Introduction to My Log
I’m not shy and my training is far from spectacular. I hope you do get some use out of this, and/or provide me with some suggestions. I’ll take ’em! You can follow me on Strava if you’re interested in my day to day routes!
May 19, 2019 – 36 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: Hackney Half Marathon – 25 total for the day
Location: London, England – Hackney / Clissold Park
Commentary: 1:07:25 officially for the half today for a funny little half marathon! First off, this was my first race since the Turkey Trot in Dallas, which was also my first race since the JPM Corporate Challenge in July. In general, I was feeling a little nervous, like absolutely dreading stepping back on the line again. Don’t get me wrong, I think I’m fit, but it just felt like a giant unknown again after racing the least in one year since I “retired” in 2014 following college.
The Hackney Half was designed as a running and fitness “festival,” with street food, other sporting events (basketball, football, gladiator?). These giant running festivals in fact are great…they bring in a large crowd, raise awareness, and potentially money for a great cause or organization. PLUS, if they put them on correctly, they can be great for elites as well and provide a significant amount of emotional / monetary support. I did like the event in the end, but starting out, even dropping my bag was a nightmare of a situation. As one of the maybe 10 elites, I was given a standard number for the bag drop. I dropped my bag, number 17,702, 50 minutes prior to the race on clear instruction that I could retrieve it to change into racing gear. While I can’t blame the guy for subsequently not being able to find my bag in what had formed into the massive fatberg of bags 30 minutes later, it made me realize how nice it is to have designated areas for Elites. Am I complaining for no reason? Yes. Did it end up ok in the end? Yes. Am I maybe slightly spoiled? Yes! I do have this perspective, but as an elite, its slightly frustrating to be standing barefoot outside of bag drop 17,500 – 18,000 just 14 minutes before your race while a kind gentleman sifts through piles of bags.
I did end up getting my bag and getting to the line. I did a few stretches before realizing that pen “B” was moving in and I wouldn’t have a chance to do any strides. Standing at the line for 10 minutes, we finally took off, with a group of 4 leading the way through 3 miles in around 5:00. The ultimate winner took off, and maintained a steadily growing lead of ~2 seconds per mile. While I had a number of urges / chances to take off, the guy in 2nd wanted to hold off until 9 – 10 to make the move, thinking the leader would die. I blame my hesitancy on the lack of recent racing experience, but can say that not going with the leader is the biggest mistake in this race. We clicked off 5:10s or so through the very winding streets of Hackney, making dozens of 90, 90+, or 180 degree turns along the way. In the end I made a “move” at 3 miles to go to attempt to catch the leader, though he seemed to have an extra gear as well, finishing just at 67:00.
I’m happy with the result! For my first race in a while and given the difficulties of the course and my weekly mileage, I think it indicates that I’m in decent shape. It’s not my 64:58 from Barcelona, but it was never going to be. I finished the day off with an hour easy at Clissold Park. On to the Vitality 10k next week!
May 18, 2019 – 37 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 7.5 Miles AM
Location: London, England – River Lea
Commentary: I ran over to the
May 17, 2019 – 38 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 6.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Ho Hum
May 16, 2019 – 39 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 6.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Ho Hum
May 15, 2019 – 40 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 2 Miles AM “Shakeout” / 3.5 Miles Warmup PM / 8 x 1000 with 200 jog in 2:59 – 3:00 / 4.5 Mile Cool Down.
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal / Mile End Track
Commentary: Felt good on this, but it was the first workout in a while where I really got the breathing up. The rest felt very short, but I think this is exactly what I need. Half marathon this weekend, which is my first race in 9 months…who knows what’s going to happen.
May 14, 2019 – 41 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 6.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Ho Hum
May 13, 2019 – 42 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 6.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Too and Fro…the typical run. This is getting a little boring, but it definitely beats the tube.
May 12, 2019 – 43 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 22 Miles
Location: London, England – River Lea
Commentary: I tried to run this slowly after the previous week’s mileage, which was 97 off 6 days of running. Felt tired, but good at a slightly easier pace.
May 11, 2019 – 44 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 18 Miles Total – 5 Miles Warm up / 8 x 1 mile in 4:58 – 5:00 go every 6:00 with 4 x 200 on / 200 off in 30/31 / 4 Miles Cool down
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal / Parliament Hill Track
Commentary: I bailed on the Alton 10 miler this morning. While I’m not particularly proud of committing to this and then backing out, the race was a 2 hour train ride from London, and was won in 56:xx last year. I didn’t think it was worth it, on the day, to head out there for a glorified time trial. I contacted the elite coordinator at the Virgin Hackney Half and received an entry for the half marathon next week, so plan on running that. I ran this 8 x mile on the track and felt strong…tired, but the strength is there somewhere!
May 10, 2019 – 44 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 8 Mile AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: This is my “Taper” for the race tomorrow. Not quite feeling fully recovered, but am comfortable with feeling tired and racing. If you can get around the mental component of racing tired, given racing off high volume may lead to slightly slower times, then there is no worry. I tend to race off minimal rest and have to convince myself that I’m in better shape than my race indicated, but get to keep the volume up. It’s worked in the past, so I keep the ball rolling.
May 9, 2019 – 45 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 6.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Standard too and from work. Worn out from yesterday, but feeling excited to go heading into Alton 10 miler this weekend.
May 8, 2019 – 46 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 16 Miles PM – 3 x 2 mile with 2 minutes rest – 4 x 800 [10:15/10:14/10:15] with 400 jog [2:24/2:24/2:24/2:24] – 4 x 400 with 400 jog [69/70/69/69]
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal / Mile End Track
Commentary: 6 miles easy in the morning through the rain, and a track workout in the PM. I was a little flatter in the workout than I wanted until I realized that I had run the previous 17 miles within the last 24 hours. Overall, over 30 in 24 hours…not a smart move. I need to be careful leading into the final days to stay healthy! Happy with getting the workout done and managing to avoid gelato for the first day in more than I can count (4…actually it was pretty easy).
May 7, 2019 – 47 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 3 Miles AM / 11 Miles PM
Location: Venice, Italy – City / London, England – Clissold Park
Commentary: Got in my a nightmare of a 3 mile run in Venice, and a solid 11 late when I got back. Feeling good, and ready to tackle these next 40 days before tapering hard.
May 6, 2019 – 48 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Venice, Italy – City
Commentary: None today…only 3 x 1 gelato
May 5, 2019 – 49 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 8 easy PM
Location: Venice, Italy – City
Commentary: Venice is where your running dreams go to die, plain and simple. I ran this in the pouring rain, through tourists and tight alleyways that killed my GPS signal. With these impediments, and a lack of public parks or trails longer than 1 mile, it’s almost inevitable that the pizza, pasta, gelato, and other delicious foods would morph my running body into a lovable dad bod. It might be worth it!
May 4, 2019 – 50 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 21 miles with 4 x 3 miles around goal marathon pace
Location: London, England – River Lea
Commentary: I ran this on the River Lea, which isn’t the most forgiving of trails / surfaces for fast running. Whether they’re bridges with 90 degree turns to cross the canals, wind whipping off the river, or large gravel trails, something is slowing you down. I managed probably 5:20 low, with some at and some obviously slower than marathon pace, but was happy with the work overall. Slightly behind still on fitness, so I will be catching up until the last week!
May 3, 2019 – 51 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 14 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Well…the track isn’t open until 9, a good 2 hours after I need to run this workout. Unfortunately having a place to drop my bag is a part of the logistical challenge of running to work, and without the open track I’d either need to run all the way to work and back to Victoria Park, or commit to some sort of god forsaken track-less workout with a pack strapped to my shoulders. I need to weigh this thing, but it’s not as if my work pack is weightless. I’ll try again tomorrow, but for today it will simply be a mileage day. I ran until I had to be in the office…14 miles in the morning, and then ran home for an additional 6 in the PM.
May 2, 2019 – 52 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 4.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Typical 6.5 to work and 4.5 home while preparing for the workout tomorrow. It’s happening BABY! Legs are finally feeling good enough to let this one rip, so here goes nothing.
May 1, 2019 – 53 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 6.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Typical 6.5 to work and 6.5 home. Feeling slightly better, but oddly crushed compared to some of the past weeks.
April 30, 2019 – 54 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 6.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Typical 6.5 to work and 6.5 home. I am feeling a little better, but my legs are still crushed from the week of vacation and long run on Sunday. Pushing the workout to Thursday, as I don’t think my legs would hold up.
April 29, 2019 – 55 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 6.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Wow! Legs are crushed. I’m not sure if its a delayed response from the week of vacation or what, but they’ve collapsed. Running very easy tomorrow so I can hopefully run a workout on Wednesday.
April 28, 2019 – 56 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 18 Miles PM
Location: London, England
Commentary: An easier long run along the River Lea after watching Kipchoge absolutely crush it today in Kipchoge Mode in the London Marathon. What a guy…he is truly my marathoning hero. I am now in earnest practicing my daily meditation and self talk to gain even a fraction of the advantage that Kipchoge possesses when toying with his competitors. Keep on the daily practice and it will pay dividends!
April 27, 2019 – 57 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 0 Miles AM
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Commentary: I had to check out of the hostel today, so no running. My bad.
