My Journey to 50 miles (2nd attempt)... (comments welcome)

[disneygpa]

A rare early update!

I'm still enjoying my new running plan. It's been a really busy weekend. My younger brother decided last week to come down for a visit. I really wasn't ready for him on such short notice I didn't really have time to plan anything fun. But we are making it work. Went to my youngest daughter's for a BBQ on Sunday. That was nice. I love watching the kids and grandkids growing up.

Sunday morning 3 miles EA. T&D must have been in the low 150's but I didn't make a note of it.



Run was nice and easy. Might have been a little tired when I started as it was a late night picking up the bro from the airport and I still wanted to get out and run before the sun got high in the sky!

Monday!!! Blind progression time! One of my favorite runs. T&D 150.



I think I did pretty well with this one! Might have been a little fast for the last 5 min. I think I could have pushed out 5 more minutes but it definitely would have been a struggle. All in all I'm happy with this run.

 

[disneygpa]

Running has been going well! Updating my journal has not. So here goes a week's worth of running.

Wednesday, 4 miles at EB + Strides, T&D 151 Nothing memorable about this so it must have gone ok.




Thursday, another Crescendo run! I love these runs. Might be my new favorite! T&D 151 again. Have I mentioned Florida is brutal in the summer, even before the sun comes up!




Friday, 3 miles at EA, T&D 151. Messed up a little on this run. When I looked at the T&D chart I looked at my WU pace and decided that was what I was supposed to be running. Turns out I needed to look one line down. I like EA runs but after about 3/4 of a mile or so I thought it felt a little TOO easy. Then brain finally kicked in and I realized what I had done. No worries. It was just a nice easy run anyways.




Sunday, 5 miles at EB + Strides, T&D 151 again.



And finally Monday, 7 miles at LR, T&D 152. I made a note that my legs felt a little tired at the beginning of this run. It didn't seem to bother me once I got going. Overall a good run. I can definitely feel this heat and humidity. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.



So, question? With these crummy T&D values I run in I started looking at the weather in Death Valley and today it is a 154 in Death Valley. I'm just curious if the T&D chart is always accurate across all weather conditions? Is a 154 in Death Valley the same as a 154 in Cocoa Beach? Just curious?

 

[Naomeri]

So, question? With these crummy T&D values I run in I started looking at the weather in Death Valley and today it is a 154 in Death Valley. I'm just curious if the T&D chart is always accurate across all weather conditions? Is a 154 in Death Valley the same as a 154 in Cocoa Beach? Just curious?

I guess that depends on how a person performs in dry heat versus wet heat? I think I’d choose the humidity

 

[DopeyBadger]

So, question? With these crummy T&D values I run in I started looking at the weather in Death Valley and today it is a 154 in Death Valley. I'm just curious if the T&D chart is always accurate across all weather conditions? Is a 154 in Death Valley the same as a 154 in Cocoa Beach? Just curious?

It's a tool to show the relative effect of different temperatures and dew points. By no means is it perfect. And extreme examples would probably amplify that such as T+D of 150 when comparing a 135+15 vs a 75+75. Both equal 150, and both may impact running capabilities similarly. But I think it's unlikely given the extreme nature of both examples. The T+D is more useful for comparing 70+60 vs 80+50 which would say the effect of those should be relatively similar (as long as wind, solar radiation, clouds, etc. are similar). A good tool.

 

[disneygpa]

Dang. 9 days since an update. I'm quite the slacker. Thanks for the reply on the T+D. I was just curious about how it differed on the extreme humidity and dryness really.

Okay... alllll the way back to July 19th. 4 miles @ EB plus strides. I didn't note T&D but I'm sure it was at least 150.



Thursday the 20th. Crescendo run!!! T&D 156. This run was both fun and brutal. I was literally drenched by the time it was over. And not because it was raining. I know it's hard to read. I really like these type of runs!



Friday the 21st. 3 miles @ EA. T&D 155. Made a note that my legs were a bit tired when I started. I suspect from the previous days run and the heat + humidity. Rough running weather. Also made a note that I saw another fox this morning. I guess it's far better than seeing a panther.



