Week 3 of 16 took me from North Carolina to Utah, from running with friends who would gladly keep me accountable to running solo that required discipline. I changed two time zones and went from 130ft above sea level to 4,400ft above sea level. Leaving NC behind me also left the heat and humidity! My week in Utah saw temps in the upper 60’s with humidity hovering around 25% or less. It’s been absolutely incredible weather.
I found a great running trail along the Jordan River with local parks with restrooms and water supplies. This made planning my long runs easy and enjoyable to complete. The people here are friendly and I’ve had more people say “Hello” or “Good morning” to me than any other trail I’ve been on in America. The trail is clean, open and without trash or homeless people. It’s simply remarkable, I’d like to come back for a vacation.
Training for a Marathon isn’t easy. It takes a serious time commitment, planning, discipline, sacrifice and patience. Not every run is a good one, some days I’m tired and upset and other days I feel light on my feet. Discipline supersedes all emotion and drives me forward, unrelenting towards my goal of redemption. The Marathon!
Sunday: 8.6.2023 (Day 15 of 112): Easy Run (Long Run) - North Carolina
I naturally woke up early, plenty early to make this 6:30am start along the local greenway. I better be there, I’m the one that organized this Sunday morning long run. I wasn’t expecting a large turnout on a Sunday morning. Most of my friends are getting their long-runs done on Saturday mornings.
As soon as I stepped outside I could feel the humidity. I was almost sweating getting to my car. A quick check of WeatherBug and it was 94% humidity at 70F. I was thankful to be getting in an “easy” run today of 9miles at a 10’33”- 11’34” pace. I started to question myself, maybe I should have gotten the long run in yesterday. Then I remembered I was trying to stick to the plan as strict as possible.
The parking lot was empty except for a few cars, which ended up being my friends Shelly and Keith. Interesting enough, both of them ran Saturday morning, yet here they were ready for more. Shelly was going for a 4-mile recovery run at a pace slightly higher than my goal and Keith was in for all 9-miles with me. Keith is another one of those runners I listen to when it comes to training and experience. He’s an ultra-runner with thousands of miles on his feet. I was glad he was there to run with me.
The run itself was relatively easy but with excessive sweating. The sweating wasn’t from physical exertion, but rather from the ever increasing heat and steady humidity in the 90% range. I never felt a struggle to breath and never lost my breath. My legs felt strong but a little heavy. My pre-run hydration was good and I never felt dehydrated during the run, even after losing roughly 5lbs to water loss.
These long, slow runs are building strength and getting me used to time on my feet.
Nutrition: In the 15minute drive to the greenway, I ate a banana and had one Muscle Milk. During the run I drank plenty of water from my Osprey Duro 6 running vest and just one energy gel from Spring.
A question I’m often asked by runners training for their first Half Marathon or Full Marathon is what type of nutrition to go with during the race? My best advice is to use the easy-long runs during the training cycle to dial in what gels, electrolytes and other items work for you. You’ll want to identify if anything causes GI issues or the taste isn’t right or maybe it just doesn’t feel good after consumption. On race day, you don’t want to try anything new or change things up. Race day is not the day to try something experimental.
9.04 Miles | Avg Pace: 10’38” | Avg HR: 143 | Best Mile: 10’32” | Feeling: Ready to go!
Monday: 8.7.2023 (Day 16 of 112): Cross Training - Short on time - North Carolina
Short on time. So short, I’m writing this summary on Wednesday. It’s been a wild few days. So on Monday I had a flight at 7:57pm out to Salt Lake City, UT, and I was getting to the airport early so my daughter could avoid rush hour traffic dropping me off. I got busy packing, had to tie up some loose ends around the house and then had about 60 minutes to get in some type of workout, so I headed to the garage.
It was roughly 2pm, 90F in the garage and super humid. I turned on the fan to get some type of airflow that would cool me down, but it didn’t work. I contemplated my options, developed an idea, wrote it on the white board and got to work.
Buy-in: 100 Double Unders.
3 Rounds For Time (RFT)
5 Burpees
10 KB Swings with 35lb KB
15 Slam Balls at 15lb
20 Abmat Situps
Cash-Out: 100 Double Unders.
It’s been a while since I did some jump-rope work, but as soon as I whipped the shit out of my legs 3 or 4 times, I quickly got back on the horse and was knocking out 30-45 double unders unbroken. At one point I could have easily made it to 100 unbroken, but that day wasn’t today.
I put in the work, broke out a massive sweat and when it was over felt good I got something done.