April 26, 2019 – 58 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 10 Miles AM with 15 x 1min on / 1min off
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Commentary: Great run through Westerpark. There are two parks that I am somewhat familiar with in Amsterdam, which is pretty great for running once you get out of the crowded city. Great weather here for a solid workout.
April 25, 2019 – 59 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: Seville, Spain
Commentary: Feeling very worn down again from all of the walking. We’re walking 25 – 30k steps per day exploring the city, which is taking a toll on my feet and ankles. Traveling to Amsterdam today.
April 24, 2019 – 60 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 10 Miles AM with 30 secs on / 30 second off
Location: Seville, Spain
Commentary: Got in a decent workout on a still sour stomach. The running in Seville isn’t the most exciting, especially beyond 10 miles, though there is a nice little run down the river that is manageable for a short out and back.
April 23, 2019 – 61 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM
Location: Seville, Spain
Commentary: Just testing out the stomach, which is still extremely upset after food poisoning. I’m hopeful of forcing a workout tomorrow. It’s a rest week anyway, so I’m trying not to be too concerned.
April 22, 2019 – 62 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Commentary: Food poisoning in Lisbon and Travel to Seville….no way to run today 🙁
April 21, 2019 – 63 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Commentary: Starting my rest week a tad early on this one, but am happy to have gotten in the long run in the middle of last week. We are getting in some consistent 8 or so miles of walking, all on hills, so that adds a little nuance to the “fitness.” I believe in the walking! Placebo effect will work if anything!
April 20, 2019 – 64 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 2 Miles AM
Location: Lisbon, Portugal – Some random back alley
Commentary: 2 miles up and down a very steep hill in Lisbon waiting on others to get ready. A 6 am flight did not allow for a full run today.
April 19, 2019 – 65 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 10 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Hampstead Heath
Commentary: I squeezed in a run after a solid day of exploring the city with my little brother, who is visiting Europe for the first time! Fish and chips has my stomach a little up in arms, but those are the sacrifices you have to make for pub food.
April 18, 2019 – 66 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 12 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Chisold Park
Commentary: 12 miles around the 1.25 soft loop at Chisold Park. Great little park to get out of your head and into some loops. Praise be to wood chips.
April 17, 2019 – 67 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 4 miles warmup / 10 x 1k on (3:10) / 1k float (3:30) / 6 miles cooldown – 20.5 total
Location: London, England – Victoria Park
Commentary: I ran with my friend Ben, who is in the final stages of his London build up. He’s in good shape, better than me, though I am happy with how I hung in there through the end. He ran (as of the time of this writing) 2:20:03, so I am hopeful that I am in better shape than I think, and that I can squeeze out a little more in the next 8 weeks.
April 16, 2019 – 68 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Only the AM run this morning, as I had a boozy pub quiz tonight and couldn’t squeeze it in. I also wanted to give myself a rest before a long workout tomorrow…one of my sickies of the build up, I will take it!
April 15, 2019 – 69 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6.5 Miles AM / 6.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I moved about a half mile away, so am now getting one extra mile in daily volume, woohoo! We decided to just move everything by foot given the proximity, but underestimated how much crap can accumulate in 18 months…
April 14, 2019 – 70 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 23 Miles AM
Location: London, England – River Lea
Commentary: Absolutely crushed this one. Every training block I feel the need to run a quick long run early to “prove” to myself that I can sustain a hard effort (usually off of no fueling) over distance. While I hope to continue to get fitter, I think this will be one of my hardest efforts over long run. After the run, I proceeded to sit in a tiny chair for 6 hours watching Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts one and two in theatre while my glute medius cramped continuously. Such is the life…must just need more magnesium.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 20 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 20 miles with 6:08 average. 30 minutes of hard running close to the end where I was between 5:15s and 5:30s-ish. Felt good and strong!
April 13, 2019 – 71 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 11 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s park
Commentary: A nice 11 miles easy around regent’s park.
Young Rory
Total Distance: Longhorn 10k cancelled – 13 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: The Longhorn 10k was cancelled – I did 2.5 miles of the race before the called it off due to weather. I got in about 3 quality miles, and stood around before a long 8 mile cooldown
April 12, 2019 – 72 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Standard 6 to work and 6 back. I am obviously feeling very worn down, but focussing on sleep, recovery, and the right nutrition.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 9 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 9 miles easy before the Longhorn 10k
April 11, 2019 – 73 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Standard 6 to work and 6 back
Young Rory
Total Distance: 9 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 9 miles easy at The Omelettry for thirsty Thursday
April 10, 2019 – 74 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 14 Miles AM / 6 miles PM
Location: London, England – Victoria Park
Commentary: – 4 warmup – 5 x 6min hard / 1min easy around 5:00 – 5:10 pace with 4 miles cooldown. I did NOT feel great on this, and was rather politely dropped by Ben Johnson. God speed to Ben on his way to a sub 2:20 London attempt, but I am not there yet! 6 Miles home from work.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 12 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 6 x mile at 5 minute pace with 800 float recovery at 6:30 pace
April 9, 2019 – 75 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Standard 6 to work and 5 back with Joe
Young Rory
Total Distance: 11 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 11 miles fairly easy with Mitch. Early as hell on the St. Eds hilly loop.
April 8, 2019 – 76 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Standard 6 to work and 5 back with Joe
Young Rory
Total Distance: 8 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 8 miles easy on the trails
April 7, 2019 – 77 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 22 Miles AM
Location: London, England – River Lea
Commentary: Great run down River Lea for my first long-long run! I wasn’t feeling the greatest, but had a solid stretch between 11 – 15 that allowed me to fly a little bit! It’s coming around.
Young Rory
Total Distance: Cap 10k cancelled – 15.5 tempo – 5:20s – 5:30s
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: I was supposed to run the Cap 10k today, which was cancelled due to weather. I ran 15.5 instead with 9 miles between 5:20 – 5:30, which felt good. The last few miles were cold, which I hated.
April 6, 2019 – 78 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 13 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Hampstead Heath
Commentary: 4 miles to the heath and 5 miles on a variety of hills. I have a 1.25 mile hill that is pretty gnarly, so I might try to incorporate this into a long workout in the future. Hampstead is a good place to get a good beating on the legs either way!
Young Rory
Total Distance: 8 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 8 miles at 7 min pace today
April 5, 2019 – 79 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 9 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Ran the long way home today for a few extra miles. I’m pretty worn down, so am going to make sure to get in some good R&R this weekend.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 14 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Funny tempo before the Cap 10k…goal was to average in the 5:30s for most of an hour, but started very quickly and hit some 5:20s. I decided tot try to cut it, or slow down to 5:40s so I shut down the pace and ultimately averaged 5:45s.
April 4, 2019 – 80 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Standard 6 out to 5 back with Joe.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 9 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 9 mile Omelettry run…then feast!!
April 3, 2019 – 81 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Standard 6 out to work and 6 back from work. I am enjoying the tiny bit of extra sunlight at night now that the time has changed. No more running home in the dark!!!
Young Rory
Total Distance: 13 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Medium distance run just under 7 minute pace average
April 2, 2019 – 82 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Standard 6 out and non-standard 5 back. I ran an alternate route back with Joe, and tried to stop in for some Afghan Kitchen to go before I was informed the wait would be 20 minutes. Sad.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 5 x 800 with 6 x 400 AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 800s in 2:23 and 400s in 68…3 warm up and cool down
April 1, 2019 – 83 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: A quick out and back to work. I felt great on the way home, but somewhat sluggish after that long-run. I’m afraid that I’m a little behind in my training. If you look back to London, I was running some good quality workouts this time of the cycle, whereas I’ve only been able to get in a couple of true hard efforts, fartleks mostly, since starting for Grandmas. On one hand I am happy to be reducing the chance of injury, and think that I have more than enough time to get in shape with almost 3 months of training remaining. On the other, this is shortest cycle I’ve had, so the its the unknown. The unknown is always slightly scary. Workouts start in earnest next week after another week of higher mileage.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 7 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Tired today…tried to keep it very easy
March 31, 2019 – 84 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 20 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 10 miles out and back on the River Lea. I love this new route, and feel like its perfectly broken up into tiny segments that keeps me engaged. It’s not the greatest for running lightning quick, but I’m not sure I need this on a 20 mile run. Eventually I may incorporate some race pace work, but for now 20 miles is a solid enough effort.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 9.3 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Slow and easy through muddy trails
March 30, 2019 – 85 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 13 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Hampstead & Golders Green
Commentary: While I felt tired, it was a good 13 miles through Golders Green, a hilly and wooded 1.5 mile loop. I enjoyed the sunlight, and ended the day with a picnic on a rare nice day for this time of year.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 18 Miles AM with 8 miles of tempo in the middle
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Averaged around 5:30 for the hard with a cool down near 6 minute pace for a final average of 6:17
March 29, 2019 – 86 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I didn’t make it out for a PM run, though likely this is for the best. It’s been a challenging week so far, and I didn’t need to be at peak mileage yet. Sometimes you have to know when to hold back to 90% and when to press ahead, and this is definitely a 90% type of week.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 10 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Easy run with some hills at the end
March 28, 2019 – 87 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Typical too and from work schedule. Feeling a little better than yesterday, but the mileage has now officially ramped up.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 9 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Omelettry Track Club Run.
