Maintain or Push Forward?

Increase training or keep maintaining? That’s the question.

Despite being in “Maintaining” status, my estimated VO₂ max has been inching upward again. After sitting at 51 for over a month, it’s now up to 52. Following several weeks of fatigue and poor sleep, I’ve finally shaken off the jet lag and am feeling sharp, rested, and energized. My legs feel fresh—a rare place to be.

Today I followed Garmin Coach’s recommendation for a 30-minute recovery run. The suggested pace was 10:55 per mile, but I averaged 9:07 with a heart rate of 129. It felt effortless. My “base run” pace is listed at 9:05—also a pace I typically surpass—which makes me wonder: maybe my base runs should feel more like this recovery run?

Mileage-wise, I’ve been holding steady. A few months ago, 100 miles per month was the goal. Now, after three straight months of hitting it, it’s starting to feel more like treading water. Maybe it’s time to set a new target—150 miles?

Progress isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes it’s about listening closely enough to know when to hold steady and when to move forward.

Maintaining Is Still Progress

According to Garmin, I’ve been in “Maintaining” status for a couple of weeks now. After nine months of steady VO₂ max improvements, it seems I’ve hit a plateau.

I could switch things up to chase more gains, but honestly, maintaining might be exactly what I need right now. My mileage has been solid, but I’m not eager to pile on more volume or intensity—especially with a lingering ache in my left calf/Achilles that refuses to fade.

Despite the lull in progress, there are still small wins. I ran eight miles on Sunday at a 7:47 pace—a hard but controlled effort. I’m also on a 37-day step streak that started at the end of August, and while October has begun a bit slower, I’m still on pace for around 116 miles this month.

Between middle school basketball games, later sunrises, and morning chauffeur duty for cross country and cheer practice, the days are long and the mornings short.

Running performance isn’t everything. Sometimes life takes priority, and in those moments, simply maintaining is enough. For now, I’ll focus on the positives and keep playing the long game.

Silence, Hills, and Small Superpowers

It used to be that I ran with headphones on every single run.

Lately, I’ve ditched them, opting instead for silence.

Surprisingly, there have been some real benefits. Running without music gives my mind space to wander and provides a welcome break from the constant stimulation of modern life. I’ve also become more in tune with my surroundings—especially the approach of traffic, which is a nice safety bonus. And during both easy and hard runs, I can focus more on my form and pacing without the distraction.

The only time I still pull out the headphones is for the occasional weekend long run. In those moments, the novelty of music or a podcast makes the run feel a little more fun.

Will this no-headphones streak last? Probably not forever. Winter is coming, and I can’t imagine grinding through treadmill miles without some form of entertainment. But for now, I’m enjoying the silence.

Today’s run: 5.08 miles in 43 minutes. My latest fitness “superpower”? Tackling steep hills without feeling wiped out afterward.

Dark Runs, Bright Outlook

I wrapped up September with a 5.31-mile run at an 8:28 pace and an average heart rate of 138. That’s a huge contrast to the beginning of the year, when my HR would spike into the 150s and 160s no matter how easy I thought I was taking it.

For the month, I logged 130.57 miles—another step up from August. That makes three straight months of building consistent 100+ mile totals. Right now, I’m sitting at 743 miles for the year, which puts me in great position to finally crack the 1,000-mile mark. If I can hold around 85 miles per month through the rest of the year, I’ll get there. The key is avoiding the same pitfalls as last year, when October dipped and November and December completely fell apart.

One new weapon in my arsenal has been embracing the dark. I used to be against running before sunrise—too much traffic risk on country roads—but lately I’ve adjusted my routine. Instead, I run short loops up my street to the city park, where traffic is almost nonexistent. It’s only about a mile per loop and it can get repetitive, but after a couple of laps the sky starts to lighten and I can safely expand my route. With this setup, I should be able to stretch my outdoor season into late November, weather permitting. Even if it means lots of neighborhood and park loops, the treadmill is still the ultimate benchmark for monotony—and that’s a bar set very low.

Milestones on the Road and Scale

Saturday morning brought a big milestone: my first double-digit continuous run (10.01 miles) in almost three years, since the Indy Half Marathon back in November 2022. Even better — it felt fantastic.

I headed out planning to keep things steady and relaxed. The first mile clicked off at 8:24, then I settled into a rhythm: 8:11, 8:11, 8:11, 8:12. By the halfway point, I felt strong, so I began inching the pace down. Mile 6 came in at 8:01, then 7:56, 7:45, and 7:37. My effort barely changed even as the splits got faster — I caught a runner’s high and felt like I was just gliding.

In the final stretch, I finally pushed. My heart rate crept into the 160s, the burn kicked in, and I finished with a hard sprint, closing the last mile in 7:15.
Final stats: 10.01 miles in 1:19:51 (7:58 pace).

Afterward, I was surprised by how good I still felt. Not tired, not drained — in fact, the longer I went, the better I felt. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that sensation, and it’s exciting to see it coming back.

I took Sunday off, more for smart recovery than necessity. Still managed some pickleball and a walk, and my legs felt fresh — even peppy. Today, Garmin suggested more rest, but I kept things light with 5.31 easy miles at 8:44 pace (HR 137). Once again, my performance condition actually improved as the run went on.

Another milestone: the scale dipped under 180 for the first time since August 2022 (179.8). I don’t expect to average under 180 for a couple more weeks, but it’s a good sign. Since April, I’ve been losing about two pounds a month, almost entirely from exercise. My goal is to be around 175 by February and eventually into the 160s — the high 160s seem sustainable for me. Back in 2021 I dipped into the low 160s for a few months, set a 5K PR, then drifted back up despite marathon training. Diet probably played a role — proof of how tough weight maintenance can be. I’ve seen 17x; the next goal is seeing 16x, likely sometime next year.

Right now, though, I’m in a great groove: lose some weight → running feels easier → I run more → I lose more → I feel healthier → I eat healthier. The cycle keeps feeding itself. I just need to keep riding the wave.

Consistency Over Excitement

I squeezed in a recovery run this morning between sunrise and getting the twins to cheer practice at 7 a.m. I logged 3.43 miles in 32 minutes (9:22 pace). The first mile was a 9:47, and I gradually worked it down closer to 9:00. Running that slow comfortably is a skill of its own, and one I’ve only recently added to my arsenal.

Recovery runs aren’t exactly thrilling, but I’ll give myself credit for staying consistent without overdoing it. I don’t necessarily feel fitter than I have in recent weeks, but I do feel more durable. Aside from a stiff left Achilles (which doesn’t bother me much once I’m running), my legs feel solid—not even tired. It seems I’ve adapted to the 25–30 MPW range and may be ready to bump up the distance. In fact, I already have: in August I averaged 4.88 miles per run (24 runs total), and so far in September I’m averaging 5.24 miles (21 runs). A small but steady increase, which is exactly what I’m aiming for.

Part of me is itching to test myself with a harder effort just to see where I stand. But I’m also wary of falling into old traps—pushing too much, too soon, and winding up injured or burned out. The only real frustration right now is Garmin has me stuck in the “Maintaining” zone after nine months of building fitness. Nothing wrong with maintaining, but I’d like to think I still have plenty of gains ahead. Hopefully once my HRV bounces back from recent international travel, “Maintaining” will flip back to “Productive.” With some proper rest this weekend, maybe that will finally happen.

Quick Steps, Stronger Runs

Over the last few months, I’ve been paying much closer attention to my cadence. I’ve made a conscious effort to take quicker, shorter steps—and so far, the biggest payoff has been a noticeable reduction in hip flexor soreness. That ache has been a nagging issue for as long as I can remember, so even if cadence work doesn’t make me more efficient, it’s already worth it for that reason alone.

Today my legs felt especially peppy. I focused on keeping my turnover high and ended up averaging 180 steps per minute for the run. That’s a cadence I normally hit during races or tempo efforts, not on an easy base run. By the time I finished, I had covered 5.59 miles in 45 minutes, averaging an 8:03 pace. I started with a comfortable 8:37 mile, then steadily worked the pace down until the last few miles dipped under 8:00. I felt strong throughout, though I was definitely pressing toward the end.

Maybe I pushed a little harder than I should have, but I was running by feel—and today, I felt good. Tomorrow’s scheduled recovery day will take care of the rest. After all, it’s nice to actually have something to recover from.

