Training in Montana

5 miles in a skiff of snow and 23 degrees. Wore a jacket for the first time this year and it was nice to be warm but not nice to be super sweaty (3 layers on top). My rear was cold - do they make a nice fleece running underwear to make my bum warm? That would be nice.

There was just a light dusting of snow on the country road and it was interesting to see all the animal tracks going side to side & all around, zig zagging up the road. Was it a cat, a skunk, a raccoon or all three? I also saw some dog tracks and as I rarely see dogs wandering about I'm guessing it was a coyote or two. Fun stuff that leads to wondering what it would like like if I were out all night, and makes me want to get a trail cam so I can get a better idea of what exactly wanders around in my backyard canyon. Last year a mountain lion killed a deer down there - we didn't see the lion, but the marks on the neck and the meat that was precisely taken was confirmed by Fish & Game to be a lion kill. And we get black bears also. There's never a dull moment at my house.

Anyhow, my average pace on today's jaunt was 8:45. And now back to my regularly scheduled work.