March 27, 2019 – 88 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 10 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Getting out the door in the morning was a challenge, so I wrapped everything up at night. Feeling a little beat down, so will need to get some solid rest this weekend! Finished with a little strength in the gym to work on functional core.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 12 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA – Austin High Track
Commentary: 12 miles easy with Mark and podcasts to keep me company. PM strength class at Athletic Outcomes.
March 26, 2019 – 89 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 6 miles to and from home from work. My headphones died on the way back so I had to think about my life…
I spent the time focussing on form, and exploring the sites on the canal I may have missed while focussing on a podcast or audiobook. I rarely run without some form of stimulation now, but will try to do this more often.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 18 Miles total including 6×1.5 miles with 800 jog
Location: Austin, TX, USA – Austin High Track
Commentary: 6×1.5 miles with 800m jog recovery. Started around 5:10 pace and got down to 5:00 for the last 2 reps. PM workout at RunLab.
March 25, 2019 – 90 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 6 miles to and from home from work. First time attempting the double after a long, long-run, and while it went well (as in I did it), I am already feeling worn down. Need to focus on recovery, hydration, and nutrition and keeping it steady on these runs to start. Work has been busy, so am trying to maintain my volume while navigating the workload.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 8 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 8 mile recovery run. Young Rory appears to have no commentary.
March 24, 2019 – 91 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 20 Miles AM
Location: London, England – River Lea
Commentary: Found a new favorite long run path down the River Lea. It’s East on Regent’s canal and then north on Lea after Victoria Park, heading through parks and rowing docks and with much less traffic than west on Regent’s canal. I felt a little tired on the way back for my first 20 miler, though was out a little late last night celebrating a friend in town. Overall I felt that it was a solid run.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 20 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 20 miles over some hills around 6:37 average
March 23, 2019 – 92 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 11 Miles – 10 x 2 min on / 1 min off
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: First workout of the season, with 3 warmup, 10 x 2 min on / 1 min off. With 3 to cool down, I got in a cool 11, with minimal impact on the legs, feeling good!
Young Rory
Total Distance: 8 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 8 miles easy with Bella around 6:40 on the trails
March 22, 2019 – 93 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: As you can see, still with my traditional 6 miles back to or from the office. I’ll be picking it up to both ways soon. Its getting warmer and brighter after work, thank God!!
Young Rory
Total Distance: 12 Miles AM with workout / 4 Miles PM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 5 mile workout of 1 min on / 1 min off, bouncing between 4:40 on the on and a recovery jog on the off 5:22 average pace.
March 21, 2019 – 94 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 7 miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 7 easy after work
Young Rory
Total Distance: 8.5 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: 8.5 miles…dead tired from traveling
March 20, 2019 – 95 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 6 easy after work
Young Rory
Total Distance: 12 Miles AM
Location: New Orleans, LA, USA
Commentary: 12 mile medium long run averaging 6:37s. I explored New Orleans, and picked up the pace a bit the last few miles.
March 19, 2019 – 96 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 miles AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 6 easy to and from work
Young Rory
Total Distance: 8 Miles progression – 12 total
Location: New Orleans, LA, USA
Commentary: 12 miles total, with 8 progression averaging 5:28s. All on the treadmill.
March 18, 2019 – 97 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 6 miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 6 easy to work. I’m a little worn out after the long run yesterday, so made sure I was hydrated fueled throughout the day. I added some additional salts to my water to make sure I was getting hydrated.
Young Rory
Total Distance: 8 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Easy run with Bella on the trails before flying out to New Orleans
March 17, 2019 – 98 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Commentary: Traveling, no running
Young Rory
Total Distance: 18 Miles AM
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Ran comfortably hard on some of Allison’s workout before continuing with Slim (Young Austin: I don’t know this slim man). I ran some additional quick miles towards the end, with the first half on town lake and the second over some hills. 6:22s average.
March 16, 2019 – 99 days until Grandmas
Young Austin
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Commentary: Traveling, no running
Young Rory
Total Distance: 8.3 Miles
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Commentary: Easy run on the trails with Bella
March 15, 2019 – 100 days until Grandmas
Today marks 100 days until Young Rory and I run Grandmas Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. While we are training roughly 4,912 miles apart, we are both attempting to run sub-2:19:00, so will be supporting each other in spirt. By tracking our training, we hope to show show two potentially different training plans on the road to achieving the same goal, as well as our own internal monologues, and that there is no one size fits all training program for working class individuals.
Young Austin
Total Distance: 9 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 9 miles easy back from work before taking off to Budddaaapppeessstttt
Young Rory
Total Distance: 12 Miles AM – 3 x [300m on with 100m jog – 400m rest between sets]
Location: Austin, TX, USA – Austin High Track
Commentary: Today was tough, very windy and glad Lucas came out to run these with me.
March 14, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 6 miles to and from work
March 13, 2019
Total Distance: 5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 5 back from work
March 12, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 6 back from work
March 11, 2019
Total Distance: 18 Miles AM
Location: London, England – River Lea
Commentary: 18 Miles back down river Lea. Tough long run, and the first really “long” run!
March 10, 2019
Total Distance: 18 Miles AM
Location: London, England – River Lea
Commentary: 18 Miles back down river Lea. Tough long run, and the first really “long” run!
March 9, 2019
Total Distance: 10 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Easy 10 miles around Regent’s Canal / Park
March 8, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Back from travel after a pretty hectic schedule. I blew off the steam with a quick 6 miler. Time to really get back into it with 107 days until Grandmas marathon!
March 7, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Muscat, Oman
Commentary: Traveled to the GCC for work, no running
March 6, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Muscat, Oman
Commentary: Traveled to the GCC for work, no running
March 5, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Dubai, UAE
Commentary: Traveled to the GCC for work, no running
March 4, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Dubai, UAE
Commentary: Traveled to the GCC for work, no running
March 3, 2019
Total Distance: 15.5 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I ran through Victoria Park and down the River Lea over to work before putting in a few hours. 6 miles back to the house was good for a solid long run for the day! I don’t like to split up my long runs, but it does make for efficient travel when I have to get into the office. Just a part of the overall integration at the end of the day.
March 2, 2019
Total Distance: 9.5 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: Easy and nice run around regent’s park, slowly in the grass and a bit barefoot.
March 1, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Run to work
February 28, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Run to work
February 27, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Run to work
February 26, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Run to work
February 25, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Run to work
February 24, 2019
Total Distance: 14 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: My first longish long run! It’s coming together folks!
February 23, 2019
Total Distance: 7 Miles AM
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Ran around a bit here and a bit there. I ran to pick up two packages from the post office, and then back out to Highbury Fields for a few loops before finishing at the gym for some core work. Gotta take care of the Little Things.
February 22, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: First day running to and from work! I had a little extra motivation from New Balance, which is promoting its new London pub and the London Marathon through challenges by which runners can earn beers by running miles. 40 miles within 2 weeks = 3 beers for you and 3 for a partner. Sign me up!
February 21, 2019
Total Distance: 5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Easy run home from work back through Shoreditch
February 20, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Easy run home from work, nothing to see here!
February 19, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Easy run into work
February 18, 2019
Total Distance: 1 Mile AM / 3 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I was struggling with a few motivation issues early in the morning and running slightly late, so I bailed and took the tube. Easy run back to London Bridge with Joe after work.
February 17, 2019
Total Distance: 12 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Odd running day. 6 mile run into work, 4 hours of work, 6 mile run back. Gotta do what you gotta do!
February 16, 2019
Total Distance: 8 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: Nice muddy run through the park with Gigi.
February 15, 2019
Total Distance: 5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Another run back through the city with my co-worker Joe. I split off and headed up through Shoreditch around mile two to finish my gnarly 5 miler, dodging pub-goers the entire way.
February 14, 2019
Total Distance: 1 Mile AM / 2 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Weird day, but mostly spent frantically trying to pick up a valentines day from the post office, which I ultimately didn’t get. I still have plenty of time, so am not concerned about odd days like this so long as I keep getting some work under me prior to March.
February 13, 2019
Total Distance: 5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Quick run through the city to London Bridge. Took the tube back to grab some dinner with bae. Burgers and a milkshake…it’s ok to be naughty every now and again 😉
February 12, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: London, England
Commentary: Worked late, with no opportunities to get in a run. So sad, so sad.
February 11, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Nice jog into work
February 10, 2019
Total Distance: 9 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal / Regent’s Park
Commentary: No pain. Good sign. Had the realization that this is only a third of a marathon, but progress is progress. You have to start somewhere.
February 9, 2019
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Busy day, just managed to squeeze in a quick out and back before dinner.
February 8, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: First run back to work
February 7, 2019
Total Distance: 1 Mile AM / 3 Miles PM
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Back at it! I don’t feel like I’m back at zero, though I am going to take it easy on the build up. I’m building through February and plan to start cranking the miles out in March. Sometimes injuries just happens, but it’s always important to keep the long term mentality.
February 6, 2019 – Injured/Resting
February 5, 2019 – Injured/Resting
February 4, 2019 – Injured/Resting
February 3, 2019 – Injured/Resting
February 2, 2019 – Injured/Resting
February 1, 2019 – Injured/Resting
January 31, 2019 – Injured/Resting
January 30, 2019 – Injured/Resting
January 29, 2019 – Injured/Resting
January 28, 2019
Total Distance: 1 Mile
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Well, my foam rolling yesterday didn’t do much, because I feel a nice sharp pain in the back, inside part of my left foot. One mile in and its time to stop…I have too far to my next marathon to be grinding through an injury. I stopped at Shoreditch Grind for a coffee and took the tube in.
