Feb. 17th to Feb. 23rd

Monday, 2/17, In town loop

13 miles, 1:39

Ran an easy 13 on a combination of roads and flat, paved trails.  Took South Avenue past Reserve, up Clements, took Spurgin Rd. to Tower Street, and ended up coming back on Milwaukee Trail to Higgins.  No ice!  I did see what looked like an artificially made ice tower out by South and Tower, though, possibly a remnant of some extravagant Christmas display.

Tuesday, 2/18, Intervals w/Run Wild Missoula

11 miles, 1:37

5 x 1 mile on Kim Williams with 3 minute rests, with a long warm up, and a long cool down (running to and from downtown).  Miles were in the 5:40s.

Wednesday, 2/19,  Treadmill Zoning Out

8 mile, 59 minutes

No, the weather was not anywhere near bad.  I wanted to practice switching paces late in a run, but felt a lack of mental energy (from overstudying for tests), so I decided to let the treadmill do it for me.  Ran at 8 minute pace for the first three, jumped up to 7 for two, 6 for one, 6:40 for one, and then a cool down mile.  Hopefully I'll be able to be patient enough that I can switch gears late in the race this Saturday.

Thursday, 2/20, Clark Fork Loop w/Jimmy

11 miles, 1:24

Ran out on Kim Williams, came back on the Riverfront Trail on the other side.  We were originally thinking of taking Smokejumper up Sentinel again, but the trails were icy enough that even Kim Williams was a little tricky.  Another day in the blowing snow.

Friday, 2/21, Off

Saturday, 2/22, Snow Joke Half Marathon, 4th place in 1:21

13.1 miles, 1:21 (+4ish mile cool down at 8:30ish mile pace) = 17 miles, 1:55

Well, I missed 1:19 by a good mark, but I'm ok with that, since it sounded from other runners like the conditions on the course this year were slower than usual.  The first 6 miles on the pavement were pretty fast for me, clipping along at 5:50s with Jesse Zentz, but then the pace fell to 6:20somethings on the soft snow, and Jesse slowly gained over 2 minutes on me in that section.  If running on the beach is like extra soft tofu, the second half of this course might have been soft tofu.  Not as difficult as beach running, but definitely not firm ground either.

Most were running about 5 minutes slower than their half marathon PRs, so this might equate to a 1:16 half marathon for me, which definitely makes me feel good about getting a sub 2:40 marathon this year.  Even 1:21 is a good 6 or 7 minutes off my previous best (I hadn't raced this distance before).

Also, I'm beginning to notice a pattern.  Montana runners with a first name that starts with J seem to have a higher likelihood of being fast.  The top 4 at this race: Jim, Jimmy, Jesse, Jeff.  At least I only lost to other J names.

Sunday, 2/23, Larch Camp Road Snow Trotting

10 miles, 1:31

A nice recovery run out in snowy conditions.  I only came across one car on Larch Camp once I got off Pattee Canyon Road, so this could be a good spot to return to, especially once the trails along that road see a little use after this storm.  The legs didn't feel like cruising, so I just trotted along, enjoying the silence of the snowfall.

70 miles, 9:05

This is shaping up to be a good year so far.  I've only had five top five finishes, but two of them were in the past month.  Snow Joke felt like a better performance than my Freezer Burn race, and it was great to have a few guys to chase (and be chased by!).  I'm still a little wrecked from Snow Joke, because of all those miles pushing it on soft snow.  I'm not sure if there's anything I could do to get better at that kind of running, maybe some balance work.  I guess now the focus will be more miles at slower speeds, to see if I can get in shape for the 24 hour run (still tentative).


                                     

A peaceful run out on Larch Camp Rd.

Huckleberry, the canine winner in 1:45. He won a treat!

Some of the age division winners swearing in to the Order of the Cheetah.

The pretty much amazing Charlotte Gainsbourg:

Feb. 10th to Feb. 16th

Monday, 2/10, Neighborhood Exploring

15 miles, 1:56

A day out exploring the neighborhoods of Missoula.  Consensus: never take a shoveled sidewalk for granted.  It was kind of weird running, going smooth on cleared sidewalks and then occasionally hitting a stretch of snow a foot deep.  It was like a weird form of interval running.

Tuesday, 2/11, Intervals w/Run Wild Missoula

11 miles, 1:39

Ran up to the Runner's Edge for another night run of intervals on Kim Williams.  We did 2 sets of 4 x 800s, with 90 second rests between 800s and a 3 minute rest in between sets.  I felt a little slow, but ended up running in the 2:50s on slushy/icy ground.   Amazingly, I guess there were a half dozen hardy souls who showed up last week in negative degree weather, while I stayed home and stayed warm.

