Finally back from a fast paced weekend in Montana. It almost feels like a week passed, we did so much and drove so much (over 700 miles in three short days). Sorry for not checking in earlier.
As you know I had the Missoula Marathon on Sunday July 14th. I thought I would start with our trip to Bozeman for my friend from High School’s wedding before doing a race recap, so you’ll have to check back in a couple of days for that.
Marc and I left for Bozeman on Friday morning, since it’s a 6 hour drive with an hour time change. We made a stop at the Good Food Store for lunch in Missoula. It’s my favorite place in Montana!! It’s Montana’s version of Whole Foods. I always have to stop there when I go home to my parents. It’s the halfway point, so why not?
We dropped our bags off in Butte (about 1 1/2 hours from Bozeman), where we stayed at my friend from college parent’s house after the wedding. We would then head to Missoula Saturday morning from there. I made Marc drive the entire way so I could do homework. I got a lot of reading in and he got a sore back and butt. The things you do for love 😉
Once we arrived in Bozeman for the wedding we snapped some photos of the Gallatin Valley.
We were late for the wedding (because of my poor directions and getting lost in Butte trying to find my friend’s parent’s house) so we took in some amazing views while we waited for the ceremony to end. It was an outdoor wedding in the Gallatin Valley at Lazy Bee ranch. The views were gorgeous.
Montana really is the Big Sky State and Bozeman is surrounded by great mountains. Every time I go home to Montana, it makes me realize how much I miss it.
I was sad to miss the ceremony but it was great seeing all my old classmates and some family.
This is my little sister, Mariah, and I
My future Sister-in-loves, Kelley and Megan, Mariah and I.
 My man & friend Sam
They had a hayride for those who wanted to go after the ceremony.
There was a little boy on the hayride that loved me and made me sit by him. He wouldn’t let anyone else sit in between us or touch me. It made for an interesting ride.
I think I was trying to get him to stop touching me
After dinner and watching the cake cutting, Marc and I had to go since we had a two hour drive to Butte to make. Sadly, I didn’t get a picture with the beautiful bride!!
We got to Butte and were exhausted from all the driving and were ready to crash. We did a 3 mile shakeout run Saturday morning, that ended up being straight up hill the first 1.5 miles at 5,300 feet. Marc wasn’t used to the elevation, but the views were great.
Sorry for the morning do and look
Before we knew it, it was time to hit the road again and head West to Missoula. We stopped at the Expo first to get our packets for the Missoula Marathon.
It’s not a big expo, but it’s always well organized.
Sadly we missed the Farmers Market, which is always great!!
We had some time to spare before checking into our hotel, so we headed to the Good Food Store for lunch and of course we stay hydrated with some Nuun.
After checking into the hotel, we tried to get some homework done. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Oh and the hotel got us a gift for doing the marathon. How cool is that?
I laid out my clothes before the race since we were getting up at 4 a.m.. I wanted everything ready to go. And I made sure to double fist it with some proper fuel and some great Barleans.
I swear by beet juice and tart cherry juice!! Especially for longer endurance runs.
Of course we had a restless night of sleep. The room was hot, then cold, then hot…..and I kept checking my phone.
After the race Sunday morning, we met some friends for lunch at the Good Food store before heading out of town. Marc and I finally made a stop at the 50,000 Dollar Store. Marc has always wanted to stop there.
It has some funny souvenirs to buy and other interesting buys. Like this Butt and Face soap.
Or these funny signs (sorry for the little profanity, but they were worth sharing).
We had way to much fun pretending to be warriors,
cowgirls,
and like I was Alice in Wonderland with this giant tea cup (I love anything tea related).
I know a little childish, but we had so much fun. I always enjoy serenading Marc on the way home and I bet he just loves it. Spokane couldn’t have come sooner for him.
Well folks, that’s my weekend in a nutshell. I will have an update in a couple days of my Missoula Marathon race recap. Until then happy running, tanning, and summer funning!!
[…] you know Marc and I had a restless night of sleep the night before. It didn’t matter how early we retired for bed, we couldn’t sleep. […]