Week 1: Hot! Hot & Humid
A tale of 20.68 miles
Looking down at the compass I look to see if it aligns with my watch, really not sure who is correct, the mason’s laying the stone or the engineers who designed my watch. I take a look at the shadows and orient myself with the rising sun. Things look in order with my watch compass and this stone compass in agreement with the rising sun. It’s time to run.
As I get ready to start this training I keep something in mind. “It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done. What matters is where you are and what you will do.” Living in the past is pointless, looking back and expecting my 41yr old body to perform like it did as a 21 year old Paratrooper seems futile. Yet, somewhere inside my mind and spirit springs a hope that I can get back to running 6min/miles. Maybe it’s because I’m young enough to still think I’m going to live forever and every now and then I feel 10ft tall and bulletproof.
Looking back on the past can provide some lessons learned and insight but the reality is those days are over. We all must due what we can, with what we have, where we are.
Here are a few tidbits of information about my starting point for this marathon training. I’m starting this training at 226.8 lbs, this officially classifies as me as “Clydesdale Class” runner. I can run a 5K comfortably without much effort. Prior to this training, the last mile I ran was 11min19sec. Last month (July 2022) I logged only 7 runs for a total of 20 miles. This is my starting point.
Training Run 1: 40 minute run. (Monday)
I knew what I wanted to do! I knew which direction to travel and I had a good idea of the path ahead. I’ve been planning this training for weeks and was excited to get it started. Wake up at 5am, out the door at 5:30am and on the trail running by 6:00am. In the mind it sounded great.
Then Monday hits! I woke up late! I rolled over, checked the clock and quickly realized I missed the mark. Why didn’t I set an alarm you may be thinking, well if I wake up my hard working wife before she’s ready, life tends to get difficult for everyone. I try to avoid disturbing her much needed sleep. I value my life. The risk is just too great.
So I open my eyes, make the mental decision that training MUST start today and off I go. I was on the trail and running by 6:10am.
I felt good while stretching and preparing for my run, my mind was in the right headspace despite waking up late and not being on time. The humidity was oppressive at nearly 100% but I wasn’t in the sun and that was a welcome win for this first run. This particular section of the trail is flanked on both sides by tall tree’s, leaving the run in the shade 90% of the time. Over the duration of 40 minutes, the sun only hit my face twice.
I purchased Coros Pace 2 running watch and this was my first run with it. There is a learning curve whenever you switch up technology and part of this run was spent walking and scrolling through the watch options to see what data was available and to view the data I wanted. All in all I probably walked less than 2 minutes of this 40 minute run.
The run itself was easy, with lower heart rate goals and a flat out and back course. The COROS watch would beep-vibrate when my heart-rate got too high, so I’d dial it down a bit. The watch had a gas-gauge style indicator of where my heart-rate was. When the needle was to the left, my HR was too low. Needle to the right and my HR was too high. The goal was to keep it in the green. Go to high or low and the watch would vibrate to let you know.
With the humidity so high, I made a goal to drink water every 0.5mi. After the 20 minute turn around I decided to increase that to every five minutes. Regardless of how I felt, I took a drink of water every five minutes on the way back. It must have worked as I had no cramps and was still sweating at the end of my run.
Overall Stats: 3.75mi Run. AVG PACE: 10’36” with an AVG HR of 132.
Running with friends: Twice on Tuesday
5:15am
On Monday my friend sent out an open invite to get in some track running at 5:15am, of course I had to get on board. Running with friends is part of keeping accountable and keeping the training fun. Running with friends is better. I decided to use this morning as a test to use the COROS Track Running option. You tell the watch what lane you are running and then it couples that information with GPS data to give you a more precise reading.
I ran in Lane 4 all morning and put in 2-miles of running. My overall avg pace was 9’55” with my fastest mile (mile 2) clocked in at 9’39”. Not bad for day two of training but nowhere near my PR/PB. Following the run we did another 15 minutes of abdominal exercises. Having a strong core only helps with being a strong runner.
Pictured with me are my friends Daniela and Joni, both incredible athletes who put in consistent work time and time again. We’ve ran together before on the track during our Run-Before-The Sun Series. Never a complaint from either of them and if they say they’ll be there, they are.
Overall Stats: 2.01mi Run. AVG PACE: 9’55” with an AVG HR of 133.
6:00pm
Of course at 4:50pm I get a message from my friend Dave. “Planning on Running today?” In reference to our Tuesday Run club meetup every Tuesday at a local place downtown. Of course the answer has to be yes. I’m training for a Marathon.
Real Feel temperature outside at the moment is 103F, without a doubt, after this run I will be jumping in the pool!
Post Run: Temps on the run were 92F with Real Feel at 101F with humidity at 54%. At this point in the late summer, any humidity under 60% feels fine. I ran tonight with my friend Dave who is a phenomenal life-time runner. He just ran a 50K Ultra in the Rocky Mountains at elevations topping 11,000ft and then on tonight’s short 2.5mi jaunt he was simply gliding along. All this and he’s 20yrs my senior. I hope to be as agile, capable and as strong a runner as my friend.
After the run I recovered with some pool therapy. I’ve found pool / water therapy is extremely helpful to prevent sore and tired muscles.
Iron sharpens Iron and if you want to become better at something you should seek out and surround yourself with those that excel at it.
