Sunday, June 29, 2014

June 23rd to June 29th

Monday, 6/23--Table Top Mt., Lee Metcalf Wilderness

3,464', 2:04

The legs felt surprisingly good after a day off, so I took it easy up the mountain.  A good bit of snow blocked the trail by the summit, so I reverted to a goat trail for the last half mile.  The only rock glacier I know of is right below this mountain (a talus field that slowly moves, like an actual glacier).  The trail heading down from Lava Lake is a little rocky, and the legs felt responsive enough to breeze down this section.

Tuesday, 6/24--Intervals w/Run Wild Missoula

5 x 1k w/2 min. rests + a 200 meter sprint, then a 3 mile cool down w/Taylor & Eric, ~1:15

I started out a little slow, at about 3:35 (~5:40 pace), gauging how my legs were feeling.  I hung out around 3:30 until the second half of the last k, getting somewhere under 3:20 (~5:20 pace).  30 seconds for the 200 meter sprint.  This was an encouraging workout, since I haven't run flats for a while.  5:40 pace feels really sustainable right now.  Afterwards, I ran a slightly hilly cool down with some of the faster guys, but couldn't keep pace with them on the one steep hill.  Ugh, my legs are still a little dead on inclines.

Wednesday, 6/25--Sheep Mt. Wandering

3,476', 2:24

Ran up to 7,000', and then took a right turn onto a double track that ended up going the wrong way.  I followed the ridgeline for awhile until I finally got a good view of Sheep Mt., way to the north and on an entirely different ridgeline.  I doubled back and took the correct trail, but it was still under a couple feet of snow, which was now soft and mushy.  I decided to turn around, since I didn't want to compromise my recovery anymore than I already am.

Thursday, 6/26--Off (Al & Vic's, Sean Kelly's)

Friday, 6/27--Kim Williams Trail Progression Run

10 miles, 1:04

This went pretty well, but I had a bit of GI distress at the end, which kept me from really pushing the pace.  First 2 miles were at 7ish minute pace, then 3 at 6:30ish pace, and then 5 miles at 6ish pace.  I was hoping to get the last 2 miles at 5:40 pace, but that wasn't going to happen.  This was a bit of a sobering reminder for what 6 flats feel like on not fresh legs, but I'm also taking comfort in the fact that I was running on dirt and not paved trail at the end, and the first run after a late night out drinking is always a little crappy.

Saturday, 6/28--Blue Mt. Bushwacking

4,056', 5:16

I got so lost.  I cut over to the Hayes Creek trail from the Blue Mt. Trailhead, took that to the summit, and then mistakenly figured I'd be able to find my way down alright.  I went off a traveled road to an unused road winding beneath some powerlines, and this took me to a dead end after several miles.  Then I decided to travel cross country down a creek, which ended up being O'Brien Creek.  This took a really long time, despite being able to run short stretches of game trail, and I got really dehydrated (I had no water with me).  When I finally hit road, I laughed out loud at the first sign I saw--"Private Land Next 1/2 Mile, Please Stay On Road".  I was so glad to be on the road again.  I made it, and now I know what cross country travel here is like in the woods.  I also acquired quite the collection of burs, if anyone wants a few.

Sunday, 6/29--Off 

I wasn't planning on taking today off, but I need a break--I basically went right into work after yesterday's epic, and then had another shift this morning.  I'm actually putting running on the back burner today--it's a tough decision, but I want to not be dead when I go to the Fitz and the Tantrum's concert tonight.


10,996', 12:03

Not much vertical this week, but a fair amount of time.  It's a recovery week, and I'm getting into the flats a bit for the Missoula Marathon in two weeks.  This was a bit of a wonky week, with a few social activities, which were good and needed, but have definitely left me a little more mentally exhausted than usual.  I'm looking forward to getting back to the grindstone this next week.

On the way to Lava Lake

Lava Lake

The Spanish Peaks



Miller Creek from Blue Mt.

Lolo Peak


The path less traveled sometimes takes all day ...