Ooblady-Ooblada, The Runs Go On

My body is still shaking off the effects of international travel. My sleep cycle is all over the place, and Garmin insists my HRV status is “unbalanced” — whatever that really means. Still, I’m finally starting to feel somewhat normal again, and I’m hoping to be fully back in sync by the weekend.

In the meantime, that HRV reading has Garmin piling on more rest days. Maybe that’s the smart call, but I already lost quite a few workouts while on the road, so instead I’ve been pushing through. Yesterday, for example, I ignored the prescribed rest day and ran 5 miles at an easy 9:05 pace. I started sluggish and definitely felt some fatigue, but as the run went on, I found my rhythm. My plan was to stop at 3 miles, but I ended up “Energizer Bunny-ing” my way to 5. Reviewing the run afterward, I noticed my “Performance Condition” score actually improved as the miles went on — something I’ve never seen before. It felt like I was actively recovering in real time.

This morning, I woke up feeling a bit more rested. Despite my HRV still being flagged, Garmin recommended a 45-minute run at 9:05 pace. I ended up covering 5.4 miles at 8:20 pace and felt mostly okay. My legs are carrying a touch of fatigue now, and the travel exhaustion still lingers, but ooblady-ooblada, life goes on. I’ll keep pushing through and grab rest when I can.

It’s not all bad news, though. Today I crossed 100+ miles for the third month in a row, bringing my yearly total into the 700s and keeping me right on pace for my 1,000-mile goal. My weight is slowly trending down, my fitness is slowly trending up, and the big picture is on track. My focus is long-term: keep steadily building through the winter, then start layering in consistent, harder efforts next spring. With a little patience, my body should be strong and ready by 2026.

Back on Track After Travel

Last week was an international work trip—overnight flights, early mornings, time shifts, and the inevitable jet lag. All of it is a hindrance to training. When I first started traveling for work years ago, trips like this would completely derail me. Consistency relies on routine, and it’s hard to maintain routine when your body is out of sync and you’re thousands of miles from home.

At some point, though, I made a commitment: no matter what, I’d get some kind of workout in while traveling. Even if it was just a short jog outside or a few slow miles on the hotel treadmill, I’d find a way to make it happen. That mindset shift has allowed me to keep momentum, even on the road.

The Week in Training

• Monday: Squeezed in just over 4 miles before my flight.

• Tuesday: Landed in Brussels after an overnight flight with only a couple hours of sleep. Garmin, ever helpful, informed me that I should “try to get more sleep.” Thanks. I took the day off from running but still logged plenty of steps exploring the city after work.

• Wednesday: Found a beautiful park near my hotel and ran an easy hour at 8:46 pace.

• Thursday: Discovered some forest trails and ran 3.46 miles at 9:26 pace. Nothing fast, but a great way to see new surroundings.

• Friday: Travel day—no running.

• Saturday: Up early for a cross-country meet. No official run, but plenty of running around the course cheering for the runners.

By Sunday, I was finally back on something resembling a normal schedule. I got in a strong 7.01-mile run at 7:34 pace—my fastest average for this distance in years. I opened conservatively with two miles at 7:51 pace, then held steady in the mid-7:30s before closing with 7:23 and a 6:59 mile. It felt good to dip under 7 minutes at the end and even better to see the overall pace edging closer to that sub-7:30 milestone.

Today, Garmin naturally told me to rest. After three days off last week, rest wasn’t on my agenda. Instead, I ran 5 miles at 8:37 pace. Sleep still isn’t great as I recover from the trip, but it feels good to be back home, back in my routine, and moving forward again.

Rebelling Against the Algorithm

Today I staged a small rebellion against the A.I. overlords.

I’m not sure if Garmin was punishing me for walking on my rest day yesterday, or if I unknowingly hiccupped in my sleep, but this morning it served up a baffling recommendation: a 42-minute base run at 9:36 pace.

For context, Garmin Coach has been fairly consistent up to now. When I first started using it back in July, my base pace was set around 9:20 ± 30 seconds. That held steady all the way through the Old Settlers Day race. After the race, I reset the plan and my base pace dropped to 8:55—totally logical, since my race outperformed expectations and my VO₂ max was climbing.

It stayed at 8:55 for a while, then one day nudged to 9:05. Again, fine. But 9:36? That’s not even in the same zip code as my actual easy pace. For me, 8:50 is still a comfortable base run, while 9:36 is firmly in recovery territory.

So instead of skipping the workout (or hopping or galloping it), I decided to run the workout by feel. To mix things up, I ran my usual 5-mile loop in reverse for the first time—meaning the hills would hit at mile 4 instead of mile 2.

The first few minutes were in the low 9s, but as soon as I got an alert telling me 8:50 was “too fast,” all bets were off. Mile splits:

• Mile 1: 8:50

• Miles 2 & 3: 8:28 each

• Mile 4: 8:02 (despite a brief knee ache that vanished after a 10-second stretch)

• Mile 5: 7:34

I finished 5.09 miles in 42 minutes at an 8:15 average pace. Easy effort overall, with a little push at the end. Running zeitgeist may preach the 80/20 rule, but this Garmin plan feels closer to 90/10—or maybe even 95/5— very little intensity baked in.

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Takeaways

• If something hurts, stop. A quick pause and stretch often solves it. Old me would have stubbornly pushed through, thinking even a brief stop made the run “not count.” Turns out, listening to my body works better.

• Running without headphones is underrated. I still use them occasionally for long runs, but lately I’ve been enjoying the quiet—just me, my breathing, and a wandering mind.

• Cadence matters. Since July 12, I’ve been focusing on upping my steps per minute. My average cadence jumped from 171 SPM (January–July) to 174 in August, and now 175 for September. A small increase, but enough to make my hip pain vanish. Whether it’s better form or simply more efficient mechanics, I’ll take it.

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We’ll see what my defiance earns me in Garmin’s weekend recommendations. If I had to guess, some sort of passive-aggressive recovery run is on the horizon.

The Quiet Miles That Add Up

I woke up this morning, checked my plan, and—no surprise—it was a rest day. What did surprise me a little was how good I felt. No real soreness, no stiffness, no fatigue dragging me down. Honestly, I could have laced up and gone for a run without any issues. But the reason I feel this good is because I’ve been sticking to the plan—dialing things back when the schedule says so instead of always pushing.

That’s been a recurring theme lately: learning to trust the process. Garmin throws me curveballs with pacing tweaks, my body gives me feedback in real time, and somewhere in the middle I’m finding that balance between discipline and flexibility.

So instead of forcing a run, I went for a brisk walk—3 miles at a 13:34 pace, heart rate steady in the 90–100 range. Just enough to get the legs moving, blood flowing, and enjoy the morning. Walking used to be a regular part of my training back when I was in peak shape, and I’d forgotten how much those “little” miles add up. One walk doesn’t seem like much, but over weeks and months it becomes a quiet training boost.

Really, though, it’s not about the numbers. It’s about the fact that I wanted to get out the door today. That’s something I haven't been taking for granted lately—and it’s what keeps the whole journey moving forward.

Listening to the Plan vs. Listening to the Body

Yesterday’s workout left its mark. When I headed out today for what Garmin Coach had prescribed—34 minutes at a 9:00 pace—I could feel the fatigue right away. My legs wanted nothing to do with that pace, and I opened closer to 9:20.

But, as often happens, a few minutes in the stiffness began to fade. My stride loosened, the rhythm returned, and soon I was moving along in the mid-8:30s. With a little push in the closing stretch, I ended up averaging 8:32 pace.

I should have stopped at 34 minutes, but knowing a recovery day was already on the calendar for tomorrow gave me the green light to tack on another 12 minutes, finishing with 5.39 miles. Garmin, of course, had its own say afterward: “You’ve been working hard—consider rest or recovery.”

The watch isn’t wrong. Even though I often think of an easy 4–5 miles as recovery in itself, the deeper fatigue is starting to reveal itself as these runs stack up. Tomorrow’s plan is officially “recovery,” but in reality it’ll be a test of how well I listen to my body.

The training plan gives structure, but the story unfolding is really about learning when to push, when to hold back, and how to string the days together without burning out. Yesterday’s effort feeds into today’s tired legs, and what I choose tomorrow will set the tone for the next harder effort on the horizon.

Rebooting the Origin Story

A superhero’s origin story is often one of the most fascinating parts of the character. There’s a reason Marvel keeps rebooting Spider-Man every few years, or why the Rocky franchise somehow made it to nine (maybe ten?) films.

