down to 4

10.6 10 miles. same backwards sidewinder loop, same tired start and good finish.

10.7 8 miles. Crooked Creek Trail in Boise National Forest. saw some super cool rock formations, a trail crew building a bridge, and helicopter dropping supplies. nice run with FREEZING bath in Crooked Creek Post-Run. I am on my way to Montana for exploration/adventure and Le Grizz....

10.8 11 miles. short hike in the morning on sweeney creek trail south of Hamilton, MT. AWESOME views and HUGE mountains here in Big Sky. then more miles on trails in rattlesnake rec area east of Missoula. Descending from Stuart Peak I ran into a big black bear. i made some noise, and retreated. found his/her scat on my alternate trail. A bear on my first day in MT....cool?

10.9 6 miles. just around downtown missoula and up to university's clark fork trail. very nice, just waiting for the library to open. just below freezing...the van was cold last night!

10.10 drove to hungry horse, scoped out the course, stayed up a little late talking to the locals who have been running and hiking for years. felt alittle better about grizzly country, and looking forward to the race in the a.m.

10.11 Le Grizz 50.
10 miles in 1:24
20 miles in 2:50
25 miles in 3:30
30 miles in 4:12
40 miles in 5:42
50 miles in 6:56
felt tight for the first 1/3, then smooth and very consitent throughout. consciously held back from hard effort, because my focus is mother road. VERY pleased with sub 7, and negative split. good confidence/experience for the 100.

10.12 0 miles. took it easy walking around flathead river and fishing in the cold.

total: 85 miles. enjoyed a couple exploration runs and then shook out the cobwebs for 50 miles. really pleased that my fitness is probably as good as i could have hoped. especially happy that i was still limber and care free at 50 miles.