Don't have a lot of details at this point - only what I could pick up from some really crappy local TV coverage and some not-so-real-time race tracking; but, Alan finished 40th overall in the USATF National Championship 1/2 Marathon in Houston this morning. He finished with a time of 1:09:37 (5:18 pace).
It looked like the weather was quite good for the race. Temps in the mid-40's, little to no wind, dry. They do start awful early (7:00 a.m. - it's still semi dark for the first couple of miles).
Alan went out at a good agressive pace, hitting 10K at 32:11 (5:10 pace) and was still on pace through 9 (46:28 - 5:10 pace). Looks like he fell off a bit over the last 6 kilometers - but, still - it was a solid, fast time.
And, talk about a fast event. How would like to run a smokin' time like 69:37 and just make it inside the top 50? Definately in the big pond now.
Alan did meet one of my predictions. He did beat Shalane Flanagan. So, as I'm watching the finish line camera they're announcing Shalane about ready to come in and here comes Alan into the camera right in front of her. So, he stayed ahead of an Olympic bronze medalist; and, gets some face time on the camera!!
Turns out he also ran faster than Deena Kastor, who ran the 1/2 at PF Changs in Phoenix this morning. Deena's time was 69:44. To put that in perspective, Alan beat two Olympic Medalists, one of whome (Shalane) is a sub-31:00 10K'r and the other (Deena) who has a sub 2:20 marathon PR.
Congrats to Alan for such a great run and for making the Big Sky country proud.
The Muddy Buzzard
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Houston Receives A Vist From The King
Alan King that is.
As you may know, tomorrow is the running of the USA Track & Field Half Marathon National Championships. Among the elite field on the women's side is Shalane Flanagan (10K bronze medalist from Bejing), Kelly Jaske (2009 1/2 marathon runner up) and Terra Moody (5th at the 2008 marathon trials).
On the men's side, we have guys like Brett Vaugh, Josh Rohatinsky, Matt Gabrielson, Belota Asmeron, Luke Watson, Tim Nelson, Josh Moen, Jason Hartman and James Carney. All have won national titles, competed in national championships and/or olympic trials, and -some have even run on world championhip teams.
Also on that list is Montana's very own Alan King. Based on his 2:29 marathon at Cal International in 2007 and his outstanding 1:09 solo 1/2 at the Montana Marathon this past September, Alan was accepted into the elite field for the US Championship race. That's right - he's hanging with the Big Dogs this weekend.
I talked to Alan yesterday at his hotel. He's hungry and ready to go. If everthing goes well, he'll be hitting 5:05 to 5:07 pace and finish in a range of 1:06:30 to 1:07:30. That would be a big PR - but, he's been focusing on this race since late fall and he's getting stronger all the time.
I had the great pleasure and honor of being able to train with Alan for about 18 months before moving from Billings to Plains. Running together as much as we did, you begin to get a great feel for how your "teammate's" form and running rythm. Well - in early December, I went for a run on some backcounry roads with Alan and Nicole Hunt. Nicole and I were doing 45:00 of up-tempo running (comfortably hard effort). We were pretty much in the wheel ruts of these two track jeep trails that went across the prairie lands. Alan was mostly off to the side, running over the praire grass and skipping over sagebrush. At one point I looked over to watch him run and was mesmerized - his form, rythm and posture were completely different than I had rememberd. He now reminded me of the opening scene from the Haile Gebreselassie documentary Endurance, where Haile is zipping along the cow paths in rural Ethiopia. That's when I knew that Alan was at a different level. So, I have great things predicted for Alan at tomorrow's event.
1:07:15 (5:08 pace) and beating Shalane Flanagan (who is gunning for the women's american record of 1:07:34)
For those of you who are interested in checking out Alan's results, the race starts at 6:00 a.m. Montana time (7:00 a.m. in Houstan). The home page for the race is: http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/index.cfm
There is a spectator page that has some options for email/text tracking and suggests that there will be race day links for athlete tracking and online commentary, both in real time. I know that Houston has been an innovator in using technology for pushing out race information - so, I'm hopeful that we'll be able to follow Alan as he races through the streets of Houson tomorrow morning.
If they have any video, Alan will be wearing bib 20021 and will be wearing his white and green RMC (Rocky Mountain College) singlet.
