Training in Montana

No miles today, but I did shovel my driveway for 2 1/2 hours so I got some aerobic and muscular gains. Beautiful white stuff.

1 warmup mile at 10 minute pace, then 6 marathon pace miles at 7:24 pace, on the TM. First 3 miles at 2% incline, and in the MP miles I was struggling but not as badly as a couple weeks ago. I wanted to make it the full 6 miles without dying, so after my 2nd pace mile I dropped the incline to 1%, went 2 more miles, and dropped the incline to 0% the last 2 miles. I felt like I could have continued at that pace for a long time, so I'm really excited about this run!

I also feel pretty stupid about "trying for a BQ" last summer when I had hardly put in any pace miles. I thought about it and would do a couple here and there but nothing tough like today's workout, and I'm early into the training cycle. I have 8 more pace mile sessions, up to 10 miles, and I can already see how beneficial these will be. I still don't know if I really have a 3:14:59 in me just yet but this is giving me the best chance to date. I love the fitness gains I've seen in me the past 4 years. I love to run.

8 miles on a step back week. Got out at 6:30 am as the temps would be dropping throughout the day and 20 degrees was as good as it would get. Thankfully no wind and it was a nice run.

Paces: 9:34, 8:12, 8:34, 8:12, 8:00, 7:16, 7:11, 7:28 (including putting the ice spikes back on my shoes). AP: 8:03.

5 TM miles this morning at home. A decent run, lots of sweat. Windchills outside were -21 this morning. Good idea to stay inside.

Scheduled called for 3 miles so hopped on the home TM for a quick 3. Progressive run as is normal for me, and ended going a bit quick at 9.3 mph, but I was trying to finish up to get to work a bit earlier than normal. Ended up sweating for 30 minutes after the run but it all worked out.

Ran 2 miles and bit to my best hill, then did 4 X hills, then ran home. No watch. Mid 20s out, breeze heading out but no wind coming back. Felt pretty darn good.

Pace mile Friday, so I warmed up 1 mile on the TM at the YMCA, then did 6 miles at 8.1 mph/7:24 pace. Warmup & first 2 miles at 2% incline, next 2 at 1%, last 2 at 0 incline. Amazing what a difference 1% incline makes. I was struggling after 2 pace miles and nearly slowed to a walk (typed in 4.0 on the TM but didn't hit Enter) but then dug in and continued on. I rightly predicted that after 2 miles or so I would be dialed in to the pace and my legs would be numbed to the difficulty. That worked great. Love this hard workout. Now I need to work on keeping the incline at 2% for longer. Not sure I'll be running MP miles outdoors for a while as the roads are pretty crappy around here and we've had oodles of snow so far this season.

13 up my Veyo hill. Mildish temps meant I took off my jacket after a few miles and ran without it until a couple miles to go. I felt strong. I've got a good mix of TM and outdoor running the last bit.

AP: 8:40.

Very windy all night long, gusts up to 55 mph, so stayed home and ran on the TM. 2% incline, warmed up at 6 mph, then bumped to 7 for a while, then 8.1 (MP) for the last 2 miles as I was rushed for time. My 10 yr old son had hidden the TM key from my 7 yr old daughter a couple days ago, so I had to wake up my son at 6 am to ask where the key was. He mumbled where to find it. Funny kid. Lost 10 minutes so I ran a bit faster to make up for it.

3 on the TM at home this morning. I know 3 isn't many miles, but that's what Hal has for today on his advanced 1 schedule, and I'm not gonna lie: I like the short days. It's a nice rest.

Not completely sure of mileage, but 5 is about right. Did a Hal 35 minute tempo run on the TM. His idea of a tempo is different from others that I've read, and not sure I did it right, but it worked for me. Started off at 2% incline warming up at 6 mph for 1/2 mile, then bumped up 0.5 mph for each 1/2 mile. When I got to 13 minutes I decided that I should do my big speed tempo for the next 15 minutes. Bumped it up to 8.5 mph (7:04 pace but feels like 6:50 pace at 2% incline) and held it there for 15 minutes. That was a good hard pace, one that I didn't think I could keep, but I did. Watching movies while TM running works well for me as it takes my mind off the task at hand and I just run. Watched the last few minutes of the horrible movie Anaconda, and the first few minutes of Batman & Robin. Nice brainless running. My kind of morning.

7 miles outside in the gorgeous moonlight. Clear skies and a full moon on the Western horizon meant that I didn't use my headlamp. What a beautiful way to start the day. Temps 30F with 10-15 mph WSW wind, which wasn't too bad. Legs felt good after a day of rest. My watch needs a new battery (which I have but I need some time to do it as it's not a simple fix) so I used an app on my phone to track speed and distance. This was great because I couldn't see the pace as I ran, but every mile the computer voice would interrupt what I was listening to and tell me overall time and pace of last mile. It's an out & back, up then down course, so on the up I was approx 9:28, 8:38, 8:15, then on the down 7:22, 7:18, 7:03. Those paces didn't feel difficult and best of all I didn't know what pace I was running and I hit my targets. AP: 8:06.