Wednesday, 2/12, Kim Williams/Milwaukee/Bitterroot Trails Tempo Run

13 miles, 1:28

I combined a bunch of short out and backs from the 0 mile post to do a long tempo run on the trails (now that they're mostly ice free).  This was also a bit of exploring for me, since I hadn't been north or west of the 0 mile post, and the Milwaukee Trail seems like it gets far enough west in town that road running is a good possibility, maybe even working out a loop or getting on some roads west of the Bitterroot River for future runs.  I'd have liked to go a little faster, maybe 6:40 pace, but 1:28 is pretty good for me with snow cover.

Thursday, 2/13, North Hills Slushy Running w/Jed and Jimmy

13 miles, 1:47

Same route, same time, same distance and time covered as last week.  Except this time it was 50 degrees warmer and we were running through slush.  My feet kept sliding on the hill heading up to the saddle, and trying to keep my balance was a little exhausting.  Some of the puddles in town were ankle deep, and there's still plenty of snow to melt.

Friday, 2/14--Off

Saturday, 2/15, Blue Mountain Road/Mullan Road w/Thomas

20 miles, 2:38

I got my first taste of the Missoula Marathon route today, running along the Clark Fork River.  20 miles is still feeling like a really long run right now, which is a little worrisome if I want to do a 24 hour run in 6 weeks.  I suppose I should get at least one run over 4 hours in at some point.

Sunday, 2/16, Pattee Creek/Deer Creek Loop

18 miles, 2:18

A nice mix of sun, light snow, and some slush.  I was able to wear shorts, too!  Coming down Deer Creek was a little icy, but the only bad section was just before the University on Kim Williams.  It was also REALLY windy by the golf course in east Missoula, but only for half a mile or so.


90 miles, 11:46

Last week was the big freeze, but this week was the big slush fest.  A lot of road running and puddle hopping, and running without any traction device but, usually, carefully.  Some days were a little exhausting, but even at the end of the week I was able to recover pretty well from a 20 mile outing.  I think I'm getting back into shape for longer runs, but next week will still be a mandated recovery week (for the Snow Joke half marathon on Saturday).

Tuesday Evening Intervals on Kim Williams

Jed and Jimmy Flying down the North Hills

Thomas cruising out by Mullan Road

One of my favorite songs from 2013:

Feb. 3rd to Feb. 9th

Monday, 2/3, Rattlesnake Lolligagging

14 miles, 1:58

I made my way up along Rattlesnake Creek from campus, and spent a lot of time following random tracks that didn't really go anywhere in particular.  It was a little windy in town, so I was just happy to be in the trees, not too concerned with where I was going.  Eventually, I made it up to the Rattlesnake Trailhead from trail 112, and then flipped it back to campus.

Tuesday, 2/4, Cherry Gulch/Sawmill Gulch/Lincoln Hills Loop

15 miles, 2:09

Almost too cold for me.  5 degrees, -12 with wind chill.  Brrr!  At one point on the run I tromped through a field to get to lower ground.  I know I should stay on trails, but the trail was heading to windier ground and I couldn't feel my face.  I ran a mile or so up the Main Rattlesnake Trailhead, flipped it, and came back on some trails that popped out at Lincoln Hills Road.

Wednesday, 2/5, Treadmill Tempo Run

9 miles, 57 minutes

I needed to get at least one fast workout in this week, and that wasn't going to happen in zero degree weather.  1 percent grade, 6:22 pace.  This one felt more in control than my last treadmill tempo, and was at a slightly faster pace.  I'll probably shoot for around 6:02 pace at Snow Joke, to get in at 1:19.

Thursday, 2/6, North Hills Loop w/Jimmy

13 miles, 1:47

Another day exploring the North Hills.  It was in the negatives, so I was wearing about as much clothing as I could bear to wear, and actually felt comfortable.  Ran from my apartment to the saddle north of Waterworks, took the Peas Farm Loop to Tom Green Park, then ran through Greenough Park, and back into town.  I'm starting to get to know the trail link ups fairly well, at least in this one small part of town.

Friday, 2/7, Marshall Canyon Road

20 miles, 2:48

Ran from campus out to the Marshall Mountain Ski Area, then tried to do a link up with some trails north of Jumbo but was turned back due to postholing.  I ran around in the neighborhoods for a bit, then hopped over to Kim Williams and ran back to campus.  Longest run for awhile, and I was feeling it at the end.  Too many miles too many days in a row.

Saturday, 2/8, Off (visiting Livingston)

Sunday, 2/9, Postholing Sentinel

14 miles, 2:33

After a long drive, sometimes a good postholing is nice.  Ran up the fire road, up Sentinel, down Crazy Canyon and down Pattee Canyon, with a bit of wandering here and there.  Slowest mile was 30 minutes.


