Highest Mileage Week YTD: (Week 21)
Vol.4 No.32
This week kicks off All-American Week on Fort Bragg, NC. It’s a long standing tradition for the 82nd Airborne Division that is held every May in the week before Memorial Day weekend. A quarter century ago I was a young Paratrooper running down Long Street and Marching Across Pike Field to play my part in this historic and time-honored tradition. It was never a good time, but reflecting back on it I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.
AA Week kicks off with a Division Run where 20,000 Paratroopers run in formation with Helo’s flying over head and Cannon’s blasting over the road for a 4-mile run. I decided to run in solidarity with all those Paratroopers by wearing one of my 82D Airborne running shirts for the Monday Early Risers run.
I don’t miss the circus, I only miss the monkeys.
This week was full of seeing friends, old and new. We got to celebrate our friends Tom and Lindsay’s 20th Anniversary and their celebration party was full of their family and friends. A true testament to their character and love for each other. Their love story is amazing and inspirational. Happy Anniversary to my friends. I hope you read this and I hope you know just how happy it makes me to see ya’ll together.
You might be surprised to learn I actually have friends outside of the running space. Tom and Lindsay are two of those friends, yes it’s true not everything revolves around running, except this publication.
Of the 44.76 miles I ran this week, only four of those were solo miles. 90% of my miles were with friends and I can attest, running with friends is better.
It’s better for my mental health.
It’s better for my emotional resiliency.
It’s better for my physical health.
It’s better for my social life.
It’s better for my achieving my goal of qualifying for Boston!
Monday: 5.19.2025 (JD 139): Early Risers
These Monday morning Early Risers 5-milers are starting to grow on me. The idea that I have to show up on Monday morning at 0500 to run 5-miles keeps me accountable on Sunday evenings and helps me stave off my instinctual desire to eat everything. I know if I overeat or eat like a complete asshole, then there is a real possibility that I roll into the Monday morning run group like a roly-poly.
I’m not sure what was going on this morning when I woke up at 4:15am but I felt great. By 4:30am I didn’t feel groggy and actually felt like running, much different from my normal routine when I don’t realize what is happening until the first mile is over.
This run was really nice under great weather conditions. I had no pre-planned route and simply took off running and everyone followed. The goal was to keep a 9’00” pace and I found myself slipping a little faster. Good thing Maureen was beside me, she kept me accountable on the pace and I’d slow down when needed.
This was a great run with great people. After 5-miles another smaller group continued on for a few more additional miles of extra credit.
These Monday Morning runs are really growing on me.
5.16 miles | Avg Pace: 9’00” | Avg HR: 127 | Best Mile: 8’46” | 64°F at 80%
Tuesday: 5.20.2025 (JD 140): Two-a-day.
Overnight the temperatures cooled a little. It was nice little reprieve from the warmer temperatures that have blanked us for the last week or two. Luckily for me I had some free time in the morning and the opportunity for a pre-dawn run presented itself.
I had to capitalize on it.
It’s mornings like this that I leave my headphones in the car and enjoy the morning sounds of nature while I completely disregard my pace. I still wore my COROS Pace Pro watch, but with the ability to create custom screens I simply scrolled to the one that only displayed the Time of Day. I had no goals except to enjoy this run.
The air felt cool and sky was on fire with the morning sunrise. The sounds of my feet were drowned out by the repetitive chorus of birds coming to life and sharing their morning joy with the rest of the world. It was a great morning to be on the trail.
I’m not a believer in reincarnation, but I do find odd happenings whenever I’m missing my mother. On this mornings run I was visited on multiple occasions by a Red Cardinal. I’m not sure if it was the same bird or different birds, but throughout this run there would be a Cardinal just in front of me on the trail, then fly ahead and wait for me, then fly ahead and wait for me. On another occasion the Cardinal would fly alongside the trail, perching on overhanging branches and singing. I now know what a Cardinal sounds like! Sometimes when I am missing my late mother, I notice birds like this with rather particular behavior, or perhaps I’m just being more aware of my surroundings. Either way, this was a great morning to run.
4.02 miles | Avg Pace: 8’12” | Avg HR: 123 | Best Mile: 7’47” | 62°F at 83%
It was an unplanned run.
A few of our regular attendee’s of our Tuesday run who have taken on a leadership role with organizing and kicking off the run couldn’t make it the run, so I decided to step in.
Really there was no need as there was already a great group of runners there, some of which were regulars who would have gladly stepped into the void. Regardless, I got to see my friends and get in a good 3-mile run on a nice evening.
I was able to run with Diane tonight, a new-to-the-club runner from Brazil who has ambitions of completing her first half-marathon. It was great to be able to have a conversation with her and learn about her running ambitions. I have no doubt she’ll meet her goals while living her in the U.S.
