Weekly Wrap-Up

Well, it was quite a first week here in Missoula. I closed out my weekend with the Mountain to Meadow 14-mile run, and then took it easy for the rest of Saturday and most of yesterday, only heading out for a light swim last night at Frenchtown Pond. So here's the totals:

Total training time for the week: 15:57 (definitely my biggest week ever)

Swim: 2:15, 5600 meters (yes, that's just over three miles of swimming)

Bike: 7:46, 110 miles

Run: 5:21, 27 miles

Strength: 35 min

The Mountain to Meadow run was just fantastic, if also a pretty tough run. We could not have asked for a better day. Started cool but warmed up quickly, with just enough breeze to keep from ever feeling hot. Clear, deep blue sky. Amazing scenery. Lots of uphill running. Ok, so maybe that last part wasn't so great. The race started at around 5200 feet, then dropped to 5100, then up to 5600, back down to 5100, BACK up to 5600, down to 5100 one more time, then finished with a cruel uphill climb back to the 5200 foot starting point. For a topographical map of the course with elevations marked, click HERE.

From mile 12 to mile 13 is run through a beautiful meadow filled with a local flower called camas, a tall flower, almost lavender in color, that the Native Americans used to eat. Running past it, I considered grabbing my camera and walking back to take a picture once I finished the race, but by the time I hit the finish line, the idea of walking another mile was just too much to consider. You'll have to settle for a couple of pictures I took from the Lolo Pass Visitor's Center parking lot. The visitor's center, by the way, is all of ten feet across the Idaho border, so of course there's another state welcome sign picture.

My pictures don't do the area justice, as the best views were from the middle of the run, but here's a description of the course from the website: "The run began at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center (elev. 5225) on Highway 12, at the Idaho-Montana border. Runners wound their way through 14 miles Engleman Spruce and White Pine forests, and enjoyed dramatic views of the Bitterroot Mountains in the distance. Both the 5K run and the 14-mile loop passed by Packer Meadows, a scenic and historically significant site along the Nez Perce and Lewis and Clark trails."

I'll leave you with one more picture, this one I took on Friday. This is Rattlesnake Creek, which winds its way through our neighborhood here. Alright, now it's time to start my day. Happy Monday everyone.