This is ridiculous. How exactly did I let this happen? Should this even be possible? The thoughts race through my mind as I glance down at the numbers on the scale. Such simplicity in their digital readout, a measurement of my mass that registers a massive 231 pounds. Is it normal that I’m about to go on a 5-mile run?
Regardless of what is “normal”, I head out for a 5-mile run with Dave on a rather humid Sunday morning.
I’m a Southerner by choice, been living in The South for over 20 years now and I’ve lived through almost every type of heat and humidity mother nature can heap on me. The morning feels cool at 73F but the humidity is well above 90%. The windshield in the Jeep validates my assumptions with it’s beads of water blurring my vision. The wipers aren’t just for rain, here in North Carolina they are needed to defend against the humidity.
The goal for the morning is to keep my heart rate under 150bpm for the duration of the run while keeping my pace between 10’30”-11’30”. Dave agrees that a slow run is acceptable and off we go.
This is really a trial run for my future long-runs for my Marathon training. Coach Brown has programmed my long runs to be between 10’34”-11’34”, which seems rather slow to me. However, she refers to these as “easy” runs and with a pace like that, I think she’s spot on.
The 5-mile run was low and slow along rolling hills with 95% humidity and a real feel temperature of 77F. I walked a few times to keep my heart rate down and ended the run with an average pace of 11’04”. Nothing about the run felt difficult or taxing. How is this possible? I’m just a shy 7lbs from my all-time max bodyweight and what I’ve got now is not “lean”. Shouldn’t I be struggling more?
Sunday ~ 5mi Run ~ 73F w/95% Humidity
Mile 1: 10’14” | Mile 2: 10’39” | Mile 3: 11’31” | Mile 4: 11:31 | Mile 5: 11’28”
Never miss a Monday! It’s a great way to start the week, get up, get moving and kick the week in the teeth before life attempts to kick you in the gut, because it will happen. I firmly believe that movement is medicine and can be a preventative measure against those hard times in life. Just keep moving.
I know I’ll get in something today, I just don’t know what yet. Sunday’s run was relatively easy so today should be easy to get up and going. Do I get in a H.I.I.T workout in the garage or go for some strength training. Just as I’m contemplating how I’m going to push myself I get a text from a friend, inviting me to make the trek north about 15 miles and get in a run with fellow run club, Bearded Bee Run Club.
Enter the Twilight Zone!
To meetup with the Hive runners I must leave the house at 5:45pm, however my wife gets home around 4pm. Quality time is an essential element of this 20yr marriage. It’s a rarity for me to leave the house on Monday to go run, so I’m expecting some friction on this unexpected change in running habits.
So I text her early, “Hey, I’ve been invited to run up at Bearded Bee. I think I’m going to go”.
Her response: “Ok, sounds good”
Now I’m sitting in confusion. I know she gets off work and will be home about 4pm and Quality Time is an essential element of our 20yr marriage. So when she gets home her first question to me is, “When are you leaving for your run?, You’re still going right” in an encouraging tone. I’m stunned. Is she encouraging me to go on a Monday run and forgo the treasured quality time? This must be some Twilight Zone stuff.
The reality of the situation is not as exciting as the Twilight Zone. I think it’s the fact that she has a new Kindle and a renewed love of reading. No issues with me taking off for a run when the story is calling. So off I go.
Of course it’s hot. To expect anything else in July would be foolish. They’ve got two options and I’ve opted for the 5K instead of the 5mi. The best part is that I’ve got a good group of friends going on the 5K route so there is company on the route. Enter the Twilight Zone again! I’m in the front of all my friends leading the 5K route. I’m not sure how this is possible as they are all superior runners to myself!
Right around the 2.25mi mark they all start catching me and passing me. This was expected. I must have looked like I was hurting. My friend Becca jogs past and asks if I’m ok. “Oh yeah” I reply. “I’m good”. I wasn’t necessarily hurting, but I must have looked it. I think most of it comes from the tooth extraction I had just a week before and it’s still causing pain.
I finish the run, a little heated and still sweating. I guess that means I’m not dehydrated to the point of concern. That million dollar Army training is still in there somehow.
Monday ~ 5K Run ~ 84F w/62% Humidity
Mile 1: 9’22” | Mile 2: 9’35” | Mile 3: 9’44”
Before departing from the social, Becca asks if I’ll be at the Track tomorrow morning at 5:15am for the Summer H.I.I.T Running session. My only response was:
“Yes, I’ll be there”
I think everyone in the world has a special ability. Some God-given, natural talent that you were born with or acquired through your unique experiences. While this natural talent may not be unique in the world, you have it.
My unique ability is to be able to wake up on demand, 90% of the time. If I think about the specific time I need to wake up while falling asleep, odds are overwhelming that I will wake up near that time.
Tuesday morning was no exception. My plan was that if I wake up naturally in time to leave the house at 5am, then I’ll be at the track at 5:15am and be ready to go. I’m not setting an alarm. Either this works and it’s meant to be, or it doesn’t.