Oh yeah, did I mention I woke up at 5am (EST) on Monday Morning? No. Well keep that in mind.
After finishing the workout I finished packing my bags and headed off to the airport. I got there around 4pm with time to relax in the lounge until my flight. Then came the storm front! Mother Nature delayed my 4hr 30min flight from 7:57pm to 10:30pm and we finally took off at 11:00pm. The only think I could think about was:
Damn. I have to run tomorrow.
Tuesday: 8.8.2023 (Day 17 of 112): Quality Run - Utah
Monday simply rolled into Tuesday as I landed in Salt Lake City at 1:15am MST (3:15am EST). After waiting on my checked luggage, rental car and travel to the hotel, I finally got into my bed around 3:30am MST (5:30am EST). At this point I’ve been awake for 24hrs. Something I’ve done in my life many times, I’m comfortable being sleep deprived, but that doesn’t mean I like it.
My alarm jumped off the nightstand and kicked me in face at 6:30am and I was happy to get 3 hours of shut eye. Up, showered and off to work at 7:20am it was going to be a long day.
We wrapped up the jobsite around 5pm (7pm EST) and I finally headed to the hotel. At this point I’ve gotten roughly 3 hours of sleep in 38 hours. I was mentally beat and thinking straight was a difficult concept, however a thought kept pounding in my head like an elephant breaking stomping a whole in a hyena. I have to run.
At roughly 6:09pm I went outside and started my “Quality Run” with just 3hrs of sleep in the last 39hrs.
Quality Run
1.5mi Warm up
8x 400m at 7’19” pace + 2min jog recovery
1.5mi Cool Down
I did the work, but didn’t even come close to hitting those numbers.
1.5mi Warm up at 10’20”
8x400m: 7’47”, 11’19”, 9’33”, 8’22”, 8’25”, 8’25”, 9’09”, 9’15”
1.5mi Cool Down at 11’45”
I was absolutely smoked. It’s been a rough 40hrs.
The excuses were there, but I refused to accept them.
I’m too tired. Too hungry.
It’s a new route, I don’t know where I’m going.
I’m at 4,400ft elevation. That’s 4,300ft higher than NC.
The hotel bed is comfortable. Just get some rest and do it tomorrow.
Fuck that shit. I have some goals and the excuses won’t get me there.
6.22 Miles | Avg Pace: 10’47” | Avg HR: 139 | Best Lap: 7’47” | Feeling: Sleepy & Slow
Wednesday: 8.9.2023 (Day 18 of 112): Easy 4 mile run.
I woke up feeling refreshed after 10 hours of much needed sleep however I didn’t wake up in time to get my 4-mile run done before work. A quick glance at the outside temperature of 58F and I was upset I didn’t wake up earlier to knock this out. Ah hell, I needed the sleep, so it was worth it to do the run in the evening.
The evenings here in Utah are a much welcome respite from the southern heat and humidity. At 81F and 26% humidity, even a run at 6:45pm feels great.
Coach Brown programed this as an easy run. 4-miles at a 10’33”- 11’34” pace.
What really happened:
Mile 1: 10’08”
Mile 2: 10’23”
Mile 3: 10’32”
Mile 4: 10’26”
The first mile felt good after so much sleep and the cool weather. Instead of picking up the pace and going hard, I decided to stick to the plan and slowed my pace. As you can see I still didn’t get slow enough below that 10’33” threshold. Maybe next time.
4.06 Miles | Avg Pace: 10’23” | Avg HR: 137 | Best Lap: 10’23” | Feeling: Rested and Ready
Thursday: 8.10.2023 (Day 19 of 112): Quality Run.
After a few decades of traveling I’ve developed a decent ability to acclimate to the local time zone and avoid jet-lag for too long. This morning I was awake at 5am and feeling good. I knew I had 6-miles on the schedule but had an originally plan to knock it out in the evening. After a quick look at the Weather Bug, it was supposed to be 89F in the evening and I was quickly changing my mind to get in a morning run.
It was 72F outside at 5:45am and I figured this was as good as it was going to get, it would also be nice to have 48hrs of rest before my 11-mile long run on Saturday morning. So I laced up, grabbed my shit, took a quick look at Strava for the route and off I went.
What was supposed to happen:
1.5 mile Warmup
3miles at 8’50”
1.5 mile Cooldown
I felt good going into this run and was looking forward to letting my legs go and getting those sub 9min miles. Unfortunately my mind was in the game but my legs felt heavy and just didn’t want to move! My heart rate was relatively low and I wasn’t breathing too hard, but my legs were just slow. I decided to do my best and chalk it up to elevation change and the increase in weekly mileage.