If you read this Alan - good luck - go kick some big dog tail.
The Muddy Buzzard
As you may know, tomorrow is the running of the USA Track & Field Half Marathon National Championships. Among the elite field on the women's side is Shalane Flanagan (10K bronze medalist from Bejing), Kelly Jaske (2009 1/2 marathon runner up) and Terra Moody (5th at the 2008 marathon trials).
On the men's side, we have guys like Brett Vaugh, Josh Rohatinsky, Matt Gabrielson, Belota Asmeron, Luke Watson, Tim Nelson, Josh Moen, Jason Hartman and James Carney. All have won national titles, competed in national championships and/or olympic trials, and -some have even run on world championhip teams.
Also on that list is Montana's very own Alan King. Based on his 2:29 marathon at Cal International in 2007 and his outstanding 1:09 solo 1/2 at the Montana Marathon this past September, Alan was accepted into the elite field for the US Championship race. That's right - he's hanging with the Big Dogs this weekend.
I talked to Alan yesterday at his hotel. He's hungry and ready to go. If everthing goes well, he'll be hitting 5:05 to 5:07 pace and finish in a range of 1:06:30 to 1:07:30. That would be a big PR - but, he's been focusing on this race since late fall and he's getting stronger all the time.
I had the great pleasure and honor of being able to train with Alan for about 18 months before moving from Billings to Plains. Running together as much as we did, you begin to get a great feel for how your "teammate's" form and running rythm. Well - in early December, I went for a run on some backcounry roads with Alan and Nicole Hunt. Nicole and I were doing 45:00 of up-tempo running (comfortably hard effort). We were pretty much in the wheel ruts of these two track jeep trails that went across the prairie lands. Alan was mostly off to the side, running over the praire grass and skipping over sagebrush. At one point I looked over to watch him run and was mesmerized - his form, rythm and posture were completely different than I had rememberd. He now reminded me of the opening scene from the Haile Gebreselassie documentary Endurance, where Haile is zipping along the cow paths in rural Ethiopia. That's when I knew that Alan was at a different level. So, I have great things predicted for Alan at tomorrow's event.
1:07:15 (5:08 pace) and beating Shalane Flanagan (who is gunning for the women's american record of 1:07:34)
For those of you who are interested in checking out Alan's results, the race starts at 6:00 a.m. Montana time (7:00 a.m. in Houstan). The home page for the race is: http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/index.cfm
There is a spectator page that has some options for email/text tracking and suggests that there will be race day links for athlete tracking and online commentary, both in real time. I know that Houston has been an innovator in using technology for pushing out race information - so, I'm hopeful that we'll be able to follow Alan as he races through the streets of Houson tomorrow morning.
If they have any video, Alan will be wearing bib 20021 and will be wearing his white and green RMC (Rocky Mountain College) singlet.
If you read this Alan - good luck - go kick some big dog tail.
The Muddy Buzzard
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Best of The Best
Well, the Buzzard got a bit of a feather up his rear orifice last year and decided to take a stab at evaluating who were the best runners in the state of Montana. It quickly became apparent that this was going to be a bit of a task; and, since the Buzzard was flying solo on this - he decided to stick with the men only. Maybe we'll add the distaff side to the 2010 equation. Yet to be seen.
But, back to 2009. Given the size of the Big Sky State, found that there was a lot of dilution in the talent pool. But, I think that there were enough races run by enough races with enough cross-over or frame of reference to be able to make some form of semi-objective, mostly rational, fly by the seat of the pants choice.
In this post, I'm going to focus on the open men. The old farts will get their due in the next few days.
At the front end, there were some great athletes out there on the roads, tracks and trails this year. The names that were at the front of races more often than not, included people like Alan King, Jimmy Grant, Thomas Jodoin, Steve Hickman, Keifer Hahn, Mike Foot, Zack Strong, Matt Winter and Mike Wolfe. But, in the end, it really came down to a "front-running" threesome - Alan King, Jimmy Grant and Thomas Jodoin.
Each ran about 10 - 12 races within the state; and, at least several of those were against top end competition. On top of that, each of them went out and competed on the regional and/or national stage.