January 27, 2019
Total Distance: 12.5 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Out and back on regent’s canal. My foot and achilles was bothering me most of the way, so I plan on targeting a foam roller tonight to try to knock it out early. Hopefully it doesn’t go anywhere further.
January 26, 2019
Total Distance: 9.5 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: Easy run through down the canal and through the park. I’m getting up to higher mileage than I’ve run in 5 months, so I’m a little sore in places, but surviving!
January 25, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Nice run home from the office, the first with my new headlamp (Nerd). I focussed completely on form so that as I continue to build mileage I do it with it with the muscle memory of an efficiency stride. My goal over the next 399 days will be one of consistency. Consistency in training and health, both physical and mental. Until I begin to dig into my next marathon program, I hope to shore up my mental endurance. This starts now.
**400 Days until the 2020 Olympic Trials**
January 24, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: My goals in these next 400 days are simple. 1) Get better every single day. This means doing the little things that I will be outlining on a weekly basis here on YH. 2) Run two big races prior to the Olympic Trials, one in the April – June timeframe and one in the September – October timeframe. 3) Stay healthy, mentally and physically. 4) Have fun, and enjoy the process. I don’t want to get too caught up in attempting to become the perfect marathoning specimen, that’s just not who I am in general, and especially in my life. I want to be a top 90% in my fitness, top 90% in my mental strength, top 90% in my nutrition, and top 90% in my core strength routine. If I am, I’ll be a 98% type of athlete.
I want to be in a position to run a marathon I am proud of, and know that I enjoyed the entire process along the way. I will also be outlining this on a weekly basis on YH.
Do Good,
Young Austin
January 23, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Easy run to work in the morning. Goal, just get back into the rhythm, try to build enthusiasm, and acclimatize to the simple act of putting my shoes on and going for a run.
January 22, 2019
Total Distance: 5 Miles
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Ran back through the city home from work, which is frustrating sometimes. Some parts of London are incredible to run through! On long runs, I love running through the middle of the city sightseeing, but after work, in the dark, sometimes its just a tough experience trying to navigate your way home.
January 21, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Nice easy run back from work
January 20, 2019
Total Distance: 11 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal to Regent’s Park
Commentary: First longish run of the year around the perimeter of Regent’s Park. I stopped and got a coffee with 2 miles to go…I’m getting back into this damn it, no judging!
January 19, 2019
Total Distance: 8 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: Nice loop around the grass mile in the park
January 18, 2019
Total Distance: 3 Miles
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Nice and easy back to London Bridge with my friend Joe
January 17, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: London, England
Commentary: No running for Young Austin
January 16, 2019
Total Distance: 4 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Easy run back from work, this is starting to feel much better.
January 15, 2019
Total Distance: 3 Miles
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Nice jog back to London Bridge with Joe
January 14, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Easy run to work in the morning. First run into the office in a long time!
January 13, 2019
Total Distance: 8 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: First run back in the Park. I love this place, so open and so free. I have a nice dirt loop around a 1.2 mile loop. Not that it’s the best loop in the world, but it does the trick, and its a nice mindless activity.
January 12, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: London, England
Commentary: Nope
January 11, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles
Location: London, England
Commentary: Slow jog back. Not many consecutive days under my belt.
January 10, 2019
Total Distance: 3 Miles
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: A nice easy jaunt through the city with Joe. I did feel ok, not great, but not as bad as in Dallas.
January 9, 2019
Total Distance: 6 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Just a simple run on the way back from work. I’m really ready to ramp up the training, but I have at least 7 weeks before I need to start doing so. It’s sometimes so hard to wait.
January 8, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: London, England
Commentary: Nahhhh
January 7, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: London, England
Commentary: Jetlagged!!!!
January 6, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Dallas, Texas ——–> London, England
Commentary: Flight back to London, wheeeeeeee
January 5, 2019
Total Distance: 2 Miles
Location: Dallas, Texas
Commentary: Quick run before a wedding with Gigi. I’m very very out of shape…woah. 3 months of no running really really does a number on your fitness
January 4, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Dallas, Texas
Commentary: I just didn’t feel like it today
January 3, 2019
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: Dallas, Texas
Commentary: I took a very important exam today and did not do any running. I celebrated after the exam. More to come!
January 2, 2019
Total Distance: 4 Miles
Location: Dallas, Texas
Commentary: This tore me up. Welcome back Young Austin to the world of putting one foot in front of the other!
January 1, 2019
Total Distance: 3 Miles
Location: Dallas, Texas
Commentary: My first run of the year. I’m back!! It’s been a good little break and I think I’m a little stronger, but now it’s time to get back to the business of running and thinking. I have one good marathon in my legs prior to the 2020 trials and am hoping to tackle it at Grandmas Marathon in Duluth.
November 24, 2018
Total Distance: 1.5 Miles Warm Up / 8 Miles turkey trot
Location: Dallas, Texas
Commentary: My first run in about 2 months, and a painful on at that! I went out with a few old buddies figuring I would run 6:00 pace for the 8 mile course, but after a 5:20 first mile, knew I was in for a rough ride. After 8 miles of slowly catching the champions who went out a bit too fast, I crossed in about 5:34 pace, not so bad for a long break!
October 10, 2018
It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve posted. For continuity of the page, I will be taking the next 10 weeks mostly off from running as I pursue another major life goal, which will not allow for an intensive running schedule. This is a significant departure from what has been a status quo for most of my life that, every morning, I wake up, get out the door, and begin to run. But, in this stage of my life, I consider the appropriate balance of professional and athletic pursuits to be my primary goal, so after a successful last 12 months of running I am going to focus exclusively, for a short period, on professional goals. I am happy to have my 2020 olympic trials qualifier under my belt and will be gearing up for more marathons prior to lining up in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2020, but know that unless I give this professional pursuit 100%, I will not be as happy on the roads.
I plan to use this time to get into the gym and improve some strength deficiencies so as to come back stronger than ever.
Do Good,
Young Austin
September 29, 2018
Total Distance: 3 Miles Warm Up / 8 Miles on diverse hill set / 2 Miles Cool Down
Location: London, England – Hampstead
Commentary: Tough tough workout on the hills behind Hampstead. Coach has a creative mind for these, akin to a true fartlek style workout in terms variation. 3 times on a 1200m hill and another halfway up (steepest portion). Jog to a circle road two go around 1.5 times, 3 times down this and 3 more times going sideways. We may have run even backwards on occasion, but who’s really paying attention between the sweet gasps of air. Overall, there was an appropriate amount of carnage for an introduction to a new set of hills, so it was good all around. I’m going to continue with these, as, frankly, I need some good solid glute work. Young Austin doesn’t have much in the caboose department, so I’m going to build those bad boys up.
Keto-Commentary: No measurements taken
September 28, 2018
Total Distance: 6 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: Easy run, feeling pretty good after yesterday!
Keto-Commentary: No measurements taken
September 27, 2018
Total Distance: Bloomberg mile Relay – 1 mile in 4:40 – 8 total for the day
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: This is a great event! I always enjoy running this with JPMorgan – a 10x 1 mile relay through an obstacle course like route. I was first leg, and had to kick down two very fast guys who ran 4:41 / 4:42. Happy with the time completely, as its up and down stairs, around sharp corners and through pedestrians. Not fast by any means! Great party afterwards…last year I got to pop bottles at the awards ceremony. One bottle to be honest, which I told was a very non-British thing to do.
Keto-Commentary: No measurements taken
September 26, 2018
Total Distance: 6 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: Standard run – nothing to report people!!
Keto-Commentary: No measurements taken – I am officially in employee appreciation mode when it comes to ketosis this week. Ice cream, candy, deserts…bring it on.
September 25, 2018
Total Distance: 3.5 Warm up / 4 x [1200 / 800 / 400] / 4.5 cool down – 3:37 / 2:23 / 68 / 3:37 / 2:23 / 68 / 3:36 / 2:22 / 68 / 3:36 / 2:21 / 65
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: Decent workout overall for my first Tuesday track workout back! Very happy with this off tired legs.
Keto-Commentary: Very surprised to be at 1.0 millimolars after this workout. Complete glycogen depletion may be the cause, though I’m still surprised that the carbs I had today (mostly potato chips and candy) weren’t enough to refill glycogen stores enough to keep me out of ketosis for longer.
September 24, 2018
Total Distance: 6 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: Feeling rough after my 18 miler, which was my first run near 2 hours! Just a typical day to and from work, not much to report.
Keto-Commentary: Its employee appreciation week at work, which means that they bombard employees with sweets and carb laden pastries. I partook in one carb laden pastry, so am officially considering myself out of Ketosis for now.
September 23, 2018
Total Distance: 18 AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: This was a short and sweet long-run. I looped around Regent’s park a few times and enjoyed a few podcasts. Great weather, and great day all around. Closed down the canal in 5:25, which is a feat while weaving through people and the natural barriers intended to slow down bikes
Keto-Commentary: No measurements taken
September 22, 2018
Total Distance: 12 AM Total – 10 x 2 minutes fast / 1 minute jog
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: This was the first real workout of the block! After the 6/6 whirlwind I had this week, I was a bit flat, which I fully expected. It was a solid effort with no need for timing, and a good foray into feeling like I was doing some real work again.