For me, 2025 has felt like the latest reboot in my own fitness saga. The pattern is familiar: I let my body slip into disrepair, eventually find the spark to get back in shape, struggle for months, then—slowly—motivation turns into obsession. That’s when the “superpower” unlocks.

This year, I can feel it happening again. Runs that once left me gasping now feel effortless. I’m holding hard paces for multiple miles without breaking down, even finishing long runs in an all-out sprint. Some of it is measurable, but some of it is just… a feeling. Like energy pulsing through my veins—lighter joints, more stamina, a spring in my step.  

Of course, it’s not just a vibe. The numbers back me up. My VO₂ max climbed from 42 at the start of the year to nearly 52 today. My estimated 5K pace has dropped by almost four minutes. My monthly step count has jumped by 40–50K steps compared to last year, and not just from running. I’ve noticed I’m more likely to take an extra walk, even after a morning run, simply because I want to. More energy, better mood—it all adds up.

The toughest piece of the puzzle has been weight. I’ve lost around 8–10 pounds this year, but the trend hasn’t been smooth. It feels like I plateau at a number for months, then—overnight—the scale drops a couple pounds, and I hover again. Day-to-day fluctuations make sense with water and digestion, but the “step-down pattern” over weeks still puzzles me.

I don’t track calories obsessively, but I eat reasonably well and exercise a lot. By all logic, that should translate into steady, predictable weight loss. Yet my body seems calibrated to a set point, only occasionally hitting the “reset” button and shifting down. Cutting out alcohol a few years ago hardly budged the scale either. Age and metabolism definitely factor in, but one thing’s clear: the more miles I put in—and the more I harness those exercise endorphins to keep food cravings in check—the more progress I see.

Right now, I’m chasing the 170s. My lowest weigh-ins so far have been 181 and 182, both within the last week. That’s close enough to know I’m knocking on the door. Dropping another 10–12 pounds will get me where I should be. Another 20? That’s where I want to be.

This may not be the final chapter in the saga, but it definitely feels like the beginning of a powerful new arc.

Training Log: Hero Mode Unlocked:

Yesterday I peeked ahead at my training plan and saw today’s workout was supposed to be 8 x 1:00 at 6:30 pace. But when I went to start, Garmin had quietly adjusted it to 8 x :40 at 6:15 pace. I’m still baffled by this algorithm—how it decides to make such nuanced tweaks is beyond me.

As I’ve mentioned before, Garmin is far more likely to schedule me a recovery run than a hard effort. So when it finally throws a workout my way, I try to take full advantage. Today I ran the warm-up, intervals, recoveries, and cooldown all faster than prescribed, finishing with 7.02 miles at 7:38 pace.

For perspective: almost exactly a year ago (September 7, 2024), I was just starting to rebuild fitness. I decided to “hammer” a 7-miler, went out too hot, pushed into fatigue, and ended with 7 miles at 7:47 pace.  At the time, I was proud of it—it felt like a milestone.

Today, I covered the same distance a full minute faster—and it felt way easier. Progress like this feels like another chapter in my superhero reboot. During this build phase, I’m steadily unlocking new levels of fitness—each week revealing a fresh achievement that fuels the fire of my motivation. For now, the momentum feels endless, and I know it will carry me forward for quite a while.

But at some point, the story shifts. I’ll peak, or maybe plateau. The milestones won’t come as quickly or as often. That’s when the real challenge begins—not in chasing new highs, but in learning to hold steady. That’s where balance matters most. To stay satisfied with maintaining a strong, sustainable level of fitness, instead of flying too close to the sun like Icarus.

Long Run + Cutdowns: Finding Efficiency

On Saturday, I planned to go out for my first long run of over 10 miles in years. After dropping Maya off at the track for XC practice, I headed out. About three miles in, I got a message from the coaches: post-practice icing was canceled since it was already pretty chilly (upper 40s to low 50s — in other words, perfect running weather).  That meant I had to adjust my plans and cut the run to about 1 hour 20 minutes. I quickly recalibrated my route and ended up with 9.17 miles in 1:18:34 (8:34 pace). Perfect timing — I wrapped up just as XC practice was finishing. Parent-of-the-year points: achieved.

A few quick notes on the run:

• I’m always happy when I hit or beat 8:34 pace on longer runs. At 7.0 mph, it’s a treadmill standby for me — nice round number, efficient, sustainable, and fast enough to keep things moving.

• Execution felt solid: opened with 8:31 and 8:40, eased into an 8:56 3rd mile, then gradually negative-split down to 8:24 and 7:57 for miles 8 and 9.

• Heart rate averaged 145, effort stayed easy, and I finished strong without feeling drained. No “long run hangover” — I could’ve gone farther if needed.

Sunday? You guessed it — recovery run. But since Monday was technically my scheduled rest day, I flipped them. Sunday off, Monday on.

Monday’s plan was a 34-minute base run — it felt short. I considered just running an easy 5 miler but decided to stick with the program. II also decided not to look at my watch — pure “run by feel.” The result: 8:57, 8:39, 8:24, and a 7:48 closer for 4.03 miles total at 8:26 pace. Felt great.

Average HR was 139, and the progression got me thinking: maybe cutdowns are more efficient than holding a steady, slower pace. Garmin’s performance condition score even ticked up from +1 to +2 as I sped up. My HR doesn’t rise linearly with faster paces — almost like my mechanics get smoother at speed, offsetting some of the extra effort.

Cooled down quickly, jogged an extra quarter mile, and went about my day like nothing happened. Training is adapting nicely — no zombie fatigue, no body-battery crash, just steady progress. Honestly, it feels pretty good to be enjoying the runs instead of dragging myself around like I used to when I was “in shape” but constantly cooked.

The Garmin Coach Experiment (So Far)

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the Garmin Coach training algorithm.

Sunday: up-tempo long run.
Monday: recovery run — fair enough after Sunday.
Tuesday: threshold workout — a pleasant surprise since those are pretty rare.
Wednesday: 5+ mile base run — normal enough.
Thursday: recovery run — I felt good, but sure, an easy day never hurts.
Friday: recovery run again?

That would’ve been my third recovery run in one week, compared to just one in all of August (and about one a week in July when I was barely getting back into shape). Now, yes, it was my seventh straight day of running, but if the point is rest, why not just suggest a rest day instead of stacking recovery runs? The logic escapes me. I’ve been sleeping decently (well, no worse than usual) and my training load hasn’t been anything crazy.

So, I ignored the watch and ran my own base run instead — 45 minutes, kept it easy for the first three miles (aside from the hill in mile two that always spikes the HR), then gradually picked it up through miles four and five. I ended with 5.36 miles at 8:23 pace and a 142 HR. It felt good overall, though my legs definitely felt a bit flat toward the end. The HR was lower than I’d been averaging earlier this year, but still probably higher than it should be on an easy day. And yet… I can’t help myself. No matter how much I rationalize, I’m still chasing that slightly faster average pace, even when it’s probably counterproductive. 

That said, the Garmin Coach algorithm has been a net positive. I followed it religiously in July and saw my best progress in years. I mostly stuck with it through August and kept improving — faster paces, better fitness, better consistency. Lately I’ve been skipping or tweaking the daily suggestions, but I still plan to follow it (mostly) for the next couple months. The biggest benefit is how it reins me in, which lets me build mileage without burning out.  When I'm honest with myself, I feel that I likely benefit more from 55 minutes at 8:45 pace than 45 minutes at 8:23.

Eventually, I’ll be back on the treadmill (seems like late October is always the tipping point). At that stage, it’ll be easier to keep my effort under control anyway. If I’m fit enough by spring, I may ditch the algorithm all together and go back to running my own way.  For now, I can't argue with the results, and thus the great Garmin coach experiment continues.  

Phantom Pains

Lately I can’t tell if I’ve got a bunch of phantom pains or if the wheels are actually about to fall off. Training’s been going pretty well, and I’ve been careful not to overdo it, so if I end up hurt I’m definitely not going to be a happy camper.

Sunday’s long run threw the first curveball — my right IT band tightened up in the last couple of miles. That spot has been an on-again, off-again nuisance for years. Most of the time it just stays tight and never turns into anything major, but if it flares up it can hang around for months. Thankfully, an easy run on Monday seemed to calm it down, so I’m crossing my fingers that was just a blip.

Then today I headed out for an easy five. Everything was smooth until the last mile, when out of nowhere I felt a sharp pain on the outside of my right ankle/foot. Kept running for a minute hoping it would fade, but instead I was limping. Stopped, stretched, shook it out, and gave it another go. It was still there at first, but after about a quarter mile it loosened up and disappeared. Totally new pain, so here’s hoping it doesn’t decide to stick around.

