March 2010

The Bitterroot Athlete Valley

Greetings Everyone and Happy Spring!  The February spring-like weather continued into March. Snow-pack levels were 55% of average by the middle of the month with the influence of El Nino's rising sea temperatures in the Eastern Pacific.  Outdoor enthusiasts have been out in force, yet, acknowledging the required snow pack for irrigation and less summer fires.  The Lake Como Triathlon committee is hoping for more snow to fill up Lake Como for our swim too!

Road Bikers

Steve Gideon and Jim Wood's Sunday riders have been out with increasing numbers getting in 40-45 miles before lunch.  A few weeks back,  Christophe Tanvier over-lapped Bill Halden's back tire in a draft line and took quite a tumble.  He broke his helmet and three ribs...but his new bike was alright!  His loyal water aerobics followers missed him for a couple of weeks.  I heard them singing happy birthday Feb. 9th and they had pool-side champagne and birthday cake for him! (Yes, could use some bike pictures! Pic on left was a drive to Darby 3/19 to substitute...also Gideon's almost-daily bike ride to work.)

I hear that Quintin Appedaile has kept up the Tuesday evening rides too.  They have met at the old River Bend Athletic Club area or in front of the Fox Lumber entrance.

Swimming

Speaking of swimming, Mr. Mark "Calculator" Neumann, our Lake Como Triathlon Treasurer, has accepted co-head coaching position with Bethanne Williams for the Bitterroot Swim Team. He estimates he'll make about $4.00 per hour when all is said and done!  But, he is psyched to be a part of a great team.  He is one of the top swimmers in the Bitterroot Triathlon and played water polo for years--a very strenuous sport.

Kristen Weese has maintained the Tuesday/Thursday early morning swim workout schedule. Kristen and up to eight other people are doing a workout before 6:00 AM.  Others, like me straggle in a little later. The pool is open most of the morning--water-aerobics free--if you want to get a morning swim workout and even sleep in a little longer than clock-work Kristen!  But thankfully, she has kept triathletes and others in the pool on a fairly regular basis.

Saturday Runners

The Saturday runs have had a nice winter to train compared to the last two.  After a number of Bitterrooters made it to the Snow Joke Half Marathon at Seeley Lake Feb. 27th, mileage has come down.  (Will sneak the Feb. newsletter up soon with Snow Joke pics in it...took the newsletter month off!?! But, made notes.)  March 6th, the group ran from Cory & Marisa's house while I was in California.  They ran the Cory & Marisa Loop, 7 miles, up Rickett's and a questionable transition down/up a driveway  to loop back.

The 13th, we met at the Canyons and ran 5 miles in an up and back "L"--maybe we should call it the Canyon "L"? The 20th, we ran a beautiful 7.2 miler from Tim Meichle's. We didn't really plan a 7-miler, but once we got going, no-one wanted to turn around. It was a steady climb on paved and dirt road to the Blodget Campground.  Since we knew it was all down hill on the way back we just kept going.  Here is the elevation ascent and descent. This turned out to be one of our favorite runs and we have never run it previously. It is aptly named, "Tim's Blodget Run."  We have been collecting names for runs...see our growing list below*.

The last run of the month was back at the Canyons for a nice 6.6 mile loop via the Stockfarm pond. We didn't know the exact mileage starting off and I cut it short to a 6-miler...my confession.  Wasn't feeling up to what we thought would be over 7 miles with a weak run week! ;-)  (Say that three times fast!)

April news will be a busy month with the Run for the Trees, the Griz Triathlon, Matt's Torture Run, and the YMCA Riverbank Run Trifecta.

A Trip off the "Island"

Sometimes the Bitterroot/Missoula area can feel like an island to me....  Early March, I headed to Stockton, California to see my niece in her last high school play, Les Miserable!  Yes, they have quite a talented pool of kids!  Plus, they have the influence of the University of the Pacific (UOP), Delta College, and are of close proximity to Hollywood, access to many shows, and not to mention two Directors with Masters degrees in Drama. The Director went out on a limb and chose Les Miserable to showcase 14 seniors in their last High School musical. The royalty fee alone was $20,000. They performed at Delta College so they could have larger audiences and it was so good, they sold out for every show and were able to pay the royalty fee and then some.  (A familiar song is: "I Dreamed a Dream!"  Here is the link of Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent singing it.) It was really excellent and I am glad I saw it--2.5 times!

I also ran and did Bikram Yoga while I was there... should have gotten some pictures of the location. It was spring with green grass and trees almost done blooming. Daffodils were done, but camellias and azaleas and more were in full bloom.  Also note the Magnolia tree in full bloom below. My nephew, niece and her boyfriend pose in front at UOP. 

For runs, I did not run in the neighborhoods amidst the manicured yards. I ran where my sister walks the dogs on the levy "ditch" alongside UOP. We walked the dogs together and then she drove home and I ran back.  Three times I ran in the same place.  It wasn't quite as scenic as here and I didn't see that I had many choices of where to run otherwise if I wanted to avoid cement sidewalks??  We are lucky that we have it pretty good here with our scenic mountain/valley views, hill and elevation training, and variety of runs.  Even though I was practically at sea level (and below!), I think the dampness/humidity still made the running difficult...or maybe it was eating out every day and the cupcakes?? 

The Bikram Yoga was a joy as usual.  I actually had the experience of sweating, but not feeling the heat.  This has remained with me in Missoula since then.  It was a nice Spring break.

A Side Note

One of our FAST former runners and plans of being a regular Saturday runner again, Hannah Halden, had a baby shower the end of March. Her family will welcome a baby girl in May. Congrats Halden family!

The Bitterroot scene below is my drive to Darby on 3/19 to substitute at the High School.  The one below that was my drive to Corvallis High on 3/31 also to substitute.  But, I am now working full time at Bob Wards and I take the back streets (quickly) to work. I am in the clothing dept. and even though I know I don't need athletic clothes, I am hoping I don't spend half of my paycheck there!  Stop by and see me...and I'll help you find some sporty clothes--better you than me!

Have a great month!      

Antara Croft

*Saturday Run List           

3-5.5+ miles (From River Rising) - Antara Sports 
      Traditional Routes
3.0-6.6 miles (From Canyon's) - Canyon Leg
      Routes/Loops
4.3+ miles - Coyote Coulee Loop
4.4+ miles - (From Cory's) - Cory's Christmas Loop
5.3 m (From apc's) - The Cory & Marisa Loop
5.5 m (From Dean's) - Dean's Slip & Slide Trail Loop
5.6 m (From apc's) - The Cory & Marisa Loop w/the
      Dean Jordan Variation
6.0 m (From J & J's) - Jim's 5-miler 6-mile Loop

7.2 m (From Tim's) - Tim's Blodget Run
7.5 m (From Stockfarm Equestrian Ctr) - Matt's
     Torture Run
7.7 m Lake Como Trail Loop

8.5 m (From Canyon's) - Howard's Golf Course Loop
8.5 m (From Walley Crawford) - Jim's Blue Moon Jingle
     Route

9.5 m (River Rising) - Rifle Range Route/Variation

10+ m (From apc's) - Antara's Secret Como Brick
     Workout Route
10.5 m - West Side Loop
12 m (From Tim's) - Tim's Great Bear West-SideLoop
13+ m (From Darby) - Jim's Old Darbarian Half Route

(m=miles)

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