Sunday the 23rd. We were over in Orlando helping the kids prep to put the house on the market. T&D 152. Almost felt pleasant after the prior few runs. Son in law got up and ran with me. I ran a little faster than I should have but I felt like my grandpa pace was killing him so I tried to go faster but still easy.



Monday the 24th. Blind progression. T&D 152. I made a note that my body was tired. Helping the kids on Sunday really took it out of me. I'm pretty happy with this run. The last 5 felt better than the last time I did a blind progression.



Wednesday the 26th. 4.5 miles @ EB + strides. T&D 150. Funny how even a 150 feels far, far better than a 156!! Run was good. Nothing to really note.



That brings us up to today!! Thursday the 27th. T&D 153 Cr Hld LR run. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this was the first time I've done one of these runs. It was great! I do love the variety of runs in my plan. Billy, @DopeyBadger can you explain this run? Looking forward to tomorrows EA run now!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Cr Hld LR run. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this was the first time I've done one of these runs. It was great! I do love the variety of runs in my plan. Billy, @DopeyBadger can you explain this run?

It's a race simulator workout. You load the beginning of the workout with speed work that generates fatigue byproducts, and then you attempt to maintain a single pace after that under the conditions of having already generated the fatigue in the legs. Not unlike if you were to take out the pace too quickly in a race and then tried to hold onto pace for the remainder of the workout. You'll likely find that if the workout were reversed (held pace first and speed work second) the workout is going to feel very different. The held pace will be far less challenging, and then the end of the workout serves more like an end race kick instead.

ETA - The Mona workout is an example of the opposite type:

1 mile WU + 20 min M Tempo + 2 x 90s hard w/ 90s float + 4 x 60s w/ 60s float + 4 x 30s w/ 30s float + 6 x 15s w/ 15s float + 1 mile CD

 

[disneygpa]

Thanks for the explanation Billy! I appreciate that you always take the time to answer my questions.

Last Friday the 28th. 3 miles @ EA T+D 149, actually fairly pleasant! I made a note that my left knee is feeling off. I don't recall if I mentioned it earlier or not. It's not painful to run. It just feels a little wonky and it aches a little if I lay it flat. Just something to keep track of. I'm getting better with my stretching so hopefully that'll help.


Sunday the 30th. 5.5 miles @ EB + strides. T+D 152-154 legs felt heavy for first couple of strides. Only did 4 because I had a hard time getting my breath after the third. Not really sure why my legs felt heavy on the first couple of strides.



Monday the 31st. 7.75 miles @ LR. T+D 148-150 felt pretty good. Left knee is still a little wonky. Granola bar with peanut butter. Gu at 45 and 75 min. Lots of water. Overall this felt pretty good. Definitely could have gone farther if needed.



Wednesday the 2nd. 4 miles @ EB + strides. T+D 152. I ended up skipping the strides. I'm hoping by not doing the extra hard running that it might not make the knee ache as much. I'm getting better at my stretching. Doing them at least once a day and hoping for good results.



Thursday the 3rd. Woke up before my alarm which is kind of annoying since it was going off at 0230 anyways. CR Hold MT. T+D 153 muggy muggy muggy again. I really like these types of runs. Good time!

 

[disneygpa]

Wow... it has been literally brutal down here in FL. Even running at 0300 T+D has been in the mid and upper 150s. I'm hoping that at some point the weather will break. I'll be looking forward to the day when it drops below 150. Just an observation. I don't think the T+D curve is linear. 158 doesn't feel a little harder than 157. It feels more hard than I would expect one degree to feel. I suppose I could always go to the treadmill. But that sounds worse than effort it takes to just put up with the weather.

Ok, enough whining about the weather!! On with the update.

My knee is still feeling a little wonky. It ached last night but tonight it feels just fine. I'm skipping strides and doing my daily stretches more religiously. Things seem to be heading in the right direction. If it keeps progressing I'll bring the strides back in a week or so.

Friday the 4th. 3 miles @ EA. T+D 151. Actually kind of pleasant compared to the last few days.



Sunday the 6th. 4 miles @ EA. I didn't note the T+D. But for sure it was above 150.