And just to keep things interesting, my left Achilles has been grumbling too. Weirdly, running doesn’t seem to bother it much, but little stuff does — getting out of bed, climbing stairs, even jumping for a rebound in basketball. No idea what set it off (probably running, let’s be honest), but for now it’s just background noise.

Ah yes, the joys of aging: every day a new body part files a complaint. Hopefully I’m just being a cranky old man imagining worst-case scenarios. Either that, or my body’s in the middle of a slow-motion mutiny. Stay tuned.

Weekend (and August) in Review

 After taking two unplanned days off from running with a cold, I finally got back out on the road Saturday. I eased in with a 30-minute run at 8:37 pace. It took a couple of miles for my legs and lungs to wake up, but I finished feeling strong.

By Sunday, I felt rested and ready for something longer. I set the goal of keeping my long run under 8:00 pace. The first 4 miles clicked by in 31:36. As the sun and heat picked up, I faded slightly, running the next 4 miles right at 8:00 pace. It was a solid effort—hard, but not the kind of run that leaves me wiped out for days. (For comparison, my previous 9-mile run in the heat, a couple weeks ago, was much slower, and it took nearly a whole week to recover.)

Monday’s plan called for a recovery run. I logged 3.17 miles at 9:41 pace with an average HR of 128—super comfortable. I followed that with a 2-mile walk around the track while waiting for Maya to finish XC practice. Later in the day, we added a 3-mile hike. By the end of the day, I had 24,000 steps and legs that still felt fresh.

This morning brought a tempo workout: 10 minutes warm-up, 17 minutes at 7:15 pace, 10 minutes cool-down. I’ll admit I hesitated at first—I’d pushed on Sunday, I’m just coming off a cold, and I haven’t done much sustained faster work lately. But Garmin rarely prescribes harder sessions unless it thinks I’m ready (frequently cancelling or rescheduling planned harder efforts), so I decided to not pass up the opportunity.

The warm-up felt fine but not effortless, and I doubted whether I could really lock into 7:15 pace for the whole 17 minutes. I broke the tempo into mental checkpoints: 1 minute done, 5 minutes, halfway, 2 miles… and before long I was closing it out. I ended up running 2.4 miles at 7:05 pace. The cooldown was tough at first—I wanted to stop—but after a couple of minutes I settled in and finished at 8:07 pace. Total: 37:08, 4.82 miles at 7:42 average. This time, I didn’t bother stretching it to 5 miles. I was perfectly content to call it done.

Looking back, I’m proud of completing the full workout and even hitting the up-tempo portion a little faster than planned without overdoing it. It felt productive, not draining—the kind of effort I can recover from and build on.

As for August, it was another strong month: 117.15 miles at 8:25 average pace, compared with July’s 114.81 miles at 8:47. Most of it was base mileage, but I sprinkled in a few harder efforts. Cooler weather and better fitness have dropped my easy pace by about 20 seconds per mile (from ~8:55 to ~8:35). VO₂ max is up, my confidence is growing, and most importantly, I stayed motivated even through the setback of being sick.

And on the Maya front: she crushed a 12-second PR in her second race of the season, running 13:22 for 2 miles. That capped one of her toughest training weeks yet, which makes me think she’s just getting started. She’s also admitting that 5 miles really isn’t that far anymore—she ran that distance (plus warmup) on both Monday and Tuesday. Her team is looking strong, too—they won Saturday’s meet with just 5 girls competing and two of their best sitting out. If they can stay healthy, they have a legitimate shot at winning state. Couldn’t be prouder of her—and fingers crossed everything keeps moving in the right direction.

Congested but Not Defeated

 Extreme congestion has me feeling pretty miserable today. The cold seems to be staying in my head (for now) and hasn’t made its way into my lungs (yet), but I decided to play it safe and call it a rest day. Of course, “rest day” in my world still meant a brisk 3+ mile walk at a 12:37 pace, with an average HR of 108.

I felt okay this morning, but by afternoon things really hit me, and I’m downright BLAAHHHHH. Fingers crossed I can shake this off quickly—I’d hate to lose momentum now, especially with how well training has been going. Thankfully, I already hit my 100-mile goal for the month, so if I need to dial it back for a few days, I can do it guilt-free.

Hopefully, I’ll be back here in a day or two writing about my next great run. But you never know—this could just as easily end up being the point where I look back months from now and think, oh yeah, that’s when I got sick and everything fell apart.

I’d like to believe I’m in a strong enough place with my training and goals that it won’t come to that. Still, based on past experience, I can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop.

Outrun by My 13-Year-Old (Again)

Once again, my 13-year-old daughter has me beat. I’ve logged 105.66 miles this month—but she’s sitting at 106.98. My week so far: 15.08 miles at an 8:22 pace. Hers? 15.69 miles at a 7:43 pace… plus another 3 miles of warm-up and cooldown.

And here’s the kicker: up until Monday, she had never run 5 miles non-stop. Now she’s cranked out 5.25 miles three days in a row like it’s nothing. This has been the story all month—I’ll put in what feels like a solid, respectable effort, and then she’ll go out and do the same workout, just a little longer and a little faster. Maybe it’s time to admit it’s her turn to carry the torch.

As for my own (slightly overshadowed) milestone: today’s 5-miler nudged my yearly total past the 600-mile mark. With four months left and 400 miles to go, hitting 1,000 miles this year is starting to feel possible. A steady 100 miles per month is doable, though I know work, life, cold weather, and the holiday season will test that resolve.

Whether I’m still building or already peaking on mileage is up for debate. Right now, it feels like a coin flip. But one thing’s for sure—running side by side with my daughter, definitely inspires me to keep chasing those miles.

Another Hundo

This morning reminded me why I run. After weeks of hot August days, I stepped outside to a crisp 52 degrees — the kind of weather that feels made for running. The plan said 45 minutes at a steady 9:00 pace, but the cool air pulled me along, and I ended up running 5.53 miles at an 8:08 pace. My heart rate stayed reasonable at 142, proof that fitness is quietly building even when I don’t notice it day-to-day.

Crossing 100 miles this month felt especially rewarding. That’s two months in a row now (and with 5 days to spare). What was last month’s goal is starting to become a streak. What makes it even more meaningful is that I almost didn’t go. The voice in my head told me to take the day off, but I pushed through that resistance — and that decision turned into a small victory. A reminder: the hardest step is often just getting out the door.

Around mile four, something special happened. I hit that elusive runner’s high — a surge of euphoria I hadn’t felt in a long time. It was a signal that all the little pieces are coming together: faster paces, lower heart rate, stronger legs, and, most importantly, joy in the process.

Running is teaching me (again) that progress isn’t always about one big breakthrough — it’s about showing up, stringing together the miles, and letting the results take care of themselves. Today was proof that consistency pays off. And the best part? I’m just getting started.

A Big Weekend for Maya—and Some Fitness Wins of My Own

The most exciting highlight of the weekend? My daughter, Maya. She had her very first cross country meet of the year on Saturday and absolutely crushed it. She ran 2.06 miles in 14:09, finishing 24th out of 138 runners. Her team placed 2nd overall.

What’s even more impressive is that the top 7 girls on the team are already hitting times equivalent to their performances at last year’s state meet—and it’s only the beginning of the season. They’ve been logging solid mileage with some workouts sprinkled in, so based on where they’re starting, there’s a real chance for some big breakthroughs by the end of the year.

To follow up Saturday’s great performance, Maya ran her first-ever 5+ miler today—5.24 miles at a 7:37 pace. She’s off to a fantastic start.

My Own Training: Steady Progress (with a Few Bumps)

As for me, my training isn’t quite as headline-worthy, but there are still some small wins. I’ve been nursing a very mild Achilles tweak—not serious, and so far it hasn’t affected my training, but I’m keeping an eye on it. I ran about 4.5 miles both yesterday and today, cruising around an 8:30 pace, which has become my comfortable easy pace lately.

Garmin has been limiting my workouts due to low sleep scores, which, fair enough—I’ve been struggling to stay asleep through the night. I’m managing okay, but I agree: an extra hour of sleep (or even just uninterrupted sleep) would probably make a big difference.

On a more positive note, my VO₂ max climbed another point this week—now at 51. It was at 49 at the beginning of August, so that’s a 2-point gain in a month, which feels solid. I started the year at 41 and have been consistently gaining about a point a month—except in April and now again in August, when I jumped two points each time.

