6/18: Recovery Run

With the heat wave that has hit the area and my achy body from the weekend workouts, this run was intentionally planned as a recovery run with RPE 3. I over-hydrated yesterday, refueled more than adequately with plenty of carbs and proteins, slept great and napped, and disconnected from a lot of things to soak in a complete rest day yesterday. I completely aced my recovery needs.

I expected to be ready to go this morning, bright and early. I woke up by 5:30am to fuel up and to be outside by 7:00am. I did everything right… but the run felt terrible. I was soaking wet from sweat and my pace was scaled back considerably to the point that it felt like sludge. The humidity of 85% and temps of 75 F made it feel like I was breathing through a plastic bag. By about half way, I considered calling it and finishing inside but I hate stopping so incredibly much, so I pushed through the discomfort. Every mile felt worse, with more humidity caking my sweaty skin while I chugged water from my hydration pack. The pavement felt hotter, the miles felt longer, and the small changes in elevation hurt more. Once I got home, I tossed my drenched clothes as quick as I could and enjoyed an ice cold shower then a solid nap. I was toasted.

The only thing I accomplished today was persistence. I finished my workout and didn’t stop. I didn’t have fun, but I didn’t cry and life goes on. I have no idea how I will tackle tomorrow’s speedwork in the heat wave. I just need a break from all this humidity and it’s not even summer yet! But last summer…I craved to be running. I was so angry being sidelined watching everyone else run. So, I’ll swallow my feelings and survive the heat wave. Head down, wings out, grind it out.

• What went well: sleep
• What could have gone better: weather
• Shoes for this run: Brooks Ghost 15

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6/19: Speedwork – Strength Intervals

Finally! A type of speedwork that I do find enjoyable! I like strength intervals because they push me to extend my reach a little more, like how long can I sustain the edge of comfort vs discomfort? One of my favorite workouts from my best marathon in the past was actually strength intervals, so I look forward to them whenever I have them on the agenda.

Today’s run was indoor on the dready tready. I was simply not craving the idea of 90+ degrees. I also was not craving the idea of so many miles running like a hamster, but I decided to bite the bullet and succumb to the treadmill. Today, I embraced it for what it could teach me and welcomed the change.

I programmed my workout as a time-based workout, so I wouldn’t have to worry about pace on my watch vs the treadmill and get frustrated. I didn’t want to think too hard either, so I relied on the beeps to tell me when to change speeds. The workout was: WU walk, 24:30min @ RPE 3-4, recover, 4×8:30min @ RPE 5 w recovery, 24:30min @ RPE 3-4, CD walk. It did it all on the treadmill! If that doesn’t say perseverance, then what else does?

To survive, I played an old marathon on YouTube so that I could take mental notes in an effort to improve my visualization for race day. It really helps to pass the time away and I focus on absorbing everything I can from the audio/visual of the race. The more I watch it, the more I try to immerse myself right in the moment. It definitely helps the mental prep for race day.

The break from the heat and humidity was very welcomed. This workout turned out much better than I expected so I wrapped feeling really good, physically and mentally.

• What went well: everything except fueling
• What could have gone better: my stomach could only take in 3 of 4 gels because I was bouncing around more than usual, being on the treadmill.
• Shoes for the run: NB FC Rv4

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6/22: Easy run

With a long day of work ahead of me and problems anticipated, I knew I wouldn’t be in any state to run after work. I woke up before the world at 4am to eat a quick Maurten bar, tie my shoes, grab my headlamp to get my easy run done by 5:30am for a quick shower before jetting off to scrub-life.

It was disgustingly humid out…the most humid I have experienced in awhile: 96% but the temps were a bit cooler at 67F. It felt decent for the first mile…and then it was like a swamp. I did 4 loops of my neighborhood to just hit the coast button and jam out to my playlist while the bright moon lit the way. I had the occasional mosquito, but for the most part, this 4:30am run was wonderfully quiet and calm. As I looped around, I kept things simple for RPE 3. It was probably good to not have any intensity since I felt like a zombie strolling in the dark. As I finished, the sun started to peak through the clouds and the birds were chirping. I almost splashed through some sprinklers, but was short on time so I bolted inside for a quick shower with my protein shake. An easy but effective workout for the day was done and it was time for my day job. I’ll definitely be getting to sleep early tonight.

• What went well: slept in running clothes; kept effort relaxed but still negative split the run
• What could have gone better: did not focus much on fueling since it was so early
• Shoes for the run: NB FC Rv4

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6/23: Long run

I purposely slept-in and skipped the morning today. My body needed extra restoring time and I didn’t regret it. After a quick mobility session, I headed out to the park for my long run at 5pm and picked up my pacer pal on the way. He joined for half of my run and I finished the last half by myself. It was nice to run at a full conversation mode for the first half of the run, even on the hills. It kept me distracted without focusing on the motion of running itself.

After the half way mark, I took a quick stop to wave goodbye to my pacer pal and chug some cold liquids. Then, I got back going once again to finish the second half. The hills today still felt like garbage and it started to mess with my mental game. I just haven’t been able to tap into the power that I know I have. My legs are fatigued and just want to survive the run instead of digging deeper. When I tried to ramp up to RPE 4, the legs didn’t want to respond and the HR bounced too high. I dropped back to RPE 3 and just found a cruising speed to finish out the last few miles until the last mile when I gave a little kick to finish.

With the temp of 75F and the humidity of 70%, I had to stay on top of fuel and hydration completely. As I got to the end, I couldn’t stomach anymore carbs and honestly just wanted to keep chugging my water. This workout took 190g carbs for 2hr2min which is on par with what I’d like, but I’ll have to figure out the later portions of carb spacing because it was getting to be a little too much.

Today’s run also caught me in a downpour, which felt refreshing. I just kept going because on race day, there is no turning around. I was pretty wet from sweat anyways, so what was a little more water to the picture.

The workout today checked the box for “good enough,” but it wasn’t my best. I’m not sure what was missing from the equation, but I just got frustrated when I couldn’t ramp up to RPE 4 without pushback from my body. Some days it flows and other days it’s like trudging through hell. Part of me knows I’m doing good but part of me questions if I am track with where I want to be by the time I have planned. It’s definitely time to hit the mental game a bit harder because I need to get out of my headspace a bit.

• What went well: embraced the elements; enjoyed a conversational run
• What could have gone better: gel timing and mindset reflections
• Shoes for the run: Brooks Ghost 15