Polar Vortex to Endless Summer (Week 8)
Vol 4. No. 13
As you’re reading this, I’m currently on vacation and spending a Day-at-Sea onboard Disney Cruise Line’s latest ship, the Disney Treasure! This vacation has been in the works for a year and it’s finally here!
My last Disney Cruise (March, 2024) was on the Disney Dream, a ship that had an outdoor track on Deck 4 that circled the entire ship! I logged a handful of runs while sailing and successfully avoided the treadmill. Unfortunately the Treasure’s design lacks a run-around track and thus forcing me indoors to the treadmill.
Next weeks post will cover the entire vacation and how I incorporated running, fitness and nutrition into a week long holiday. I will be completing the Castaway Cay 5K again and enjoying time in the sun with my wife and friends.
Life is short and precious and it may come to an end sooner than you expect. That’s precisely why you need to do the things that make you happy. Do those things that bring you joy and fill your soul with light and gratitude.
One of those things for me is running and exploring a new place on foot. Even while on vacation I run. Why? Because it makes me happy and I’m full of gratitude that God has blessed me with the health and ability to run yet again. It’s a blessing that I recognize and one that I honor by getting out on the road and moving.
I’m not on vacation to “get away” from running. I’m on Vacation to have another great, shared experience with my wife. A woman whose wanderlust is contagious. So while on this cruise, in addition to spending quality time with my wife and our friends I will continue to read, run and write!
Monday: 2.17.2025 (JD48): Not New to Running or the club.
It’s a short week! Monday is a Federal Holiday and I start my PTO on Friday! By this coming weekend I’ll be on the Disney Treasure enjoying a relaxing weeklong vacation in the warm waters south of Florida. With so much going on this week, I decided to frontload some mileage with the expectation that I won’t be getting in a Long Run this weekend.
Running with friends is better.
With that forefront on my mind I decided to post an open invite to the club late on Sunday in hopes there were a few who could make it. I lucked out when Maureen chimed in and was looking for four miles at a pace I could easily sustain. Plans were made and I had a plan for the following morning! Four miles at a 9’00”-9’30” pace starting at 5:00am.
I have no need for an alarm clock when I have a psychopath long-haired feline that makes it a point to serenade the house at 4:15am. Wren is a damn terror. When she wants to show love, she’s a great cat, but the other 22 hours of the day, she can be a real bitch. This morning was no different. Just 15 minutes before my watch would vibrate on my wrist to wake me up, her consistent meows were impossible to ignore. Their decibels easily penetrated the earplugs I was wearing, there is no hope.
Up at 4:15am, out the door at 4:45am and started running at 5:00am.
Yes it was early. Yes it was cold. Yes I was a little groggy.
YES IT WAS WORTH IT!
It was a great conversation with Maureen as it was my first time meeting her and running with her. It was great to hear she is a founding member of Clayton Area Runners and it was neat to hear the origin story of this great club.
The run itself was easy with little to no traffic and a flowing conversation. Running with friends is better, even new ones.
4.25 miles | Avg Pace: 9’05” | Avg HR: 129 | Best Mile: 8’54”
Tuesday: 2.18.2025 (JD49): Triple Down
Strength training is an injury prevention protocol with ancillary effects of increasing running speed and longevity of pace over time. I’m still seven months away from the start of my Marathon build and avoiding injury is one of my top priorities. Much of my strength training is focused on core strength and legs with Kettle Bells, Slam Balls, Barbell work and more.
Following 45 minutes of strength work I moved on to the Stair Mill for 15 minutes of Low Intensity Sustained State (LISS) Cardio. As my fitness continues to improve I am continuing to increase the speed of the stair mill. In months past I would have done this at a speed of 5, today I started at 5 and increased to a speed of 7 to finish out the last five minutes.
The Stair Mill is absolutely helping in my running, specifically for the hills. I’m finding running hills to be more enjoyable and easier. It feels good to be strong.