Keto-Commentary: No measurements taken – I ate a bowl of rice (HORROR!) figuring it would kick me out of ketosis. Last Sunday, post-long run, my ketones were still very high even after a carb filled Friday / Saturday, so I’m going to see if I can simply use the long-run to kick myself back into ketosis. It’s a theory at least!
September 21, 2018
Total Distance: 6 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Meow
Keto-Commentary: No measurements taken
September 20, 2018
Total Distance: 6 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: The 6 and 6 double trouble is getting a slightly boring. It’s wearing me out, which is to be expected at this stage. I’m sure critics would advise against the double, but I’m exactly convinced that the conventional dogma of “single” versus “double” runs really stands up to science. I haven’t found a plethora of convincing evidence that points to the fact that it’s a massive benefit for me to be doing 12 miles and not 6/6. For someone who is looking simply to complete a distance, then I fully understand that logic, but for someone who is just trying to pound their legs and keep a constant degree of stress on the body, 6/6 should be fine. A 12 mile run isn’t doing me any favors in being able to run sub 65:00. Plus, this is my life, and its now or never…I ain’t gonna live forever, and running 6 to work and 6 back is saving me the most time possible. That’s just where I am right now.
Keto-Commentary: Ok, 1.1 today in the PM. Very hydrated and easy to draw from the pin-prick. I’m hoping that was part of the issue, but we’ll see again after this week’s testing.
September 19, 2018
Total Distance: 6 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Meow
Keto-Commentary: 0.6 millimolar first thing this morning, again! Still very difficult to draw blood, so I’m unsure of what’s going on. Going to hydrate all day and see how it goes tomorrow.
September 18, 2018
Total Distance: 6 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Meow
Keto-Commentary: 0.6 millimolar first thing in the morning! That’s not exactly high, though it was difficult to get the pinprick of blood for the test. It could be dehydration, or it could be that it’s harder to get back into ketosis than I thought. More data required!
September 17, 2018
Total Distance: 6 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Meow
Keto-Commentary: No measurements taken – waiting until tomorrow regarding my “Test”
September 16, 2018
Total Distance: 17 AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I jogged 4 down to Southwark Park to meet my friend & teammate Joe, who is training for his first half marathon. He’s the type of guy that “only wants to break 90 minutes,” then goes and runs 87:30 during the middle of a long run…I’m providing some loose guidance, but it’s great to see what he’ll be able to do on the day. I ran with phone in hand to track Kipchoge in Kipchoge Mode. What a man! What an incredible performance! I can hardly even imagine how he must feel right now…the weight of the world must have been lifted. GOAT indeed.
Keto-Commentary: Post long-run, I took blood ketone reading of 1.7 millimolars, which was my highest yet. After 4 or 5 hours of existing off said ketones, I had a reading of 1.1 millimolars, and 2 or 3 hours after a gluten free pizza I had a blood ketone reading of 0.6 millimolars. It’s incredible to see this in action, but that’s nutrition, the body responds very quickly to its environmental stimuli, including pizza. My goal, now that I’ve kicked myself out of ketosis, is to see how fast I can get back over 1.5 millimolars (reasonable ketosis range). I’ll take it every morning from here out to see how fast my body gets back.
September 15, 2018
Total Distance: 13 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal / Regent’s Park
Commentary: I ran down Regent’s Canal towards the park to do some loops on the grass. It was a great sunny day, and I remember everything being oddly clear and sharp. It can absolutely be attributed to my new state of superhuman ketosis 🙂 … self fulfilling in this way it is, I have actually been feeling pretty good on my runs, despite a “logically” low level of carbohydrate intake. I must be an alien, or, modern nutritional science as we know it is over simplified and/or plain wrong. Only those two options exist. One of the benefits of ketosis is that I do also feel sharper mentally, which is a great side effect even if the diet shows no indication of improved performance in a marathon (I have yet to see an indication either way). Keep pluggin away!
Keto-Commentary: After the 0.9 millimolar reading last night, I decided to take a new reading this morning, which came back as 1.1 millimolar. I’m pleased to start seeing the patterns most of all, as its important to understand when ketones may be higher or lower. Based on sound science that I know little of, ketones tend to rise during periods of fasting or low carbohydrate intake, so its not a surprise that they are higher in the morning.
September 14, 2018
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Well…I didn’t run home 6 miles today, so I’m writing my normal commentary. I decided to grab dinner after work with a good friend, so there. No PM run. I’ll only run 80 mid instead of 90 this week, but I think that’s ok. The side of my left knee has been little tight, so I’ll use this as a recovery day as well. In the game of marathoning, 95% is better than 101%.
September 13, 2018
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 
Keto-Commentary: After the 0.9 millimolar reading last night, I decided to take a new reading this morning, which came back as 1.1. I’m pleased to start seeing the patterns. Based on sound science, ketones rise during periods of fasting or low carbohydrate intake, so its not a surprise that they are higher in the morning.
September 12, 2018
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: WOW…this is going to get boring…I’ll figure out a way to spice it up, but for now the 6 out and 6 back is treating me well. 40 minute run compared to a 30 minute commute…Booya? Are we still allowed to say booya?
Keto-Commentary: Full keto, less than 50g of carbs. No feeling of exhaustion or depletion. I took a blood ketone reading of 0.9 millimolars a 10 PM. On the way into ketosis. I tend to feel a little sharper mentally when in ketosis, so it’s always a bitter sweet process. Trading the good carbs for great side effects.
September 11, 2018
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Too and from work…whoopee
Keto-Commentary: Full keto, less than 50g of carbs. No feeling of exhaustion or depletion, additional soreness, but no effects of low glycogen. I anticipate I would feel these during my workouts, which I have not yet started.
September 10, 2018
Total Distance: 6 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: This is my run too and from work. That’s it. Simple, easy, a double, yes, but the best way to integrate my running into my life nonetheless. If I do this, I get 12 miles per day, which is really what I’m looking for. Is it going to get me to 100%? Maybe not. Is it going to get me to 98%? Maybe…it’s wearing me out completely as of now, so it’s working the right points.
Keto-Commentary: Full keto, less than 50g of carbs. No feeling of exhaustion or depletion, just soreness.
September 9, 2018
Total Distance: 16 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: The longest long-run I’ve done in quite some time…painful, relatively slow compared to some that I’ve done, but a great starting place. Training for a half, I think I will stop at 20 max, so I see myself taking two weeks to get there, and then cruising for the next 6 weeks. This will be a very short buildup, but hopefully this works as a model.
Keto-Commentary: None – I had a smoothie and rice with dinner, so this was not a Keto day…I love carbs.
September 8, 2018
Total Distance: 8 Miles
Location: London, England – Finsbury Park
Commentary: 8 Miles after getting off the train from Paris. It felt good to get this one done after a couple weeks of sporadic running, where I mostly just tried not to lose the familiarity I had regained over the prior 6 weeks. I think I am good to keep building from the mid-50s where I left off, and will start looking to get up into the 80’s again with some workouts the following week. It’s going to be a quick build back!
Keto-Commentary: My plan is to rotate through this diet on a cyclic basis, which I am going to do a bit more research into over the next few weeks. For now, I figure my ketone reading are most likely non-existent after a week eating bread and rice in Greece and France, so I will not be testing blood levels until a few more days deep into the diet (next Thursday).
September 7, 2018 – Back *in a slightly more tan shade
Total Summer Distance: 505 Miles / 6 total weeks off since London Marathon / Maximum mileage of 62
Location: London, England / Santorini, Greece / Nice, France / Calvi, France
Commentary: I took it pretty easy this summer. Due to a combination of personal life events, injury, and a downright lack of motivation, I ran an astounding 505 miles over 114 days, by far the lowest I’ve ever averaged on a per-day basis since I was maybe 13. Some would say that this was a much needed break after struggling through a significant injury and running the slowest marathon of my career at London. That, in itself, was an experience that was one of the most demotivating I’ve had thus far, and drove part of my physical and emotional need to take it easy for a while.
I did try to come back after a few weeks off and run a few races, but struggled to get over 40-ish miles per week, settling for 4-5 miles runs and doubles a couple times per week. After running the bridges relay in London (~4:57 pace for an odd 2.3 mile course) for my corporate team, a track 5k in 15:14, and the JPMorgan corporate challenge (3.5 miles in 17:30), I tucked in for a more relaxed summer before a build into the fall. I’m also strongly considering a serious personal move (Non-geographical, and more to come in the next 6 months), which has required a significant time investment to prepare for, and I took two weeks of annual leave to travel around Greece and France. All of this leaves me ready to tackle a half marathon in just 10 weeks outside of Paris. I don’t think I will be fully ready for this, but will attempt to prepare through sound nutrition, sleep, self-talk, and meditation. I ran 64:58 off 8 weeks of training earlier this year, so I am hoping again to be in sub 66:00 shape. I have been experimenting with nutritional ketosis, which I was also doing during my February half-marathon, and plan to document my experience (including blood ketone readings) on a daily basis through my diary log. I’m also taking a number of supplements, as advised by an expert, and may even go into some history on why I feel the need to do so. All of this will be performed in an attempt, as always, to be able to prepare and run a fast half marathon / marathon while traveling and working a full-time job. Happy to be back in a slightly more tan shade!