If this trend continues, I could hit 55 by the end of the year.

For context, I peaked at 61 back in 2021 and maintained mid-to-upper 50s from 2020 through early 2023. I dipped to 53 in April 2023 and had been trending downward since, so this is the first real momentum I’ve seen in a while. It’s encouraging to be building back up again and also to know that I've been there before and am able to hold that level of fitness.

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Looking Ahead: Long-Term Goals

With my fitness improving, motivation holding steady, and training staying consistent, I’m starting to think more seriously about longer-term goals. Here’s what I’m aiming for:

• Reach a VO₂ max of 55 by April 2026.
  I may dip a bit in the winter when treadmill season starts, since Garmin doesn’t seem to track VO₂ max as accurately on the treadmill. That said, I’ve had good luck building a strong base indoors, and usually see the number jump once I return to outdoor running.

• Push to 58 by August 2026.
  If I can get there, I’d love to test my limits with a truly dialed-in 5K and see what I can throw down when fully trained... hopefully that means a sub 20 5K by later this fall and then sub-19 next year.  

A workout? Why not!

Today I finally felt recovered enough for my watch to schedule a workout—and I was more than ready to get after it.

The session called for a 15-minute warmup, followed by 8 x 40-second intervals at a 6:05 pace with 3-minute recoveries, and a 10-minute cooldown. I’d done a similar workout (8 x 400m at a comparable pace) about a month ago, so I knew this one was well within reach.

I felt great during the warmup, and while the intervals were tough, 40 seconds is short enough that by the time it really starts to hurt, it’s basically over. I pushed the cooldown a bit to try to sneak my average pace under 8:00—and I made it. Final stats: 6.44 miles in 51:20 for an average pace of 7:58. That’s my longest workout at sub-8:00 pace in 11 months.

The hardest part was shifting gears—going from a 9:00 pace straight into a 6:00 pace is jarring. I ended up running most of the intervals a little too fast, with several in the 5:30s and 5:40s. To make things more confusing, my watch couldn’t adjust its pace reading quickly enough, so it kept alerting me that I was too slow, which pushed me to speed up even more when I was probably already on target.

All in all, I’m really satisfied with how it went. Garmin’s prescribed workouts are usually a bit easier than what I’d design for myself, but they consistently leave me feeling appropriately fatigued—and riding that post-workout dopamine high. Right now, they’re helping me avoid the trap of overtraining and burnout.

Even though the workouts are sporadic, I’m still getting the mileage in. With no races or major goals on the horizon, there’s no reason not to take it slow and focus on building a solid base.

Recovery Run

Basically a rest day… just with some easy mileage.

The plan called for 27 minutes at a 10:55 pace. I ended up running 27:32 at a 9:45 pace—I finished on a downhill, which explains the extra 32 seconds.

You could argue 9:45 is a bit fast for a recovery run, but honestly, it felt like the easiest jog I could manage. My heart rate averaged 126, which is about the same as when I go for a brisk walk—so I’m not too worried about it.  Also, I should add that I logged a slower than average run, slowed down my monthly average pace by ~2 seconds, and survived to tell the tale.  Hey, if anything, sandbagging a few runs should make it easier to show improvements in the future!

Physically and mentally, I’m feeling pretty good today. Fingers crossed for a solid night’s sleep, and then I’ll be ready to tackle something a little more challenging tomorrow.

I’m closing in on 80 miles for the month with 10 days still to go, so I should be breaking that 100-mile barrier again without much trouble.

The only mild concern right now is a bit of soreness in my left Achilles. I've been running on it, and thankfully it doesn’t seem to be getting worse—but I’m trying to stay mindful. I’m not entirely sure if a harder effort might aggravate it. Hopefully not, but if it does, I’m really hoping I’ll have the discipline to ease off before it turns into something more serious.

Another easy 4

Today called for another easy 4-miler as I continue to ease back into things. I made a conscious effort to keep the pace relaxed and run by feel, deliberately avoiding glances at my watch as much as possible. I ended up averaging 8:35 per mile—still a bit quicker than the prescribed 8:55 pace, but definitely an improvement over yesterday. My heart rate averaged 138 bpm, which is another positive sign that things are trending in the right direction.

I woke up with tired legs and was really craving a rest day, but I pushed myself out the door anyway. The run actually felt better than expected—even above average—but I’m still feeling pretty drained now. After three fairly easy, shorter days, I’m starting to wonder if I just need to bite the bullet and take a day off. Then again, it’s possible I’m still recovering from the weekend, and tomorrow might feel different.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with taking a day or two off, but between tapering and race recovery, I’ve already had as many rest days this month as I did in all of last month. For now, the plan is to run tomorrow and Friday, then reassess heading into the weekend.

On a brighter note, there's a temperature drop coming—and Saturday brings the first middle school XC meet of the season. Here's hoping that this brings me a much-needed dose of motivation to snap me out of this little funk I'm falling into.

Trusting the Process (Even When It’s Hard)

Another day, another 4 miles — this one at an 8:21 pace.
It felt okay, but my max heart rate crept above my target zone, and my average HR was several beats higher than it was on a similar run last Friday.

I’m probably still carrying some fatigue from the weekend, but I’m also slipping back into a pattern I know too well: running my easy days too fast. Just a few weeks ago, my target pace for base runs was around 9:20, and I was usually landing somewhere between 8:45–8:55. Now, with some recent fitness gains, that target pace has shifted to 8:55 — yet I'm cruising in the 8:20s.

Sure, it still feels relatively easy, but I can feel the fatigue accumulating. My watch keeps pushing recovery suggestions, which leads to shorter runs — when what I should be doing is slowing down, staying patient, and gradually building mileage. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow’s scheduled workout ends up downgraded to a short base run.

I keep letting my ego and self-doubt creep in.
Deep down, I know that slowing down and focusing on volume is what my body needs right now. I proved that to myself back in July when I finally committed to easy effort running — and the gains were real and tangible. But when I’m out there in the moment, it’s hard not to chase that lower pace. Sometimes I think I’m just trying to prove to myself that the progress I’ve made lately isn’t a fluke.

And then there’s the monthly average pace. It’s a silly number, objectively meaningless in the bigger picture of training — but watching it drop still gives me a weird sense of achievement... Especially right now, when I don’t have any short-term race goals on the calendar.

Still, I know better.
If I want to keep improving — sustainably, without injury or burnout — I have to trust the process. I have to run slower, even when I don’t want to. Because in the end, it’s not the daily pace that defines progress — it’s the consistency, the mileage, and the willingness to play the long game.

Heat advisory? No sweat!

A little thing like a heat advisory didn’t stop me from heading out for a 9.39-mile run on Saturday morning. I got out the door around 9 a.m., but it was already starting to warm up. By the final couple of miles, the combination of heat, beating sun, and radiating pavement had me absolutely cooked. I finished the run in exactly 1:20, averaging an 8:31 pace. From a cardio and leg effort standpoint, it felt pretty easy—but the heat had my heart rate creeping into the 170s by the end.

Scrolling through my training log afterward, I realized that this was actually my longest continuous run since November 2022. You’d think that would be enough running for one day... but being the glutton for punishment that I am, I decided to head back out in the evening for a few more miles—this time with my daughter.

We drove to a nearby XC course that’s known for its hills and logged an additional 3.01 miles at an 8:25 pace. The sun was starting to set, which made it more manageable, but it was still hotter than ideal. We wrapped up the outing with some well-earned Mexican ice cream.

After taking Sunday off, I woke up this morning to Garmin advising me to take another rest day. Two days off in a row? Not happening. So I laced up again and ran 4.10 miles at an 8:45 pace. I aimed to keep my heart rate under 140 and mostly succeeded—until the final mile when the heat started to catch up with me again (yep, heat advisory still in effect). Garmin now says I’ve got 61 hours of recovery time ahead of me. Hopefully a solid night’s sleep will help chip away at that.

On a positive note, I'm achieving things I haven't in years—which feels incredibly rewarding. But now comes the tricky part: making sure I don't overdo it and burn out. At the same time, I can’t afford to take too many days off and risk losing the consistency I’ve worked so hard to build. I’ve spent too long just treading water, and now that I’m finally moving forward, I don’t want to slip back into that rut. It’s a balancing act, and I’m learning to walk the line.

