Today is Thursday, February 24, 2011.  It is still winter.  We’re being reminded of that with temperatures around 5 degrees and winds of 25 mph creating wind chills of 20 below.  The predicted snow is largely a bust, but it is not a day to be outside. Where we live in the Missoula Valley, we haven’t seen the ground since mid-November. I bring this up because Run Wild Missoula’s marathon training group begins March 6, a week from Sunday.  At 8:00 a.m.

After taking most of November and December off from running, I spent January reminding my body what it is like to run 5 days a week.  For February, I’ve concentrated on getting the mileage up to get a good base before starting the training group.  I’ve averaged 25+ miles a week with lots of 5 milers, a few 3 and 4s and some 8, 9 and 10 milers.  The holiday pounds are dropping, though that’s required a bit more restraint on the beer front.  Food too.

Last year, the first day of the training group was a crisp 27 degree, sunny morning with no wind and no snow anywhere in the valley. In fact, I don’t recall dealing with snow at any point of the 18 week training program. (Yes, we do get snow even in June around here once in a while.) This year could be a whole different story.  I don’t mind the cold, but I’m not up for running on ice.

Any local beer runners signed up for the training group?  Hit me up at growlerfills @ gmail . com.