In the end, the Buzzard gives the nod to.....................................................................................Jimmy Grant of Missoula. He didn't race quite as much as Alan or Thomas; but, his range of performances, his consistency and his level of performances were pretty outstanding. Consider this - he won raced from the 5K to the Marathon, never finishing lower than 2nd (excepting Bloomsday - where he was 36th overall and first Montanan). He won Snow Joke, the Riverbank 10K, the Lolo Pass run and several other local runs. He finished second at the Missoula Marathon and the Roots Festival 4-miler.
Against the top level competition, he beat Matt Winter, Michael Fisher, Mike Wolfe and Keifer Hahn in the Riverbank Run 10K, Mike Foote and Andy Drobek in the Roots Festival 4-mile, and Keifer Hahn in the Evaro Mountain Challenge 10K.
His times ranged from 16:37 at the Wheat Montana 5K, 31:47 at the Riverbank 10K, 39:16 @ Bloomsday (12K), 1:16:16 at the Snow Joke 1/2-marathon and 2:35:10 at the Missoula Marathon.
When all this was considered, had to give the nod to Jimmy.
But, oh so close behind was Thomas Jodoin. Thomas got out of his comfort zone of the short stuff on the track and hit a wide variety of distances and surfaces this year. His times weren't quite as spectacular as Jimmy's; but, his level of performance was exceptionally high none the less. He scored overall wins at the Anaconda St. Pat's Day 3-mile (14:41 - wow!!), the Big Butte Challenge (just missing the Buzzard's course record), the Don't Fence Me In 12K, the Governor's Cup 10K, the Veteran's Day 5-mile (Butte) and - perhaps his best performance of the year - the Wulfman CDT 14K.
At Ice Breaker he took the measure of Alan King, he got Zach Strong at the Don't Fence Me In, Kurt Michels and Steve Hickman at Gov's Cup and Kiefer Hahn, Alan King and Matt Winter at Wulfman's. On the national level - he went to the Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race in July (a selection race for the US Mtn. Running Team) and finished a solid 20th in an elite field of mountain racers.
But, the thing that ended up being the difference maker for TJ was the MT Cup. Don't make any mistake - his performace was solid. But, his 7th place just wasn't spectacular. A top 3 finish probably would have been enough to vault him over Grant. That's how close it was between the two.
Next up would be Alan King. Alan raced a fair amount; but, he didn't have same level of top-end state wide races. But when he raced, he raced well. He won Montana Cup, got 3rd at Wulfman and 4th at Ice Breaker. He also ran a solid 44th overall (33:56) at the ultra-competitive first wave of Bolder Boulder.
His quality of performances was stellar. 16:10 5K at Heart and Sole, 25:32 at the Quality of Life 5 mile in Billings, and an exceptional 1:09:23 solo performance at the Montana Marathon 1/2-marathon.
The choices were hard and the Buzzard wavered back and forth on how these three should be ranked. Now, you may not agree (and feel free to let me know your thoughts on who you think was the Best of the Best in Montana in 2009); but, that's the way that I saw it.
The other trouble in picking one overa another was that these are all great guys. All very personable with positive outlooks and demeanors. And, they all have a passion for the sport. It's so great to see younger guys like this who are leading the charge of the current generation of runners. I'm proud to know these guys and to have had the opportunity to run and race with them over the last year.
Even outside of these 3 there was a long list of other great runners and great performances in 2009. Among those would be:
Keifer Hahn - winning the Don't Fence Me in 30K and the Missoula Marathon (in an outstanding time of 2:33:17 (perhaps the fastest marathon in Montana in the last decade - somebody let me know if I'm wrong on that) and solid performances at Wulfman and the Riverbank Run Trifecta.
Michael Fischer, Matt Winter and Mike Wolfe who each had several other good races; but, had an outstanding head to head match up in the Riverbank Run trifecta
Kurt Michels and Steve Hickman- neither raced much; but, when they did they ran fast. They were 2/3 and 1/2 at the Gov's Cup 10K and Bozeman Classic 5K respectively. And, Hickman ran a solid 2nd at MT Cup.
And special mention goes to Dewey Peacock. He ran here there and everywhere. From the Governor's Cup 5K to the Ridge Run and everything in between, he was never afraid to show up and put himself into the mix. And, when he showed up, you knew that he would be in the top 2 or 3. A solid year of top end performances for this trail expert.