Aerobically conditioned and running efficiently

Today was an easy one: 4.06 miles at an 8:23 pace. My target was 9:00 per mile, but I felt good this morning, and cruising at 8:30 felt effortless. In hindsight, maybe I could’ve dialed it back a bit, but 34 minutes of running feels so short these days. My heart rate averaged 140 bpm, which is solid evidence I didn’t push too hard.

It’s amazing how much progress I’ve made in the last 6–8 weeks. A couple of months ago, this pace would’ve left me completely gassed. Now, it’s my easy pace. I’m finally building aerobic conditioning—and I’d bet my running form is getting more efficient too.

It’s been a real grind over the past few years. I averaged around 50 miles per month, occasionally creeping into the 80s, but it never felt like enough. Lately, though, I’ve been hitting closer to 100 miles per month, and that seems to be the tipping point. For the first time in a long time, I actually feel fit.

Best of all, when I head out the door now, I feel good. I’m starting to enjoy running again. For so long, it was just painful—I knew a breakthrough was possible, but it always felt just out of reach. Now, I’m finally seeing the light. I’ve got new hope.

Completely recovered and building fitness

Saturday’s 5K and the rest of the weekend's festivities definitely took their toll—I started the week feeling sore, stiff, and thoroughly fatigued. After taking Sunday and Wednesday off, I finally felt rested and refreshed this morning.

Today’s workout was a structured sprint session: warm-up, followed by 9 x 15-second sprints with 3 minutes of recovery jog between each, and a 5-minute slow recovery jog after every third sprint. I wasn’t sure if the 3-minute recovery was meant to be complete rest, but I opted to keep moving with a light jog.

The warm-up was surprisingly smooth. I settled into about an 8:20 pace, and my legs felt great—light and responsive. The sprints themselves were challenging but manageable. As the intervals progressed, I felt fatigue setting in, especially in muscles I don’t typically engage this intensely. Then again, how often does a 46-year-old get the chance to sprint?

I wrapped up the session with 6.53 miles at an average 8:28 pace, and an average heart rate of 142 bpm. I was especially encouraged to see my heart rate drop into the 130s during the recovery intervals—a promising sign that my fitness is heading in the right direction.

Looking at the Bigger Picture:

In terms of the broader training picture, I’ve now logged 543 miles for the year. Even with four days off in August and a taper, I'm still on pace to hit 106 miles this month. That will bring me just over 600 miles with four months left in the year—which means, if I can simply maintain my current level of training, I’m on track to break 1,000 miles in 2025.

It’s encouraging to see that kind of consistency paying off, especially as my body adapts and my fitness continues to improve. Staying steady, staying healthy—that's the goal.

Into the 50s

My Garmin VO2 max hit 50 for the first time since June 2023.  That's up from 41 at the beginning of January and I've been gaining about 1 point a month.  I know its arbitrary but I've been waiting for that 50 spot for a while... I peaked at 49 last year and then quickly declined and this year I've been at 49 since mid July.

Maintaining motivation is the next hurdle.  Grade school XC season is just beginning and that keeps me excited about running.  I drop Maya off at 6:10 in the morning and then it's my turn to run.  Having a reason to get up and ready at 5:20 AM gives me a lot more time to prep and get a run in.  I've been continuing to follow the Garmin watch coach plan as well so having something dictating my work has helped keep me headed out the door as well. 

My weight loss continues as well, albeit slowly.  I'm down about 10 lbs on the year to 185.  I've been stalled out at 185 for a couple weeks now but if I keep training and the miles keep going up then hopefully the weight will keep dropping.

Today's run went pretty well.  I am still sore and stiff from Saturday's 5K and didn't feel the best as I got out the door.  I was happy that the plan was only calling for 34 minute run at 9:00 pace.  Once I got moving I felt ok... eventually I started pushing it a bit too much probably.  I ran 8:37, 8:29, 8:09, 8:00 for my splits and finished with 4.11 miles at an average pace of 8:16 and average HR of 145.  I felt pretty good about that until I compared it to Maya's run if 4.16 at an average pace of 7:58.  Clear case of one ups man ship.  At least I can beat her in a 5K (for now).  

Old Settlers Days - 5K Race Report 2025

Made it through another training cycle and another Old Settler's Day race. At this point, I’m basically down to one race a year, so it’s become my annual fitness test. I’ve been training more consistently than I have the past couple of years, so I came into race day with some decent expectations.

My original goal was to break 21 minutes, but my buildup was a bit slow. By race day, I had a feeling I wasn’t quite there yet—maybe in a few weeks or a month—but not today. That said, perspective helps: two years ago, I ran this race after taking two full months off and finished in 24:55. Last year, I did some unfocused training and ran 22:19. So I knew I was in better shape this time and ready to be content with whatever the clock showed.

I woke up far too early—around 4 a.m.—and couldn’t fall back asleep. Eventually, I got up, took allergy meds and Mucinex to clear out the airways, and went for a short walk to loosen up. Later, I woke up Maya to get her ready. Kenna had planned to walk it with us, but we couldn’t get her out of bed, so it was just Maya and me.

We left the house at 7:30 and jogged over to the race. Along the way, we ran into the middle school girls XC team, so Maya joined them while I continued on my own. I did about a mile warm-up at a very easy pace and was already starting to feel hot. It was 77 degrees—sunny and humid.

At the start line, I didn’t feel amazing, but not bad either. My legs often feel off before races, but I’ve learned not to read too much into that. I lined up near the front this year to save a few seconds, and at 8:00 a.m., we were off.

I started a little too fast, but stayed calm. Once the adrenaline wore off, I settled into a steady rhythm. As usual, there were a lot of people who went out too hard, and I passed quite a few between the 0.25 and 0.5 mile mark. Things leveled off from there. I hit the first mile at 6:40 pace—maybe a little fast for my current fitness, but within range of my goal.

In mile two, I focused on staying relaxed and cruising without letting up too much. I came through that mile in 6:59 and passed a few more runners. By mile three, I was hurting. My heart rate had already hit 170 by the end of the first mile, and I was red-lining by this point. I passed my house and tossed my sunglasses to the yard, then hit the tough stretch where my mind always starts to spiral: Why not just stop? What’s the point? You could just jog this in.

But I kept it together. Still managed to pass a few more runners and held a 7:05 pace for that mile—so the slowdown was minimal. With about a quarter mile to go, I rounded the final turn. Heart rate was up to 179, but I could see the finish. Two runners were just ahead, and I caught them at around 200 meters to go. Just in case they responded, I gave it everything—pumped my arms, kicked hard, and pushed all the way through. My heart rate peaked at 183, which is higher than I even knew it could go.

Final time: 21:20—almost exactly a minute faster than last year.

Maya came in at 23:06, a PR by a couple of minutes. After the race, we went home to clean up, then walked back for the award ceremony.

Turns out, we both placed 3rd in our age groups. I was happy to snag a medal, and especially proud that Maya got one too. Our age groups—M45-49 and F11-14—are some of the more competitive ones, so it was nice to place. The winner of my age group ran 17:09, but 2nd place came in at 20:25, which makes that spot feel potentially within reach next year. More importantly, the 4th place guy was just 4 seconds behind me—one of the two runners I passed in the last 200 meters.

Maya, too, had a tight race—just one second behind 2nd place and seven seconds ahead of 4th. Lots of local XC runners in the mix, many of whom she’ll be racing this fall. Hopefully, starting the season with a big PR is a sign of what’s to come.

Overall, I’m really happy with my effort and the result. My heart rate last year hovered in the 160s and topped out at 175. This year, it was consistently higher—despite hotter, more humid conditions—which tells me I was more conditioned to push harder.

I feel like I’m finally getting back into shape. If I can keep the momentum going and stay consistent for another year, maybe I can break that 20-minute barrier again.

5.5 miles away

 After today's 5.15 mile run I'm sitting at 521.55 miles for the year which puts me roughly 5.5 miles away from surpassing my 2024 total mileage for the year.  With nearly 5 months left in 2025 I'm proud of that accomplishment.

Also today:  5.15 miles at 8:44 pace with an average HR of 139.  A couple comparable are 5.01 miles on May 2nd at 8:46 pace with an average HR of 148 and 5.18 on July 2nd at 8:53 pace with an average HR of 150.  It's always good to have confirmation of recent gains.  Also encouraging to see my HR lowering on easy runs as I build aerobic fitness... it seemed until recently that no matter how easy I ran, my HR was still overly elevated so this is positive progress for sure.

Every time I get out of shape I develop serious doubts that I will ever be able to build up my fitness again, and every time it seems to get a little bit harder but so far I've always been able to pull through in the end.  

