Training in Montana

I didn't run so it shouldn't count, but I'm counting it. 15+ miles of walking along a hot and dusty trail. We went over "Rocky Ridge" which is the highest elevation on the Oregon/Mormon Trail. It was a "trail of blood" during October 1856 when hundreds of handcart pioneers were caught in an early winter storm. 18+ inches of snow, -11F temps, almost no food (4 oz flour per day per adult, 2 oz per child), nearly no provisions as they'd left them on the trail the week before to lighten loads to make traveling faster, many had no shoes hence the trail of blood left in the snow. It was very enlightening and made us all grateful for the things we enjoy. Really placed the focus on wants versus needs. There is very little we actually need, although we use that word frequently. These pioneers relied on faith, family, and hope.

7 more miles hiking on a hot and dusty trail, this time in Martin's Cove. No injuries, no IVs for anyone, it was a successful day!

2 mile walk/hike from the campgrounds to the busses. Thankfully I got to ride in a friend's pickup, and I had a cooler with cold Diet Pepsi. And we stopped at Five Guy's for a burger on the drive home. And we still beat the busses by an hour.

4 miles at lunch time from the Y. Really nice outside, 72-73F the entire run. Ooh ahh.

19 miles from home with 70 ounces of fluid. Slow going. My SGM "C" goal will be a huge challenge. I should stick to ultras...

5 Noon miles from the Y. Legs a bit stiff but not horrible. Temps 79-82F.

AP: 8:34

Made it 10 this morning. Nice cool morning, 63-57F, 67% humidity, 46 dew point (laughs). Slow going, lotsa miles the past while, and more to come. I'm just going to slog out the miles this week. I have 2 more 50 mile weeks (5, 10, 5, 10, 20) so hopefully on the last one I'll be able to knock out some decent paces.

AP: 9:00

I decided to take a rest day. My Saturday is booked with a boating trip so I moved everything forward 1 day which would have made no rest. I woke up to go this morning but decided a break would be beneficial as I'm doing 10 tomorrow and 20 Friday, and it's been a lot of miles the past 7 days.

10 miles this morning from home. Perfect weather, 57F with 55% humidity and a 7-8 mph wind. Legs felt a bit better than Tuesday but still a bit sluggish. I expect that will remain for a couple weeks or so.

AP: 9:00 (not on purpose)

20 in town this morning.

AP: 8:48

Had a weekend of camping and boating, slalom skiied twice Saturday, feeling it today. Ran at lunch from the Y, 82-84F, 30% humidity. Nice to run in the heat as it should help at SGM, but much slower paces (that and my legs were really tired).

AP: 8:48

6 miles at lunch, 82-84F. Last 2 miles at marathon pace.

AP: 8:23

5 lunchtime miles. I'm giving my Sophomore son rides to 7:30 am football practice this week so I would need to wake up extra early to run before then and still get him there on time as we live 20 minutes away. It's been good heat training. Slow miles today, a bit sluggish from the MP miles plus the humidity (it felt muggy - airport says it was only 27% but I'm guessing it was much higher in town, airport is 600 feet above us on a plateau) plus the heat, 81-88F.

AP: 8:49

1/2 mile warm up, then 6 mile MP run and I got perfect weather for it. Cooled down yesterday, rained last night, lots of clouds. Had clouds half the run and temps 60F. Aimed for a 7:50 pace, but actually hit a 7:41 overall. I need to remember about tangents, so if I can pull off a 7:40 pace on my watch I'll be more like a 7:45 for the race.

AP: 7:41

12 miles on the Crow reservation while camping at friends' house. Last mile before turning around was in a gorgeous canyon, could've run in there all day.

AP: 9:27

5 noon miles, way harder than it should've been. Oh, just learned it was 82-86F. No wonder.

AP: 8:28

10 country miles before work. Up my Veyo hill, haven't been running this route much lately so it wasn't as easy as previous marathon training cycles.

AP: 9:02

 Christmas in August. New shoes and only 66F at Noon. Both felt great.

AP: 7:59

10 MP miles, and while I had serious doubts, I nailed it. 7:41 pace overall. Perfect weather, overcast with 51F, nary a breeze. The first few miles I couldn't get to a 7:40 pace, was a 7:30 pace and struggled to get it up. On the return I was much higher, more like 7:45-7:55 pace. It all evened out, but had a solid 7:41 pace on the last mile.

AP: 7:41

20 in town along the Montana Marathon course, out and back from the end. Felt good nearly the entire way, pretty good confidence booster. Temps fantastic, 55-66F with a breeze.

AP:  8:26

5 mile recovery run this morning from the Y. Felt pretty good despite the sore legs.

AP: 8:27, last mile 7:45

6 Noon miles from the Y in some decent heat, 79-82F. Legs felt leaden, but when it's "hot" out I forget that lead legs are normal. Amazing how 30 degrees makes a world of difference.

AP: 8:41