There are two major variables affecting my running this week. We have the impending “Polar Vortex” that is anticipated to bring temperatures well below freezing and drop a few inches of snow on Wednesday and the Disney Cruise. The snow may be normal up north, but here in The South, this is a devasting weather event that disables pretty much everything.
The best part about winter in The South is that it doesn’t last long! We’ll be back above freezing on Thursday and temps near 70F by Tuesday.
My intent is to front-load some miles with the expectation that running on Saturday and Sunday may be disrupted due to relaxation and vacation.
Whenever I need additional miles I usually get these done before our regular Club Run at 6:30pm and put out an open invite to the club. I was lucky today when Melissa said she’d get in a few miles with me and we were met by Anthony who joined us for an early 3-miles before our regularly scheduled run.
This was my first time running with Melissa and she was a strong runner! It was a great conversation during the run, highlighting how much better it is to run with friends.
3.0 miles | Avg Pace: 11’42” | Avg HR: 133 | Best Mile: 10’37”
It’s been almost a month or more since I got to run with Carlos so when he arrived to get in a 35 minute run, I was fully onboard. He indicated that he was going to get in 35 minutes at a “slow” pace, which given my extensive running history with Carlos means about a 9’30” pace or slower.
Well, that went out the window quickly as we ticked off our first mile at 9’17” and then picked it up even more to an 8’43” before evening out to a 9’04” pace. When it was all done and said our average pace was 9’10” during our 3.83 mile run over 35-minutes.
The run was another boost to the confidence as I found nothing about this run challenging. My breathing was low and controlled and the hills felt easy. Internally I could have picked up the pace quite a bit more and found it surprising that I felt so great after already getting in 3.0 miles just before this run. I think the strength training is paying off.
3.83 miles | Avg Pace: 9’10” | Avg HR: 159 | Best Mile: 8’40”
Wednesday: 2.19.2025 (JD50): Get it in quick!
The Polar Vortex is here and will cause everything within a 100-mile radius to close! This includes my YMCA that opened at 5am and is closed early at 10:30am. I’m a creature of habit and had no choice but to show up and knock out my weekly 5K on the treadmill.
Treadmills are mind numbingly boring to me, so I have to change things up to keep it interesting. In today’s case my goal was to run a Sub-30min 5K by increasing the speed every 1/2 mile.
I started this run at a 9’40” pace and every half mile increased the pace more and more until the last 0.11 where I cranked it up to a 7’40” pace.
Across the spectrum of paces, nothing felt difficult. Was I sweating, yes, but it wasn’t exhausting and I never lost control of my breath. My heart rate stayed low and overall the Wednesday 5K as physically easy, despite the mental monotony of running in place.
3.11 miles | Avg Pace: 8’57” | Avg HR: 129 | Best Mile: 8’36”
Thursday: 2.20.2025 (JD51): Winter is coming, again.
The Polar Vortex arrived and brought us 24 hours of snow and ice. This type of weather event in The South is debilitating and brings everything to a stand still. We’re lucky that my region didn’t experience many power outages if any. I enjoy being home, so staying in and relaxing for a day was alright with me.
The snow and ice shut down the YMCA and traveling to my nearby running spot was out of the question. I decided to make today a rest day but still wanted to get in a short run in the snow. I’ve already done it once this year, but two snow runs in the same winter is pretty rare so I had to do it.
I did something most husbands should not do. I completely disregarded my wife and her concerns.
You’re going to slip and fall and break an arm or something stupid! We go on vacation tomorrow, don’t fuck this up by taking a trip to the hospital. -Elizabeth
I successfully avoided any slips or falls and returned home after a short 11-minute run in the ice, slush and snow.
Often times a run isn’t about building physical strength or cardiovascular capacity. Often times a run is about getting outdoors and connecting with nature, letting the mind wander and ponder the natural state of things.
Solo runs can be great for the mind and spirit. Especially when your outdoors with no headphones and no phone. Simply run and enjoy the experience.
