Training in Montana

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