So, that's the way that I see it. It's not perfect; but, as they say ---- it is what it is.
Here's to looking forward to more great performances for 2K10. Who's going to step it up and be this year's Best Of The Best.
See you out there on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
But, back to 2009. Given the size of the Big Sky State, found that there was a lot of dilution in the talent pool. But, I think that there were enough races run by enough races with enough cross-over or frame of reference to be able to make some form of semi-objective, mostly rational, fly by the seat of the pants choice.
In this post, I'm going to focus on the open men. The old farts will get their due in the next few days.
At the front end, there were some great athletes out there on the roads, tracks and trails this year. The names that were at the front of races more often than not, included people like Alan King, Jimmy Grant, Thomas Jodoin, Steve Hickman, Keifer Hahn, Mike Foot, Zack Strong, Matt Winter and Mike Wolfe. But, in the end, it really came down to a "front-running" threesome - Alan King, Jimmy Grant and Thomas Jodoin.
Each ran about 10 - 12 races within the state; and, at least several of those were against top end competition. On top of that, each of them went out and competed on the regional and/or national stage.
In the end, the Buzzard gives the nod to.....................................................................................Jimmy Grant of Missoula. He didn't race quite as much as Alan or Thomas; but, his range of performances, his consistency and his level of performances were pretty outstanding. Consider this - he won raced from the 5K to the Marathon, never finishing lower than 2nd (excepting Bloomsday - where he was 36th overall and first Montanan). He won Snow Joke, the Riverbank 10K, the Lolo Pass run and several other local runs. He finished second at the Missoula Marathon and the Roots Festival 4-miler.
Against the top level competition, he beat Matt Winter, Michael Fisher, Mike Wolfe and Keifer Hahn in the Riverbank Run 10K, Mike Foote and Andy Drobek in the Roots Festival 4-mile, and Keifer Hahn in the Evaro Mountain Challenge 10K.
His times ranged from 16:37 at the Wheat Montana 5K, 31:47 at the Riverbank 10K, 39:16 @ Bloomsday (12K), 1:16:16 at the Snow Joke 1/2-marathon and 2:35:10 at the Missoula Marathon.
When all this was considered, had to give the nod to Jimmy.
But, oh so close behind was Thomas Jodoin. Thomas got out of his comfort zone of the short stuff on the track and hit a wide variety of distances and surfaces this year. His times weren't quite as spectacular as Jimmy's; but, his level of performance was exceptionally high none the less. He scored overall wins at the Anaconda St. Pat's Day 3-mile (14:41 - wow!!), the Big Butte Challenge (just missing the Buzzard's course record), the Don't Fence Me In 12K, the Governor's Cup 10K, the Veteran's Day 5-mile (Butte) and - perhaps his best performance of the year - the Wulfman CDT 14K.
At Ice Breaker he took the measure of Alan King, he got Zach Strong at the Don't Fence Me In, Kurt Michels and Steve Hickman at Gov's Cup and Kiefer Hahn, Alan King and Matt Winter at Wulfman's. On the national level - he went to the Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race in July (a selection race for the US Mtn. Running Team) and finished a solid 20th in an elite field of mountain racers.
But, the thing that ended up being the difference maker for TJ was the MT Cup. Don't make any mistake - his performace was solid. But, his 7th place just wasn't spectacular. A top 3 finish probably would have been enough to vault him over Grant. That's how close it was between the two.
Next up would be Alan King. Alan raced a fair amount; but, he didn't have same level of top-end state wide races. But when he raced, he raced well. He won Montana Cup, got 3rd at Wulfman and 4th at Ice Breaker. He also ran a solid 44th overall (33:56) at the ultra-competitive first wave of Bolder Boulder.
His quality of performances was stellar. 16:10 5K at Heart and Sole, 25:32 at the Quality of Life 5 mile in Billings, and an exceptional 1:09:23 solo performance at the Montana Marathon 1/2-marathon.
The choices were hard and the Buzzard wavered back and forth on how these three should be ranked. Now, you may not agree (and feel free to let me know your thoughts on who you think was the Best of the Best in Montana in 2009); but, that's the way that I saw it.
