Saturday: 3.2.2024 (Day 29 of 84): Just a feeling
It was a day of polar opposites. One glance outside at my weather rock and it validated everything the weather man and his fancy radars and computers were predicting. It was raining and looked rather unbearable outside. I’m glad I pushed my long run over to Sunday, I most certainly didn’t want to run in these conditions.
Taking a zero day didn’t seem like a bad idea. My wife and I are packing for our upcoming Disney Cruise (March 7-13) and I’m finishing up some last minute financials for the business. With such a gloomy day outside, it’s not too bad to stay inside and get these tasks done.
Then I started scrolling through STRAVA.
I don’t think it was FOMO, it was more of a feeling that I simply took the easy path this morning by not running when so many of my friends got out there and got in their miles! It’s not even peer pressure. Nobody contacted me and was like “I got my miles done, what have you done today?”. There wasn’t even an external expectation to get miles done today. No, this was an internal feeling. I know I should have logged a few miles in the early morning instead of choosing comfort.
“COMFORT IS A LIE” - I thought I would stay in and get these required tasks done, which I did, but I still feel like crap. I should have ran.
By 11:00am I simply couldn’t take it anymore.
I grabbed my running gear and let my wife know I was heading out for a few miles. I love the fact that she supports my running lifestyle, she just shrugged, smiled and asked if I was linking up with Rob or Dave. Not this time, this would be a solo run.
By the time I got to the trail the rain had stopped! There were plenty of puddles visible and the sky was grey and the air cool. The temperature was just about right for this 4 mile run I was going to knock out.
While getting prepped I decided I was just going to run by feel. I wasn’t going to look at my pace or my heart rate. I simply was going to run where it wasn’t too easy but wasn’t too hard. A pace where I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time nor pushing so hard I wouldn’t be able to sustain the pace for the entirety of the run. This would be 100% by feel.
During the run I only glanced down at my watch a handful of times to see my distance.
I ran by feel and it felt good! My legs were a little tired from the squats on Thursday but didn’t seem to be hindering me too much. The hills were a little challenging but not heartbreaking. As the run progressed the sun broke through the seemingly impenetrable grey ceiling and it warmed up a few degrees. The run ended before I hit 4 miles but the route was done and I felt good.
3.68 Miles | Avg Pace: 8’53” Avg HR: 129 | Best Mile: 8’32” | Feeling: Insightful
Sunday: 3.3.2024 (Day 30 of 84): 10 miles & RACE PACE.
We call it “Free Association Running” or FAR for short. It’s when a group of people in the Run Club freely meet up on the weekend for a long run. This isn’t necessarily a “group” run, but we all start together, some run together, some run solo but everyone puts in the miles at their own pace. On Sunday morning we had 10 runners show up for this greenway run under warmer weather.
My distance today was 10-miles total but broken down into different intervals. I really love my COROS watch because I can program this into my watch and instead of having to think about it, my watch just alerts me when it’s time to go.
The workout:
2 Mile Warmup: 10’15” to 10’45” Pace.
x 4 Intervals: 1-mile at 7’55” - 8’00” (Race Pace) + 0.5mi recovery jog.
2 Mile Cool Down: 9’30” to 10'00” pace.
I was thankful to have Jon join me on this run! He runs much faster than me and having someone to chase down and push the pace was welcome on this run. The 2-mile warmup was good and we kept it nice and easy that just barely broke a sweat before we started the intervals.
I was mentally dreading this workout. Physically I felt good and strong enough to knock it and emotionally I was driven to get it done. This was a workout I knew I needed, however mentally I knew I was about to enter some uncomfortable areas of my mind. That’s where the growth is. That’s where the fortitude is forged. Where the mind and body are taxed and things get uncomfortable.
The great thing about a workout like this is that you can have runners of varying abilities, run together while each pushing themselves hard at their individualized pace.
My goal pace was my “race pace” for the Sunset Beach Half which is an 8’00” flat. Let’s see how it all played out. Heads up, I did NOT puke.
This run was programmed almost perfect for the route we ran. For 2 of the 4 iterations we hit a few hills which made this workout even more difficult. It still feels almost out of grasp to maintain this 8’00” pace for 13.1 miles by the end of next month. I’m going to keep pushing and we’ll see what shakes out in 7 weeks.
Monday: 3.4.2024 (Day 31 of 84): 2-miles on the dread mill.
I didn’t think the government could take my running time, but they did. I’ve been swamped with taxes with the business and the day was going to require about 12 hours of screen time. However I had to invest in my health, because if you don’t have health, then what the hell is the point of doing everything else?
So I woke up early and made my way to the treadmill at the Y to do the damn thing.
I got in my 2-miles then begrudgingly went back to the home office to continue the painstaking tasks of reconciling the books and getting things aligned for the CPA to pay the govt.