Monday the 7th. Unfortunately I missed this run. After Sunday's run I got some sort of stomach bug and wasn't feeling well. May have been a little dehydrated. So rather than push it I decided that I should take the day off.

Wednesday the 9th. 5 miles @ EB plus strides. T+D 157!!!



Thursday the 10th. Valley run. T+D 158. I really didn't think it could be much worse than the 157. But this was brutal. I ended up walking my last 3 RI's. I can't remember the last time I felt this bad after a run. I'm sure the weather had a lot to do with it. This may be impossible to read. I was really hoping to love this run because I usually like interval runs.


Friday the 11th. 3 miles @ EA. T+D 156.



Tomorrow is a much needed rest day. Looking forward to my LR on Monday and the T pace run coming up.

 

[disneygpa]

I have a few minutes today so I'm going to do a short update.

Sunday the 13th 6 miles @ EB plus strides. T+D 156. This ended up being a tough run. I'm not sure why, but after this run I was miserable. I laid in front of the fan for 20 minutes to cool off. I suspect I didn't drink enough water/electrolytes prior to or during this run. I still skipped my strides. Knee is feeling better but not 100%.



Monday the 14th. 8.5 miles @ LR. T+D 154. So what a difference a day makes. Today felt great! Even though the LR pace is slightly faster and 2.5 miles longer than yesterday. I actually felt better after this run than yesterday. I had a granola bar with peanut butter before I took off. Then a GU at 45, 75, and 105 minutes. I also had way more to drink today. I filled my water bottles half way full with Powerade then topped them off with cold water before I took off. I left one bottle on my truck and took off. I ran the first 3 miles and then got my second bottle from the truck for the last 5.5 miles. I took small sips ever half mile and then a bigger sip at the mile marks. I think the added hydration helped a lot with feeling better at the end of this run. Lesson learned. I gotta hydrate down here a lot more than before.

 

[disneygpa]

Dang it. I'm a little behind here so I'll make this quick. I hope.

Wednesday Aug 16th. 4 miles @ EB + (no)Strides. T+D a brutal 159. The humidity has just been freaking gross. Truly one of the few things I miss about WA is the ease of running up there. Still skipping strides for now. The left knee is still not 100%. I'm continuing the stretching. It's not painful. It just doesn't feel right sometimes. I may have to break down and go see the doc.




Thursday the 17th. T pace! I loved this run! T+D were mercifully down to 151-149. I went ahead and had a granola bar with PB pre run and one GU at 45 min. I also carried water/powerade mix with me and drank a lot! I figured after my last hard run I didn't want to feel like I was dying this time. Also, I walked my recovery intervals. I think that helped with not feeling exhausted. I made a note that my legs were tired after the run. But I think that was the whole point.



Friday the 18th. 3m @ EA. T+D 150. Another somewhat pleasant morning for a run. I didn't make any notes about this run. So it was probably very uneventful.



Sunday the 20th. 4m @ EA. T+D creeping back up to 154. BOOOOO, I was enjoying those 150 days. Looking forward to more of them. Again, nothing special to this run. Nice and easy.



Monday the 21st. BLOCK run. I really liked this one! Maybe a little too much. T+D 155 YUK. I ran a little extra on my last interval as there was a walker that was a little in front of me and I felt the need to pac man them before I started my cooldown.



And that brings me up to date. The couple of days that T+D was down sure was a relief. I'm sure that the weather will be getting better soon. It just can't stay this hot and humid forever, can it?

 

[disneygpa]

Wednesday 23rd. 6m @ EB +(no)strides. T+D 153.



Knee is feeling almost 100%. Might add strides back in next week if this trend continues. Stretching is going well and I've been icing the knee after most runs. I say knee because that's where it aches. But in reality it is my IT band.

Thursday 24th. T-Pace run. T+D 156. Made a note that my legs were tired after this run. I decided before I started that I would walk the RI instead of running them @ WU pace. I think this helped as this one didn't seem quite as bad as the last T pace run. I really like running at the "faster" paces. I feel challenged when I'm doing them! Overall I think it was a great run form me.