The other trouble in picking one overa another was that these are all great guys. All very personable with positive outlooks and demeanors. And, they all have a passion for the sport. It's so great to see younger guys like this who are leading the charge of the current generation of runners. I'm proud to know these guys and to have had the opportunity to run and race with them over the last year.
Even outside of these 3 there was a long list of other great runners and great performances in 2009. Among those would be:
Keifer Hahn - winning the Don't Fence Me in 30K and the Missoula Marathon (in an outstanding time of 2:33:17 (perhaps the fastest marathon in Montana in the last decade - somebody let me know if I'm wrong on that) and solid performances at Wulfman and the Riverbank Run Trifecta.
Michael Fischer, Matt Winter and Mike Wolfe who each had several other good races; but, had an outstanding head to head match up in the Riverbank Run trifecta
Kurt Michels and Steve Hickman- neither raced much; but, when they did they ran fast. They were 2/3 and 1/2 at the Gov's Cup 10K and Bozeman Classic 5K respectively. And, Hickman ran a solid 2nd at MT Cup.
And special mention goes to Dewey Peacock. He ran here there and everywhere. From the Governor's Cup 5K to the Ridge Run and everything in between, he was never afraid to show up and put himself into the mix. And, when he showed up, you knew that he would be in the top 2 or 3. A solid year of top end performances for this trail expert.
So, that's the way that I see it. It's not perfect; but, as they say ---- it is what it is.
Here's to looking forward to more great performances for 2K10. Who's going to step it up and be this year's Best Of The Best.
See you out there on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Remembering How To Hurt
So, if only getting back to hard training was like Facebook. You know how it goes, a couple of quick key strokes and you reconnect with someone who you haven't seen in a while. Well, that's what I feel like I need in my training.
For over 25 years it was just a matter of common practice to do hard workouts pretty much every week of the year. In fact, I'm a guy who (as opposed to many distance runners that I know) really enjoys hittin the track for intervals and/or repeats. I even have been know to enjoy hard tempo runs uphill at altitude on Daisy Pass by Cooke City. "Hurting" was good; and, "going to the well" was almost second nature.
But, let's then go to the summer of 2007. My family and I were moving to NW Montana and that cut into my training. At about the same time, I had some problems with my psoas/hip flexor that really caused me problems with running hard. Just as that was coming aroound, I fractured my patella on April Fool's Day in 2008. That meant no running until August, and it really wasn't until the early 2009 that I could begin to return to any semblence of normal traing.
But, even though I thought that I was training hard, my race performances weren't anywhere near the levels that they were up through the spring of 2007. In fact, I was significantly lagging behind by historic levels of time, place and overall performance. Just recently, I was trying to figure out the "problem" of why I wasn't "coming back" the way that I would like.
Then it hit me. Even though I thought I was training hard, I came to realize that my "hard" workouts were lacking. They weren't nowhere near the level of past years. And, more than anything, I realized that I seemed to have forgotten how to dig deep and really make the hard workouts hard. I was finding it far to easy to back off a bit when the "going got tough". At the first signs of distress I was ready to back it down and say that I couldn't go any harder. But, I know that this has just been a matter of not "man-ing up" and reconditioning myself mentally to be willing to "make it hurt so good".
Now that I've come to grips with the the fundamental problem, I'm already finding myself more willing to not giving up when the effort gets to be a challenge. Hopefully I'll be like Austin Powers and get my mojo back. If not, I'm still holding out hope for that running Facebook.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
For over 25 years it was just a matter of common practice to do hard workouts pretty much every week of the year. In fact, I'm a guy who (as opposed to many distance runners that I know) really enjoys hittin the track for intervals and/or repeats. I even have been know to enjoy hard tempo runs uphill at altitude on Daisy Pass by Cooke City. "Hurting" was good; and, "going to the well" was almost second nature.
But, let's then go to the summer of 2007. My family and I were moving to NW Montana and that cut into my training. At about the same time, I had some problems with my psoas/hip flexor that really caused me problems with running hard. Just as that was coming aroound, I fractured my patella on April Fool's Day in 2008. That meant no running until August, and it really wasn't until the early 2009 that I could begin to return to any semblence of normal traing.