May 18, 2018 – I’m going to do this for a while..updates to come later. Have a great summer!
May 17, 2018
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM
Location: London, England
Commentary: 4 AM to Shoreditch Grind. My hip is still hurting a bit, so I am taking it easy on this thing.
May 16, 2018
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM
Location: London, England
Commentary: 4 AM to Shoreditch Grind
May 15, 2018
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 4 Miles PM
Location: London, England
Commentary: Bailed out of the full 8 in the AM as my hip is still a little tight.
May 14, 2018
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM + Weights
Location: London, England
Commentary: 4 to Shoreditch Grind in the morning with weights in the PM. I can already tell the small amount of weights are going to make a difference, but they definitely make running harder! I am happy that I’m taking these first few weeks to build back into some strength work.
May 13, 2018
Total Distance: 8 Miles + core
Location: London, England
Commentary: 8 miles with some hills. After 30 minutes, my quads started to feel like they did a few weeks out from London, which is concerning. Thankfully it’s not near as bad, obviously due to the rest and hopefully due to some of the strength work I’m doing. As I mentioned previously, I severely neglected some key core work, which I am adding in over the next couple easy weeks.
May 12, 2018
Total Distance: 0 Miles
Location: London, England
Commentary: I actually forgot to run, which I never do. Absolutely incredible.
May 11, 2018
Total Distance: 4 Miles
Location: London, England
Commentary: Easy Shoreditch grind like they all should be
May 10, 2018
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM
Location: London, England
Commentary: Easy through the city and White Chapel on the way to Old Street Station
May 9, 2018
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: I got lost following the Thames back from work and ended up running a bit farther than 4, I believe. No GPS at this stage, which is great for my confidence!
May 8, 2018
Total Distance: 4 Miles PM + light weights
Location: London, England – City
Commentary: Still feeling a little tight in the hip, especially after some squats and lunges. I AM WEAK! I’ve definitely lost touch with all types of strength work over the past 5 months, so it would be great to get back on this.
May 7, 2018
Total Distance: 3 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Hampstead Heath
Commentary: The weather in London was too nice to not go on a run today. I’m still feeling some pain in my hip, but am going to start up some easier running and combine with a few light strength sessions per week. You only realize how weak you are until you’re sore for 5 after a few squats and pushups! I haven’t targeted any longer term races, so my countdown will remain blank for now. Here’s to getting a little stronger and enjoying the summer.
May 6, 2018 – Resting…
May 5, 2018 – Resting…
May 4, 2018 – Resting…
May 3, 2018 – Resting…
May 2, 2018 – Light weights…
May 1, 2018 – Resting…
April 30, 2018 – Resting…
April 29, 2018 – Resting…
April 28, 2018 – Resting…
April 27, 2018 – Resting…
April 26, 2018 – Resting…
April 25, 2018 – Resting…
April 24, 2018 – Resting…
April 23, 2018 – Resting…
April 22, 2018 (London)
Total Distance: 1.5 Miles warm up – 26.2 miles race
Location: London, England
Commentary: Today was classic marathoning in every sense of the word. It was challenging both physically and mentally, crushing in some ways, yet uplifting in others. All in all, it was a mixed bag, but all major milestones whether it’s the completion of a training cycle or a mid-cycle tune up require, in my opinion, a solid review.
On a hot day, I struggled with the pace early on, falling off target pace relatively early. This general fatigue was exacerbated by the hip issues I have been working through, which flared up around mile 10, and really locked up at mile 15, where I dropped out. After spending 5 minuted trying to figure out how I was going to get back, which is reflected in my 24 minute 5k between 25 and 30k, I was convinced by a medical team that I needed to keep going down the course to the nearest tube station. After I started up again, I was reluctantly motivated to finish at a slower pace, but finish nonetheless. This is the ultimate representation of a season filled with highs and lows, injuries, and real and metaphorical English winters. My thoughts below:
April 21, 2018 (1 day until London)
Total Distance: Slightly less than 2 miles
Location: London, England – Primrose Hill
Commentary: Well, that’s it. I’ve done all the training I can do. I started this blog to push myself to challenge the conventions of the sport, to explore the depths of some of the more understated aspects of marathoning (mental performance, nutrition, having a good time), and to try to do all of this while also holding a full time finance job and traveling around Europe. I’ve done some good things so far, but I’ve made some mistakes, all of which I think I recorded in the last 110 days. I’m happy overall that I’ll be able to look back on this and bring it forward with me to the next event. This isn’t a countdown blog to the London marathon, but I’ll admit that I appreciated having the internal story-line to follow. This will keep evolving, and I’ll keep with this daily log as long as Young Austin is kickin on the road scene, but yeah, I have the London Marathon tomorrow. This is the end of the first race countdown of the Young Hippocrates blog, for a better or worse marathon result tomorrow. God speed to everyone running tomorrow. It’s going to be hot, so hydrate. I’m looking forward to the energy, and being in the flow. It’ll be a great day.
April 20, 2018 (2 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Isle of Dogs
Commentary: I ran through the Isle of Dogs over to the London Marathon expo this afternoon. Not the easiest run. Not the most fun run. BUT…it was the run with the most industrial scenery I’ve ever done. I recommend taking the DLR! Expos are always a bitter-sweet event for me. As a running enthusiast, I love the energy and emotion of the expo, with your running gear galore, memorabilia, “Official London Marathon Merchandise,” and framed photo stations. All of the above is in an incredible spirit of a sport that anyone reading this blog obviously loves and appreciates, but something that has become slightly foreign (and missed) to Young Austin. I’ve never picked up a marathon race bib at an expo. Instead of grabbing my goody bag, I go to hotel room 633 or ballroom 5. I sometimes don’t even get a t-shirt! The t-shirt is neither here nor there, because overall I’m not in a position to complain (though I’m obviously complaining anyway. The elite or sub-elite perks are usually incredible! Race organizers treat these groups very well, and I’m always humbled when I’m accepted into these fields, but I don’t typically associate them with that “marathon expo energy.” I wonder even more how this feeling changes for guys and gals even deeper into the elite scene than myself. Does Galen Rupp have any interest in attending a marathon expo? Maybe when he’s paid to speak, but I can’t imagine he has any interesting in nipple stickers and icy-hot samples. I love the samples, I love the energy, and I love the “everything running.” Nothing is not about running, and that’s something we don’t typically get. I still love my stroll through the expos, and this reengagement with the energy that most people love about this stupid, stupid thing called the marathon. And the socks and the nipple stickers. Socks and nipple stickers…
April 19, 2018 (3 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Feeling good, nothing really to report back on here. Hopefully it’s smooth sailing into the race!
April 18, 2018 (4 days until London)
Total Distance: 5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 5 Miles in on the Shoreditch Grind loop. Looking to just recover at this point, which is on track. Carbo load starts tonight!!
April 17, 2018 (5 days until London)
Total Distance: 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Mile End Track & Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Quick workout of 2 x 1 mile at goal race pace (5:15), with some short strides. The lungs felt good at race pace, though I’m two days into my carb depletion so the energy levels were slightly depressed. I’m obviously looking forward to my ultimate carbo loading phase (I mean…carbs), which starts Thursday, though admit I enjoy the feeling of being significantly sharper mentally on low carb than high carb. Hoping to record more thoughts on this in the future, but for now, the carbs will be very much appreciated.
Young Austin neurotically tracks the weather:
This is the best weather I’ve had in London by far, but unfortunately the race start and finish temps keep creeping higher. I’ve decided I’m done complaining though, because my February self would have wanted to throw down if he heard me complaining about sun and warm weather in London. No more weather updates. C’est la vie.
April 16, 2018 (6 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I ran home and felt a little tight in places, but that it’s still better than I’ve felt most of the last three weeks. Tapering always makes me feel like garbage though. It’s not until maybe the day before when I feel like I’m ready to go, which I’m assuming is a combination of nerves as well as the massage and stretching work. I’ll continue to stretch and try to knock the cobwebs off some places until Thursday, but then give my legs the last couple of days to just rest on their own.
Young Austin neurotically tracks the weather:
Well, it’s absolutely going to be a beautiful day in London…best weather we’ve had since I’ve been here!
April 15, 2018 (7 days until London)
Total Distance: 13 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Just getting in the miles here and feeling much better with regards to the hip. An easy run to work tomorrow, and then some race pace miles on Tuesday and I’ll be ready for my slow easy jogging until race day! With only one week to go, I’m excited to announce that I’m temporarily introducing a new segment to my log, which happens to be an important part of every marathon build up:
Young Austin neurotically tracks the weather:
This is a segment where Young Austin neurotically stresses over an aspect of the race that’s completely out of his control. As you can see, the weather in London at 10 am (race start) is expected to be fantastic for spectators at a balmy 15 C, or 59 for you Fahrenheit bugs, and 63 near the finish. For us runners, we say…let’s take it easy “weather man” or whatever it is you’re called here in England.
That’s all for today. Stay tuned for tomorrow when Young Austin undoubtedly stresses over what is most likely to be the exact same weather forecast, but this time with greater accuracy!
