Staple meal prep ingredients?