The trail had a good amount of people on it and it felt good to pass people as I was uncertain how safe the trail would be in the early morning. This gave me confidence that my early morning Saturday run is going to be good.
One foot in front of the other, over and over again for 6 miles. That’s what I did this morning. I tried to increase the pace on the 3-miles but didn’t succeed too well. Here’s what really happened:
1.5mile Warmup at 10’45”
Mile 1 at 9’51”
Mile 2 at 10’13”
Mile 3 at 10’13”
1.5mi Cooldown at 11’56”
This entire run felt like a struggle. Every step took a mental toll too little to measure but big enough to be felt. I just kept telling myself, one step more means one step closer to the Marathon. Keep going.
This run was a big let down. I really wanted this to be a good one, but it just didn’t turn out that way.
At least the views were good.
6.00 Miles | Avg Pace: 10’44” | Avg HR: 135 | Best Lap: 10’05” | Feeling: Drained & Confused
Friday: 8.11.2023 (Day 20 of 112): Cross Training
Thursday night I was pretty tired. Between traveling and 25 miles in the previous 4 days, I decided to make an attempt at 8hours of sleep. I decided to take a few Melatonin to help me get the rest I wanted. It worked and I woke up feeling great and also a need to get in some cross training. Traffic towards Planet Fitness was locked up so I hit the hotel gym and knocked out some Arms, Shoulders, Chest and Abs before calling it a morning. Overall it was a decent workout that maybe needed a little more intensity, but I felt pretty good.
A strong core facilitates long & strong runs.
Saturday: 8.12.2023 (Day 21 of 112):Easy Run (11-miles)
After a 6oz filet mignon, baked sweet potato and a full nights rest, I felt ready to go for this run. Since working over the weekend is required, I had to be up and on the trail well before the sun peaked over the mountains. Getting on the trail early resulted in an absolutely amazing sunrise experience during my run.
The short drive to the trail head was empty and barren, about expected at 5am on a Saturday morning. While the rest of the world was still fast asleep or taking on their first sip of coffee, I was enroute to knock out 11-miles on what I thought would be an empty trail for the most part.
With the sun still down, I light up the headlamp, secure the running vest and start this 11-mile journey north along the Jordan River. Within the first half mile I start to see small sets of eyes reflecting back at me from the brush of the river. I’m really hoping this isn’t a bobcat! Without stopping my run, I take a closer look at two deer have bedded down next to the trail and seemed to not care one bit I was running past, they didn’t even get up from their slumber but did track me with their ever glowing eyes.
I decided to take this run nice and easy as my coach prescribed and I felt strong. As I was approaching my turn around, I forgot how far I was supposed to run! I thought my turn around was when I had 5-miles left. I got caught up looking at the sky to pay attention to what the hell I was doing. Instantly I remember I’m going for 11-miles and my turn around is at 5.5mi not 5! Great, just 0.15mi to go before I turn around.
I took a few pictures at the sunrise that looked like the sky was on fire, almost like it wasn’t real. I enjoyed the moment then turned my attention south to get this run completed. As I started out, I look up and realize I’m running under a rainbow.
The return trip was a great run. I felt strong and the miles just ticked away. The trail increased with traffic and the people here are so nice. Almost every person that ran past me said hello or good morning. There were packs of H.S. athletes speeding past at what must have been a 7min/mi, friends running together and people of all ages getting in their miles.
The miles ticked along and before I knew it the run was over. Nothing hurt, I felt strong like I could keep going and overall it was a good morning to be on the trail. The sights were amazing, the people were nice and the route was flat. The only thing missing was running with friends. They got in a good run this morning back home in North Carolina, seeing so many great people gather together for a run is an even a better sight than anything the sun and mountains could provide.
What was supposed to happen: 11-miles Easy Run | Goal Pace: 10’33”-11’34”
What really happened:
Mile 1: 11’02”
Mile 2: 11’05”
Mile 3: 10’41”
Mile 4: 11’02”
Mile 5: 10’46”
Mile 6: 11’11”
Mile 7: 10’57”
Mile 8: 10’39”
Mile 9: 11’08”
Mile 10: 10’49
Mile 11: 10’07” - LAST ONE’s THE FAST ONE!
11.00 Miles | Avg Pace: 10’52” | Avg HR: 137 | Best Mile: 10’08” | Feeling: Determined
Training continues tomorrow with a 4-mile shakeout run before jumping back into the Quality Runs and Easy Long Runs.