Hi, hello, hey there!

WOW!  How am I suddenly getting so many views?  I barely write anymore, so feel free to look at years past for training and running blogs where I broke down mileage, training days, and races.  These days I am doing equal parts lifting as running, and I'm down to one red aussie, but I still call it running with reds.  I tend to do more live videos on my Facebook page Running with Reds.  These days I find it easier to just talk through things than write.  Since I have so many new people joining me, I thought I would re-introduce myself before sharing some pictures of my week.  

My name is Michelle and my family and I live in a cute little oz themed town in Kansas.  I moved here from Tennessee in 1999 to go to grad school and other than a brief stint in Colorado, I've lived in the Flint Hills ever since then.  I don't imagine we will ever move, but if I could pick, I would move back to Colorado or even Canada or England.  I loved my time working in both countries and when I retire, would love to move to England permanently.  I am a scientist by trade, right now working in cattle nutrition/rumen microbiology/animal science.  My master's degree is in food safety/food science, but I have dabbled in molecular genetics, cancer research, entomology, and algae research the last few years.  My hubby owns his own business which can be very stressful at times.  I am glad I got to work for him for a few years when our grant ran out at KSU, as I got to watch my kiddo grow up without the stress of an exact 9-5, and to be able to coach girls on the run and track club since my working hours weren't so strict (yes, working all night post coaching happened sometimes).  I miss coaching SO much and would love to get involved somehow with some sort of sports coaching, as it truly is one of my passions.  I have a son who is very involved in fine arts including band and choir and is extremely artistic, while also racing race cars, go figure.    He has played a variety of sports for years but is taking a break from all things athletic to concentrate on his music/art and the dirt track.  Over the years I have had horses, dogs, shown dogs in dog agility, and have ultimately become an ultra-runner.  I have run from as little as one mile up to 50 miles and have loved mostly every minute.  I run with one or both of my current dogs and have run with a dog going on 15 years now starting with Miller and Harley and then my bestest girl Stella, and now with Boom and Ollie.  Stella and Boom have both run multiple 50k races and Stella a 50 miler with me and Ollie is just starting out her distance career.  While I haven't been in a serious training cycle in a while, I am dipping a toe back in by entering the Chicago marathon for next year where we both turn 50.  One or more of my running partners is going to run with me and I am keeping my fingers crossed we all get in!

Okay enough about me!  This is how our week went down.  

Andrew had his first band competition.  They eeked by with a superior rating against some awesome bands that practice every day and do big band camps.  We only are allowed 2 practice days a week during school as we are all inclusive.  That means we allow all kids in all sports and activities to join in, but the downside is no afterschool practice.  We only do 2 competitions a year which kind of makes me sad in a way because when I was in band, we were at competitions every weekend for months, but with the lack of practice, that is probably the max his band should do.  They still don't have a full field show on the field yet and have just 3 months in gotten two songs memorized and all the sets memorized for those two songs.  Sigh.  I think they have a ton of talent and did super well for just two days a week, but dang it, they could be SO much better if they were allowed afterschool or weekend practice. I get making it fun and taking the stress off of kids to be perfect and I am not just saying this because my kid is out there, but this is a dang good band with a ton of talent.  

I borrowed a friend's digital camera and while the above photo is not mine, I took 300 photos and they all look like ants to me.  Sigh.  I guess you need a super zoom lens to get good shots like the one above.  Photo credit goes to Kimmy Shaw.  

The latter part of the week was spent seeing an ENT about my very angry thyroid.  It's been about a year since my thyroid decided to blow up the size of an avocado, and some days it really is uncomfortable and I kind of would like to start the process of removal.  The ENT luckily agreed, doing yet another ultrasound to show me that basically the right side of my thyroid is a giant fluid filled cyst that is making my thyroid angry and inoperable with it's job of providing me with TSH.  My surgery is set for November 5th and my mom is coming from Tennessee to take care of me.  Yes, I am almost 50, and I still prefer my mom to come take care of me.  

Three works out with two runs to boot.  The weather is finally cooling off a tiny bit, and I am ready to run again.  Eventually I will go back to two work outs a week lifting and three runs with one run being a long run.  Come on fall, show me all of your glory.

We may have a new tradition of Ziggy's on game nights (when the raiders are away of course), and then a night cap at Manhattan brewing.  We had so much fun just having a date night with the KSU band playing and some good beer.  For those who aren't from around these parts, Manhattan is a pretty small town, and the KSU band is pretty big, so they do band pub crawls on Friday nights of home games.  We like to catch them at one or two of their stops and listen to them play.  Mark my words, some day, this will be my son!

It's great to meet all of y'all and hope y'all stick around!  Have a great week!!!!

Blank pages

Been staring at a blank page for a week and a half now.  Here are some pictures, since I can't find motivation to write.  

She hates when I lift.

Don't worry, fall is coming.  2 runs, 2 lifts this week.

First cool night and a live band and some good beer.

Andrew's bass guitar teacher at one time.  He played many solos and was amazing.