Friday 25th. 3m @ EA. T+D 150. Mercifully this was a little break in the heat and humidity. Made a note that my legs were tired when I started. Nothing special about this one. Just a nice easy run. For some reason my watch didn't have this run in it when I started, so I just had to start a regular run. It was on my calendar but not in my watch. Ugh.. technology is frustrating sometimes.



Sunday the 27th 6.5m @ EB + (no)strides. T+D 150-151. Another little break from the weather. This was a nice pleasant run. Nothing exciting. Knee is feeling better but still not quite ready to push the strides.



Aaaaand that brings us to today Monday the 28th. 9.5m @ LR. T+D 154. The last two days were just teaser days! It was back to being (more) hot and muggy. Today I started with a granola bar slathered in peanut butter, had a GU at 45, 75 and 105 minutes. Also had a water/powerade mix for the entire run.

I filled three of my bottles half full last night and froze them. Then added fresh water this morning to top them off. I put two of them in my lunch bag and put them in the back of my truck. I went out and did a 3 mile loop, came back and swapped bottles, then a 3.5 mile loop and back for another swap for the final 3 miles. This worked pretty well as the bottle I was using always had ice cold water/powerade in it. Much more refreshing to have the icy cold drink. If I just go without any ice in the bottle, it starts to get warm after the first mile and it's wet, but not very satisfying.

At about 8.5 miles I ended up running a little too hard. I saw two walkers and for some crazy a$$ reason my brain just couldn't help trying to catch them. Ended up running way, way too fast for a short period of time. Geez....

There was a slight breeze out of the east this morning so even though T+D sucked, it was ok when I out on the open roads and I could feel the breeze! There were a few times when there was no breeze and I literally felt like I was running through a sauna! Overall I feel pretty good about this run.




Looks like hurricane Idalia is tracking north of us as of right now. Might be some wet runs coming up this week as we look to be getting some of the outer bands of rain coming our way. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this!

 

[nancipants]

I'm hoping the hurricane brings some cooler weather, at least.

 

[disneygpa]

I'm hoping the hurricane brings some cooler weather, at least.

That would be so so nice!!!!

 

[disneygpa]

This past week started off interesting with having the decision to run in a "hurricane". I ended up taking Wednesday the 30th off. I'd like to tell myself it was because of the weather. But in reality it wasn't that bad over here. It was a little rainy and breezy Wednesday morning. I could have run. The truth is that I was still feeling the 9.5 miles from Monday and I was just being lazy. So, in a nutshell I skipped my second run of this training plan.

Left IT band is feeling better, just a little achy when I sit with my legs propped up for an extended period of time. Still stretching and icing when needed.

The weather was still pretty hot/humid right after Idalia passed through. But it has gotten significantly better over the last few days! T+D is back down into the 140's as of this morning. It's crazy how much better it feels to run in the 140's after cooking in the 150's!

Thursday the 31st. T pace run. T+D 154. Made a note that there was a decent breeze blowing today. It was nice when I was in it. But when it was blocked by trees and houses it was pretty miserable. Felt like a sauna at times. I like these runs. They are just hard enough to feel good a the end.



Friday September 1st. 3 miles @ EA. Whoop whoop it's September! Maybe it'll cool off a smidge now! T+D 153. It didn't cool off for this run. But it's coming up soon I promise. Only one thing to report from this run. I unfortunately witnessed the death of Mr. Opossum. Very sad. He darted out in front of a big 4x4 truck and never had a chance. Poor little guy.



Sunday the 3rd. Another nice and easy EA run. And by nice I mean T+D was only 144!!! Yay! It was so nice to get a break from sauna running! After the run we went and celebrated the middle grandson's bday with a pool party at their place. Lot's of fun!! We got him a bunch of gifts but the best one was the 6.6 lb tub of Nutella and a loaf of Wonder Bread!



Monday the 4th. Block run! Fun! I like this run, especially since T+D was only 141!! It's so nice to come in from running and not feel like I've been boiling for the last hour. I believe I did pretty well on my adjusted paces except for a couple where I was a little too fast. Again, I have to blame the walkers and my inability to just catch up to them at my normal pace. There is some sort of primitive part of brain that says "I gotta go catch them". Still, it was a great run today.