14 miles up Hillcrest with Angela, the woman I'm going to pace in the Bighorn 100 mile run. First time meeting her and running with her so it was nice to be better understand her and what she'll need in the race.

The run was good. A steady breeze in our faces on the way out but it was 30 degrees so not cold. Slower paces than I normally run, which was good for me. Sometimes it's nice to just run. This has some nasty hills and I'm used to them but Angela isn't, so a good wake up call for her to get lots more hills in very soon. She's running a 50 mile race near San Antonio on March 1st so now can better prep for it.

7 TM miles at the Hampton Inn in Bozeman where we stayed the last couple nights. Good run. Awful noise when I started on it, but thankfully it ended after 1/2 mile. Happy bank holiday!

3 TM miles at the Y just before lunch. My work team had a lunch planned for 1 pm so I hit the gym about 11:40, then they decided to bump the lunch up to 12. I went ahead with my run but hit much faster paces than I normally would, then met them 25 minutes late. It all worked out well.

5 Yasso 800s this morning outside up and down my normal hill. (up) 3:14, 3:18, 3:16, (down) 3:10, 3:13. Tough doing those up hills! Good workout. 

Very windy outside this morning, so home TM for my Friday marathon pace workout. 1 mile warmup at 10:00 pace for 1/2 mile, then 8:35 for 1/2, and 1% incline for the entire run. 7 miles at 8.1 mph/7:24 pace. I don't know if it was the Yasso workout or only 1% incline or having done a few pace workouts now or my home TM is slower than at the Y, but this one was so much easier than previous. It also helped that I was able to watch a Jackie Chan movie (Twin Dragons) while running. It completely took my mind off the difficult-ish pace and let me just run without thinking about it. Major sweat fest. Great workout.

The wind is not my friend. 10 miles today in a stiff diagonal 22 mph wind, hitting my right front shoulder. The out was none too fun. Legs were tired from yesterday's MP effort, then the wind just made it tougher. I suffered through it. Good run. 

A few hours later my outer calves throbbed like they have in the past. It doesn't make sense. I didn't run fast today, not very far. Maybe it was the leaning into the wind? Not sure, but odd. 

8 miles on the Treddy this morning at my house. Watched some stupid movie about a $2 million reward for the first person to Silver City, NM. Had lots of great actors in it, but very cheesy.

Warmed up at 6 mph 2% incline for 1/2 mile, then 6.5 mph and 1% incline for 1 1/2 miles (kept incline same for the remainder). 7 mph for miles 3-4; 7.5 mph for 5-6; 8 mph for 7-8. Lots of sweat.

This is the start of week 7 marathon training and this harder schedule is going to be interesting. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

4 TM miles at home. Below zero windchill outside convinced me to stay inside. Good run. Progression from 6 mph warmup to 6.5 for a bit, then 7.0, ending at 7.5 mph.

5 X hill today. Great workout. Ran just over 2 miles to get to my workout hill, then ran up as fast as I could without dying, walked then jogged back down the hill, and repeated. It was a tough one and I 'm wondering how I'll work up to 7 X hill, but as hill work is only every 3 weeks I think I'll get there.

30F with a 20 mph wind made the wind chill in the teens, but it was actually nice after huffing and puffing up the hill.

Rest day. Love my rest days.

1 warmup mile starting at 6 mph and 2% for 1/2 mile, then 6.5 for a bit then 7.0 until 1 mile. Dropped incline to 1% and set at 8.1 mph for the marathon pace run. Set it and forget it.

After my hill workout on Wednesday my legs were tired and consequently I was tired. Yesterday I was exhausted at the end of the day even though I slept in and didn't exercise. Last night I got to sleep at 10:30 which would give me 7 hours and that's what I need. Normally I sleep really well and roll over to look at the clock within an hour before the alarm. Last night I rolled over, looked at the alarm and it was 12:45 am. What the???? Way too early. I must've rolled over and looked at the clock 5-6 times more, each 45 minutes, then finally it was time and I got out of bed a few minutes before 5:30. Oddly enough I felt rested and ready to go. Hit the home treadmill by 5:50 which gave me just enough time to be done when the family wakes up at 7.

So I'm feeling rested and running along at marathon pace and I'm wondering when this will end. My legs felt fine, but this is a hard enough effort for me to not enjoy it in the beginning miles. I looked at the saved DVR movies and turned on the recent Clash of the Titans. Pretty good flick with enough action to take my mind off fast miles. For me, when I'm on the treadmill I really look forward to the 1/2 way point. Once I get to 1/2 way then the rest seems to cruise along. The same was true today. I made it through the hour of fast running and my legs weren't the worse for wear and neither was my body. I sweated profusely but other than that no ill effects. Eggscellent.