3.01 miles | Avg Pace: 10’11” | Avg HR: 118 | Best Mile: 9’52” | 79°F at 51%
Wednesday: 5.21.2025 (JD 141): Wednesday 5K
Every Wednesday I go out for a 5K run, most often with my local Run Club. It was warm evening, warm enough to strip the Jeep down and enjoy the drive over to Fare Game before the run. It’s one of the reasons I love owning a Jeep!
It was a warm evening and I think it brought out the crowd! We had six new-to-the-club runners show up for this evening’s 5K run and the evening couldn’t be better.
We try our best not to let new runners go solo on their first run, so this evening I linked up with Rachael who is new to the U.S. from Ireland and new to the club. Immediately on the start it was clear she was a strong runner! We were running an 8’30” pace with ease in the first mile.
It was a great conversation with her and I learned on her first Marathon in Dublin, she ran a 4hr Marathon! This is an incredible feat for a first time race!
It was a great group and I wish I could have stuck around longer after the run, but it was SURVIVOR Night, most importantly, it was the season finale! This is something I watch every week with my son. It’s a no-fail mission.
3.11 miles | Avg Pace: 8’43” | Avg HR: 136 | Best Mile: 8’22” | 79°F at 73%
Thursday: 5.22.2025 (JD 142): 5-miles with the CAR.
By the time 6pm rolled around I was ready to get in a good run, enjoy a few cold beers and hang out with friends. It was just one of those days. Thankfully everything lined up just right and the weather broke for the better! The gusts of wind throughout the day seemed to have knocked the humidity way down and opened up the sky exposing that beautiful Carolina Blue Sky!
Driving up to Deep River, I quickly realized that parking was insane. Side roads were full, the main parking lot slammed and options limited. After searching and finding a spot, I just barely made it to the club with 90seconds to spare! I put out the announcements and before I knew it, we were off!
The first two miles I logged with a new-to-the-club runner who was there for her first club run. We really try our best not to let a new person run solo at their first outing, so I stepped up and got in the first two miles with her while explaining the club, what we do, where we run and what to expect. It was great meeting another runner to the area.
After we split ways at the 5K/5M diversion, I took off to catch up to Robert, Jon and Ryan who were well down the trail. I picked up the pace from a 12’11” pace to a 7’19” to catch up! It only took me 1.25 miles to finally link up with the men, then I dropped down to their pace and finished up the run with my friends.
The post-run social was a good one with plenty of conversations going on, laughs and drinks flowing. The only downside is that the food truck ran out of food by 7:30pm with still 90 minutes before the place closed down.
Then Anthony stepped up with an order of pizza! He fed the masses with a massive pizza that looked to be covered in every vegetable the place had to offer. It was good!
There are certain things in this world that help forge friendships, one of which is breaking bread together and it was proven true and effective yet again over some pizza!
Thursday Summer Runs are some of my favorite of the year! I look forward to them all summer.
5.03 miles | Avg Pace: 9’48” | Avg HR: 134 | Best Mile: 7’10” | 77°F at 43%
Friday: 5.23.2025 (JD 143): Early Miles
Earlier in the week I ran into Tommy at the Y and he asked if I was down for an early morning run on Friday. Of course I was! The weather app showed temps in the 50’s with low humidity and running with Tommy only makes me better.
He is by far a superior runner to me. Often getting in 4, 5 or 6 mile runs at 7’30” or faster. A retired Marine, this guy continues to crush his fitness goals and when I got the invite for a 6-mile run, I had to break out the racing shoes. I needed every advantage I could get to ensure I could keep up.
As expected the weather was near-to-perfect with very little traffic on the road at 5:45am. We met up on time and started to step it out.
The first mile was a warmup at 8’52” then we started to dial it up.
8’18”| 8’01”| 8’04”| 7’52”| 7’53” then picked up on on the finish line push to a 7’04”.
I have to say, it feels good to be a part of the community. While on the run, my friend Jake passed me by on a bike and called out my name, unfortunately I didn’t recognize him and it wasn’t until after the run that I got it sorted out. A little later, a School Bus was going by and honked at us. Turns out the driver is a friend of Tommy’s and is a fellow Veteran.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the people who I associate with are out at 6am putting in the work.
Overall my Friday Morning run was great! It was a good way to kick off the long weekend.
6.15 miles | Avg Pace: 8’08” | Avg HR: 138 | Best Mile: 7’42” | 55°F at 77%
Saturday: 5.24.2025 (JD 144): Uphill Both Ways.
The weather couldn’t have been any better! It’s been an absolutely gorgeous kickoff to the Memorial Day weekend with a lot of sun and temperatures remaining abnormally cooler. I’m not complaining though, the heat switch will get flipped any day now.
We met up at 7:30am, well after the sun had risen. On any other May day this would be cause for concern, but with the lower humidity and the starting temperature near 50F, the sun had nearly no effect.