We are dog sitting my old running partner for a couple of days and this morning he really wanted to go with me. It was very sad but I had to close the door on him. It's still too hot for a German Sheppard to be out running. And to be honest I'm not sure he could go very far nowadays. He's 7 now and starting to show his age. He still loves to go out and play but he just can't go as long as he used to. I think he's starting to have some aches and pains in his hips. I notice him favoring them sometimes when he gets up. Tough to see him getting older. He's such a good pup!!




With the last couple of days of nicer weather, I'm starting to feel better about my running. When the T+D's were in the mid and upper 150's (and I'm sure they'll go back there before they are gone for the winter) I was having some doubts as to whether I could put in the work to run 50 miles. I'm feeling a bit more positive about that after the last couple of runs. I felt stronger and truly enjoyed the last couple of mornings out there.

 

[NYC_MW]

Only one thing to report from this run. I unfortunately witnessed the death of Mr. Opossum. Very sad. He darted out in front of a big 4x4 truck and never had a chance. Poor little guy.

We got him a bunch of gifts but the best one was the 6.6 lb tub of Nutella and a loaf of Wonder Bread!

Definitely a best gift ever.

 

[disneygpa]

Wednesday the 6th. 6 miles @ EB + (no) strides. T+D 147 not horrible, but not great either. I'm still skipping strides. I started running with a knee brace on the left knee and it seems to cut back on the aching afterwards. I think tomorrow the 13th, I have a shorter EB run. Maybe I'll give them a shot at that point. Also, I made a note about a sharp pain in my left hip. I believe this only lasted a short time and there were no ill effects after the run. I haven't felt it since!

Overall this was a good run for me!



Thursday the 7th. T-pace run. T+D 145-142. I made a note that the last T-pace mile felt better than the first 3 or so. It may have been that the T+D dropped a little. But, for some reason it just felt better. I felt like I was in more of a comfort zone with the pace and my breathing.



Friday the 8th. 3 miles @ EA. T+D 148. This was the first day that I tried the knee brace. It's not a fancy knee brace, but not just a neoprene one either. So far it seems to be helping with the aching after the runs, even on the longer runs. Might be the placebo effect. Regardless, I'm going to keep wearing it for the time being.

Saw another fox this morning. This little guy was a bit braver than the others I've seen. He ran across the road and about 30 ft or so onto the golf course. Then he stopped and watched me as I passed. I could see his eyes glowing in my headlamp the whole time. After I passed, he came back out and stood in the road. I turned around and ran backwards for a bit just to see what he was planning on doing. He just continued to watch me run away so I turned back around and continued my day.



Sunday the 10th. 6.5 miles at EB + (no)strides. T+D 147. Well. This run sucked and it was totally my fault. We went to have dinner and watch a band we had never heard of before. This turned into dinner and drinks. Which led to me not getting home until a little after midnight. Then by the time we wound down it was after one before I fell asleep. I still had my alarm set for 6am. Mostly because if I don't get out early it's just too dang miserable for me to run. Anyways. This was a hard lesson learned. I had a headache, and my body was just freaking tired from lack of sleep.



Monday the 11th. 9.5 miles Fast Finish!! T+D 152. I didn't really enjoy miles 6-8.5. I started to feel bored with the pace and just wasn't really feeling it. Then I started the last mile at marathon pace, and I felt far better! It felt good and comfortable to go a little bit faster.

I again filled my water bottles (3) half full of Powerade and froze them. Then I topped them off with water in the morning. I placed two of them on my truck and took off with the first one. This works out pretty well for the long runs as I just make a 3 ish mile loop and then swap out for another nice cold-water bottle. I also had a granola bar with peanut butter pre run and then GUs at 45, 75 and 105 minutes. I'm coming to the conclusion that I don't like the heavier flavored GUs very much. I like the berry, banana, vanilla ones better than the chocolate and caramel ones.




That brings me current for this past week. Only 4 more training weeks until the half! I'm really looking forward to seeing how things go!!!

 

[disneygpa]

So I got to looking at my Garmin's past year info for my training and came up with some interesting observations.

Mostly, I just wanted to see my progress and see what difference it makes when I have a training plan vs when I'm just winging it on my own.

