Training in Montana

Nice weather, nice short run. Legs feel good, ready to boost up some mileage in the next few weeks. I need to get more sleep and I need to start running in the morning as work is starting to pick up over the next couple months. AP 8:49.

Did 6 miles this morning before my dentist appointment. I've decided that I don't particularly like doing out and back runs from my home. It's always uphill to start and if I go downhill after the first mile, it's all uphill back home unless I run to the Y and get picked up there. Well, it does build character, right?

AP 8:24 Splits 9:28, 8:44, 8:59, 7:51, 7:53, 7:29. Beautiful morning.

3 miles in the warmth. Nice and all, but I prefer it in the 50s. Ran early once this week, will start doing that most days. Started off nice and slow, around 9:00, then bumped it up. I don't know if I should be bumping it up or if I should try and keep these runs around 9:00 but I kind of can't help it. It's just fun to run fast in a slight uphill or something else that's a bit challenging, then seems a waste of energy not to unload a bit faster on the downhills. Afterwards did 3 sets of curls, shoulders, and squats, then 1:30 plank, 1:00 bicycles, and 20 pushups (plus 25 this morning).

AP 8:25. Splits 8:51, 8:42, 7:45, 8:19 (.38). Total ascent 478 ft, descent 504 ft.

A tough 6 miles this morning. Supposed to be marathon pace miles, an 8:15 is what I'm shooting for. Legs & all felt sluggish from the get go all the way through. Didn't start clocking until I got about .5 mile of warmup, plus wanted to wait until I got some downhill to get in a push. It's down for .1 then up for .4 and I made it through okay, but the whole run I checked my watch to see how far I'd gone. Are we there yet? To make a long story short I walked for 30 seconds on the way back, and with a mile left I almost quit running, thinking I'd be way off my pace. Turns out that my overall average pace was 8:08 which is shocking. I felt soooo slow. I guess my first 3 fast downhill miles were more than enough to make up for my slow uphill miles. Feel fine now but that was a tough run. My previous 6 miler was too fast and I felt it today. Need to learn to chill a bit more on my regular runs.

Also, just realized that I broke 500 miles for the year. Woot! If all goes well I'll break 1000 for the year, a non-written goal of mine.

Gorgeous run on the half marathon course for the Big Sky State Games on July 16th. It's along the Yellowstone River and is right next to the river for the first 2 miles. The river is raging right now, at one of the highest levels ever and fun to watch as it's cruising but not doing too much damage anywhere - just a few farmer's fields. I felt pretty good on this out and back course and tried to keep it at a 9:00 mile, but slipped under than frequently. At the end I cruised at an 8:30 pace which is really comfortable for me when warmed up. Had my first roadside squatting experience. That was fun. Glad I brought some toilet paper. BTW, where can I buy me some individual wetwipes? I'm having a hard time finding them.

AP: 8:47. Splits 9:04, 8:43, 8:48, 8:46, 8:55, 8:55, 8:47, 8:57, 8:46, 8:43, 8:47, 8:48, 8:21, 7:45 (.19). Avg HR 145, Max 160. Ascent 609 feet, Descent 608 feet.