5/21: Easy Run AM + Strength PM
The assignment was an “easy” run, except now the volume of easy is longer than before. That’s how marathon season goes: short runs become longer and longer runs become weekend adventures. Since the skeleton was still feeling Sunday’s long run and Saturday’s strength training, I knew I had to drop things back today to respect RPE 3. Humidity of 73% and temps of 72F meant it would be another sweat-drenchin’ stroll.
Today’s mantra was “relax and have fun.” This really was a good one. I needed to just enjoy the ride. It’s so easy to compare to the past or really want the future, but today is the moment to enjoy. The shady yet hot path was filled with people enjoying mid-morning movement. Bikers were atrociously flying by and kids were darting around chasing geese, but the stillness of the water along the path was enjoyable. I opted for 1.5mi out-n-back to the southeast and 1.5mi out-n-around to the northeast. This would give me the best chance of shade and less hills for an easy run. The remainder of the training week has some surprises in store, so might as well as enjoy the easy day now.
When I finished, nothing was dry and everything was soaked so a fresh change of clothes with recovery fuel was the perfect way to unwind and take in a midday meditation before checking back into all of the demands of life. By enjoying the moments of now and take care of our own time, it allows us to show up to other ecosystems of life ready to go. That’s why I enjoy movement: to keep my ecosystems in harmony, with green lights, and energy systems restored. How do you embrace the moments of today to bring your best to tomorrow?
⁃ What went well: intentionally kept intensity scaled back; relaxed for fun
⁃ What could have been better: wake up earlier to pre-hydrate more
5/22: Speed Play (Fartleks)
When I glanced ahead at the week, I saw Fartleks on my agenda and my initial reaction was: “Oh No! Already? Am I ready?” I do have the need for speed, but I have been enjoying my easy rolls, building that aerobic base. Speed only makes me anxious because I fear re-injury, yet it’s a needed boost to get the legs turning over better than before. I knew I could handle RPE 5, which is around marathon-pace for me. I dropped some numbers into a few formulas and came out with what I thought would be “good” ballpark numbers as a second check on RPE.
After the long work day, I opted to hit the park “on my way home.” I knew I would enjoy it better than around the neighborhood, as the park has more shade. The first few miles were good, coming off the downhill but straight into the headwind for a slow increase from RPE 3 to RPE 4. I cranked in a gel just before my watch had me darting up another hill for the first segment of the fartlek portion of the workout. I knocked off a bunch of rust during that first segment and didn’t succumb to the hill, but I was very happy to see my first walk recovery. Then I had 9 more fartleks to look forward to – and I was hungry for most of them.
I weaved in and out, around a few bikers and walkers, while also dodging rocks that had been kicked up from the path’s edge. I did manage to step on one rock and had a slight ankle twinge, but I shook it off and kept pushing ahead. When I reached segments 8, 9, 10, I let it rip. I felt great and unstoppable. I was having fun – something that I have had to really focus on and stop taking myself so seriously. I had so many fleeting thoughts during the fartleks, but one of them was how important base building is in order to be able to dig deeper on fartlek days.
As I finished up the fartleks, they went MUCH better than I had expected. Happiness is a function of reality minus expectations. I was excited for a glimpse of new potential. I was proud of my skeleton for the many months of rehab to be able to light it up again. I was happy, but needed to still finish out the RPE 4 to RPE 3 miles to consider it a successful run.
The last closing miles were hard – I was fatigued, hot, and had to roll back up some hills to where I started originally. I kept counting the mileage markers until I could recover. In a blink of an eye, my watch beeped for the cooldown and that’s when I knew my easy run yesterday paid the bill for today’s speedwork. Finally, I have a much better idea of a happy, safer, yet effective running plan. Keep the easy days super easy to allow for recovery and keep the hard days spicy, lively, and fun.
Today’s mantra was right all along: “You’ve got this!” I had nothing to worry about with this run despite the early fears and now I proved that to myself. It was a good deposit of confidence into the bank of speedwork for me!