85 miles, 12:12

This whole running in the winter thing is becoming a bit of a challenge, especially throwing trails into the mix.  I might be forced to start logging more road miles again, if only for the sake of time.  It might be best to leave some exploring for spring time.

Duncan Bridge

Cherry Gulch

Rattlesnake Main Trail

A frozen Clark Fork

I only climb mountains for the view

University Mountain

Tunes (not timely, but still damn good):

Jan. 27th to Feb. 2nd

Monday, 1/27, Kim Williams Trail

6 miles, 37 minutes

This was a primer of sorts for Saturday's race, speeding up little by little throughout the run, with miles starting at about 6:20 and dropping to 6 flat for the last couple miles.  If I don't do anything stupid, I should be able to get under 1:01 for the 10 mile race, though breaking an hour would really be pushing it for me.  Also, 37 minutes is about the perfect allotted time for a run sandwiched between classes and changing into and out of running clothes.  Trying to be on time for class definitely helped me to push it at the end.

Tuesday, 1/28, Intervals w/Run Wild Missoula

10 miles, 1:30

Woah, there were about 15 people who actually came of their own will to run intervals in the dark (on a well lit trail, but past sunset nonetheless).  Missoula is still kind of blowing my mind.  I ran from my apartment to Runner's Edge, then ran 3 x 2k with the group on the Kim Williams Trail, with 3 minute rests in between.  I ran pretty consistent low 7's for 2k (about 5:40 pace for the mile), well under my race target.  I guess I should stop being surprised by the running in Missoula, but it was impressive to see most of the runners doing sub 4 minute k pace, almost as impressive as seeing so many people out past sunset!  I ran back at a fairly slow, comfortable pace back to the apartment.

 Wednesday, 1/29, Kim Williams (again!)

8 miles, 1:01

Another day out on the KW.  I think I'm liking this trail so much because it's close to campus, and I always see runners out on it, plus it's pretty.  This was a run in the middle of a two hour break between classes.  Fresh snow on the ground, and a slight bit of wind coming from the west, at least enough to blow snow in my face.

Thursday, 1/30, Smokejumper Loop w/Jimmy

12 miles, 1:56

Ran up to the Clark Fork to meet for the Thursday MTC run, and it ended up being just Jimmy and I.  The fresh snow made it a pretty slow but tough run, especially with the ice hidden beneath it.  We took Smokejumper up to Sentinel, and tried not to eat it on the Pengelly Ridge Trail back down.  Another day of 2,000+ vertical.

Friday, 1/31--Off (Yoga, Weights, Fitness Consultation & Body Composition)

A day at the gym, taking advantage of a week of free services.  I learned that I've got even less fat on me than I thought (<5%), so that means more eggs, maybe even adding some meat into my diet on a routine basis, anything hefty but affordable (beans?).  I'll also be starting weights twice a week, which should help me to be a little less lean.  Adding on five pounds while running 80+ mile weeks will be difficult.

Saturday, 2/1, Freezer Burn 10 miler

10 miles, 58:56, 1st place *Downhill course, packed snow

What a good race (and good beyond the fact that I won)!  My race went fairly well--this isn't as competitive as most of the races I'll do this year, so it was a good practice race, but I still had to work hard for the win.  Trisha Drobeck took off quick at the start, and no one else went after her, so I just lurked for awhile, and made a move just past mile 7, then increased the pace to 5:40-something's to secure some ground.  My last mile was 5:30-something, pretty solid for me.  This was also a negative split race, with the first 5 miles in 29:40 and the last 5 in 29:16, good considering the only hill in the course is in the second half.

This was my race to win, since none of the dozen + guys in Missoula who could have gone sub 58:00 were there, but it felt good to have a win.  I won't be expecting even to podium at the Snow Joke Half Marathon in three weeks, but I will expect to get under 1:20.

And the minestrone and scones after the race were excellent.

Sunday, 2/2, North Hills

14 miles, 2:04

With a bit of snow wallowing, I was able to head from my apartment up the Waterworks Hill, and out to the Sunlight Loop.  Somehow I, once again, missed a trail link up, this time to the trail along Rattlesnake Creek.  Northside trails will have to be set aside for future exploration.


60 miles, 8:07

Some flats, some hills, a race, some snow wallowing.  This was a good week, and the return to winter has made for some more quality miles.  Time management will become more important as I bump up the miles again, but so far balancing class, studying and running is working well, but I count on not having much of a life a few weeks from now.  "Not much of a life" would probably just mean watching less Star Trek.

Kim Williams

Jimmy Grant laying down fresh tracks on Smokejumper

Trails this good this close to town are hard to beat

Waterworks Hill

Town below, and Mt. Sentinel looming above on the left

   

Hey, where am I in these pictures?  Not in the front.

Yeah, I like pop.