Training in Montana

5 miles this morning on the trail above the rims. Slow and steady the first couple miles, then the legs warmed up and they went faster the last couple. Right foot is sore, I think it's plantar fasciitis but I'm not sure. Rolling it out with a golf ball helps. Right calf shin splint thing is feeling better. Friday I could feel the tightness with every step while walking, but got better through the weekend. Good call to not run on Saturday. It warmed up pretty quickly today. Will just take it easy. I think I've got a case of the Too's: too much, too soon, too fast. It wasn't all that much or fast, but too soon for sure. Hopefully DesNews will still come together but I have some doubts. No worries, but doubts.

AP: 9:01. Paces 10:39 (still getting stuff together, started clock too soon), 9:07, 9:01, 8:27, 7:35.

Until today I was unfamiliar with Zoe Romano. Her journey of running the Tour de France right now is pretty amazing. I hope she's successful.

8 steady miles this warmish morning, 66F with 68% humidity. No wonder it felt different. I need more running in warmer temps so I'll take it.

Right calf hasn't bothered me in a couple days. A little tight, but not like on Friday. The right foot I'm almost certain is plantar fasciitis, probably from running too fast on hard surfaces while my legs were still tight from the 50K. Live and learn. I'm concerned that it will slow down my training over the next few weeks, but hopefully it won't impact the actual race as the foot is fine once I warm up. Left hamstring is a little tight but I think it will go away.

My schedule today called for 10 and I seriously considered it as I'm a slave to the schedule, and I figured "what the heck" but at the 4 mile turnaround spot I decided to turn around. My legs didn't feel great, body wasn't loving it, and 2 miles won't make a difference for good but could add to the bad pain.

AP: 8:37

Sitting here at my desk with my shoes off rolling a golf ball around on my right foot. Hopefully the fascia will flee at the sight of the hard goodness of the ball.

Yes, I was "that idiot" out running at 12:30 pm in 95 degree heat. While I knew it would be hot and I prepared for it by bringing along a water bottle, I wasn't as prepared as I thought. The water heated up to 95 degrees after 25 minutes and it was hooot. The wind helped feel cooler but probably didn't help too much. I doused myself a bit, but I was running on a trail so no chances for sprinklers. I stopped running at 4 miles as I was starting to feel a little woozy, and I stood inside an under-the-road tunnel for a few minutes to get some shaded. I then had 1 mile to go to my truck, so I walked the first quarter mile and as it was downhill slowly jogged the rest of the way. Weighed myself when I got back to the Y and I was at my goal weight of 158. I haven't seen that number since I was 19. That means I lost about 4 pounds in only 5 miles.

While my goal of getting in some heat training was achieved, it wasn't the smartest thing to do. Guess I'll stick to lower temps or shorter miles next time. Lesson learned. No harm, no foul.

Did my first ever Yasso 800s, and did them on my normal 8 mile route. Great workout! Warmed up for one mile and since it was already warm (72) figured that was enough and started. First couple 800s had some uphill which was tough to maintain but great cardio. Actually half or more had some uphill, and a few times I was gasping for air at the end. I kinda liked it actually.

Splits: 3:40, 3:22, 3:16, 3:12, 3:17, 3:16, 3:12, 3:10. Took an ice bath with 5 lbs of ice. Not too bad really, but helped hugely with recovery. 

10 pace miles this morning as that's what my modified schedule called for. Drive into town so I could run the miles on a mostly flat route, so I chose the last six miles of the Billings marathon for an out and back. Warmed up one mile, then got going. It was tough to keep a 7:24 pace. Partly because it was a slight uphill most of the first five miles, partly because I had done 800s yesterday, and partly because I have a hard time going on cruise control. I also have a hard time staying focused. My mind would wander and my pace would as well.

Paces: 7:25, 7:28, 7:34, 7:31, 7:34, (4:00 walk break), 7:35, 7:26, 7:23, 7:24, 7:18. Walked 3/4 mile back to the truck.

Drove home, took a 15 min ice bath with a 10 lb bag of ice. It's way colder with 10 lbs vs 5 lbs like yesterday.

18 slow miles this morning. Legs are tired, body is tired from not enough sleep but I slogged out these miles. My right plantar fascia was screaming at me yesterday from the 10 pace miles, but 12 hours after running today my foot feels good. I'm not worried about it but it is annoying. I'm a bit concerned about my left hamstring which shot a pang up to my butt cheek yesterday doing the pace miles, but I continued on. Today I felt it a bit mostly on the uphill. I'll try and roll it out and baby it as much as I can.

AP: 9:12. Took a couple healthy walking breaks, one at mile 16. I was beat and out of water. Took another ice bath and recovered well enough to fully enjoy the day with my family. Maybe I was a bit muted but I was fully present.