It worked! I was awake at 4:45am.
For 5 minutes there was internal struggle. A collision of Armies, two unyielding natural forces at odds with each other. My body demanded more sleep and attempted to rationalize staying in bed by conjuring up articles about how “sleep” is imperative to performance and muscle growth. How rest is required to meet my goals.
However, my moral compass was pointing towards the track. I told my friend I’d be there, damnit I’ll be there. I can’t simply skip the track because I’m weak. Getting to a Sub 4-hour Marathon doesn’t require sleep at this moment, it requires work at the track.
At 4:50am, like an owl flying through the woods, silent and with purpose, I got up and got prepared.
Unfortunately though I wasn’t moving fast enough! I was running late. Training starts promptly at 5:15am, no excuses, no slack. I got to the track at 5:20am and caught the last of the warmup stretches before the workout.
Today’s workout was 3-miles total, split up into 1-mile efforts with a rest in between. During that 1-mile effort, the goal was to increase pace by 5sec at the 1/2 mile mark. We were working on negative splits.
I made the comment to Jan that the 1-beer and 1-bottle of water at the Bearded Bee was not enough hydration and I messed up by not planning appropriately.
This morning was not my morning. I was just running 11-hours ago at the Bearded Bee. But so was half the people on the track. “fuck it” I thought silently to myself, might as well put in the work.
Surprisingly things felt smooth! I felt light on my feet and decided to push the pace. I didn’t push to full capacity, but hard enough that talking was difficult.
Tuesday ~ 3mi Run ~ 68F w/93% Humidity
Mile 1: 9’15” | Mile 2: 8’21” | Mile 3: 8’11”
I even managed to get in a few laps (400m) at 7’20” or faster. I felt good.
According to the Surgeon General of the U.S., there is an epidemic of loneliness and isolation happening in America that is causing a myriad of health issues. This is not a new phenomenon or issue within the GWOT Veterans community. My friend, U.S. Army Chaplain (retired) Ron told me once. The way to help with this is to build individual relationships and community. To be a part of something with someone or people you like.
I really do love my Run Club and look forward to seeing my friends and fellow runners every week. The Wednesday 5K run has become a staple in my life and I look forward to it every week. It’s become such a normal event in my life, my wife and kids know what I’m doing every Wednesday.
It feels good to help people and help my community by doing what I can to grow the club and create a welcoming culture that facilitates friendships and fitness.
This past Wednesday my run was relaxed and easy. I walked a bit with a gentlemen who had knee surgery and is slowly getting back into walking and jogging. It was a good conversation before I stepped back off to finish the run.
Wednesday ~ 3.10mi Run ~ 90F w/50% Humidity (Real Feel: 94F)
Mile 1: 9’59” | Mile 2: 10’23” | Mile 3: 12’54” | Mile 0.11: 9’25”d
After a full rest day on Thursday, I woke up Friday morning to attend the Summer H.I.I.T Run on the track led by fellow runner Becca. Training this morning consisted of 0.5mi efforts followed by 4-min of a recovery jog.
My goals for this particular run were 2 laps (0.5mi) in 4 minutes (2-min/lap) followed by a 4 minute recovery jog, which I clearly stretched out to near 4:30.
It was a hot and humid July morning with cloud lightning above and the impending doom of the sky opening up! As I was making my way around the track, wheezing and sweating, I was hoping on everything for the sky to drop some cool rain on us. Mother Nature was cruel this morning and waited until we were done running before hitting us with Flash Flood levels of rain bursts.
Of the 8 laps at effort pace, I only met the standard 4x. This effort pace was calculated based off of a 4-hour Marathon. Unfortunately my goal is 3:45 in Richmond. More work is to be done.
My Saturday “Long Run” started and finished at the Sunflower Field in Raleigh. It’s only a short window of opportunity to go see the Sunflowers before they are out of bloom. It was good to meet up with runners from the club and participate in this summer social run with the North Carolina Roadrunners Club.
Showing up to the run I felt great. I felt hydrated and ready to go. I felt so good that I even told Robert I might stretch it out an extra 2-miles to get in 8 for his planned training.
It all went well until my weight started to wear away at my legs. We had quite a few hill climbs on this route and my legs started to feel heavy and simply weren’t engaging like I wanted them to.
By the time we had 1-mile left I made the decision I was going to end this run at 6-miles. I simply didn’t want to do another 2-miles in the ever increasing hit combined with the hills that were unavoidable.
Thursday ~ 6.0mi Run ~ 74F w/94% Humidity (Real Feel: 78F)
Mile 1: 10’26” | Mile 2: 9’54” | Mile 3: 11’11” | Mile 4: 11’02” | Mile 5: 12’02” Mile 6: 11’43”
Total Mileage this week was 18.58mi and sitting at 30.78mi on the month.
Total mileage in 2023: 408.01mi