April 14, 2018 (8 days until London)
Total Distance: 10 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park & Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Some easy mileage in my new marathon flats to break them in a bit. I attempted a few strides, and the hip tightened up, but it’s much much better than this time last week when I had to stop on multiple occasions. It’s slow going, but I think it’s looking up! I was invited by a friend to stop into Third Space gym on his guest pass and took advantage of some steam and sauna to stretch and roll. The gym had an automatic roller, if you can picture that, which for me was like a drug. I NEED ONE!
April 13, 2018 (9 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Run home after work, which was relatively pain free, but I am still massively tightening up after these runs, so it’s obviously still a work in progress. Looking forward to getting the final remnants of mileage out of the way this weekend, as I think the strong last week taper will really help the hip recover fully. Fingers crossed!
April 12, 2018 (10 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Easy 4 on Shoreditch Grind route, with a 6 home to Planet Organic to pick up some cod for dinner. Love me some good cod.
April 11, 2018 (11 days until London)
Total Distance: 9 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 9 miles home from work with a stop at Whole Foods for a treat, a gluten free pizza and a small bottle of cider, which is massive in the U.K. Not only did I run 1200m home with a pizza in one hand and the bottle of cider in the other, I opened that cider at home and it was BARELY EVEN SHAKEN! I’ve never been more proud of my stability and core strength than I was at that moment!! Now, if I leave work at 7:00 or 7:30 it’s light almost all the way home, which is just a god-send, and the leg is at a point where it loosens up after 3-4 miles, so all seems to be pretty good! The goal now is to think about race strategy and whether there is any need to readjust, but it’s possible that this simply has to be a race-day adjustment. All along I wanted to enjoy the London because it’s a hometown race with high energy. While I put in some great training these last 100 days and would love to dip under 2:18, I’m happy just to be here in the end.
April 10, 2018 (12 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Ran back from work. I am shooting for a 65 mile week or so this week of easy volume, with potentially some marathon pace effort on the weekend. Still felt a few pains in my hip on the run, but had some points that were pain-free! I had a long discussion with Coach Roth who reminded me that there isn’t much I can do at this point anyway, so running easy and making sure my legs are fresh remains the goal.
April 9, 2018 (13 days until London)
Total Distance: 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Just 6 easy up to Angel. Feeling a bit better and did some work on my own in addition to a massage this morning. Feeling like I am literally ironing the kinks out one at a time.
April 8, 2018 (14 days until London)
Total Distance: 16 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 2 weeks to go! I felt good down around 6:00 pace, but decided I needed to relax the last half for the sake of tapering. I started to tighten up around 10, with this odd pain radiating down into my quads from my hips. I’m seeing a masseuse tomorrow at 8 am before work. Fingers crossed.
April 7, 2018 (15 days until London)
Total Distance: 12 Miles
Location: London, England – Hampstead Heath / Regent’s Park
Commentary: I feel good and recovered, which I should feel given all the easy running I’ve been doing. The spot is still very defined in each hip-flexor, but it’s getting better day by day, and I’m happy knowing that this is the type of schedule (roughly) I’d have if I weren’t injured. In reflection, due to injury, I’ve missed one workout, some miles, and two miles off my long run last week. All in all, it shouldn’t make that big of a difference if I can get my noggin on board.
April 6, 2018 (16 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I saw the physiotherapist again today. Everything is feeling a little better, and the pain is concentrating in a more defined spot, which is good. It’s been radiating down my leg, a disconcerting feeling, but knowing that component is abating is a nice sign indeed. I saw a tiny car on the way home from work. Check out my new feature, Tiny Cars in England, to find out exactly what it was!
April 5, 2018 (17 days until London)
Total Distance: 5 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I picked up some new shoes today before work with the hopes that a fresh cushion will relieve some of the pain, though I still felt the hip on the PM run. It’s a slow recovery, but I’m just keeping the faith that I’m not losing any fitness right now. Maintenance is the goal, especially now that we’re officially within the tapering season!
April 4, 2018 (18 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 AM / 6 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I’m keeping the runs short, though as in all cases, I’m not sure if a longer run does more damage, or a shorter recovery time. Two easy runs today just to keep the legs moving.
April 3, 2018 (19 days until London)
Total Distance: 9 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Mile End Park track
Commentary: Trying to maintain this 1 hour a day at least. I saw a physiotherapist today and got a little bit of work done, though the run was still painful in places. Will be back later this week to hopefully get this resolved. Maintaining the fitness is key, but maintaining the mental strength may be more important, which admittedly is waning slightly. I will be doubling down on the positive self talk and meditation.
April 2, 2018 (20 days until London)
Total Distance: 8 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 1 hour easy to get the legs loosened up and to stay conservative on the hip. The goal is to shoot for 80-85 this week, 70 next week, and whatever the marathon weekend happens to bring me the in the week building up (usually 55-60). Feeling a little better, but it’s still knotted up during my runs.
April 1, 2018 (21 days until London)
Total Distance: 30 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Easy 30 along Regent’s canal. I just felt incredible and had to let it keep going after a few weeks of little nagging pains! Happy to have had a great long-long run in, especially knowing that I only have to race until 26.2! My real long-run was only 2 hours.
March 31, 2018 (22 days until London)
Total Distance: 13.5 Miles AM with 30 x 30 seconds on / 30 seconds jog
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I tried to move the legs a little today and actually felt like I was able to get some turn over in! Tomorrow will be my last 20 mile long run, so the hope is that today’s hardish effort won’t get in the way of tomorrow. Stay tuned.
March 30, 2018 (23 days until London)
Total Distance: 12 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 12 miles along the canal this morning in the cold and rain. It wasn’t too bad running 6:30 – 6:40 pace, but maintaining much below this is a bit of a struggle right now. I’m glad to be getting in the last little bits of mileage, but very much need to kick this little impediment for obvious reasons. My head needs to be screwed back on again, as little injuries like this before have never been good for my confidence levels, so with 3 weeks to go, the mental game is going to be a very high priority.
March 29, 2018 (24 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I’ve decided to pull out of the race tomorrow. It’s a tough decision mentally, though I think it’s the correct one given my hips feel like the inside of a giant rubber band ball. Easter weekend here in London will be tough to get in massage work, but I am hoping to find someone. All in all, I believe the fitness and strength is there, I just need to be careful and get to the starting line in good condition. A hard 10 mile effort will definitely not make me much fitter at this point, but may very well break me enough that I can’t get on the starting line.
March 28, 2018 (25 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: That’s it. We had a happy hour for a colleague leaving the group that didn’t end until 10:30, and I didn’t feel like pushing it. My hip issue flared up slightly after the workout yesterday, so I also want to let it rest before the race on Friday. There are currently tube strikes ongoing, so with a low mileage day tomorrow it may be a weird short double so I don’t have to get on at Canary Wharf (massively packed tube station). I’ll run to a less crowded station instead of waiting in line for 30 minutes just to board. The LIFE!
March 27, 2018 (26 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 AM – 4 PM warm up – 4 x [1200 / 400] [3:34/67/3:32/65/3:33/68/3:32/68] – 70 seconds rest – 5.5 cool down
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: With all the little nagging things I’ve had, I was worried about this one, but I think it was relatively in line with past workouts. Excuses? 3.5 hours of sleep, injured, windy, and solo, but don’t we all have our excuses? I’m racing a 10 miler this weekend, so that should be the real test!
March 26, 2018 (27 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 AM / 8.5 PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 4 early to Shoreditch Grind to get my Ethiopian blend. Gotta have it. I ran home past midnight after a late night of work. Not much sleep to be had unfortunately, but that’s part of balancing these two. If it were earlier in the training block, I might have cabbed it home, but I can see the finish line, so off I go. As discussed earlier, it’s only an extra 15 minutes for me, and I get in my run, so all is gravy.
March 25, 2018 (28 days until London)
Total Distance: 24 Miles
Location: London, England – Hampstead Heath & Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Not a bad long run, though I was fairly locked up for alot of it. I ran a good portion of the run at Hampstead over some hills and on grass before making my way to Regent’s Canal, a long out and back portion. I couldn’t imagine doing another 12 mile out and back run today, but got in the work. I think this will be the last long run I do. From here on out it will be sculpted more like 20, 17, 13.
March 24, 2018 (29 days until London)
Total Distance: 11 Easy PM
Location: London, England – Hampstead Heath extension
Commentary: Still with some lingering hip issues, I ran through some hills in the extension portion at Hampstead Heath, which consists of a 1.5 mile loop over dirt. It’s an incredible little loop through the trees and mud, though I could stand for it to be just slightly longer. I get to run through downtown Hampstead on the way, which is a quant little part of London full of nice brunch spots, shopping, and older men not looking where they’re going. Steeple practice at a minimum.
March 23, 2018 (30 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 4.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & City
Commentary: Easy Shoreditch Grind in the morning and a run to meet my friend Kevin in London Bridge for a drink after work. I was going to run from there to go get Thai with my flatmates, but I was running late by this point, and took the tube. Easy way to get around town!
March 22, 2018 (31 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I’m still feeling a little off in some places, but am getting the miles in, so can’t complain too much. The real test will be Saturday or Sunday for a workout/Long run combo, where I hope to get in my first quality session since last Tuesday. There have been a few late nights at work, with runs home after 10, this week, so much needed sleep is in the cards for the weekend!
