Day 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15

still going. 

did 22 miles on saturday for a long run. 

here are some numbers:

  • miles: 148.43
  • days in: 15
  • days left: 170
  • # of runs: 19
  • miles off target: -20.48

certain muscles are starting to ache that i think i really should tend to soon before they get weird. 

i'm having a lot of fun doing this.

it's creating a new sense of purpose with the way my sleep and diet are centered around this long term goal that's accomplished day in and day out.

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i've started google maps'ing the progress i make each day. today, i'm at this random spot in tennessee moving towards the kentucky border.

Day 8, 9, and 10

not much distinguishes these days, running wise, but i some clarity of strategy is starting to come through. so, that's what this post is.

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it seems like i've hit a rhythm where the muscles and the mind are getting used to this kind of pace. 

strategy, too, seems to be coming together. i.e., monday, "active recovery" came into my head and i decided that doing an active recovery day at the beginning of the week, following the long run on saturdays and mid-distance on sunday, is smart. 

a group of friends run on the same trail loop on tuesday mornings and then do coffee after that, so i'm planning to make tuesdays that active recovery day. 

my sister in-law, emily, gave me some good thoughts that splitting up miles several days a week could be really helpful to longevity. so, i'm taking that up as well and doing at least 8 in the morning and 4 at lunch. 

i've also started a spreadsheet so that i can visualize my progress and model staying at least close to the line i need to keep. 

that's here.

one other thing i noticed: my town, and these mountains, seem quite unreal when morning light plays on them. i get a great view of the east ridge in montreat going up montreat road, and then a beautiful view of the swannanoas coming back down montreat road. a good reason to keep that road (plus the ~1.5 miles of sidewalk) on the route in the morning.

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according to my (chatgpt) calculates, as the crow flies, being 90.04 miles in, this seems to put me somewhere around a junk removal place in knoxville, tennessee (35.9847, -83.9752).

that's it. just making up miles.

Day 5, 6, 7: as the crow flies

i'm writing this on day 7, after finishing up for the week, so day 5 and 6 are a bit lossy at this point. i'll recap those together.

Day 5 & 6 

being sick on wednesday and thursday, i decided to be conservative even though i knew i'd be in a deficit week 1. this turned out to be a good decision. 

my friend Doug wished me luck on thursday, to get back out there on friday, at our july 4th bbq and i wasn't confident i'd be doing that. i had that stuffy head and eyes watering feeling going home that night. 

luckily, friday morning i woke up and felt well enough to go for it. that morning, i went ~8 miles and at lunch I went 4. i stopped at the running store on that run and got a new running belt -- same belt (Ultimate Direction), bigger size. kind of thinking i should take it back but it'll probably be better for longer efforts when i have more? i'm not sure. 

on saturday, day 6, i went for gold with a 20 miler. i really cranked up mileage this week from anything i've every done, especially over the base i've had over the last month or so. everyone tells you not to do that. i'd assume they're more right than not, and yet i felt strong on this big effort. perhaps a significant part of that is luck. i'll just accept and not think to much about it, though. this, i think, is a strength of mine in running: not overthinking things. 

Day 7

finished up the week this morning with an ~8 miler. that put me 18.58 miles in the hole for the project, but considering i did those 65.91 miles in 4 days -- my most ever training miles in a week -- i'm really happy about this week. 


some pivoting

i'm planning on some adjustments to the weekly template. i probably should take this week and increase it by 10-15% weekly miles over the next 2-3 weeks instead of going up to 84.5 this coming week. 

i imagine that could look like a 10-11 mile daily average, with throwing at least one trail day in there, and then a long run on saturday mornings. i'll need to simulate that over the next 6 months and see what that comes out to so i have something predictable and a bit progressive to follow. 


data

the home page for the project is here. it's really just a fun face for it. this blog will contain most of the narrative. i'll be doing videos too. 

i'm thinking that a google sheet that's full of the data (planned and discovered) like gear useage, food intake, and everything else surrounding the actually miles would be helpful to me. 

going to look into that soon. 

last thought

i'm glad i'm doing this. i've been a more focused human being this week because i started this. 

this kind of observation is what i love about distance running and high endurance efforts. it shows me things about myself and helps me live better.