I love that she lets me drag her to all of my crazy ideas.

Oztoberfest, here we come!

The wicked witch threw a fireball at me!

World's largest Toto!  Yes, we embrace the Oz theme to the fullest here.

My little flying monkey and her new friends.

The cowardly lion with his mini figure of the cowardly lion.

These boys and their luck.  They won not one raffle prize, but two raffle prizes full of gift cards to local businesses.  

Another night, another band.  While the Grateful Dudes aren't exactly my style, you can't pass up sitting outside, enjoying the fall weather, and drinking beer provided by a local restaurant.  

I was brave and they behaved.   Mostly.  

Chiefs win (barley), KSU was off after the loss on the road, the raiders had a bye week before two road games, and Tennessee won.  

Y'all have a great week!

Band Mom era

SO much going on in my head right now.  Very busy at work (good thing), tired with our crazy schedule (good thing), stressed about things I can't control (bad thing), and now looking at a consult with an ENT to decide about taking my thyroid away.  Life always has to be interesting, doesn't it?

Three lifts and one run this week.  If the weather could cool off ever so slightly, Ollie and I could get back to running.  

We've been doing some short off leash sessions post running and she's been doing great.  I think we are slowly getting to a good relationship where we can all have fun and maybe do some off leash running without me worrying about her making a break for a different county.  

We had homecoming week and another home football game in which the band got to play in uniform.  I love how handsome he is in his red and black! Our neighbor was in the court this year, so we had to snag a picture with him before they left.  

Again, for only practicing basically twice a week, they sound and look really good.  There is so much potential there, just wish they could practice more and clean some stuff up.  We only have band basically twice a week for an hour and 20ish minutes and then once a week for an hour.  That's it.  No afterschool, no weekends, no nothing.  

That's all for this week!  Mother nature canceled our racing plans and ended our season thanks to a lot of rain due to the hurricane in the Pacific.  We ended up top 5 in points for the season and can't wait till the banquet.  Bring on next year and more fun and learning!  Have a great week y'all!

Hello?

It's funny that now that i have zero time to write and be present for my blog, I have so many readers now.  Welcome to my chaos dear readers!  Spoiler alert, running with a red did happen this week although it was Ollie and she isn't red, but boy have I been looking at red puppies lately and having some major FOMO.  

Also, I've probably said it a million times but I am SO READY FOR FALL.  I love lifting but I am ready to run and be outside and have cool crisp air in my face.   

I will be honest with you since this is space where I put crazy things in the universe.   I've been thinking about a few things, and I have several goals I am considering.  All of these things probably will take time and will probably be in the future, but I want it down on paper somewhere.  

1.  I am seriously considering getting a power lifting coach and doing some power lifting competitions.  I LOVE lifting and I love having goals.  I have found a few plans online that are only 3 days a week AND I would still need some running time for Ollie and I's mental health, so stay tuned.  

2.  I miss having horses.  My coworker has horses, and I didn't realize how much I had stuffed my horse loving self into a box and locked that away.  I am not going to rush into just owning any horse but if the right one comes along AND my coworker could board my horse at her place, that might work.  

3.  100k.  Sigh.  I miss running for hours on end and pushing myself.  I don't have two whole weekend days to give right now, but if I could find something that I could do in the spring and I could train all winter around Andrew's racing season then it's a maybe.

4.  Dog agility is always in the back of my mind, especially with Ollie being such a perfect size.  She still has a long way to go, but she's slowly gaining my trust.  The only problem is my trainer is in Kansas City now and that is a 2-hour drive one way.  I would need some help with ollie as she is very different than any dog I've ever trained.  

Okay back to reality now.  Two lifts and one run for the week.  I think the whole family is fighting something off and we all feel not quite right.  I felt like pure dog crap Saturday morning but had to go to work and then I had to get the mowing done and ran out of time for working out.  I know, excuses but it is what it is.  Sometimes rest is the best thing for you.  Plus, we had a lot of fun things come up towards the end of the week and I was all about having some fun. 

We went to Third Thursday in Manhattan and watched the big air guitar competition.  Yes, I typed that correctly and you read it correctly, AIR guitar.  It was so much fun and now Andrew wants to watch the documentary that was done on big air competitions globally.  We ended the night having some pizza at AJs with my coworker and just talking and listening to Bluegrass music.  

We also had another round of Friday night lights.  We lost a young man in our community last week due to an accident, and the community has rallied to stand behind the family and support them.  

The game was very emotional at several points we were all bawling.  Both teams had moments before and after the game that just made me glad we live in this tiny community.  We have firsthand been recipients of the love of this community when Tony had a brain tumor and had to have emergency surgery.  To honor this kid on both sides was truly amazing to watch and I don't think I've ever heard an entire football stadium FULL of people that quiet. We all left the game in silence and self-reflection.  That could have been any of us as parents losing a kid and being in their shoes.  

Overall, the band did improve which blows my mind with only technically 2 practices a week for an hour and half each.  They played Hard day's night/Magical mystery tour and added a new song minus marching sets, Elanore Rigby.  I can't wait to see this whole show come together.  They also marched at the State Fair this week and got all superior ratings.  

