Training in Montana

Drove home 8 hours yesterday, so I decided to sleep in yesterday morning so I would be fully awake for the drive. Good call. This morning I was still a bit tired so decided to do 4 miles instead of longer. Again good call. Got a bit of a late start so picked up the pace on the way back. For my normal runs from home I head uphill on the out, so the back is always faster. It works out quite well. My legs felt very stretched on the two miles back home today, so I'll keep getting in some faster paces when able.

Paces: 9:23, 8:30, 7:16, 6:56. AP: 8:01

Very tired last night, got to bed late even though I was trying to best to hit the sack. Planned to do 4 this morning but I was not feeling it when the alarm went off so I listened to my body and kept sleeping. I knew I was going to Boot Camp at Noon.

Noon: Went to Boot Camp. Wow, was it a good workout. Great leg exercises, some upper body, good cardio. My headband was soaked. My mileage plan is picking up in the next couple weeks so I'll drop to 1 BC a week and then probably none. Not sure my old body can handle a rough double plus 40-50 mpw. No miles to record, but it should be 6+ as it was over 50 minutes of working out and the headband sweat was like a tempo 6+. That's my best indicator.

6 miles this fine morning. Arms were sweating like crazy as I had overdressed for 37F. Spring running is tough to know how to dress. Good run. Legs a bit tired from Boot Camp, will be more sore tomorrow.

AP: 8:42

6 more difficult miles this morning. I normally go up the hill so that my out is slow and steady and my return is downhill and fast. I need to switch it up more as going downhill first then working my way back home is definitely more challenging. 43F outside, so much nicer. Still dressed too warmly so bring on 50s and I'll know what to do.

AP: 8:36

12 tough miles. It was nice to run in the light, and the weather was favorable. Did my 10 mile loop, but decided to add on the 2 miles before the loop instead of at the end. I headed up the road on my normal route & my legs were moving, like 30-45 seconds per mile faster than my normal first mile. Weird. I let them go & kept a strong pace for the first couple miles, then I remembered I had 10 more to go and the beginning was no time for a tempo run. I backed off, but the next few were really tough for some reason, even though mostly downhill. I nearly stopped to walk a bit but didn't, hoping my legs would come back. They eventually did. I hit the bottom of the hill and the challenge of getting back up the 400 or so feet got my fire burning and I kept going all the way home. The mileage is beginning! My long runs will now start growing back to big numbers. Looking forward to it.

Paces: 9:04, 8:18, 7:50, 7:56, 7:56, 8:06, 8:57, 9:34, 9:22, 9:19, 8:37, 8:03. AP: 8:35

4 miles in a couple inches of crunchy, frozen snow. 22F with wind chill of 11F. No wonder it felt so cold! I thought it was a bit warmer than that when I headed out. Wasn't bad, actually, but much different than Saturday's shirt sleeves weather. Followed my legs, and the pace was fairly pedestrian. Wore my Salomon's again as I added another layer of insoles and that seemed to make the difference. They're too wide for my feet so I've got a nice blister on my right foot, but I didn't feel the blister grow today. Will try the same combination on longer runs this week as I'm planning on wearing these shoes on the 50K.

AP: 8:46

It snowed all day yesterday, with a high of 21F, so I woke up this morning to 17F and a couple inches of snow, so I crawled back in bed. It was nice and warm. Hit the Y at lunch and ran 4 miles on the TM. 2% incline, progression from 6 mph for 0.5, to 6.7 for 0.5, then 7.3 for 1, 7.7 for 1, and ended at 8.1 for the last mile. Amazing how much sweat came from 4 miles. 5 minute cool down.

6 morning miles at 15F with no wind. Not too bad, really, and without wind I was sweatin' like a horse. Amazing that I could be that soaked in those temps and I wasn't wearing any thick layers. My legs felt okay but not great, which makes sense after a decent run 18 hours earlier. I wore the Salomons again and I'm done with that shoe. Over 3,000 miles in Brooks without a single blister, and after 60 miles in the Salomons I have two solid blisters on my right foot, and started a new blister this morning on my left foot. Experiment over.

The 50K training plan is ramping up, so Friday I'll do 8 and Saturday 14, then bigger & better the week after & beyond. I'm looking forward to San Antonio in a few weeks. I could do with some heat work.