And then there's a dead end ...

So you go cross country via game trails ...

And get burs on your hairy legs


Excited to see these guys tonight (their drummer, John Wicks, is a local trail runner):








Sunday, June 22, 2014

June 16th to June 22nd

Monday, 6/16--South Sentinel + Sentinel

4,105', 1:55

Light rain and mist and fog blanketed hills.  Summer here really isn't too bad.  The run today was an easy pace, but I was a little tired.  I'll need to make sure to get enough sleep the rest of this week.

Tuesday, 6/17--Sentinel via Evans St. Trailhead plus a bit extra up and down

3,063', 1:20

The rain stopped just as I had a break in my classes, so I took advantage of the lull to finally figure out how Evans St. connects with the Sentinel trail system.  There was a bit of snow up high, which impressed me (this was around 1 o'clock).  A good run at a moderate tempo

Wednesday, 6/18--South Sentinel Tempo Run

1,873', 42:35 (New PR--27:45 ascent, 14:50 descent)

A new PR on the Pengelly route from my apartment!  I feel really good about my ascent, but I had to fight to get the descent in under 15 minutes, barely breaking my old descent time (old times were 28:34, 15:04).  I suppose breaking 40 minutes on this will come in baby steps, but I feel like I'm maxing out on my downhill speed.  I think I could take at least another minute off the uphill, eventually.

Thursday, 6/19--Up to Glacial Lake Missoula Rock and back

988', 30 minutes

An easy run just to keep the legs moving.  I hung out at the rock for a minute or so, admiring the view for the last time until Tuesday.

Friday, 6/20--Course Scouting/shake out from 4 hr. drive

453', 23 minutes

An easy pace up from the trailhead to the first intersection on the course.  I'm glad I scouted this out, because I got a little lost and missed a creek crossing.  It's pretty gradual, but a little rocky on the first mile of the course.  Psyched to get up high in the mountains tomorrow!

Saturday, 6/21--Old Gabe 50k, 3rd place

10,572', 5:52

A great first tune up for The Rut in September!  I'm a little shocked that my time only earned me a 3rd, but also psyched that I help set the stage for Jim Walmsley setting the course record (we ran together for the first quarter of the race).  Looking back at past years races, I ran the 5th fastest time on the regular course, barely behind Jim Rucker's 5:51:35.  I definitely got dehydrated, racing with only one 20 oz. water bottle, but I feel that I ran a good, smart race and performed well.  On a perfect day, I might be able to shave 15 minutes off my time, which would have still landed me in the same placement.  1st and 2nd place just had better days.

Splits were

Truman--1:25

Middle Cottonwood--3:00

Sypes--4:21

Finish--5:52

The second half felt a little slow, but that may just be because 1st and 2nd place ran incredible second halves (2nd place ran it in under 2:30).  My splits were spot on ten minutes slower for each half than Scott Creel's 5:31:40, and I feel that he usually runs pretty even races.  This might be the best mountain race I've had.  I'm just psyched that I got to run with Walmsley for over an hour--that guy is a legend in the making.

A race report to come.

Sunday, 6/22--Off




21,054', 10:43

A really good week.  I may have run a little too much leading up to my race, but tapering is always hard for me.  I did pretty well with pre-race nutrition, and had no stomach problems on race day (though I still need to fine tune my race food a bit).  For the most part, though, I'm going to continue replicating everything I did this week--it led to a successful race, even if it only landed me in 3rd.


Sentinel Sky Island


Snow!  In mid-June!

Rocky conditions on Old Gabe

The first of several creek crossings

The no passing lane--one of the few creek crossings with a bridge

Tailgate breakfast!



Sharon Van Etten's new album might end up being one of the best of the year:





Sunday, June 15, 2014

June 9th to June 15th


Monday, 6/9--South Sentinel

1,818', 50 minutes

So good to get back to the hills!  My legs were pretty fresh, so I made it to the summit in right over 30 minutes with a moderate effort, and then took my time on the way down, taking pictures of flowers.

