2587', 1:02
I was thinking of heading up University Mt., but some wind and hail convinced me to cut the run short and settle for some up and down on Pengelly. Something I need to remember to bring this time of year, even if I might not need it, are gloves. My hands got cold, but besides that the hail and wind wasn't too bad.
Tuesday, 3/18
AM--University Mt.
3365', 1:51
Ran up Pengelly, down to the saddle, up University, and ended up on a snowed over old road on the way to Crooked Canyon. The road ended, but a deer trail continued, and I ran a bit of cross country to get to a human trail (Crooked Canyon). University was snowy, but packed down, and parts of the trail were dry but other parts were probably under a foot of snow. Had this been a warm day, getting up University would have been a challenge. Still, the conditions made me run a little more gingerly than usual, afraid I might slip at some point.
PM--Intervals w/Run Wild Missoula
5 x 1 mile with 3+ minute rests, progressing from 10k to 5k pace
~50 minutes with warm up and cool down
Splits were 5:37, 5:31, 5:23 (PR), 5:19 (another PR), 5:23
Holy oleo! I got a little carried away in this workout. I need to get better at pacing myself, and should have just cut off about 2 seconds per repeat. When I cut off 6 seconds, and then 8 seconds, I was setting myself up for pushing too hard. Fortunately, I didn't strain anything, but I need to hold back, even though cruising on a track feels awesome. I definitely sped up above 5k pace, but I guess my ego got to me, and it showed when I slowed down in my last mile. The good news, strength training is paying off.
Wednesday, 3/19--South Sentinel
1883', 48 minutes
A moderate and short workout, which was needed. The double workout yesterday kind of kicked my butt--really, my butt felt sore today. I'm beginning to get used to reading terrain again, and had a bit of fun on the way down seeing how well I could manage the rockier sections of the trail (which still aren't very rocky). I'll need to find something around here to brush up on technical running, which may mean running on climber trails if nothing else turns up.
Thursday, 3/20--Downtown to M to Pengelly to South Sentinel and back w/Jimmy, Jed, John and Stephen
2222', 1:32
A good group run, with a bunch of badass runners. Really, the amount of mileage covered by that group of guys is something crazy. My legs were still feeling a little beat up from Tuesday, so having a conversational pace was needed (though the wind sometimes was too loud for conversation!). It was good to see the Thursday group run grow a little bit.
Friday, 3/21--Off
Saturday, 3/22--Up Pengelly, down Sentinel, then flipping it
4426', 1:55
I think this route was less than 9 miles, but the amount of vertical one can get in here is kind of incredible. Going up Sentinel averages a 23% grade, which is entirely appropriate training for some of my races this year (The Rut Vertical K averages a 26% grade!). Getting some big vertical in, especially with the long days coming up, is entirely doable, as long as I don't push it too hard too fast.
Sunday, 3/23--North Hills/Pengelly from Dean's house
3318', 3:30
Fresh snow and some fog served as a reminder that, even though it's spring, this is still Montana. After wandering around the North Hills for a bit in some fog, the weather began to clear up little by little as we made our way up to South Sentinel via Pengelly, and came back down by the M. I usually don't get out running before 9, but the light that time of day, especially if there are layers of clouds like today, is stunning. Missoula is beautiful, but even more so in the morning--I'll need to work on getting up earlier!
17,801', 11:28
This was a big week for me, but even with the volume, I was still able to get some fast runs in. I'm starting to lose track of the number of South Sentinel summits I've done now (7 this week). I think I'll just keep riding this train for awhile, adding on more hills, but I want to avoid anymore bumps of 7,000 ft. from one week to the next. That felt like a bit much to add on right now, so I'll need to watch how much I pile on in the next couple weeks.
Dean and Anya heading down Pengelly
Fresh snow in the North Hills
The Pengelly Rock: A marker I pass almost daily now
Jimmy cruising down Pengelly
Mt. Jumbo as viewed from Sentinel's North Ridge--still closed for elk grazing, but opens next week!
After the first time I heard Jessica Pratt, I listened to her debut album around 20 times in the space of a week. I think she could be put right up there with the greats like Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake:
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