Life would be a lot better if the government encouraged people to be entrepreneurs instead of smothering and drowning them with regulation and taxes.
Enough of that. GET OUT THERE AND RUN. You’ve got to be healthy enough to deal with the govt or they’ll kill you.
Tuesday: 3.5.2024 (Day 32 of 84): A Burner on the track and Double Down.
After spending 15 hours on the computer I needed to get my body moving, so Tuesday was going to be heavy on the workouts. Especially since Thursday would be a zero day and I don’t want to fall short of my goal of 105+ miles this month.
The first workout of the day was on the track! It was spicy and was incredibly difficult. As a group we put in great effort and many people were near PR’s for their 400m efforts.
Knowing I was going on Vacation on Thursday, I felt the need to double up on my running in preparation of this Disney Cruise.
I made my way downtown to linkup with my run club and get in a few more miles. As this was my second run of the day I figured I’d get in an easy run and call it a day. I found myself running with a couple of runners I haven’t logged many miles with before. It was a good run and left me feeling good going into my vacation.
3.22 Miles | Avg Pace: 10’02” Avg HR: 129 | Best Mile: 9’15” | Feeling: Accomplished
Wednesday: 3.6.2024 (Day 33 of 84): Weigh In Wednesday.
As I’ve written about before, my life over 200lbs is simply not sustainable. I’m not that tall, measuring in at impeccably average of 5’8”. About a month back or so I had two independent doctors tell me the same thing.
“You need to lose 10-15% of your bodyweight”
In this continued journey of “Lighter, Leaner, Stronger” I check my weight every Wednesday. This weeks weight loss: 3.0lbs! Down to 218.6!
I’m just a few pounds away from my “Marathon” weight from last November where I set a new PR for the Half Marathon at 1:57:52 (8’59” Pace). At this point I feel confident that I will set a new PR in April! I’ve got a lot more work to get done before that.
It’s Wednesday. My family knows what that means. Even my wife has accepted this unyielding constant in my life. We are flying to FL tomorrow morning to start our vacation and yet here I go to run with the club.
It was pouring rain for most of the day and not the kind of rain that is tolerable. No, this was a torrential COLD rain downpour that caused a handful of flash-flood warnings in the area. Just a few hours before the club run, it was horrible outside and I honestly wasn’t sure I was going. If there is one thing I hate, it’s being COLD and WET. Those days are behind me. I left all that madness with the U.S. Army.
The Triangle of Discomfort is COLD-WET-HUNGRY. I can usually withstand two of the three but will never willingly put myself into that pain-cave. With the cold rain, 2 of the 3 elements of “nope” were met.
But alas, there’s a weird phenomenon with the club. Right about the time we’re supposed to run, the rain clears up and we’re good to go. That’s exactly what happened tonight! So of course I had to run.
I linked up with Dave and got in another 5K+ distance. It was an easy run with a friend where we got to catch up on the last few weeks. Easy runs at a conversational pace are always welcome and appreciated.
3.58 Miles | Avg Pace: 10’34” Avg HR: 119 | Best Mile: 10’08” | Feeling: Tired.
Thursday: 3.7.2024 (Day 34 of 84): ZERO DAY.
I took a ZERO day for packing and traveling to Florida. Not much pass along besides the fact that not running in any 24hr period feels strange.
Friday: 3.8.2024 (Day 35 of 84): Running to the beach!
Our boarding time on the ship was not until the afternoon so this allowed me to get in a run that morning before we made our way to the port.
I was up early and ready to go. The beach was a short 1.5 mile run away and I figured I could make it around sunrise. This was a run I was looking forward to for a few weeks. I enjoy running in new locations and exploring destinations, especially vacation spots like the beach.
The only hill on this route was the draw bridge over the intra-coastal waterway. I made my way to the top and took advantage of the observation platforms. I had a great view of multi-million dollar private yachts. The amount of wealth on display is simply staggering! 70 million dollar yachts with an operating cost of $7 million a year. What a life that must be.
After a quick photo and some glances at the yachts, I make my way to the beach. There’s a handful of runners out and I pass more and more as I get to the beach but I notice, nobody is friendly. Not a nod, or a simple acknowledgement of another runner. This is a dog-eat-dog world down here and not even the runners are finding a common bond. What a shame, it’s a beautiful place to run.
I was passed a few times by what appeared to be a world-class group of Triathletes on their training run. They were all well over 6ft tall and thin and lean. They appeared to be ready to swim as soon as the run was over, but I don’t know how tri-training really works. Regardless, these athletes looked to be world-competitors and they ran past me with ease.
The originally plan was for 4 miles, but I was feeling good and decided to stretch it out an extra half mile before turning around. This turned into an easy 5-mile training run and when it was over, I felt prepared for the Disney Cruise.
5.02 Miles | Avg Pace: 11’34” Avg HR: 131 | Best Mile: 10’24” | Feeling: Excited