But, even though I thought that I was training hard, my race performances weren't anywhere near the levels that they were up through the spring of 2007. In fact, I was significantly lagging behind by historic levels of time, place and overall performance. Just recently, I was trying to figure out the "problem" of why I wasn't "coming back" the way that I would like.
Then it hit me. Even though I thought I was training hard, I came to realize that my "hard" workouts were lacking. They weren't nowhere near the level of past years. And, more than anything, I realized that I seemed to have forgotten how to dig deep and really make the hard workouts hard. I was finding it far to easy to back off a bit when the "going got tough". At the first signs of distress I was ready to back it down and say that I couldn't go any harder. But, I know that this has just been a matter of not "man-ing up" and reconditioning myself mentally to be willing to "make it hurt so good".
Now that I've come to grips with the the fundamental problem, I'm already finding myself more willing to not giving up when the effort gets to be a challenge. Hopefully I'll be like Austin Powers and get my mojo back. If not, I'm still holding out hope for that running Facebook.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
Monday, January 04, 2010
What Happened To Winter
We've had some strange weather here in the NW for the last few weeks.
So far, we've only had one really cold stretch of weather. Like everyone else in the state, the first few days of December were super cold with below zero temps for lows and single digits for highs. Other than that, it's really been pretty mild. Never really too warm (haven't seen one of those odd 60 degree days yet); but, it's generally been 30ish for the highs on most days, with even a few low 40's thrown in for good measure.
But, the mild temps mean it's always a toss up if we are going to see precipitation in the form of snow or rain or a mix of both. It seems like every time that we get some white stuff on the ground, it's almost immediately followed by rain. And, that leads to every runner's worst enemy - ice.
I can tolerate most conditions. There are only two weather events that I really dislike. The first is wind. I hate the wind. Living in Billings for 16 years, I learned how to tolerate wind and how to struggle through windy runs (hey, it was either that or never run outside :-) ). But, here in Plains, that's usually not a problem.
Second on my list is ice. It's just so hard to compensate for ice. And, no matter how cautious your are, you're always just one misstep away from landing on your ass. Yesterday is a great case in point. The day came in cloudy but dry with temps at about 32 - 34. Just about right for an early January long run right?? - Wrong. The snow, then rain, then thaw, then freeze since New Year's day pretty much meant a nice little sheen of ice on all the paved surfaces.
So, the entire run was going back and forth across the roads to dry to find areas that had been sanded or areas where there was still a bit of snow cover (at least the snow cover was crunchy and provided some traction). Even getting in and out of the car at the parking lot was a trick manuever.
I know, I know - Bitch and Moan, Bitch and Moan. But hey, one bad fall and you're saying hi to mister injury. Not high on my list of things to accomplish in the winter of 2010.
And, as I sit here typing, I'm looking out the window - the temp is a nice cool 33 degrees and the skies are dropping a crappy little mix of snow and misty rain. I suspect that the roads are just about ready to glaze up all nice and slick. Thank goodness for the treadmill. As much as I like to be outside, I like staying on my feet even better. So, it's off to the torture device for me for today as I prepare to worship the mileage gods.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails (and, reluctantly, the treadmills)
The Muddy Buzzared
So far, we've only had one really cold stretch of weather. Like everyone else in the state, the first few days of December were super cold with below zero temps for lows and single digits for highs. Other than that, it's really been pretty mild. Never really too warm (haven't seen one of those odd 60 degree days yet); but, it's generally been 30ish for the highs on most days, with even a few low 40's thrown in for good measure.
But, the mild temps mean it's always a toss up if we are going to see precipitation in the form of snow or rain or a mix of both. It seems like every time that we get some white stuff on the ground, it's almost immediately followed by rain. And, that leads to every runner's worst enemy - ice.
I can tolerate most conditions. There are only two weather events that I really dislike. The first is wind. I hate the wind. Living in Billings for 16 years, I learned how to tolerate wind and how to struggle through windy runs (hey, it was either that or never run outside :-) ). But, here in Plains, that's usually not a problem.
Second on my list is ice. It's just so hard to compensate for ice. And, no matter how cautious your are, you're always just one misstep away from landing on your ass. Yesterday is a great case in point. The day came in cloudy but dry with temps at about 32 - 34. Just about right for an early January long run right?? - Wrong. The snow, then rain, then thaw, then freeze since New Year's day pretty much meant a nice little sheen of ice on all the paved surfaces.