Tuesday, 6/10--South Sentinel + Some North Pengelly

3,220', 1:28

This was a little slower than yesterday, and I think it may just be because I can't go fast right when I wake up.  I need at least a couple hours to get to speed.  Still, it was decent, and good to be getting hills in again.

Wednesday, 6/11--Up Pengelly, Down Sentinel and Back

4,095', 1:53

Another beautiful morning in Missoula.  On the way down the M, there was a horde of high schoolers making their way up the switchbacks.  It was nice to see, but it also felt too crowded.  It felt like I was suddenly on a Colorado Front Range 14er on a weekend morning.

Thursday, 6/12--Up Pengelly, Down North Pengelly, Up Sentinel Gulch, Down the North Ridge a bit and back

5,068', 2:15

The legs were feeling good today, and I think I even sped up a bit near the end of the run (no rush, just for the joy of going fast).  This run was a confidence booster for Old Gabe, which seems incredibly close, especially since I haven't done an ultra since October.

Friday, 6/13--University Mt. + Sentinel + North Pengelly

6,450', 2:59

Some rain the night before made for a foggy run through and over and in between the clouds.  This mixed with the brilliant flowers on University created a beautiful clash of colors--grey, blue, red yellow.  God I love running in the clouds!  I hit the summit of University in just under 59 minutes, fairly good for me, especially on a long run.

Saturday, 6/14--Off

Sunday, 6/15--Stuart Peak Attempt

3,685', 3:00

The trail was almost entirely snow free right up to the wilderness boundary, and then, as if to emphasize that I wasn't just in the woods--I was in wilderness--nearly all snow after the boundary.  And fog--the layer of fog came right about at the wilderness boundary, too.  Not totally aware of where I was, I got as far as I could trying to follow signs of a trail, but turned around once I lost track and wasn't sure which way to go--it was pretty flat and unclear which way was up.  I realize now, looking at the map, that I was about half a mile from the summit as the crow flies.  This will have to wait for another week.


24,336', 12:25

A solid week.  I'm feeling ready for Old Gabe 50k on Saturday.  With my recent excursion to the alpine, I'm a little curious to see how the course is.  I know there will be some snow and a lot of mud, I'm just unsure how much of the course will be snow covered.  It looks like I'll have some competition coming from Zack Strong (who holds the 3rd fastest time at Old Gabe, at 5:38) and Peder Anderson (5th at 2013 Bridger Ridge Run), but the field is less than 40 runners in the 50k, so it might just be the three of us actually racing.  Breaking 6 hours seems unlikely with the conditions, but I'm excited to see how well I can do, and maybe get my first win in an ultra.


Jumbo and the North Hills


Pattee Canyon

Cloud running on University



The last sign of trail on Stuart Peak before turning around

Stuart Peak weather station?

Snowline at the Wilderness Boundary, 7,000'

Town a kilometer below


Summer tune (even though summer is still to come in Montana):



























June 2nd to June 8th

Monday, 6/2--Up Pengelly, Down the North Pengelly, Up Sentinel Gulch, Down the North Ridge a bit and back

5,104', 2:21

This morning was one of those days where I felt like crap, but once I started running things came together.  I blame it on the celebratory double helpings of ice cream for doing 40+k.  Really beautiful morning, though.  And avoiding the heat is a good incentive to get up early.

Tuesday, 6/3--Up Pengelly, Down North Pengelly, Up Sentinel and back

4,123', 1:58

Another overcast morning with a few patterings of rain.  Legs didn't feel too peppy, but today's the end of the hard stuff, so that's okay.

Wednesday, 6/4--Off (traveling)

Thursday, 6/5--Off

Friday, 6/6--Northern Wisconsin Bush Running

10 miles, 1:11

I went out for what I thought would be a tempo run on an old logging road, but it turned out to be so bushy that my legs got cut up a bit, and my hair was wet from brushing all the dew off of the jungly leaves.  My pace went from 6 flat on dirt road, to about 8 minutes in the jungle.  Definitely not what I'd expected of Wisconsin, but good training for log jumping.