After a short discussion about routes, distances and time we decided stepped off for a difficult route of hills. This 5-mile out and back run featured an initial downhill effort to the creek bed, a short greenway run along the creek and then a brutal hill climb before traversing around a park and going back. Down-Up-Down-Up.
This really is not an easy route.
As I’m losing weight and my running is becoming more efficient, my perceived rate of exertion at faster paces continues to decline. Running an 8’30” mile feels rather normal to me now and doesn’t place much strain on my body. However, that’s not the case for the rest of my friends. Many are much better runners, faster and stronger, but for the most part, my cohort of friends has an easy pace around 9’30”-10’00”.
It feels good to run in a group. There’s something about pack-running that makes the run feel a little bit easier. Camaraderie is forged and the run feels good.
That is until we started tackling the final hill up to the finish!
From behind me I heard Robert make the comment:
I’m not hearing a lot of talking up front!
A clear and present verbal assault, indicating that Anthony, Justin and myself were hurting up the hill. Something clicked inside of me and I decided to step it out! “We’ll see who will quiet down in about 30 seconds” I thought.
So for the last 1/3 mile, Justin and I picked it up to a 7’00” pace and kept the cadence going! Just when we thought we were stacking bodies behind us, Anthony pulls a move reminiscent of Ricky Bobby and executes the “Slingshot” to near perfection! He passed Justin and I on the right and stepped it out up the hill, firmly cementing his position a dominant runner.
I really do believe that friendly competition breeds better performance. This was the case as we pushed up the hill!
We finished up right near or over the 5-mile distance and the majority of the runners called it a morning. It was clear that the temperature was rising quickly and the suns rays were gaining a better angle on us, getting warmer and warmer.
Just as I was about to call it, I looked back and saw Sarah and Carlos continuing on with their run. So I restarted the watch and caught up to them for a little extra-effort miles.
Sarah and I matched paces and continued on for the remainder of her planned 8-mile run at a pace under the 9’00” threshold. It’s been an amazing thing to witness Sarah’s running improvements and be able to log a few miles with her while she trains for an upcoming Marathon.
It felt great to knock out 8-miles early in the day before we went off to celebrate 20-years of Marriage bliss for our friends Tom and Lindsay.
Run 1: 5.22 miles | Avg Pace: 9’37” | Avg HR: 124 | Best Mile: 8’43” | 50°F at 81%
Run 2: 3.01 miles | Avg Pace: 8’56” | Avg HR: 140 | Best Mile: 8’41” | 54°F at 89%
Sunday: 5.25.2025 (JD 145): Last Minute Decisions
When the text bumped across my phone, I was certainly not sober.
My wife had already driven us home from the party, where I commenced in celebrating with just five beers (8.9%abv), and while I was tipsy drunk, I was in no condition to drive and was certainly not sober. I don’t often drink in excess, rarely ever more than 1 or 2 beers per sitting, so five beers was double my normal drinking throughout the year.
So when the text came through from Andrew at nearly 8pm inviting me on a 10-mile run with him and Marcus, it as a tough call. I didn’t commit right away but said if I was awake, I’d be there.
Sure enough I was awake at 4:15am and through blurry eyes and a dry mouth I remember thinking “Damn, looks like I have to go now”.
On the drive there I was fighting the fat-man between my ears. It was this irrational conversation, nay, a debate about what I was capable of and what I wanted to do this morning.
The fat-man started with “You can just stay home, drink some water and coffee, they’ll never know you were awake at 4:15am”
COMFORT IS A LIE!
This argument continued. The rationalizing to cut the 10-miler down to 5 miles or 6 or just an hour of running were the carrots the fat-man was using to seduce me into laziness.
Then I remembered my friend Robert, who has the uncanny ability to put a few libations down the hatch, wake up on limited sleep and still show up to a morning run with the ability to run 8, 10 or even 13.1 miles.
Fuck it! If Robert can do it, so can I.
Just as I stepped out of the Jeep at the trail head, the running conditions were near-to-perfect! That’s the precise moment I put a muzzle on the fat-man between my ears and decided 10-miles was the only options.
We stepped off with a goal of completing this run just under 90-minutes with an average pace around 8’50” or so. Andrew and Marcus, who I was running with are both great runners and I knew there’d be no slack this morning. Running 10-miles under 90-minutes was going to happen and none of us would be the weak link to ruin that goal.
It was 10-miles of conversation under ideal conditions! We saw plenty of Deer and Rabbits along the way and only a couple of other runners on the trail.
We started early. 5:45am and finished up with plenty of time to get home before my wife had to leave for work.
And just like that, I finished my highest mileage week of 2025 with 44.76 total miles.
10.05 miles | Avg Pace: 8’44” | Avg HR: 133 | Best Mile: 8’24” | 55°F at 82%
Another great read!