⁃ What went well: fuel, hydration, focus, plan
⁃ What could have been better: patience for segments 8, 9, 10 instead of pushing the throttle
5/24: Long run
I scheduled my weekly long run a few days early because it’s my work weekend. I slept great, fueled well, and hydrated often to be ready to dive into the run. I picked midday for this so that I can keep acclimating to the heat that is here and still coming more this summer. Might as well dive-in now!
The run started off on a gigantic uphill which took a toll early. I had to stop just short of 2mi because I was too toasty. If anyone knows me, I absolutely hate stopping midrun, unless the workout calls for it. To me, the only way to get better at endurance events is to push through and string together the miles, not separate them. The long run is a vital piece to the marathon: endurance matters!
After my brief stop, I felt cooler and much better. I got moving again and did well for awhile, until another hill took a hit. I had to make a second stop in the shade. I thought about quitting, but realized the walk to parking would be hot. I chugged some lukewarm water, downed another gel, and got moving again.
My brained turned to survival mode – there was no “fun” anymore today. I laughed at myself for getting mad about 2 stops, because at least they weren’t injury stops. And I was still doing way better than last summer when I was sidelined for months! I tried to keep perspective on the situation and shift my brain away from the scorching heat.
As I came into the last hilly mile, I sucked up the hot pavement and gave it what I could. Two bikers whizzed past me like I was standing still. And the final path hill hit with about 0.5mi to go. “Here we go. Just don’t walk. Whatever it takes, turn the feet over.” It wasn’t pretty, but I survived it. Cold recovery beverages never tasted better.
This long-run was tougher than I expected which took away the fun-factor. It was hot and in hindsight I probably should have shifted the run earlier or later. I had a great long run last week and absolutely expected the same this week. This quote sums it up: “It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs.” As you can see, I still struggle with wanting perfection when I should be ecstatic with good enough and staying injury-free. Today, the heat was a challenge, but I’m proud I didn’t toss in the towel early.
⁃ What went well: sleep 9+hrs, fuel, hydration, readiness, persistence
⁃ What could have gone better: digging deeper, anti-chaf balm for hot spots, not stopping
5/26: Recovery Run
After a hefty strength sesh yesterday followed by a late work shift, I allowed myself to recover today. Hydration has been good, but fueling has been a little off due to shift work. Nonetheless, I turned off all alarms and slept longer. By the time I chowed down breakfast and got moving, it was well after noon – perfect for heat acclimation (77F w 62% RH and 20mph gusts).
I didn’t want to exert more energy to drive to a park (limited on time) and didn’t want to slug it out on the treadmill (mind-numbingly boring). I scurried outside before my dog tried to beg to trot along. The run was targeted as a recovery run when I laid out the week’s schedule. I knew I wouldn’t be completely at the top of my game, so I was thrilled to see RPE 3 for my workout.
I didn’t focus on any mantras or really anything specific. I just wanted to carve out this one hour of time for myself and daylight while letting my mind wander aimlessly. I did seek a little redemption over Friday’s run, by taking zero stops today. This run today was a success in that regard – even though I was dripping with sweat. I felt decent, no skeleton squawks, and kept it light. My route consisted of 3 loops of a neighborhood, which can be boring, but my body was ready for a flatter route. I grabbed a quick freezing cold shower (very refreshing) with a protein shower shake (multitasking at its finest) before scurrying on the highway to another holiday weekend work shift.
I planned a few recovery days to kick off Week 4, which I am ready for: a glorious drop week! If there’s anything I’ve learned, I have to recover harder than I train. I look forward to my “recovery windows” now and take them very seriously. For me, this is really shutting down training life, mentally and physically, to help the body repair and rejuvenate. It helps to prevent overtraining syndrome, something that is real in the endurance world and that I have experienced before. I don’t focus on steps or walks or cycles, but only on quality sleep and quality fuel. After ample stress, proper rest is needed to reach ultimate growth. By allowing my skeleton a chance to catch up during drop weeks, I know I will reach the next block of training better and more robust. In a year of redemption, I’ll take every advantage for becoming robust!
⁃ What went well: sleep, respecting the assigned intensity, hydration
⁃ What could have gone better: humidity, fuel, tired legs
Re-Energized Running 
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