Miles and more miles

 Another workout today brought to you by Garmin Coach.  10 min warm up, 4 X 5 minutes at 7:55 with 2 minute active recovery, then 10 minute cool down.  Ran 7:33, 7:32, 7:14, 7:35 pace for the intervals, running by feel.  Maybe a bit harder than prescribed but certainly manageable.  

Hitting these workouts are fun but the real key is the mileage.  I'm hitting 5 milers on the reg now which is not a lot but a lot more than I've been able to handle for years.  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday will be taper and recovery days before Saturday's race.  After that, I'm going back to base building.  Might put something on the Garmin Coach calendar and let Garmin dictate the workouts for a while longer since it's been working so well.  

I looked back at my training from 2019 and it seemed like things really rounded out once I started upping my long runs.  I've been maxed at 8 miles for quite a while now so time to get those back into the double digits.  More base building into September and then start hitting the workouts again as the weather gets cooler.  

Keep building that base

 August has started and I need to keep building that base.  I feel stronger and fitter than I have for a while.  Not top fitness but just enough fitness that I can actually start doing some real training.  Workouts have been limited so far but I've increased my mileage and am finally back to the point to where running 5 miles is relatively easy.  

I ran 5 on Friday, Saturday, and Monday and Sunday I took off but only because I was busy cleaning all day.  I was on my feet all day and still feel like I got some work in even if it wasn't true aerobic effort.

Saturday I ran a progression run with 1 mile warm up at 8:34 then 7:44, 7:20, and 7:02 before an 8:00 minute cooldown.  It was a good solid effort but not overly taxing.  I have been extra cautious to not overdo it and burn myself out.

This Saturday is race week so should take it relatively easy this week and let my body recover.  Not sure if I'm quite at the point I would like to be but I've been consistent and put in work so we'll see where it gets me.

Fast Finish

After a recovery day on Tuesday and a day off (with some brisk walking) on Wednesday, I finished up the month strong with some sprints.  

Another Garmin workout:  15 min warmup - 3 X 15 seconds sprints with 3:00 rest recovery -  5 minute job then 3 X 15 seconds sprints with 3:00 rest recovery - them 10 minute cooldown

I must admit that this wouldn't be the type of workout I would normally think of doing.  But honestly, it was quite effective.  I ran to the track for my warm up and did the sprints on the track.  The 15 seconds equated to about 90 meters.  Was approaching 100 meters on the last one.  I ran them at 90-95% effort.  

Sprinting is not something I do very often these days.  Even a month or two ago I don't know if my fitness was built up to a point where I would have wanted to try it.., but I'm feeling a lot more put together lately and my body was up to the task. I can always tell it was a good workout by the mild level of fatigue I feel after.  

The other thing about these Garmin workouts is that they include some walk breaks and rest.  Also not something I'm used to doing.  Good think about the workout setup is that it automatically logs the rests separately as different "laps".  Just makes it hard when I log my miles.  Normally, I try not to include walking on my log but its impossible to separate from the digital stats.  I think moving forward I'll just include the walking mileage and pace in my workouts.  It inflates the mileage a bit and deflates the average pace even more but I think moving forward I'll just save myself the trouble and mental gymnastics and log it all.

Last day of July.  114.81 miles for the month.  This is the most miles I've run in a month in years (since May of 2022 to be exact).  I'm at 495 miles for the year and need roughly 32 miles to surpass my 2024 mileage for the year.  And after years of on again off again training where I barely maintained fitness but never really saw much gains I'm starting to really feel some fitness.  

August 9th will be the first test to quantify my progress.  Upcoming goals...  get my VO2 max back up in the 50s.  Get my weight back down under 180.  Log a few more 100 mile months and hopefully a 1000 mile year.  And eventually... break 20 minutes for a 5K.

hit a hundo

 As of today I'm at 107.51 miles for the month.  I broke the arbitrary 100 mile barrier over the weekend with days to spare.

Today, I ran 4.24 miles at 9:01 pace and it was a bit of a struggle.  My legs didn't even want to go 9 minute pace and were just plain fatigued.  

I had some fairly decent efforts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (5.18 miles on both Saturday and Sunday at 8:41 pace following my speed workout on Friday)

Time will tell if today's effort was the start to some recovery or if ultimately I just need a day off.  Main thing is that I'm finally starting to really feel fit and good about my running so don't want to overdo anything and set myself back.  

Right now I'm exhausted.  Always a fine line between pushing to exhaustion and allowing space for recovery.

Garmin Workout #2

Garmin coach finally assigned me an actual workout.  15 minute warmup @ 9:20 pace, 8 X 1 minute at 6:50 pace with 3 minute recoveries at 11:15 pace and 10 minute recovery @ 9:20 pace.

A couple notes:

I am really liking the workout feature on the Garmin.  It's like wave-lights lite where I can just run and not overthink my pace, time or effort.  I just follow the watch's cues and try to keep the pace in the range.

I ran a lot faster than the prescribed pace for the most part.  I averaged 6:28 pace on the 8 X 1 minute parts and hovered around the 9 minute pace for the recovery.  3 minutes at my easy pace seemed to be plenty of recovery and 9 minutes seems pretty easy after coming off 6:30 pace.  

I had no problem completing the workout and ran the cooldown in the 8:20 range.

All in all, I wound up running 6.57 miles at an average of 8:13 pace.  

And I feel good afterwards.  I'm tired but don't feel like I overdid it.  Just a euphoric level of fatigue and a general feeling that I'm building fitness.  Most encouraging is that these efforts are not painful.  I haven't had to push through any pain barriers since the beginning of July.  

15 days until my 5K.  92.91 miles for July so far.  473 miles on the year 

Feeling a bit off

 After a stellar July so far, my momentum was slightly impeded by a routine scheduled medical procedure that required me to fast for roughly 40 hours.  This required a day off on Wednesday.  The day off left me feeling off and the fasting left me feeling not fast.  

I settled for running an extremely easy run this morning.  I left the house with a plan of at least getting 1 mile in... that got stretched to 2, which got stretched to 20 minutes, which got stretched to 3 miles, which got stretched to 30 minutes.  Finished with 3.13 miles at 9:35 pace and a 132 average heart rate.  It was a situation where I started off not feeling great but felt stronger and stronger as I found my groove.

I'm back to eating and waiting for my digestive system to steady out.  Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be rested, recovered, and ready to go.

I'm at 86.34 miles for the month of July and barring any unforeseen setback should easily clear 100 miles this month.  This will be the most running I've done this year and if I can run more than 101.16 it will be the most I've done in 3 years.  More important than the numbers though is how I'm feeling.  

Last September when I broke the 100 mile barrier I really had to push it at the end and wound up a bit burnt out.  I dropped to 60 miles in October and just about took November and December off.  This month I have 7 days to run 14 miles.  I feel energized and think that this months 100 could just be a stepping stone to even more miles next month.  I don't want to get too far ahead of myself but might even start thinking about sniffing 1000 miles for the year.

Tangible MF Progress

I'm finally starting to see and feel tangible progress.  Running is getting easier and more enjoyable while my heart rate steadily falls into a more reasonable rhythm.  

Friday, my plan called for a 2nd recovery day in a row.  Instead I ran a track workout of 8X400

My previous track workout was 6X400, three weeks ago.  I averaged 2 seconds faster per lap, 3 seconds less recovery per rep (100 meter walk between reps which is fairly consistent but will start to slow down as I tire).  Also, I ran my last lap at 1:22 and it felt easier than 1:30 the previous time.  

Sunday I ran 8.14 miles and ran another 4.31 today.  The Garmin auto-coach is starting to push the mileage a bit which is a nice deviation compared to a couple weeks ago.  Garmin still hasn't asked me to do an actual workout.  I'm 19 days away from my planned 5K so starting to run out of time for workouts.  Things are going well so I'm not going to try to do too much but maybe I'll get in a hard session or two before too long.  Probably a faster workout this week and maybe 2 next week along with a long run or 2 before it's time to taper.

I'm at 78.9 miles for the month so far and VO2 max has moved up to 49 which is the highest it's been in quite a while.  It's less about the numbers though and more about how I feel   I'm starting to be able to go harder without totally hurting. 

Recovery X 2

Wednesday, 32 minutes at 8:52 pace and 138 average HR.

Today, 27 minutes at 10:04 pace and 126 average HR.

Tomorrow... was originally supposed to be a workout but now my watch is saying another 27 minute recover run.  But who knows maybe that will change again by tomorrow.