1.01 miles | Avg Pace: 10’59” | Avg HR: 92 | Best Mile: 10’59”
Friday: 2.21.2025 (JD52): Don’t be fooled!
The morning started with birds chirping and sunshine! A great change from the 24hr snowstorm that blanketed the area. It’s our travel day to Florida and we have a lot on the agenda, which means I have very limited time to run. I decided to once again keep this one close to home and short.
It was actually colder today than yesterday despite the suns rays smashing into my face, their warmth was sapped from the bitter cold of Mother Nature. Despite this, I set off on another 1-mile jaunt that was short, easy and to the point.
Nothing fancy here. Just stacking bricks, in this case a small one. Will it have any physical impacts on my life? Probably not. Do I feel good to continue running every day? Yes!
1.01 miles | Avg Pace: 10’39” | Avg HR: 38 | Best Mile: 10’39”
Saturday: 2.22.2025 (JD53): Just about perfect.
We made it to Florida! Traveling yesterday was easy enough and we got in to Port Canaveral in time to catch dinner on the bay. Fresh Mahi was on the plate with steamed veggies and some potatoes. A couple of beers later with friends and it finally felt like we were on vacation!
You’re Annoying! - Elizabeth
Good thing she loves me and accepts that I just love to run. As for this morning, it wasn’t so much the run that I love, as it is exploring a new place on foot. I’ve been through Port Canaveral a handful of times but never been to the beach or walked around. It’s always been straight to the port and ships.
Before our arrival I plotted a 5-mile loop route that would take me to the beach for sunrise and hopefully catch a glimpse of a few inbound Cruise Ships. I got the route onto my watch and once again would rely on the COROS Pace Pro to guide me through the small Florida town on the coast.
The conditions were near perfect! Low humidity, a slight breeze and temperatures at 53F. While I was one of the few in shorts and a shirt, all of the locals were in winter jackets, hats and gloves and giving me odd glances as I ran by in my shorter than normal Ranger Panties.
It was a flat route, as most of Florida is with only one slight “incline” that I didn’t even register in my mind. Apparently it was a total of 30ft of elevation gain over 5.01 miles! Flat and fast.
Yes, I’m preparing for a run to qualify for Boston. No, this was not a training run. I put on the navigation screen and simply ran by feel while ensuring I didn’t miss a turn.
The run was easy and never felt labored. I didn’t take my Aftershokz headphones as I wanted to hear nature and that’s exactly what happened! I heard some strange bird off across the field making some odd noises. I could tell it was a bird, but I had no idea what it was. It wasn’t until my return trip that I had to stop my run to really understand what I was looking at.
I should have taken a picture.
In front of me was a line of Peacocks! In the wild, wandering across the street in a neat line. A bunch of females and one male with what appeared to be 6ft feathers!
Now I don’t know much about these birds, but from first glance they just looked like fancy wild Turkeys. Although I suspect these birds are protected. I wondered what the jail term was for killing the male. It had to be steep. These were neat looking land-birds.
All in all it was a great pre-cruise run that kicked off this vacation just right.
5.01 miles | Avg Pace: 9’31” | Avg HR: 126 | Best Mile: 8’35”
Sunday: 2.23.2025 (JD54): A Day at Sea.
I’m writing this early as I don’t have any intentions of turning on my computer during my first full day of vacation. I do plan on writing while on the ship, however I’m going to take a break for just a day. But I’m not taking a break from running!
My weekly mileage goal is 25 miles and heading into Sunday morning I’ll be about four miles short. My goal is to wake up naturally with no alarm clock, which means I’ll probably be awake by 5am. I always enjoy being up early onboard a cruise ship as it’s the most quiet. The bars are closed, most people are asleep and this creates an environment where strolling around the ship and exploring is relaxing and unincumbered by people, especially little people.
TBA miles | Avg Pace: TBA | Avg HR: TBA | Best Mile: TBA
Killing it my man! Another great read.