Overall Stats: 2.58mi Run. AVG PACE: 10’23” with an AVG HR of 144.
Training Run 2: 5KM (Wednesday)
It was incredibly hot at the start of the run, we’re talking 92F with 50% humidity resulting in a Real Feel temp of 99F. Much of the run was in direct sunlight, either on my back or directly in my face. There were a few breaks of shade that provided little moments of relief from the sun. The only good part about this run was the people there.
We had two new runners attend tonight and as a leader in the club it’s the right thing to do to ensure they know the route and feel welcomed. I spent the first 1/2mi on their training plan which consisted of 2min jog and 1min walk. I honestly welcomed the slow start in the heat and humidity.
Overall I felt good on this run and I took it easy. I did heart rate training again with the COROS keeping me in line. My heart rate ended up being at Threshold (Zone 3) which makes sense in the heat. I’ll admit it, I walked a few times to take in some water and then took off again immediately.
Overall Stats: 5KM Run. AVG PACE: 11’08” with an AVG HR of 136.
Brewery Run (Thursday)
Another hot summer run at 93F with 51% humidity resulting in a Real Feel temp of 102F. I felt strong the first two miles and then the heat sacked me. I felt good and then I crashed. It was a let-down because my friend Dave was gliding along and I didn’t want to slow him down. I felt tired and the heat really sunk into me. I ended up walking a handful of times the last half-mile.
So far I’ve ran every day this week and twice on Tuesday. I’m physically tired. Mentally I’m still in the game and ready to do what must be done. Emotionally I’m excited to know that the challenge lies ahead and it feels good to know I’m doing something about it.
Overall Stats: 3.23mi Run. AVG PACE: 11’19” with an AVG HR of 149.
Rest Day (Friday)
I took the day off completely and ended up refueling, recuperating and resting. I did some tasks around the house and didn’t do any exercise at all. I stayed on track to keep red meat out of my diet and did a little carb-loading with once slice of pizza and a few bread sticks.
Training Run 3: 1hr Run (Saturday)
It’s August, in The South so of course this was another humid day at 93% Humidity. Fortunately I started my run at 7am under cloudy skies and 74F with a Real Feel of 76F. The air was heavy and thick. Just thinking about running was causing me to sweat as I was stretching.
The best part about running on a Saturday morning along the greenway is the amount of friends and fellow runners you see on the trail. Just as I was pulling my gear out to run, Keith and Tina showed up for their morning run. Two strong runners in their own right and two people I look at as motivation to keep this running life going. Keith is perpetually trying to recruit me into the “Ultra-Marathon” cohort. I think it’s working, the thought is in my head, but first, The Marathon.
Walking down to the trail requires navigating a downhill path, which in this humidity was proving to be a sweat inducing pre-run event. I got down to the trail head, did some last minute dynamic stretching and set my watch to run my pre-programmed run of 1hr.
Starting off felt easy and per usual it took me about a mile to warm up and get into the zone. From there on out it was easy going, except for my watch! Again it kept beeping and vibrating at me, so I pushed a button to get to the settings but accidentally “paused” my run and had to stop, “resume” and keep going. Unfortunately this little hiccup caused my watch to reset the display metrics. I started with a 60minute countdown on the display, now somehow that was gone! No worries though, my pace was about 10:02 so I figured I’d just do 6-miles and call it good.
With humidity so high and losing water is inevitable, I ate a banana on the drive to the trial head and drank a bottle of water. During the run I drank 1.3 liters of water and downed half of a Running Gel. When temps get this hot I make a dedicated effort to consume water at a minimum every 1/2 mi.
Today’s long run was good. My mind was in the right spot, my legs and body felt strong and despite the humidity, temps weren’t so bad and my pace was strong. I passed a lot of runners, people I knew and some that I didn’t. I tried to give encouragement to everyone or at least say hello with a smile as we passed.
My friends are inspirational people. They are dedicated runners who are consistent to their fitness and seek improvement. Then there are those others, people I don’t know, but I see their efforts and it’s an amazing thing to witness. I crossed paths with a handful of women, who appeared to be “beginners” which doesn’t mean much because I sure as hell don’t look like a runner. These people were out running intervals in this humidity, sweating and breathing hard. Pushing themselves, without anyone around. There has to be some inner voice, some inner desire to be better, to do better that is pushing these people. It’s an amazing thing to witness. While they may find that nobody is noticing, I assure you that those of us on the path with you recognize the dedication.
Long story short. Today’s run felt great. I never felt dehydrated and I felt strong. I found myself lost in my music every now and then and enjoyed the river views.
The morning ended with my friend Erica stopping by to stretch and chat. She finished her 10 mile run just as I was finishing up my post-run stretching. A superbly incredible runner and athlete who is preparing for a Marathon in the NC Mountains.
Overall Stats: 6.0mi Run. AVG PACE: 10”04’ with an AVG HR of 143.
Week 1 Reflections
What an incredible first week of Marathon training. My nutrition was on point all week and that really helped fuel my daily runs. I also have to thank Dave who ran with me on more than one occasion and put up with my slowness. This week I kept accountability by running with my friends, staying active in the club and documenting the journey in the blog. It’s been a great adventure this first week!
Overall stats from Week 1
Total Distance: 20.68 miles
Fastest Mile: 9’38”
Weight Loss: 5.0 lbs