I lied - or life is looking up?

This weekend, Steve and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. We tossed around several ideas for celebrating, but on our currently limited budget, we decided to spend the day exploring part of our new home. First, we went to Topper's Cellar, which has a great selection of wine and beer, housed in a very cool building . The welcoming and jovial owner gave us a fun "choosing the correct wine" lesson. Next, we walked the entire downtown area browsing shops -there are definitely some fun ones- and buying a variety of chocolates from The Parrot Confectionery Store. Thanks for the recommendations, Dan! It was a beautiful day - in fact, we are learning that the sun shines brightly here most of the time. Instead of eating out, we went home and used our new, spacious kitchen to make yummy fajitas.

This morning, I tried out my new purchase. I know using the microwave is cheating, but I love poached eggs and wanted a quick way to make them before work. It will work pretty well once I tweak the directions. We identified a perk of living in town - the ability to pick up coffee and a newspaper and be back home lazing around within 10 minutes.

I also met up with Rebecca this afternoon. We attended a performance at the Myrna Loy Center in celebration of Deaf Awareness week. I hadn't been in a room full of people signing since leaving DC, so it was time. Thanks Rebecca for going with me!

On the injury front, I'm slowly getting back to running. I'm sticking to pavement and flat trails and survived a fairly painless 7.5 mile run on Saturday. My hip still is tender, but was not nearly as bad as the pain in the knees and feet post run. I quickly realized that my road shoes (bought a year ago) had too many miles on them. So, once again, I'll be going shoe shopping. That should definitely lift the spirits!

A hopefully brief interlude

Every time I sit down to tackle a new blog entry, I don't get anywhere. I would say I'm in a bit of an "emotionally fragile" state. Even though Steve and I have moved almost every year of our marriage (and it will be 11 years this month), this one was really hard. I loved everything about life in Kalispell except the fact that I wasn't with my husband. Now, Steve is here which is absolutely great, but the task of finding my way in this new community needs energy I just don't seem to have right now. As a therapist, I know that I'm going through a grieving process and need time to adjust, but that hasn't provided much comfort. So, to prevent a series of whiny blog entries, I'm going to take a hiatus until I'm on my way to settling in to my new home.

A few messages though,

1) Great job to Rebecca, Deb and Ruth on a rainy but successful Two Bear experience.
2) Good luck Danni on the upcoming Le Grizz.
3) Carsten and other interested parties - for sure let's plan to meet up for a future race.
4) Chris - hope you kick some under 4 hour butt at Twin Cities.
5) Marisa and Julia - have a great time at Portland! You'll both do great.

Off to unpack more boxes...

Swan Crest Photos, Finally

Not a lot else to say except that moving is growing old. I am sad to be leaving my job, my friends, the cabin, my running routes, Glacier, etc. but excited to discover what's next. Much more to come as we get settled...

Injury, a DNF and life changes

I decided to run the Swan Crest 57k. I injured my hip in a very stupid way - it was tight, I tripped, heard a pop, decided to keep running. It got worse, I then had to hike back out 10 miles to my first "Did Not Finish." Steve came to get me for an assessment of the situation. No running for 4-6 weeks.

The reasons for both the injury and being sick are very obvious to me now and should have been all along. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of decision making. As most of you know, my husband and I have lived apart for over a year. We wanted to live in the Flathead, I got a job, he couldn't find a job, and so it went. It has not been easy emotionally, but the impact financially has been a real pain. So, when my car broke down with a cost of almost a couple grand to fix, we really had to think of a "Plan B."

Plan B was to look at other areas of Montana (that we both like - because obviously I will NOT live in Great Falls). Turns out, we both had job offers quickly and the plan was set in motion. But, trying to find a job, finish a job, terminate with clients, find a house, pack the cabin, say good-bye to friends, visit family, AND stay healthy just wasn't going to be easy.

Despite the stress, injury, etc. we are excited and ready for what we hope will be our last move to a place we both really love. More to come later...

Danni and Callie - sorry to take off abruptly. I would have liked to cheer you in, but the pain was pretty much unbearable once the three advil wore off. I hope the run was all you hoped it would be!

Quick trip to Great Falls...

When Steve casually mentioned Friday night that he'd run with me the next morning, I didn't believe it. But, there he was with me Saturday morning on the River's Edge Trail for a 3 miler. It was sooo nice to have him join me. I know he'll continue to prefer the gym and treadmill, but I'm hoping he'll run with me again every once in awhile.

View of the river from River's Edge Trail - look closely, you can see the muddy singletrack below

Sunday morning, I planned to do a 14 miler on soft trail. Unfortunately, it had rained throughout the night, turning all the trails east of town into mud chutes.

More singletrack options

Instead, I dragged myself to the River's Edge Trail again. It was kind of misty when I started, but by mile 7, I was up against solid rain and small hailstones. I wimped out and called Steve (who was braving Wal-Mart alone - one of the million reasons I love him) asking him to meet me at the caboose, which was another 3 miles away.

Of course, the rained then stopped, so I called him again, saying I could make it home. I was wet, but enjoying the cool temperatures and solitude of a rainy day. I was three miles from home, when the sky opened up sending a wrath of torrential rain, wind, and freezing cold. My legs turned instantly red and went numb, a waterfall was coming off my cap, and I started to have pain in my knee and hip. I continued on, too stubborn to call for a ride and determined to finish the run. I was just coming out of the last tunnel about a mile from home when I saw my car pulling up alongside me. It was Steve coming to the rescue! I knew I had done only 13 miles, but who cares? There was a warm car with a very much loved husband in it...not a bad way to finish.

Rainbow Dam Overlook

Black Eagle Falls in the distance

View of Black Eagle Falls from the River's Edge Trail

It continued to rain for the next 24 hours. The temperature when I left Great Falls was 38 degrees. I hope this does not mean winter will arrive early...