AP: 8:39

Noon: Boot Camp. Good workout. I wasn't as tired as I thought I'd be from already having run 6. I'm sure I'll be plenty sore by Friday. Love it.

8 miles this morning. That darn wind. Only 35F but felt like 25 or colder. That being said, I am happy about the wind as I live on a dirt road and the wind dries it out like nothing else. That's nice. Driving around with a muddy truck is also nice as I feel much cooler than I deserve to feel.

I took this run at a steady pace. Legs a bit tired from Wednesday's Boot Camp + 6 mile double, but nothing too crazy. On the turnaround once I hit mile 5 I turned it up a bit, and at mile 6 I did a marathon pace mile. I need to keep doing that to get my body familiar with a 3:15:00 pace. I need to wear my HRM a few times as well to see how my body tolerates that pace. I felt pretty good, but can't comprehend running that pace for 26.2. I also thought how I'll build a Des News pace calculator using allie's and others DN times per each mile. I can then get a differential to expect and can then plug in my desired time and get rough paces per each mile. I want to be sure to use the hills to my advantage and not my detriment.

Yesterday read an interesting article about physiological limitations of endurance exercise capacity. I think it's a few years old, but a good read. A bit techy, but I could understand most of it. It gave me a clue to why my HR increases so much at the end of marathons and I start to feel dizzy - dehydration. I fit all the classic symptoms of dehydration. I will work on that. I realize that I've never increased my fluid intake as the air temperature has increased, and that makes a lot of sense to do. As it gets warmer I sweat more so I need more replacement. Not sure it's that simple, but something for me to ponder.

Paces: 9:26, 8:48, 8:57, 8:40, 9:53 (took off jacket), 7:39, 7:22, 8:01. AP: 8:36

14 miles before the storm rolled in. I felt really good during this run, and it kinds freaks me out. I ran this same route 1 month ago and it was a tough one. I ran 8 miles yesterday with 2 MP miles in there, and got in a few more MP miles today at the end of the run. It was tough, but controlled. No wind when I left, and a steady NE wind on the way back. Headwind for part of the route, more sideways the last couple miles. I was dressed just about right.

AP: 8:09 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/297367737  

Split	Time	Moving Time	Elevation Gain	Elevation Loss
1	08:38.2	8:38	101	0
2	08:22.6	8:14	125	0
3	08:14.0	8:12	48	84
4	09:06.0	9:05	264	0
5	08:33.9	8:28	70	0
6	09:19.1	9:18	80	66
7	08:09.3	8:03	86	0
8	08:06.8	7:58	0	76
9	08:08.2	8:06	70	60
10	07:47.2	7:41	0	52
11	07:04.9	7:04	0	293
12	07:55.7	7:55	98	85
13	07:21.7	7:19	0	60
14	07:10.8	7:08	0	129
Summary	1:53:58.4	1:53:09.0	943	904

Broke 500 miles in my Brooks trail shoes. As they've almost exclusively been used on soft surfaces I think they'll last much longer than 500. I guess time will tell.

Cold weather is back in Billings as it was 16 degrees for this morning's run. No wind, so didn't feel too cold. My calves are a bit sore from Saturday's effort but not bad at all, just a bit tight today. A nice controlled short run. Will hit Boot Camp at Noon.

AP: 8:19

Noon: Boot Camp. She kicked our butts. In the beginning I was thinking "I'm crazy! I just did a solid 14 a couple days ago, not fully recovered, did 4 this morning, and now this? Leave early." At the end I was envisioning "3:14:51" in my head as I cross the finish line. I wanted to give myself a few seconds of leeway. It was a killer, headband-dripping-sweat workout. I need one of these a week to give me that BQ edge.

23F with a skiff of snow and a slight breeze this morning. A beautiful spring morning. It felt about the right temperature for whomever was responsible for the marathon bombs yesterday. Let's find them, strip them down to their skivvies, and leave them tied to the stocks in this temperature. There are plenty of coyotes in my neighborhood who would love to help usher them out of this world. I won't write too much about this tragedy as I believe the best way to honor those who have lost their lives is to continue on with my life, with a heightened sense of the nothingness of man, an appreciation for the bounties of life I enjoy, for gratefulness for all that God has created, and a deep and sincere prayer for peace to all of those affected.