The recovery run felt good though and even at the 10 minute pace I kept my cadence at 174.  I compared this to my last recovery run on July 1st and the cadence was 162 (at 10:52 pace and 123 Avg HR).  Just seems like my running is getting a lot more natural and efficient and I'm actually starting to feel a bit more fit finally after months and months and months of stagnation... So maybe slowing down to speed up isn't such BS after all.  

No matter what, I'm running a workout tomorrow.  Planning to hit the track for what would be my 4th track workout of the summer.   Could be a good test to see if my fitness has advanced at all since last workout.

6 miles... why the hell not?

 When I went to bed last night I didn't think I'd be running 6 miles this morning but when I woke up, that's what the Garmin training algorithm had come up with (or rather 54 minutes at 9:20 pace was the suggestion).  

I was surprised because this is the longest run it had suggested so far (previous was 52 minutes at 9:20 pace from Saturday) and I didn't expect it to come up with the longest run on my 4th day of training in a row...  not that I'm complaining.

Wound up running 6.10 miles in 54 minutes at 8:51 pace with an average HR of 144.  Not as good as my average of 139 yesterday but its hot out and my HR inevitably continues to creep up over time.  

Halfway through July and I'm sitting at 55.48 miles which is the most miles I've run in a July since 2021.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to run 9:20 pace for 32 minutes and Thursday recovery run and Friday a workout?  I'd be shocked if that doesn't change but also not sure why it would... I guess we'll see.

Signs of improvement

My last 3 runs (Saturday and Sunday and Monday) have actually felt pretty good.  I'm think that the last couple weeks of slow, steady, and consistent work are starting to pay off.   I also made another tweak this weekend with my cadence.  I made a focus to up my cadence and wound up averaging about 177 the last 3 runs instead of the typical 170 I had been running at.  While it takes some focus and doesn't feel completely natural, it does seem easier and also my hips are less sore. I ran 6 on Saturday, a workout on Sunday, and 3.67 today with hardly any fatigue.

The Garmin auto-coach still seems kind of wonky.  I ran an easy 6 on Saturday at 8:43 pace after a rest day on Friday.  Then I woke up Sunday, it told me to do another rest day.  I wasn't going to waste a Sunday training day so I set up my own workout: 

• 10 minute warm up at 8:45 pace
• 10 minutes at 7:12 pace
• 5 minute recovery at 8:43 pace
• 5 minutes at 6:51 pace
• 6 minute cooldown at 8:55 pace

It seemed to be the perfect workout for my current condition that day.  I ran hard but never really hurt to much and remained in control and had no problems with exhaustion.  

I woke up Monday and was expecting the watch to tell me to do a rest day since I ran a workout on my rest day but nope, instead it told me to run 32 minutes at 9:20 pace.  I would up running 32 minutes at 8:43 pace and averaged 139 HR for the run which made it one of my best "easy runs" for a while.

Garmin has me scheduled for another workout tomorrow.  I'll be shocked if I wake up tomorrow and it still recommends a workout but who knows.  If not, I can start ignoring the watches suggestions and run my own workouts from time to time until the training algorithm sorts itself out.

Steady 9 min pace

 I've been steady hovering around the 9 minute pace for my last 11 runs... this is based on actually following the Garmin training schedule I'm testing out.  When I look forward in the schedule it typically will tell me that I have a workout coming up the next day but normally once the next day comes it replaces the workout with another base run at 9:20 pace.  Not exactly sure why this is but I'm guessing that part of the issue is that 9:00 pace on a hot summer day hits harder so maybe I'm working harder than the algorithm thinks I should but generally speaking the running has seemed relatively easy and my HR has averaged 140 as long as I run in early enough in the morning that it's not in the upper 80s yet.

Don't think I'll really know if I'm actually starting to get any improvements or am at least building a base to build improvements on top of for a few more weeks or until i try to push it a bit on a cooler day.  I'm starting to get a little antsy though as I have been kind of running these "base" types of runs all year and was hoping to start introducing some workouts.

the one thing I can say about slowing down the pace is that my mileage is slightly up.  Not a ton since I'm following the Garmin training plan which is telling me to do 3-4 miles a day (normally I have to run for an extra minute after the workout is done if I actually want to get to 4 miles).  

I'm a bit conflicted because I have my yearly race coming up in August and want to perform as well as possible but also think that long term if I can just get my mileage back up to the 30-40 MPW level that considerable fitness advances will follow.

Today I was supposed to run one of those workouts but when I woke up it told me to rest... so I'm going to rest.  Looking ahead, more base runs tomorrow (51 minutes at 9:20 pace) and Sunday (35 minutes at 9:20 pace) but then maybe some workouts next week.  We shall see.

  

Hot summer reset

 I actually took my own advice and slowed down.  It allowed me to run 7 out of 8 days so far in July (with one scheduled rest day).  I've got 27.44 miles in so far so almost 4 miles a day at a 9:02 average pace.  including a couple of runs in the middle of  90+ degree and sunny afternoons.  

My legs have taken the effort well and feel less fatigued than they have for a while and my motivations is doing ok too.  So far I'm on pace for over 100 miles this month.  I've only broken the 100 mile plateau once in the past 3 years so doing so would be a good sign of progress.  

I've been following a Garmin automated training plan.  So far it pretty much tells me to run between 32 and 42 minutes at 9:20 pace every day.  Sometimes I'll look ahead and it will hint that maybe I'll run something different but then the next day I wake up and it tells me to run 9:20 pace.  I've been running closer to 9 minutes than 9:20 but still have been slowing myself way down compared to 8:30. Its kind of been nice to have a plan and I'll try to keep following it until the end of July at least and then reevaluate. 

Slow TF Down and Recover Already!

A couple days ago I decided to try using a Garmin workout plan, mostly out of curiosity.

Saturday it told me to do a recovery run of 26 minutes at 12 minute pace... I ran 26 minutes at 10 minute pace which seemed really slow.

Sunday it told me to rest, so I walked 4 miles but tried to keep my HR in the 110-125 range.  

Monday it told me to do a recovery run -  I mostly ignored but ran an "easy" 4 miles at 8:50 miles.

Today it told me to do a recovery run -  26 minutes at 11:15 pace.  I finally listened and actually did the workout.  2.4 miles with an average HR of 123.  I actually put my watch in workout mode which created a little gauge on my watch that helped me target the pace (there was a green range and a red range on each side, needle would go into the red if I went too fast or slow)

Running 11-minute pace is not natural for me but I finally sucked up my pride and listened to the watch.  I will give it a couple weeks and see how it goes..  Hopefully at some point it will tell me something different from "recovery run"

Consistent June

 I've almost made it through a consistent June and total 71 miles.  I've ran 20 days out of  30 and averaged 3.6 miles a day.  Longest run was 6.72 miles but for the most part I've been in the 3 or 4 mile range.  I've gotten a couple track workouts in and pushed the pace once or twice.  

I haven't been making any huge fitness jumps but I've seen slow and steady improvement.  My average page for the month was 8:30 which is 8 seconds faster than last month which is a fairly large gain especially when factoring in the summer heat.

I'm halfway through the year and off to my best start since 2022.  I've run 380 miles so far which exceeds the 370 I ran in 2023 and is quickly approaching the 527 miles I ran in 2024.  Not impossible that I could get 1000 miles in this year but we'll see.  I will need to significantly increase the miles and probably ease up a bit on the pace. 

I know I'm probably pushing harder than I should be on most days while also not getting enough truly hard efforts in, but once I get out on the road its really hard to slow down.  I did run a 2.6 mile recovery run at 10 minute pace on Saturday...  but it's hard to run that slow consistently and really makes me second guess myself.  I suppose I should at least try to slow down for a couple weeks to see what comes of it... I doubt it though.  

Here's where I am though.  Maybe I'm just impatient.  Maybe I'm getting old.  Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep.  Maybe I'm not training right.  I'm putting in work but not totally satisfied with the results.  I've been really hoping that some fitness will kick in and i'll see a big improvement jump but so far it has been very slow and steady.  My weight has been steady at 190 lbs too and really need this to come down as well... part of this is diet but I think a lot is genetics.  Kind of seems it doesn't matter how much I eat or exercise, I always settle at around 190.  The only time I was able to adjust was when I was running 50 miles a week and then I was at 170 but as soon as I got hurt and stopped running the weight came back on really quickly.  

For now I'll focus on the positives which are health and consistency and hope that the gains will eventually follow.