So, the entire run was going back and forth across the roads to dry to find areas that had been sanded or areas where there was still a bit of snow cover (at least the snow cover was crunchy and provided some traction). Even getting in and out of the car at the parking lot was a trick manuever.
I know, I know - Bitch and Moan, Bitch and Moan. But hey, one bad fall and you're saying hi to mister injury. Not high on my list of things to accomplish in the winter of 2010.
And, as I sit here typing, I'm looking out the window - the temp is a nice cool 33 degrees and the skies are dropping a crappy little mix of snow and misty rain. I suspect that the roads are just about ready to glaze up all nice and slick. Thank goodness for the treadmill. As much as I like to be outside, I like staying on my feet even better. So, it's off to the torture device for me for today as I prepare to worship the mileage gods.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails (and, reluctantly, the treadmills)
The Muddy Buzzared
Friday, January 01, 2010
Kicking off Oh Ten
Got up this morning and took a quick trip up the road to Thompson Falls. It was time to take part in the annual New Year's Day Run 5K.
It's a fun old school sort of event. The costs of the run are reasonable, the course is reasonably accurate and easy to follow, the results are done quickly, the awards are unique and everyone hangs around by the bonfire post race.
As an added bonus, the race proceeds go the Clark Fork Running Club (which provides scholarships to Sanders County track & XC athletes who are pursuing the sport in college) and there are also some funds raised for the Plains and TF XC High School Teams.
Sort of weird weather this year. Had some snow during the night; but, then the temps rose a bit early this morning and we actually had some sprinkles of rain. Just odd to be racing in January in mid-30's temps and in the misty rain. But, hey, it was good running/racing weather and it will make for a good story - "Remember the year on New Year's Day when we ran in the rain in NW Montana!!!"
Anyhow, here's to hoping that you all had an equally pleasant beginning to your 2010 and that you have a good year on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
It's a fun old school sort of event. The costs of the run are reasonable, the course is reasonably accurate and easy to follow, the results are done quickly, the awards are unique and everyone hangs around by the bonfire post race.
As an added bonus, the race proceeds go the Clark Fork Running Club (which provides scholarships to Sanders County track & XC athletes who are pursuing the sport in college) and there are also some funds raised for the Plains and TF XC High School Teams.
Sort of weird weather this year. Had some snow during the night; but, then the temps rose a bit early this morning and we actually had some sprinkles of rain. Just odd to be racing in January in mid-30's temps and in the misty rain. But, hey, it was good running/racing weather and it will make for a good story - "Remember the year on New Year's Day when we ran in the rain in NW Montana!!!"
Anyhow, here's to hoping that you all had an equally pleasant beginning to your 2010 and that you have a good year on the roads, tracks and trails.
The Muddy Buzzard
Ending the Season on a High Note
Had the chance to head back to Butte for a couple of days right after Christmas. On Sunday morning (the 27th), I got up early and headed out for a "crisp" 12 miles.
In the winter, it takes a long time for the sun to come up over the east ridge and to fill the valley of the Mile High City in daylight. Throughout the run I had the pleasure of being able to see as the Pintlers, then Big Butte, Then Timber Butte, then uptown became bathed, one by one, in the golden morning light.
And the cold, crisp air (-5 F) made the view clear and sharp.
A nice long run under a cloudless blue sky.
Sure, it was early on a Sunday and it would have been just as nice to sleep in. But, I still really enjoy a nice long, early morning weekend run. It starts my week off on a high note; and, in this case, it gave me a great conclusion to my 2009 season.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
In the winter, it takes a long time for the sun to come up over the east ridge and to fill the valley of the Mile High City in daylight. Throughout the run I had the pleasure of being able to see as the Pintlers, then Big Butte, Then Timber Butte, then uptown became bathed, one by one, in the golden morning light.
And the cold, crisp air (-5 F) made the view clear and sharp.
A nice long run under a cloudless blue sky.
Sure, it was early on a Sunday and it would have been just as nice to sleep in. But, I still really enjoy a nice long, early morning weekend run. It starts my week off on a high note; and, in this case, it gave me a great conclusion to my 2009 season.
See you on the roads, tracks and trails
The Muddy Buzzard
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