On Trail: 90 Days in - A Deeper Look
Vol. 4 No. 24
Before the initial 90-days.
I made the decision in June, 2024 to Qualify for The Boston Marathon. It’s been nearly ten months since that decision to run the 2026 Mesa Marathon in Arizona. The first six months of this goal I picked up my mileage, however I never changed my diet.
You can’t outrun a bad diet.
JUN: 76mi | JUL: 120mi | AUG: 162mi | SEP: 117mi | OCT: 110.83mi | NOV: 124mi
While my running remained consistent, my diet remained absolute shit. My weight was stagnant around 225lbs, but I didn’t think much about it as I was still averaging over 100-miles per month. So I kept eating like shit through Thanksgiving.
Then on December 5th, 2024 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.
It was a shocking diagnosis, but kind of expected. However it was that exact day that I began to drastically change my nutrition. My running remained consistent and I started to incorporate more weight training, but it was my diet that really kick started so much of the change.
The same lifestyle changes required to control my Diabetes, are the same lifestyle changes needed to reach my goal of Qualifying for The Boston Marathon.
There is a silver lining to this self-imposed disease.
The first 90-days of 2025.
The snowball of change started as a tiny pea-size sphere at the top of the mountain on Day 1 of 2025. We’re now 90-days into 2025 and I wanted to do a “look back” and what I’ve been doing, what’s worked and what changes have been taking place.
My first run of 2025 was a morning run of 2.26miles in my neighborhood. We had a club run planned for mid-afternoon but with such incredible weather on January 1st I had to take advantage and hit the road early for some extra miles.
Day 1 Numbers:
Day 1 Run: 2.26 miles | 10’07” avg pace | 117 avg HR
Bodyweight: 218.6lbs
Day 90 Numbers:
Day 90 Run: 5.01 miles | 8’57” avg pace | 134 avg HR
Bodyweight: 202.6 lbs (-16.2lbs loss)
The three metrics I’m focused on are Total Distance, Avg Pace and Avg Heart Rate.
Distance Distribution over the first 90 days.
Over the course of 2025, I’m slowly building up to running 50-60 miles per week by October 1st. This buildup needs to be a controlled, slow progression week over week to avoid injury and over training. There are only two ways to accomplish this, either increase mileage-per-run (MPR) or increase my runs-per-week (RPW). Or I can blend the two if needed.
The following graphs break out what percentage of my runs were within a range of distance. (0-5km, 5-10km, 10-15km, 15-20km, 20-25km and >25km)
To reach my goal of safely reaching 50-60 miles per week, it is expected that over the course of the next 10 months, the percentage of runs that I accomplish will increase in distance.
By evaluating the charts below you can clearly see that I’m adding more mileage per run, month over month.
JANUARY:
63.5% of my runs were between 0-5km. (0-3.11mi)
32.7% were between 5-10km. (3.11 - 6.21mi)
The remaining 3.8% were 10-20km. (6.22mi to 12.43mi)
February:
53.5% of my runs were between 0-5km. (10% Decrease)
41.9% were between 5-10km. (9.2% Increase)
The remaining 4.6% were 10-20km. (0.8% Increase)
March:
43.2 % of my runs were between 0-5km. (10.3% Decrease)
47.7 % were between 5-10km. (5.8% Increase)
The remaining 9.1 % were 10-20km. (4.5% Increase)
The Mileage Breakdown: 390.26 miles Year-to-date.
January: 122.92 miles | February: 109.81 miles | March: 157.53 miles
January: (122.92 miles)
Days of Running: 29 days.
Zero Days: 2 days.
Total Runs: 36
Longest Run: 10.01 miles
Shortest Run: 1.01 miles
Best Mile: 7’39” - During a 3.11 mile run.
Fastest 5K: 26:27 (January 15th)
February: (109.81 miles)
Days of Running: 27 days.
Zero Days: 1 day.
Total Runs: 31
Longest Run: 10.01 miles
Shortest Run: 1.01 miles
Best Mile: 7’39” - During a 5.01 mile run.
Fastest 5K: 26:39 (February 28th)
March: (157.53 miles)
Days of Running: 31 days.
Zero Days: 0
Total Runs: 38
Longest Run: 13.10 miles (Lifetime Half-PR 1:48:32) (March 22nd)
Shortest Run: 1.01 miles
Best Mile: 7’10” - During a 3.14 mile run.
Fastest 5K: 22:43 (March 14th)
Comparative Sampling.
Deep River 5-miler
1.23.2025: Avg Pace: 10’26” - Avg HR: 129 - Best Mile: 10’13”
2.13.2025: Avg Pace: 8’05” - Avg HR: 150 - Best Mile: 7’39”
3.27.2025: Avg Pace: 7’57” - Avg HR: 152 - Best Mile: 7’47”
Wednesday 5K:
1.15.2025: Avg Pace: 8’30” - Avg HR: 137 - Best Mile: 7’39”
2.28.2025: Avg Pace: 8’34” - Avg HR: 142 - Best Mile: 8’08”
3.14.2025: Avg Pace: 7’19” - Avg HR: 150 - Best Mile: 7’10”
Now let’s take a look at runs with the same Heart Rate and compare Paces/Distance:
1.2.2025: Avg HR 126 - Avg Pace: 10’55” - Distance: 5.03 miles.
2.15.2025: Avg HR: 125 - Avg Pace: 9’57” - Distance: 10.01 miles
3.19.2025: Avg HR: 126 - Avg Pace: 9’14” - Distance: 3.11 miles
**I understand Heart Rate (HR) is affected by variables such as stress, sleep, hills, temperature, humidity and hydration. Ceteris paribus: “All other things being equal” - With the same HR, my paces are getting faster, meaning my body is becoming more efficient at running.
Analysis: Non-linear progress:
It is clear that my cardiovascular capacity is increasing as evidenced by the running metrics. Over the course of the first 90 days of of 2025, my consistency of action is increased, evidenced by the decreasing number of ZERO days and increasing frequency of runs to include distance of those runs.
Progress with running is not linear. There is no direct upward trajectory. Often throughout the month, my paces would fluctuate up and down nearly as often as my weight. Building leg strength, core strength and running efficiency has it’s peaks and valleys, but slowly over time the amount of work I can do is increasing and my efficiency is streamlining.
I attribute this to discipline and dedication in adherence to my vision of qualifying for the Boston Marathon at the Mesa Marathon in February 2026. With discipline, excuses dissolve and action is all that’s left.
Not every run is a “good run” and not every run is horrible. I know that my pre-perception of a run is often wrong and that the days I feel the worst are often the days I feel I have the best runs.
All in all, I continue to default on a few recurring themes.
COMFORT IS A LIE.
RUNNING WITH FRIENDS IS BETTER.
JUST KEEP SHOWING UP.