I decided sometime earlier this year that I needed to make some changes and get back to running.

My first written plan started on March 27th and for a few weeks prior to that I was out doing some easy runs per instruction. It's pretty clear that having a plan provides a path to improvement for me. I'm feeling better and I've definitely seen improvement in my fitness. I'm still struggling to get this extra 10 pounds off. But I suspect that's mostly because I still like chips and cookies too much!!

Blue-Recovery
Violet-Strained
Light Green-Maintaining
Dark Green-Productive
Black-Detraining
Red-Overreaching






Looking back to my first 3 mile EA run in March the T+D was 122 and my max HR was 151 avg HR was 139. My latest 3 mile EA run T+D was 150 and max HR was 136 and avg HR was down to 130. I think everything is heading in the right direction!

As long as I can avoid any major injuries I should be able to reach my 50 mile goal!! Fingers crossed!!

 

[disneygpa]

Last Wednesday the 13th. 4 miles @ EB + strides. T+D 152. I did 3 strides. Not super fast but getting there. Felt good to try them again. No aching in the knee after the run or over the next few days. Nothing super special to note about this run. It sure seems like the T+D is slowly trending downward!! Yay!!



Thursday the 14th. T-pace run. T+D 150. I made a note that I struggled with the last interval. The day before I did have a physically demanding day at work. It might have contributed to the run feeling difficult.



Friday the 15th. 3 miles @ EA. T+D 150. Made a note about a fat raccoon that ran across the road in front of me. Also, noted that the left knee was still feeling almost normal. For now the brace stays. Nothing else to really note. It was an easy run.



Sunday the 17th. 4 miles @ EA. T+D 149. Running from the youngest DD's house this morning. Saw 2 bunnies. Cute, but also terrifying when all you can see is there little red glowing eyes in the dark!



Does anyone else with a Garmin have trouble with their watch updating runs when the update is made from their phone? Friday's run was an EA run and so was Sunday's run. So, I tried to change my EA run on my phone from 3 to 4 miles. Even though I synced the phone with the watch several times. It wouldn't add it to my calendar. Actually, that's not completely true. It was on my calendar on my phone, but not on my watch. If I make the change from my laptop and then sync, no problem. This isn't the first time I've had this issue. It's really not a big deal for EA runs. But if this was something with a bunch of intervals it would really be a pain.

Monday the 18th. Block run! T+D 145. So much nicer!! Running this one from the eldest DD's house. This Block run felt really good. I didn't struggle at any point and all the paces felt comfortable.



Overall a pretty good week this week. Starting to get a little antsy about the upcoming half!

 

[disneygpa]

This past week has been one of good news and bad news. The good news is that my knee stopped hurting. No aches and no pain for the last few days.

Now for the bad news. The knee probably doesn't ache because I haven't run since last Thursday. :-( I've caught my grandsons cold(not covid). We were up visiting them weekend before last and I felt it coming on around Tuesday of last week. I went ahead and ran Wednesday and Thursday but by Friday I couldn't pretend I wasn't getting sick.

I've missed the last 3 runs and I'm hoping that I can go our tomorrow morning and give it a shot.

Last Wednesday the 20th. T+D 147. 6 miles @ EB + strides. Managed to run 4 strides this time at a fairly hard pace for me. Knee was a little sore the next day. Like maybe a 1 one on the pain scale. The run itself was good. I woke up with a little sinus drainage going on and it had really irritated the back of my throat. Once I got running it pretty much went away.



Thursday the 21st. My oldest grandson's 13th Bday!!! Can't believe how fast time is flying by. T+D 147. I probably should have skipped this run. I felt like garbage when I left the house. Couldn't breathe through my nose and head felt like a full balloon. Ugh. All in all, the run was really good. Probably about as good as I could hope for.



That's it for last week. I felt like death Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A little better yesterday. Went for a walk with Donna. I'm starting to feel better but now I'm coughing out the cold.

On another note. Donna tore her bicep and has a 95% tear in her rotator cuff. She's supposed to have surgery this coming Friday if she doesn't end up with my cold. If you could send positive thoughts and prayers for a quick recovery she would definitely appreciate it.

 

[azrivest]

Really hope you both feel better soon