On The Loose: Jan. 20th to Jan. 26th

Monday, 1/20, Meredith Ranch Rd. out and back

12 miles, 1:28

Ran from school to the end of Meredith Ranch road and back. This was a nice road to revisit for my last run in Livingston. I only wish this road didn't run into private property. If it kept going, and perhaps connected with Willow Creek Road, that would become the best loop in town.

Tuesday, 1/21--Off

Wednesday, 1/22, Story Hills out and back w/Nikki, Michelle, Harper, Veka

7 miles, 1:15

A fairly casual run in not so casual conditions. Bozeman roads are pretty icy this week, and I'm late on putting screws in my shoes, so I was running gingerly, and thankful for the relaxed pace. Even so, I took a hard tumble at one point. It was snowing for the entire duration of the run, which only helped to mask the ice.

Thursday, 1/23, Mt. Sentinel Loop w/Jimmy and Jed

13.5 miles, 2:04

I ran from my apartment to the Clark Fork, then ran with the Flying J's up Sentinel, down to a forest road, back to the Clark Fork, and back to my apartment. It's great to finally be in a town with easy access to the mountains, and runners who value open space as much as running itself. Anywhere not under tree cover was mostly free of snow, but even the snowy sections were packed down enough to run on. We had quite a bit of gain, maybe 2200' feet or so.

Friday, 1/24, Pattee Creek

13 miles, 1:40

Another run from my apartment, sizing out the area. I ran up to the Pattee Creek trailhead, slid around on the Nez Perce loop, then ran up to Deer Creek to check out the conditions for future loops, and flipped it back down the canyon. Both the Deer Creek and Crazy Canyon Rd. loops seem good to go. Quads were a little sore from yesterday.

Saturday, 1/25, Deer Creek Loop

18.5 miles, 2:20

I got to experience Missoula's inversion weather for the first time. Just a few hundred feet above town, the sky was clear, but clouds lingered low. I took Pattee Creek to Deer Creek, and somehow I missed the turnoff to the Kim Williams Trail, so I ended up staying on Deer Creek until I got into some northside neighborhoods. It was still a really nice loop, except for the mile and a half or so on the frontage road (even then, there was a sidewalk--Missoula is so pedestrian friendly!). I added on a mile of exploring the golf course trails by my apartment at the end.

Sunday, 1/26, Bitterroot/Jumbo figure eight loop

16 miles, 2:14

Wow, this place is big. I had a bunch of trail link ups in mind, but actually decided to cut out some trails once I realized I would already get over 15 miles. The (shortened) route linked up the Bitterroot Branch Trail to the Kim Williams Trail, skirted the side of Mt. Jumbo on the US West Trail, did a short loop in Greenough Park, climbed up to the Sentinel Fire Road, and ran down the hill back to the apartment. It was nice to get a bit of steep in towards the end, and to catch the linkup to Kim Williams I had missed on Saturday. It's gonna take awhile to get to know the trail system here.

80 miles, 11:01

Well, I slowed down this week, but I also added a good bit of elevation gain, which is difficult not to do in Missoula. Even in January, trail access is still better than anywhere else I've been. And the running community is kind of overwhelming. I was able to attend a Brooks "Fashion Show" at the Runner's Edge on Wednesday, and was one of the 100+ runners there. I hadn't seen so many runners at a non-race event before! Missoula will be good for me. There are a lot of trails, a lot of runners, and a great ice creamery downtown, which is really everything I need.