My body is feeling the effects of a good Boot Camp. We did lots of deep knee bends, wall sits, and other leg & butt-busting exercises. Good stuff. I took it nice and easy this morning and this run was all about "don't stop running". I really wanted to a few times, but knew it wouldn't be an amazing challenge to just keep going. And I did. Very small victory, but I'll take it.

AP: 8:37

8 miles up Keller Road. The cold spell continues as it was 19F this morning, but with fog so no wind. Interesting running in fog. Even though it wasn't all that cold my eyelids kept sticking shut, I guess with all the humidity of being in a cloud. That was cool. Legs felt a bit better this morning, althoug 2nd day soreness abounds. Kept the pace slowish but steady and ran MP on the last two miles. Prayers for Boston. Frequently.

AP: 8:25

10 killer miles for my 40th birthday plus 40 push-ups. Ran up my Veyo hill and maintained strong pace on the way back. Heading out of town for a weekend getaway with my wife now, hoping for a 12 miler tomorrow.

AP: 8:06

Staying in Bozeman for the weekend. Got a nice little run in this morning before breakfast. Glad I didn't try for more than that. Tired legs, now heading to Yellowstone for the day.

AP: 8:37

4 miles this cold snowy morning. It's a lovely winter day only 9 days before May. Sigh. 24F but felt like 11F with wind chill. Downright balmy. I overdressed as I didn't want to be chilled, and that made me feel a bit more sluggish than normal. It was nice running on crunchy snow as it provided lots of traction. No idea on pace.

Noon: Went to my weekly Boot Camp session. Partly I was not feeling it today, partly we worked on upper body (shoulders, arms, etc) and my upper body is weak. But during abs I couldn't do it all either. I think residual tiredness from a long fun weekend.

6 brisk miles this winter morning. 21F, 7F with wind chill. This should be the last of winter weather for the year (hopefully). I felt pretty good this morning and didn't push the pace, but was still holding it nice and steady. The wind was from the side and on the way back my rear end became quite icy. A lovely feeling. Per my morning ritual (although I don't write about it) did 25 pushups while waiting for the shower to warm up. It's only 25 a day but amazing what  difference it makes for my core and the other affected upper body muscles.

AP: 8:13

6  miles. Snowed a skiff again this morning. A bit warmer but still windy and cold. Kept it steady today but legs were a bit tired. Looking forward to a break tomorrow, 10 on Friday, 18 on Saturday. Haven't done more than 14 since the last marathon.

AP: 8:27 

I think Spring may have actually sprung for good. This morning was clear and 48F. It was 13 mph wind so felt a bit chilly, but only wore tights & a long sleeve tech shirt with gloves. So lovely. I ran up my Veyo hill and back, my normal Friday route now (and lots of Saturdays too). I kept it slower than previous times as I want to get in a good effort tomorrow doing 18. My legs didn't feel great, but not bad. I didn't get great sleep last night so I'll attribute it to that. Overall, a good effort. I didn't feel strong up the hills but I didn't have to go to my happy place either so that's a success. Heading to Great Falls, MT today for a long weekend of Boy Scout meetings (the Montana Council annual meeting). I look forward to doing 18 on their river trail system. I wish I could do the run on dirt trails, but running next to a river is a really close second.

AP: 8:40

18 long  miles in Great Falls starting at 4:30  this morning. Good run before meetings.

I woke up at 4 as I budgeted 3  hours for the run and my first meeting started at 7:50. I  figured that would give me time to shower and eat and I  was pretty close.  Winds  predicted for 30 mph this morning but thankfully I missed most of it. Used the headlamp the first hour then didn't need it. I was trying to find the paved path by the river but thankfully stumbled onto a perfect country road I stayed on the entire time. Fewer than 10  cars passed me.  Legs finally felt good after 6 miles and I cruised along until 13 after

  which it was a bit of a struggle. The wind was at my back on the return which helped.  I  kept a  decent  pace the last few but not marathon worthy by any stretch. A  good first long run in a while.

AP: 8:56

 Got up early this morning &  flew to San Antonio. Got in about Noon and after unpacking headed out on a run. Had scoped out the map and saw a nice park to run to but never made it that far. It was not very runner friendly. I think my other runs this week will be on the treadmill.  If I had a car it would be a different story.  it is beautiful weather her though.  Got a sunburn at the pool. Awesome.

6  sweaty treadmill miles at the Marriott this morning. Last mile at 7:30. 2%  incline the entire time.