We ended the week racing again at Washington Kansas.  We've raced here several times this year and I feel like he is getting SO close to figuring this track out.  We have two more races this year, both at Clay Center and of course there is already lots of rain in the forecast.  Sigh.  I know he's a little frustrated at his finishes but there is improvement every single race.  

I am proud of his improvement and his ability to push this car a little hard each race.  I am also so proud that his little buddy for his heat race win as it was a BATTLE!  We also battled rain around the track all night and finally we got a huge shower that canceled the races.  I am glad we got some seat time, and I am thankful for all the friends that we got to spend some time with post-race.  

Keep your fingers crossed we at least get 2 more races and maybe 3 and end the year on a good note.  

Have a great week y'all!  It's ALMOST FALL!

Part Two: I am way too busy (and I never hit post)

Another race week and Andrew made the poster:) It helps that a big part of our racing family is the social media person now.

Ashton got lots of awesome pictures of Andrew.  I feel like I am going to spend way too much money with him.  I know, I'm a sucker and photographers know it.

Unfortunately, rain spoiled our plans to race at Clay center.  Hard to believe just a year ago this weekend we were putting Andrew in Bo's car for a test drive.

Still trying to find sponsors for Andrew's car.  I suck at asking people for money.  This is why I am not in sales or business for that matter.  I struggled with asking people to pay the bills they owed for work we did for them.  

Since it was a home football game, we got to do a band pub crawl, or should I say we parked our butt at Manhattan Brewing Company and listened to the pep band when they came through.  Then we headed over to the new pizza place Ziggy's and had pizza and more beer before heading down to the Aggieville bar district for dessert.  My coworker is now living in Manhattan so we can steal her away and make her go with us.  Minus the crazy driving and the already drunk kiddos, it was a fun night and the energy was infectious.  Oh to be young and dumb again.

Saturday night was a rainout at our racetrack but further South, it wasn't.  The boys headed to Salina Speedway for a night of racing and rain.  This popped up as they were leaving and then the bottom fell out later at the track and drenched them all.

Have a great week y'all!

Part One: I am way too busy

 I know, I know, I'm two weeks behind!!!  SO much has happened so let's dive in!

Both weeks had three workouts, an upper body workout, a lower body workout, and a push workout.  In addition to lots of working out, I am also working in a lot (see what I did there).  We are working out butts off but getting good data and that makes me very proud.  Plus, several of overtimes hours per check never hurts.  

We had our marching under first Friday night lights.  Andrew was so very nervous with all the unknowns, but he powered through and got through a few sets in his first field show.  Here are some pictures that various people got.  The band doesn't travel so we will only have home games, but I will cherish each one.   Beatles songs are the best!

Yes, he has to hold his music because his new trumpet doesn't have anywhere to stick a lyre.  I did find a different way to attach his music so for the next game, he will be set.  I still think it's weird that he doesn't have to have his music memorized by now but I guess they do things differently in this day and age.  His marching was a little sketch, but he always figured out he was out of step quickly and corrected it quickly.  Marching takes time and they practice so little compared to what we did in high school.  In some ways it frustrates me but also, it allows not only football players but cheerleaders and dancers to be part of the band.  I have to be at peace with the fact that their method is so widely different than the way we did field shows and competition.  

Then we raced.  

This is one of Andrew's old quarter midget buddies.  We call them the Red Headed Racing club.  One has grown significantly and one hasn't.  

We had our first two-day show.  We are still very much in the learning phase and figuring out how to do this as a team.  He gets better every time he goes on the track, but he is also getting frustrated with lots of last place finishes.  We are missing our marks and he's getting beat every weekend by kids much younger than him.  We've talked about the fact that these kids have been on dirt for a few years, so they are light years ahead of him even though they are younger.  The top three race every weekend, sometimes twice a weekend at different tracks.  We have a long way to go before we get there BUT we will get there.  

Night two was again a lot of learning.  We had so many people helping us.  That is what racing families do.  They have kids who compete against us, yet they jump in, work on our cars, and help us learn. It's no fun to race against kiddos that have messed up cars so might as well have them all ready to go and let the race be against the best drivers.  

Every night is more learning even if it's slow.  There is improvement.  His times get better, his starts get better, his confidence grows.  This was the year for us to dip our toes in and we sure did.  I am super proud of his 4th place finish in his heat of 6 on Saturday, but all of his runs were good.  I am sure going to miss racing when this season is over.  I know, I know, much different tune than the beginning of the year.  

We did try renting an AIRBNB again and this time we have 10 of us all in one house.   Never knew the town Scandia existed and it sure is super cute!  It's kind of fun being a part of a HUGE family.  We cooked, we drank, we laughed, and we stayed up way too late.  This must have been a retirement home or something because each room had its own half bath and number.  I am now very curious as to what it could have been at one time.  

Okay going to do a part two because this is way too long already.  See ya in another post :)