Saturday, 6/7--Off

Sunday, 6/8--Off


9,227', 5:30

A low volume week with late nights of feasting and drinking.  I'd hoped to run at least five days this week, but couldn't make it happen since I was helping out with a wedding in Northern Wisconsin.  The break will probably benefit my running, especially after the huge volume of the prior two weeks.


Sunday, June 1, 2014

May 26th to June 1st

Monday, 5/26--Sentinel/South Sentinel up and downs

7,082', 3:21

Some light rain and cloudy skies made this a pleasant run, and the legs were able to do okay.  I'm not too concerned about having a slower pace, so long as I continue to feel good.  Once I start my taper for Old Gabe I'm pretty sure I'd be able to cover this same kind of terrain I covered today in half an hour less.

Tuesday, 5/27

Morning--Up and downs on Pengelly/North Pengelly

4,107', 1:57

I was out the door by 7:15, and enjoyed running in the shade of South Sentinel for most of the run.  I tried popping out at the Evans St. trail head, but couldn't find it, so I had a bit of wandering.

Evening--Sentinel x 2 plus a bit more

3,943', 1:42

Right after class I hit up some repeats on the hill.  For the last bit, I ran down the steep section (left of the "M" switchbacks) for the first time--it's got a few short techy sections that are kind of fun, and it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Wednesday, 5/28--South Sentinel, North Pengelly, Sentinel

4,131', 1:58

Another early morning (7-9 AM) outing on steep ground.  The clouds formed a thick blanket just a few hundred feet above the summits.  This was a really great morning, and my first day under two hours total in a while.  It's needed.

Thursday, 5/29--Up Pengelly, Down Sentinel and back

4,173', 1:56

A beautiful morning with perfect running weather (cloudy, low 50s), and the legs felt a little energy coming back.  It must just be that two hour cutoff--anything below two hours allows me to keep recovering.  I keep running into Vo and Jenn all the time on my runs, so often that it's kind of becoming ridiculous.  It seems like Vo is going to be well set for the Bighorn 50 in a few weeks.

Friday, 5/30--Sentinel and South Sentinel Repeats

7,146', 3:26

This was a hot one.  It was in the mid-70s for the whole run (from 5 to past 8), and I came back kind of dehydrated, even with the 20 oz. of fluid I brought along.  This week I've had very little free time that's gone to anything besides running.  But I'm a few days ahead on homework, and still putting in 40 hour weeks, so I'm good so long as I can keep pulling off these big days.

Saturday, 5/31--Running up and down the steeps around Sentinel/Pengelly

6,076', 2:54

Today was a big day, not because it was over 6k, but because I've now done more up than ever before in a week.  From Sunday morning to Saturday night, I've done 45,197' feet of up, and the same amount of down.  Now that I've gotten through my megaweek, I feel pretty good about races this summer.  Though some weeks might have more time spent running (my megaweek was a bit over 21 hours), it's doubtful I'll run this much hill in a week for the rest of the year.  Of course, for some guys my megaweek might not be all that huge, but 45k feels really stout to me.

Sunday, 6/1--University Mt. via Pengelly

3,570', 1:48

A short and sweet outing up hills of wild flowers.  I actually felt pretty good, hitting the summit at just over an hour.  I'm kind of excited to start tapering, though, to get some speed back in my legs.



40,228', 19:02

Hills and more hills.  Almost this entire week was spent on the same ten miles or so of steep trails between Sentinel and South Sentinel, and I definitely got a little exhausted at times (both mentally and physically).  But I feel good, and feel more prepared than ever for some steep ultras coming up.

Pengelly--Never a bad thing to wake up early for

Jenn and Vo being total dorks

Jumbo


Sunset over Zootown

Hey, it's finally Spring here!

Some older pictures:

11 Miles to Paradise lead pack, photo by Myke Hermsmeyer

The Jim Rucker chase group (L to R Tim Caramore, Tyson Warner, David Morris, and myself)

ON AN ON: