Well, I finally broke the curse this week. After several weeks where driving to Montana or getting sick or spraining my ankle prevented me from hitting 80 miles, I finally did it this week. And my reward? Well, nothing. It's just an arbitrary number, which just goes to show that runners can be obsessive about pretty stupid crap. But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna try to hit 80 again this week.
Sunday - 6.25 in the morning, another 4 in the afternoon. The afternoon run was split (2 miles each) with my two dogs. They each run fine alone, but not so well together. Plus, Molly is fat and out of shape and can't really handle more than 2 miles. Vedder, on the other hand, could go all day.
Monday - 6.25 in the morning, 4.5 in the afternoon.
Tuesday - 10 miles with 5x1200m intervals. Had to do this one on the indoor track (200m) at Black Hills St. University because all of the outdoor tracks are snowed under. This was the only run of the week where I really noticed my ankle. Towards the end of the run, it started getting a little sore, I presume from the constant turning. I also played two games of 3 on 3 basketball with my team in the evening. We lost both.
Wednesday - 11 miles in the morning, 4 in the afternoon.
Thursday - 9 miles.
Friday - 7 miles.
Saturday - 18 miles. Ran from my house in Belle to the Walmart in Spearfish, which is really only 16 miles, so I had to tack a couple on to the beginning of the run. This route is pretty much uphill the entire way, although it's very gradual for the first 10 miles or so. Then, after a monster hill (one where power hiking is just as fast as running) just before mile 10, the next 4 miles are constantly rolling hills. The kind of hills where you can see what appears to be the top at the next curve in the road and then when you get there you see that it just keeps going up. Finally, it tops out on another big hill and the final 2 miles are a nice downhill cruise into Walmart. I met Shannon there, finished up some grocery shopping and drove home. I have never run there and back, but with ultra training coming up, it might be something to consider.
Total - 80 miles
In addition to all that, I also ran the Freeze Your Fanny 4 mile race in Sundance, WY yesterday. Technically, that should go on next week's post since it's a new week, but I might as well report on it while it's fresh in my mind. I didn't have huge expectations coming into the race, which should be pretty evident from the fact that I ran 18 miles the day before it. I had taken 2nd place overall there last year, running a 26:02 (6:51 pace), which is pretty slow considering I ran my half marathon PR at 6:44 pace. But, the footing was pretty horrible last year, making it difficult to really push the pace. I was hoping this year to run something faster than that, but wasn't sure if the footing would be any better or how my legs would respond after the 18 miler.
As the name implies, it's typically pretty cold in Sundance in early February and this year was no different, but it wasn't horrible. The temp was about 25 with a light wind out of the east. There was less snow on the road than last year, you could actually see the pavement this year, but it was still a little slick in some spots. When the race started, I immediately found myself behind 7 high school cross country runners. Within the first mile, I managed to pass a couple of them and was sitting in 5th. Right at the 2 mile mark, the course heads up a short but fairly steep hill. I was able to catch and pass the 4th place kid here and started gaining on the 3rd place runner as we headed down a long downhill stretch after the summit. This is where my mind started playing with me. I knew that they were only giving away trophies for the top 3 overall runners and not age group awards (last year, they had age group awards, but no overall awards). So, now I found myself in 4th, right on the tail of 3rd, and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to out race this high schooler who probably has much fresher legs (I'm guessing he didn't run 18 the day before) and a much faster kick. For awhile, it seemed like he was slowing down, so I slowed down too and just drafted off of him heading down the hill. As we hit the final mile, I pulled alongside him, stayed there for awhile, and then tried surging to see if he would follow. He did. Damn. So, we hit the final turn side by side and were faced with a 3 block sprint to the finish, which is exactly the situation I didn't want. I pushed with all I had left and for the first two blocks we stayed dead even. Then we hit the final block before the finish and the kid took off like he was shot out of a cannon. I had absolutely nothing left, so backed off a touch and cruised in in 4th place, maybe 5-10 seconds behind him. Ended up with a 25:38 (6:39 pace), 24 seconds faster than last year, but 2 positions lower and just outside the trophies. All in all, a pretty decent race considering the circumstances.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Salvaging some miles
Apparently, you can run with a sprained ankle. I had heard that you could, and was actually told by the doctor I finally saw on Tuesday, that you could, but it seems kind of far fetched. It actually seemed very far fetched early in the week, as every time I tried my foot tightened up and threw off my stride, which made running uncomfortable, but not painful. After an extra day of rest (and a trip to the doc to make sure it was nothing more serious than a sprain), I gave er another try and it was all systems go from there. I did back off on the mileage from what I had on the schedule, but by the end of the week my ankle was basically a non-factor, giving me hope that I can finally break that magical 80 mile mark this week.
Sunday - Headed out for a planned 6 miler and hobbled home after 1.25. Nothing hurt, but every once in awhile my foot would tighten up and I couldn't stride normally on it, so I decided to bag it and give it the day off.
Monday - Fresh snow and cold convinced me not to risk slipping and injuring myself further, so I headed to the indoor track for 6 miles. Again, I had the foot tightening issue but I decided to power through it this time. Looking back on it now, I'm not sure why I did that, but I did end up with one of the slowest 6 milers I've ever run.
Tuesday - Didn't feel like putting myself through the previous day's run again, so I took a rest day and went to see the doctor instead. He confirmed that it was a sprain and not a break, gave me some ankle strengthening exercises to do and told me I could run on it, but should "take it easy". Obviously, he does not know me. I also played basketball again in the evening with my 3 on 3 team. I played fairly cautiously and with a brace on my ankle and managed to not injure myself further. And, again, we one won and lost one.
Wednesday - Made another attempt at running and this time made it through 6 miles without any foot issues.
Thursday - Tried for 8 miles this time and again had no issues.
Friday - Well, I'd gone 6 and 8, might as well try for 10, right? I actually went 10.25 and again no issues and actually my foot was feeling better and better each day.
Saturday - Decided to limit my "long" run to 14 miles, so headed out for an out and back run. My foot felt great, almost unnoticeable, but otherwise I just felt like crap in general. It's a pretty shitty feeling when you reach mile 8 of a run and you have 6 miles to go and you feel horrible and you really have no choice but to plod forward. I don't know what it was, but I just did not have any energy and that 14 miles ended up feeling like at least 20.
Total - 45.5 miles
So, knock on wood, it appears I've made it through the worst of this ankle thing. I'm targeting 80 miles this week and wondering what's gonna happen THIS time to prevent me from getting there.
Sunday - Headed out for a planned 6 miler and hobbled home after 1.25. Nothing hurt, but every once in awhile my foot would tighten up and I couldn't stride normally on it, so I decided to bag it and give it the day off.
Monday - Fresh snow and cold convinced me not to risk slipping and injuring myself further, so I headed to the indoor track for 6 miles. Again, I had the foot tightening issue but I decided to power through it this time. Looking back on it now, I'm not sure why I did that, but I did end up with one of the slowest 6 milers I've ever run.
Tuesday - Didn't feel like putting myself through the previous day's run again, so I took a rest day and went to see the doctor instead. He confirmed that it was a sprain and not a break, gave me some ankle strengthening exercises to do and told me I could run on it, but should "take it easy". Obviously, he does not know me. I also played basketball again in the evening with my 3 on 3 team. I played fairly cautiously and with a brace on my ankle and managed to not injure myself further. And, again, we one won and lost one.
Wednesday - Made another attempt at running and this time made it through 6 miles without any foot issues.
Thursday - Tried for 8 miles this time and again had no issues.
Friday - Well, I'd gone 6 and 8, might as well try for 10, right? I actually went 10.25 and again no issues and actually my foot was feeling better and better each day.
Saturday - Decided to limit my "long" run to 14 miles, so headed out for an out and back run. My foot felt great, almost unnoticeable, but otherwise I just felt like crap in general. It's a pretty shitty feeling when you reach mile 8 of a run and you have 6 miles to go and you feel horrible and you really have no choice but to plod forward. I don't know what it was, but I just did not have any energy and that 14 miles ended up feeling like at least 20.
Total - 45.5 miles
So, knock on wood, it appears I've made it through the worst of this ankle thing. I'm targeting 80 miles this week and wondering what's gonna happen THIS time to prevent me from getting there.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The curse of 80 strikes again
Last week, I mentioned that there seemed to be some sort of curse placed on me to prevent me from reaching 80 miles in a week. I don't know how this came about, because last year at this time I was cranking out 80, 90 and even 100 mile weeks like they were going out of style. Now, I can't seem to get to 80 for the life of me. A couple of weeks ago I came close, 78, and then last week I woulda gotten there if not for the stomach flu, which robbed me of 10 miles and left me with 71. This past week, it was a new, even more sinister culprit: injury.
I also mentioned in my last post that I was going to be playing in a 3 on 3 basketball league with some guys from work. Well, our first two games were last Tuesday night (we went 1-1 if anyone cares). During the second game, I jumped up for a rebound and came down on somebody's foot, which caused my left ankle to roll and dropped me like a ton of bricks. I knew right away that it wasn't a "get up and walk it off" type of injury (although that's what I briefly tried to do). It hurt like hell at first, subsided a bit, but generally throbbed all night. And it swelled like water balloon. So, it was immediately apparent that I wasn't going to get all of my runs in that week. I took the next two days off, during which time the ankle swelled some more and then started bruising all the way from my ankle down to my toes. It wasn't a pretty sight, but by Friday it actually didn't feel too bad and I could walk normally again. So, of course, I went running. And I was surprised to make it through 7 miles with no problems (although it was still swollen, which felt kind of odd running on....like I was running in a snow boot). And, oddly enough, after I ran the swelling actually went down substantially and it didn't get sore at all. So, of course, I ran some more. 10 miles on Saturday and still no problems. I thought I was in the clear.
But then on Sunday morning, I headed out for an easy 6 miles and about 1/2 mile in, my foot suddenly got really tight. Not painful, just tight and it felt like my toes were being involuntarily pulled up and my foot just would not relax, kind of like a painless cramp. This of course threw my stride off, so I started walking. After a short walk, it subsided and I started running again only to have it happen again a short time later. So, I headed home after only 1.25 miles. Monday morning, I tried again and had the same thing happen, but I discovered I could run through it if I slowed wwwwaaaayyyyy down. I finished the slowest 6 miles I've run since my first post-Lean Horse runs back in August. So, great, I managed to grind my way through 6 miles with a tight foot and hobbling gait. What exactly did that gain me? Ultimately, I decided it wasn't worth continuing like that, so I finally gave in and went to the doctor this morning. He actually gave me good news in that it's definitely just a sprain, not a break disguised as a sprain. And, he said it was okay to run as long as I took it easy (I think our definitions of "take it easy" probably differ significantly, but I didn't tell him that). So, I've got an ankle brace to wear now, which I'm hoping will provide some stability and keep that whole foot tightening thing from happening again. I'm not running today, but will probably give it a shot again tomorrow. And, in case you're wondering, I am planning on trying basketball again tonight, but I'll probably just be taking up space rather than running and jumping like a crazy idiot (like normal). Hey, the doc never said anything about basketball...
I also mentioned in my last post that I was going to be playing in a 3 on 3 basketball league with some guys from work. Well, our first two games were last Tuesday night (we went 1-1 if anyone cares). During the second game, I jumped up for a rebound and came down on somebody's foot, which caused my left ankle to roll and dropped me like a ton of bricks. I knew right away that it wasn't a "get up and walk it off" type of injury (although that's what I briefly tried to do). It hurt like hell at first, subsided a bit, but generally throbbed all night. And it swelled like water balloon. So, it was immediately apparent that I wasn't going to get all of my runs in that week. I took the next two days off, during which time the ankle swelled some more and then started bruising all the way from my ankle down to my toes. It wasn't a pretty sight, but by Friday it actually didn't feel too bad and I could walk normally again. So, of course, I went running. And I was surprised to make it through 7 miles with no problems (although it was still swollen, which felt kind of odd running on....like I was running in a snow boot). And, oddly enough, after I ran the swelling actually went down substantially and it didn't get sore at all. So, of course, I ran some more. 10 miles on Saturday and still no problems. I thought I was in the clear.
But then on Sunday morning, I headed out for an easy 6 miles and about 1/2 mile in, my foot suddenly got really tight. Not painful, just tight and it felt like my toes were being involuntarily pulled up and my foot just would not relax, kind of like a painless cramp. This of course threw my stride off, so I started walking. After a short walk, it subsided and I started running again only to have it happen again a short time later. So, I headed home after only 1.25 miles. Monday morning, I tried again and had the same thing happen, but I discovered I could run through it if I slowed wwwwaaaayyyyy down. I finished the slowest 6 miles I've run since my first post-Lean Horse runs back in August. So, great, I managed to grind my way through 6 miles with a tight foot and hobbling gait. What exactly did that gain me? Ultimately, I decided it wasn't worth continuing like that, so I finally gave in and went to the doctor this morning. He actually gave me good news in that it's definitely just a sprain, not a break disguised as a sprain. And, he said it was okay to run as long as I took it easy (I think our definitions of "take it easy" probably differ significantly, but I didn't tell him that). So, I've got an ankle brace to wear now, which I'm hoping will provide some stability and keep that whole foot tightening thing from happening again. I'm not running today, but will probably give it a shot again tomorrow. And, in case you're wondering, I am planning on trying basketball again tonight, but I'll probably just be taking up space rather than running and jumping like a crazy idiot (like normal). Hey, the doc never said anything about basketball...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Still alive
Yeah, I'm still alive and kicking, in case you were wondering. I've just been really lazy about blogging. Maybe I should have made a resolution about that....
In any case, running is going reasonably well right now, although the number 80 seems to be cursed for me. My goal is to hit 80 miles per week unless it's a cutback week, but that number has proven to be elusive. The week before last, I got to 78, which is tantalizingly close and then last week I was on pace for 81, but then got sick on Thursday and missed out on 10 miles to finish with 71. So, the quest for 80 begins again this week (so far, so good).
I'm going to try and get back in the habit of recording my weekly runs on here, so here's how last week shook out:
Sunday - 8 miles. I had hoped to get 10, but about 4 miles in I was experiencing some significant soreness in my left hip, which I had also felt the day before on my long run. So, I turned around and headed in early, hoping to spare my hip any more damage.
Monday - 10 miles. This was a progression run. Started at about 8:30 pace the first mile and gradually took it down to 6:39 pace for the 8th mile and then ran 2 miles easy as a cooldown. The hip felt fine.
Tuesday - 10 miles. Just an easy 10, nothing spectacular.
Wednesday - 14 miles. As is typical of an early morning medium-long run, the first 7 or 8 miles felt pretty sluggish and then my body finally woke up and the last few miles ended up being the best.
Thursday - 2 miles. I woke up and immediately knew that something just didn't feel right. I didn't feel sick exactly, but my stomach felt....odd. I figured the only way to find out if I was indeed sick was to go running, so I did. The intention was to run 12 miles, but by the time I reached the half mile point I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen and by the time I reached the one mile point I was wishing I had turned around and headed for home after a half mile. When I did get home after 2 very slow, miserable miles, I climbed back into bed and slept for 5 more hours. When I finally woke up, I had no idea if I'd actually run that morning or if it had just been a dream. But, my trusty old Garmin confirmed that I had indeed gone running, plus the fact that I still had my running shorts and socks on.
Friday - 8 miles. I still didn't feel all that spectacular, but again I decided the only way to find out how sick I was was to go running. This one went much better obviously.
Saturday - 18 miles. I headed out on a long loop that features a long, gradual uphill for the first 4 miles, a sharp downhill, some flat running and then a bunch of small uphills before a final downhill. In other words, it's a fairly hilly loop. My goal was to run close to an even split, knowing that I would have to push it a little toward the end to accomplish that thanks to the late uphills. I ended up feeling really good and managed a 20 second negative split, which is the first time I've ever done that on that loop (although I think I've only run it 3 times and this was the first time the wind wasn't a significant factor).
Total - 71 miles
In other news, I'm officially registered and my entry has been confirmed for the Bighorn Mountain Trail 50 mile in June. I ran the 50K at Bighorn last year as a training run for the Lean Horse 50 mile and had a blast. This year, I'm using the 50 mile as a training run for my ultimate goal of finishing the Lean Horse 100 in August.
Also, the 3 on 3 basketball league at the Spearfish Rec Center starts this evening. I'm on a team with some guys from work. We might suck, we might be decent. Hard to say. Depends on how many of the other teams are loaded with ex-Black Hills St. players. Either way, should make for some good cross training.
In any case, running is going reasonably well right now, although the number 80 seems to be cursed for me. My goal is to hit 80 miles per week unless it's a cutback week, but that number has proven to be elusive. The week before last, I got to 78, which is tantalizingly close and then last week I was on pace for 81, but then got sick on Thursday and missed out on 10 miles to finish with 71. So, the quest for 80 begins again this week (so far, so good).
I'm going to try and get back in the habit of recording my weekly runs on here, so here's how last week shook out:
Sunday - 8 miles. I had hoped to get 10, but about 4 miles in I was experiencing some significant soreness in my left hip, which I had also felt the day before on my long run. So, I turned around and headed in early, hoping to spare my hip any more damage.
Monday - 10 miles. This was a progression run. Started at about 8:30 pace the first mile and gradually took it down to 6:39 pace for the 8th mile and then ran 2 miles easy as a cooldown. The hip felt fine.
Tuesday - 10 miles. Just an easy 10, nothing spectacular.
Wednesday - 14 miles. As is typical of an early morning medium-long run, the first 7 or 8 miles felt pretty sluggish and then my body finally woke up and the last few miles ended up being the best.
Thursday - 2 miles. I woke up and immediately knew that something just didn't feel right. I didn't feel sick exactly, but my stomach felt....odd. I figured the only way to find out if I was indeed sick was to go running, so I did. The intention was to run 12 miles, but by the time I reached the half mile point I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen and by the time I reached the one mile point I was wishing I had turned around and headed for home after a half mile. When I did get home after 2 very slow, miserable miles, I climbed back into bed and slept for 5 more hours. When I finally woke up, I had no idea if I'd actually run that morning or if it had just been a dream. But, my trusty old Garmin confirmed that I had indeed gone running, plus the fact that I still had my running shorts and socks on.
Friday - 8 miles. I still didn't feel all that spectacular, but again I decided the only way to find out how sick I was was to go running. This one went much better obviously.
Saturday - 18 miles. I headed out on a long loop that features a long, gradual uphill for the first 4 miles, a sharp downhill, some flat running and then a bunch of small uphills before a final downhill. In other words, it's a fairly hilly loop. My goal was to run close to an even split, knowing that I would have to push it a little toward the end to accomplish that thanks to the late uphills. I ended up feeling really good and managed a 20 second negative split, which is the first time I've ever done that on that loop (although I think I've only run it 3 times and this was the first time the wind wasn't a significant factor).
Total - 71 miles
In other news, I'm officially registered and my entry has been confirmed for the Bighorn Mountain Trail 50 mile in June. I ran the 50K at Bighorn last year as a training run for the Lean Horse 50 mile and had a blast. This year, I'm using the 50 mile as a training run for my ultimate goal of finishing the Lean Horse 100 in August.
Also, the 3 on 3 basketball league at the Spearfish Rec Center starts this evening. I'm on a team with some guys from work. We might suck, we might be decent. Hard to say. Depends on how many of the other teams are loaded with ex-Black Hills St. players. Either way, should make for some good cross training.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Runner-up again and battling Mother Nature
Normally, finishing a football season with a 14-1 record would seem like a pretty successful season. But when that 1 in the loss column comes in the national championship game for the second straight year, it tends to put a damper on things. Call it egotistical, but just getting there is no longer good enough for Montana Grizzly fans. The Griz have gotten there 7 times, but only won it all twice, which just sucks. So, needless to say, my Christmas vacation got off to a rough start as I watched the Griz blow a 14-9 halftime lead and basically get dismantled by Villanova in the 2nd half. The final score was close, 23-21, but Nova did what Montana usually does to opponents, and totally dominated after halftime. Only a long TD pass for Montana with just over a minute left made the game appear as close as the score indicates. Well, it was fun while it lasted, I guess. Now, we get to find ourselves a new head coach (Bobby Hauck left for more money at UNLV a few days after the championship) and try to get back there next year (and maybe actually win).
As for running, I was hoping to get a bunch of it done during my week long Christmas vacation, but Mother Nature had other plans. I started off well enough, putting in 39 miles in the first 4 days of the week, but then it all went to hell in a handbasket. A winter storm warning turned into a blizzard warning and we were basically snowed in on Christmas day, bringing to an end my streak of running on Christmas (I'm not even sure how long that streak was, but at least 5 years). The blizzard extended into the 26th, closing down the gym and basically the city of Belle Fourche in general, so my solid running week turned south real quick with two straight unscheduled rest days. After digging out on the 27th, I was able to get back at it, but it looks as though my running will be restricted to the indoor track for awhile. There is way more snow on the city streets than there are places to pile it, which leaves little room for two cars to pass each other much less for a runner to fit in there. Not to mention that the semi-packed snow makes for absolutely crappy footing. It's times like this that make a move to San Diego sound pretty damn appealing.
Jeez, what a downer of a blog post, huh? I'll try to come up with something more upbeat for next time. Some unseasonably warm weather would help in that regard...
As for running, I was hoping to get a bunch of it done during my week long Christmas vacation, but Mother Nature had other plans. I started off well enough, putting in 39 miles in the first 4 days of the week, but then it all went to hell in a handbasket. A winter storm warning turned into a blizzard warning and we were basically snowed in on Christmas day, bringing to an end my streak of running on Christmas (I'm not even sure how long that streak was, but at least 5 years). The blizzard extended into the 26th, closing down the gym and basically the city of Belle Fourche in general, so my solid running week turned south real quick with two straight unscheduled rest days. After digging out on the 27th, I was able to get back at it, but it looks as though my running will be restricted to the indoor track for awhile. There is way more snow on the city streets than there are places to pile it, which leaves little room for two cars to pass each other much less for a runner to fit in there. Not to mention that the semi-packed snow makes for absolutely crappy footing. It's times like this that make a move to San Diego sound pretty damn appealing.
Jeez, what a downer of a blog post, huh? I'll try to come up with something more upbeat for next time. Some unseasonably warm weather would help in that regard...
Monday, December 14, 2009
One for the ages
I'll warn you right now, little if anything about this post is going to deal with running. I've got football on the mind and, in particular, what may go down in University of Montana lore as "The Game of the Century".
On Saturday afternoon, the top-ranked and undefeated Montana Grizzlies played 5th ranked Appalachian St. in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs. As I mentioned in my last post, this game pitted the two most dominant FCS teams of the past decade against each other for only the 2nd time. The only other meeting was also in the semifinals in Missoula in 2000 and the Griz won 19-16 in overtime. This meeting was expected to be just as close and it did not disappoint.
The game started off well for the Grizzlies. After forcing a turnover on downs on App State's first drive, the Griz marched downfield and capped off their first drive with a great 39-yard run by Chase Reynolds to go up 7-0. After that, the Griz offense kind of stalled out, but the defense managed to make enough plays to keep App St. off the board. But, you can't keep a player like App St. quarterback Armanti Edwards off the scoreboard for long and before halftime App St. managed to punch in a TD and a FG to take a 10-7 lead.
The 2nd half started out much like the 1st half with one exception: the weather. It was cold but clear when the game started, but by halftime a winter storm had begun blowing in, bringing gusting winds, below zero windchill and snow. The Griz were unfazed, however, and took the opening drive of the 2nd half methodically downfield to take a 14-10 lead. Again, Edwards and App St. struck back and scored another TD for a 17-14 lead. As the weather worsened, so did the field conditions, making it difficult to pass efficiently into the wind or to kick field goals. This was evident as Montana blocked one FG attempt by App St. and their kicker missed another badly in the 2nd half. However, when it was the Grizzlies' turn to try for 3, kicker Brody McKnight punched a relatively short field goal straight through and the game was all knotted up at 17 midway through the 4th quarter.
The missed field goal attempt by App St. gave the Grizzlies the ball back with just under 4 minutes remaining. The Griz mounted a drive and were soon nearing FG range, although under the weather conditions, a field goal would have been a risky proposition. As the Griz penetrated further into App St. territory, they were set back by a 10 yard holding penalty that put them back at the 25 yard line facing a 1st and 20. Up to that point, they had largely been pounding at App St with the run (Chase Reynolds ended up with 193 yards rushing) but the Griz coaches decided to gamble on first down and dialed up a fly route into the end zone. Jabin Sambrano, perhaps the fastest guy on the Montana roster, streaked up the left sideline and Andrew Selle laid up an absolutely perfect pass that dropped right into Sambrano's arms (see picture below) as he slid through the end zone, dragging both feet inbounds before falling out of bounds. The play was reviewed by the replay official, but it was clearly a catch and the call on the field was upheld. Touchdown Grizzlies and with 1:30 left, they now held a 24-17 advantage. But, had they given Edwards too much time?
Well, Armanti Edwards hasn't achieved legendary status for no reason. After the kickoff, the Mountaineers were faced with 75 yards of frozen turf to cover in just under a minute and a half. They drove down field with Edwards finding receivers open as he scrambled around the backfield to avoid the Montana rush. Eventually, App St. faced a 4th and 10 at the Montana 24 yard line with 25 seconds left. Edwards connected with receiver Brian Quick, who was tackled right at the first down line. The officials measured and App St. was given a new set of downs, literally by the nose of the football. Edwards then dumped a pass off to his running back that took the ball down to the Montana 3 yard line with less than 10 seconds left. On the next play, Edwards had an open receiver in the end zone, but Montana linebacker Brandon Fisher (son of Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher) got a hand up to tip the ball and send it incomplete. This set up the final play of the game, with 2 seconds left from the 3 yard line. Edwards fired a pass to his left and hit his receiver just inside the end zone right in the hands, but as he dove to catch the pass it slipped through and fell to the ground, giving the Grizzlies one of the more dramatic victories in their history.
So, now it's on to Chattanooga for the 2nd straight year where Montana will face the Villanova Wildcats in the national championship. Last year, the Griz came up short in the title game, losing 24-7 to Richmond. Hopefully, that experience will drive them to get some redemption this year. If nothing else, history is on their side. Montana has been to the championship game 6 times prior to this year. They have a 2-4 record with both wins coming in odd numbered years (1995 and 2001) and all four losses coming in even numbered years (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008). Also, both times the Griz won the championship, their starting QB was a Montana native (Dave Dickenson from Great Falls in '95 and John Edwards from Billings in '00). In all four championship games they lost, the starting QB was from outside of Montana. So, being that 2009 is an odd numbered year and that Andrew Selle is from Billings (the same high school as John Edwards), it's virtually a lock that the Griz will win this one. May as well call up Vegas and put the paycheck on it. Plus the fact that they are a damn good team looking to erase last year's loss to Richmond from memory. Of course, Villanova is good too, or else they wouldn't be here. In fact, this is the first time since Montana played Marshall in the '96 championship that the #1 and #2 seeds will face each other in the title game. Just more proof that the BCS system is effed up and that they should implement a playoff like FCS. In any case, the Griz are playing their best football of the year right now and I think they ride that wave of momentum into Chattanooga and bring a 3rd trophy back to Missoula. Montana 27, Nova 13. GO GRIZ!!!
On Saturday afternoon, the top-ranked and undefeated Montana Grizzlies played 5th ranked Appalachian St. in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs. As I mentioned in my last post, this game pitted the two most dominant FCS teams of the past decade against each other for only the 2nd time. The only other meeting was also in the semifinals in Missoula in 2000 and the Griz won 19-16 in overtime. This meeting was expected to be just as close and it did not disappoint.
The game started off well for the Grizzlies. After forcing a turnover on downs on App State's first drive, the Griz marched downfield and capped off their first drive with a great 39-yard run by Chase Reynolds to go up 7-0. After that, the Griz offense kind of stalled out, but the defense managed to make enough plays to keep App St. off the board. But, you can't keep a player like App St. quarterback Armanti Edwards off the scoreboard for long and before halftime App St. managed to punch in a TD and a FG to take a 10-7 lead.
The 2nd half started out much like the 1st half with one exception: the weather. It was cold but clear when the game started, but by halftime a winter storm had begun blowing in, bringing gusting winds, below zero windchill and snow. The Griz were unfazed, however, and took the opening drive of the 2nd half methodically downfield to take a 14-10 lead. Again, Edwards and App St. struck back and scored another TD for a 17-14 lead. As the weather worsened, so did the field conditions, making it difficult to pass efficiently into the wind or to kick field goals. This was evident as Montana blocked one FG attempt by App St. and their kicker missed another badly in the 2nd half. However, when it was the Grizzlies' turn to try for 3, kicker Brody McKnight punched a relatively short field goal straight through and the game was all knotted up at 17 midway through the 4th quarter.
The missed field goal attempt by App St. gave the Grizzlies the ball back with just under 4 minutes remaining. The Griz mounted a drive and were soon nearing FG range, although under the weather conditions, a field goal would have been a risky proposition. As the Griz penetrated further into App St. territory, they were set back by a 10 yard holding penalty that put them back at the 25 yard line facing a 1st and 20. Up to that point, they had largely been pounding at App St with the run (Chase Reynolds ended up with 193 yards rushing) but the Griz coaches decided to gamble on first down and dialed up a fly route into the end zone. Jabin Sambrano, perhaps the fastest guy on the Montana roster, streaked up the left sideline and Andrew Selle laid up an absolutely perfect pass that dropped right into Sambrano's arms (see picture below) as he slid through the end zone, dragging both feet inbounds before falling out of bounds. The play was reviewed by the replay official, but it was clearly a catch and the call on the field was upheld. Touchdown Grizzlies and with 1:30 left, they now held a 24-17 advantage. But, had they given Edwards too much time?
Well, Armanti Edwards hasn't achieved legendary status for no reason. After the kickoff, the Mountaineers were faced with 75 yards of frozen turf to cover in just under a minute and a half. They drove down field with Edwards finding receivers open as he scrambled around the backfield to avoid the Montana rush. Eventually, App St. faced a 4th and 10 at the Montana 24 yard line with 25 seconds left. Edwards connected with receiver Brian Quick, who was tackled right at the first down line. The officials measured and App St. was given a new set of downs, literally by the nose of the football. Edwards then dumped a pass off to his running back that took the ball down to the Montana 3 yard line with less than 10 seconds left. On the next play, Edwards had an open receiver in the end zone, but Montana linebacker Brandon Fisher (son of Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher) got a hand up to tip the ball and send it incomplete. This set up the final play of the game, with 2 seconds left from the 3 yard line. Edwards fired a pass to his left and hit his receiver just inside the end zone right in the hands, but as he dove to catch the pass it slipped through and fell to the ground, giving the Grizzlies one of the more dramatic victories in their history.
So, now it's on to Chattanooga for the 2nd straight year where Montana will face the Villanova Wildcats in the national championship. Last year, the Griz came up short in the title game, losing 24-7 to Richmond. Hopefully, that experience will drive them to get some redemption this year. If nothing else, history is on their side. Montana has been to the championship game 6 times prior to this year. They have a 2-4 record with both wins coming in odd numbered years (1995 and 2001) and all four losses coming in even numbered years (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008). Also, both times the Griz won the championship, their starting QB was a Montana native (Dave Dickenson from Great Falls in '95 and John Edwards from Billings in '00). In all four championship games they lost, the starting QB was from outside of Montana. So, being that 2009 is an odd numbered year and that Andrew Selle is from Billings (the same high school as John Edwards), it's virtually a lock that the Griz will win this one. May as well call up Vegas and put the paycheck on it. Plus the fact that they are a damn good team looking to erase last year's loss to Richmond from memory. Of course, Villanova is good too, or else they wouldn't be here. In fact, this is the first time since Montana played Marshall in the '96 championship that the #1 and #2 seeds will face each other in the title game. Just more proof that the BCS system is effed up and that they should implement a playoff like FCS. In any case, the Griz are playing their best football of the year right now and I think they ride that wave of momentum into Chattanooga and bring a 3rd trophy back to Missoula. Montana 27, Nova 13. GO GRIZ!!!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Frigid temps and the Final Four
Well, I've gotta hand it to Mother Nature: November was pretty sweet. After a cold snap in October that made it seem as though early winter was setting in, we actually got a solid month of fall weather in November with highs in the 50s many days. In other words, perfect running weather. To be doing long runs in late November in shorts and a t-shirt is pretty awesome. But, of course, winter couldn't stay away forever and as soon as December started, the cold air moved in. From highs in the 50s and 60s to highs in the single digits with negative windchill. Such is life in South Dakota.
Regardless, my running went fairly well last week. I had at least 3 runs where my mileage exceeded the temperature, but I wasn't really cold on those runs. The relative lack of wind helped a ton, along with some judicious use of layers. For example, for my long run yesterday it was 10 degrees with a windchill of around 0. I layered up and headed out and ended up logging 16 miles and was never once really cold. In fact, after wearing my facemask for the first mile I pulled it up and never put it back down again. This morning, I headed out for a 7 miler before work and it was all of -1 degree outside. I was cold for the first mile or so, but after that felt fine. If the damned wind stays away, the cold can be very bearable. It's actually got me wondering just how cold it could be and still be okay to run outside if the wind wasn't blowing. I don't really want to find out, but I'm still curious.
Okay, enough about running. Time for some football talk. It's been an interesting two weeks if you're a Montana Grizzly fan. The Division 1 FCS playoffs started on Nov. 28 with a 1st round game against South Dakota St. After spotting SDSU a 34-14 halftime lead and then proceeding to fall behind even further, 48-21 in the 3rd quarter, the Griz reeled off 40 unanswered points in the last 20 minutes of the game to pull of a miraculous comeback and win the game 61-48. That win earned the top-seeded Griz a berth in the quarterfinals where they were 9-1 all time and 9-0 when playing in Missoula. Stephen F. Austin University from east Texas rolled into Missoula and was greeted with temps in the 20s and windchills even lower. Apparently, SDSU had awoken the sleeping bear in that first playoff game, because SFA never stood a chance. The Griz capitalized on 10 turnovers to rout the Lumberjacks 51-0. Coming into this game, SFA was the highest scoring team in the nation. Not anymore. Since falling behind to SDSU 48-21 in that first game, the Griz have now outscored their opponents 91-0 in the last 5+ quarters of football.
The win over SFA sends the Griz into the Final Four of the FCS playoffs where they will play Appalachian St. in Missoula this coming Saturday afternoon. This is the matchup many people have been looking forward to. Montana and App. St. have been the two dominant programs at the FCS level for the last decade. They rank 1 and 2 respectively in games won and have won a combined 4 national championships (3 by App. St. in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and 1 by Montana in 2001) in that period (Montana also won a championship in 1995). Montana has also finished runner-up three times (2000, 2004 and 2008) in the last 10 years (and also in 1996). Despite all their success, the two teams have only played each other once before. In the 2000 semifinals, the Griz scored a TD in overtime to beat the Mountaineers 19-16 in Missoula. This year's game should be another barn burner. Montana brings in a perfect 13-0 record and seems to have hit their stride at the perfect time. App. St. brings an explosive offense led by QB Armanti Edwards, the 2008 Walter Payton Award winner (FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, he's also a finalist for this year's award). The winner will face either Villanova or William & Mary in the national championship.
Of course, I'm heavily biased but I really think the Griz will pull this one out playing at home. Very few visiting teams leave Washington-Grizzly Stadium with a win and the way the Griz have played over the last 5 quarters of football has been amazing. But it's gonna be close; App. St. is too good of a team to not put up a fight. I say the Griz force Edwards into a turnover or two and take advantage of the Mountaineer's relatively soft defense to win the game 31-27. And then it's on to Chattanooga for the championship! GO GRIZ!!!
Regardless, my running went fairly well last week. I had at least 3 runs where my mileage exceeded the temperature, but I wasn't really cold on those runs. The relative lack of wind helped a ton, along with some judicious use of layers. For example, for my long run yesterday it was 10 degrees with a windchill of around 0. I layered up and headed out and ended up logging 16 miles and was never once really cold. In fact, after wearing my facemask for the first mile I pulled it up and never put it back down again. This morning, I headed out for a 7 miler before work and it was all of -1 degree outside. I was cold for the first mile or so, but after that felt fine. If the damned wind stays away, the cold can be very bearable. It's actually got me wondering just how cold it could be and still be okay to run outside if the wind wasn't blowing. I don't really want to find out, but I'm still curious.
Okay, enough about running. Time for some football talk. It's been an interesting two weeks if you're a Montana Grizzly fan. The Division 1 FCS playoffs started on Nov. 28 with a 1st round game against South Dakota St. After spotting SDSU a 34-14 halftime lead and then proceeding to fall behind even further, 48-21 in the 3rd quarter, the Griz reeled off 40 unanswered points in the last 20 minutes of the game to pull of a miraculous comeback and win the game 61-48. That win earned the top-seeded Griz a berth in the quarterfinals where they were 9-1 all time and 9-0 when playing in Missoula. Stephen F. Austin University from east Texas rolled into Missoula and was greeted with temps in the 20s and windchills even lower. Apparently, SDSU had awoken the sleeping bear in that first playoff game, because SFA never stood a chance. The Griz capitalized on 10 turnovers to rout the Lumberjacks 51-0. Coming into this game, SFA was the highest scoring team in the nation. Not anymore. Since falling behind to SDSU 48-21 in that first game, the Griz have now outscored their opponents 91-0 in the last 5+ quarters of football.
The win over SFA sends the Griz into the Final Four of the FCS playoffs where they will play Appalachian St. in Missoula this coming Saturday afternoon. This is the matchup many people have been looking forward to. Montana and App. St. have been the two dominant programs at the FCS level for the last decade. They rank 1 and 2 respectively in games won and have won a combined 4 national championships (3 by App. St. in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and 1 by Montana in 2001) in that period (Montana also won a championship in 1995). Montana has also finished runner-up three times (2000, 2004 and 2008) in the last 10 years (and also in 1996). Despite all their success, the two teams have only played each other once before. In the 2000 semifinals, the Griz scored a TD in overtime to beat the Mountaineers 19-16 in Missoula. This year's game should be another barn burner. Montana brings in a perfect 13-0 record and seems to have hit their stride at the perfect time. App. St. brings an explosive offense led by QB Armanti Edwards, the 2008 Walter Payton Award winner (FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, he's also a finalist for this year's award). The winner will face either Villanova or William & Mary in the national championship.
Of course, I'm heavily biased but I really think the Griz will pull this one out playing at home. Very few visiting teams leave Washington-Grizzly Stadium with a win and the way the Griz have played over the last 5 quarters of football has been amazing. But it's gonna be close; App. St. is too good of a team to not put up a fight. I say the Griz force Edwards into a turnover or two and take advantage of the Mountaineer's relatively soft defense to win the game 31-27. And then it's on to Chattanooga for the championship! GO GRIZ!!!
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