March 21, 2018 (32 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.3 Miles AM / 5.7 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I felt much better today after yesterday off. The AM run was a little off still, but the PM jog felt solid, and much more like a normal run. I threw in a little strength work, as stressing muscles in a different way is, oddly enough, sometimes a good way to release. We’ll see how it holds up tomorrow, but I am hopeful.
March 20, 2018 (33 days until London)
Total Distance: No Running – Sick Day
Location: London, England
Commentary: I landed at 7am with the intent of running into work from home, but didn’t end up moving through immigration until 8:15, by which I had to head directly into work. At night, I took a rare opportunity to see the show Hamilton, but missed the first 20 minutes due to an unfortunate incident at work! If anyone knows what happens, hit me up! It was an incredible show with a great soundtrack, incredible choreography, and well worth sacrificing the run. I’ve declared this a down week, and an injury prevention week anyway where I can hopefully kick this issue I’m dealing with! Read the reviews here !
March 19, 2018 (34 days until London)
Total Distance: 10 Miles Am
Location: Houston, Texas – Buffalo Bayou
Commentary: Attempted a few pickups here, running closer to 5 minute pace for 4 x 2 minutes. It’s strange understanding how any particular muscle or muscle system is so integral to feeling good. Nothing is the matter with my major muscles, but this limited mobility is having a major impact on how fast I can go. Everything needs to be firing on the day. Flying back to London tonight.
March 18, 2018 (35 days until London)
Total Distance: 11 Miles AM
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentary: Unfortunately, this is the second long run I’ve missed in the past two weeks. I’m happy to have gotten in something, but it was just not possible today. There was no way I could have run 24 miles, which is frightening, though the pace and mobility of the run are improving. I’m driving back to Houston, where oddly enough, the weather seems like a god-send compared to the oppressive heat and humidity of New Orleans.
March 17, 2018 (36 days until London)
Total Distance: 8 Miles AM / 3 Miles PM
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentary: Feeling better overall, as I’ve just been running easy the last few days, but am still very locked up. The pace is getting a little better, but the feeling of tightness in my low abs and hips has not subsided.
March 16, 2018 (37 days until London)
Total Distance: 8 Miles AM / 4 Miles PM
Location: Houston, Texas – New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentary: Quick, painful run in the morning, similar to yesterday unfortunately. I’m trying a number of things to ultimately get this area to loosen up including active release, core work, and rolling and stretching, but it seems to lock up relatively early into my run. Similar to yesterday, painful last two miles. I was able to survive the short 4 mile run when I got to New Orleans, but the pace was atrociously slow. Powering through these runs as of now.
March 15, 2018 (38 days until London)
Total Distance: 10 Miles PM
Location: Houston, Texas
Commentary: Got in a quick run after my flight to Houston, but was extremely locked up in the hips, lower abs and psoas, and adductors. I’ve felt something similar to this in the past, but never to this extreme and almost had to walk the last two miles. I’m not sure whether it was the flight or the delayed result of the tweak during the Tuesday workout, but this was not good.
March 14, 2018 (39 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary:
March 13, 2018 (40 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 3.5 Miles Warm up – [3 x 1200 @ 5k][2 x 1200 @ 10k with first 100m spring][2 x 2000 @ 10k] – 3:31 / 3:29 / 3:31 / 3:38 / 3:34 / 6:02 / 6:01 – 5 Miles Cool Down
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Mile End Track
Commentary: The first 100m sprint tweaked my hip flexor just a bit, which I felt on the remaining intervals and the cool down. I always find it funny how strong, yet also how wound up you are while marathon training. Hoping the pain is just a fad that I can run through in the morning.
March 12, 2018 (41 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.3 Miles AM / 8.2 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Got back on it today with a longish double, though after a fairly late night of work and a biryani dish. Monotonous run here, but gotta get through these. The benefit is in wearing myself down for the workout tomorrow!
March 11, 2018 (42 days until London)
Total Distance: Zero – Sick Day
Location: San Sebastian, Spain
Commentary: We traveled back today, and with a late night out on the town, I didn’t have the opportunity to squeeze in anything resembling a long run. I took the opportunity to fully recover and commit to the upcoming week, during which i will be traveling to NOLA to see Gigi and for a friends wedding. We left for the airport at 2:30, and got back to the flat around 10:30….not an easy travel day at all, but just par for the course in terms of budget euro travel.
March 10, 2018 (43 days until London)
Total Distance: 5 Mile Hike AM / 9 Miles AM
Location: San Sebastian, Spain – Pasajes de San Juan / Beach
Commentary: Our group of 5 painfully (emotionally mostly) committed to a 9 km hike to San Juan, a fishing village on the other side of the mountain. The train started with a sickeningly steep climb, even for a runner, which curved around the bend, seemingly unending. What made the hike most painful were the swaths of ankle-thick mud, which, much to our attempts to avoid, decimated our comically inappropriate walking attire. We finally made it to the village, 3 hours later, and enjoyed the tiny town square and some fresh sardines before heading back by bus. I immediately slipped on my running shoes and made my way back out to the trail, which proved to be even more difficult to traverse at running speeds due to the rocks. As the sun went down, I snapped some photos and turned around, worried about getting lost and / or smashing my face. I finished up the run around the main beaches, which were full of Spaniards simply hanging or strolling about. Tis the life.
March 9, 2018 (44 days until London)
Total Distance: 13 Miles AM
Location: San Sebastian, Spain – Beach / Urgull
Commentary: After a late and somewhat stressful night of traveling, I managed to sneak out for a lengthy run along the beach and through the winding hills of Urgull, a coastal hill in the middle of the city boasting some treacherous climbs. Just feeling the sun and wearing a t-shirt was an incredible feeling after these months training through the London winters, which we’re fortunately emerging from. San Sebastian is a very nice, lazy beach town, well taken care of and hospitable…the people, whether by design of by nature don’t seem to be going anywhere in particular, which I find perfect. Great place for a stress-free weekend away!
March 8, 2018 (45 days until London)
Total Distance: 11 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Tore up from the Sunday / Tuesday combo, officially. Very delayed fatigue on this one. I’m flying out to San Sebastian later this evening, and while I hope to get in all the running I can, as I truly believe it is an incredible way to explore a new city, I’m going to just do what I can.
March 7, 2018 (46 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Simple day, just looking to recover! The delayed fatigue from my Sunday / Tuesday combo jumped on my back on the way home! I jumped into the gym for some light squats and hamstring work before the run back, which may have added to the feeling that I was carrying a fridge.
March 6, 2018 (47 days until London)
Total Distance: 5 Miles AM / 4 Miles Warm Up – [1 x 2000 @ 10k] 6:01 [6 x 800 @ 5k] 2:22 / 2:22 / 2:20 / 2:21 / 2:20 / 2:20 [6x 400 @3k] 67/66/66/66/66/65 – 5.75 Miles Cool Down
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Mile End Track
Commentary: Good workout today despite the run on Sunday. It felt really good to get out and run some quick 400s, which I think is really great to maintain during a marathon build up. On Monday, I quickly dipped into the gym for some hamstring and glute work with the kettlebells, which I think I will continue through the end of the cycle along with my usual core work.
March 5, 2018 (48 days until London)
Total Distance: 9 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Besides one spot on my quad, I am feeling relatively recovered from the hard effort on Sunday! Worked somewhat late, so it was good to get out into the fresh air after a long day, and had a chance to chat with Gigi after she got off work. Not so great weather in the forecast, so I’m happy to be getting out to San Sebastian & Bilboa this weekend to see a part of Spain I haven’t had a chance to visit.
March 4, 2018 (49 days until London)
Total Distance: 3 Miles warm up / 13.1 in 68:30 / 8 Miles cool down
Location: London, England – The City of London
Commentary: It was finally a nice day out in London after 5 days of snowy conditions, with even the sun making an appearance during the race, which was always appreciated! Everything is just kind of wet now, which is par for the course here and nothing to really to complain about (I imagine complaining to a Londoner about it being too wet and get embarassed). This was supposed to be a “check the box” type of effort…fuel, warm up, race, cool down…a chance to practice the routine of racing on the London course. While the course was a little more complex than London will be, featuring a couple dozen tight turns and cobblestone sections, it went as well as I could have hoped for during the middle of a 100+ mile week. I’ve received strong assurance that these are not typical London marathon features (I wasn’t quite sure mid-race), so my mind is more at ease. The effort wasn’t “easy” by any means, it was still a good hard workout, but it was a worthy exercise to go through, and I know I’ll feel smoother and way more recovered on race-day. The race also featured none other than Sir Mo Farah, so it was fun to line up nearish to him and see the legend up close and in person (may or may not tie his own shoes?). Also, for you old-school running fans out there, Dave Bedford is massive on the London running scene, so it was cool to meet him as well. And if you don’t know Dave Bedford…Look him up, he’s an legend!
March 3, 2018 (50 days until London)
Total Distance: 12 Miles in the afternoon
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: 12 easy around the park. Not backing off for my marathon pace half-marathon tomorrow, but am taking full advantage of the carbo-loading and fueling that I can. I realized I haven’t been doing any strides lately, so did a few half-assed strides to check the box and some mobility work. Ready to go!
March 2, 2018 (51 days until London)
Total Distance: 5 Miles AM / 7 Miles PM
Location: London, England – London City & Dreadmill
Commentary: 8 total miles of the running on the dreadmill, and a slow trudge through the sludge (hah) of ice that’s now melting on the sidewalks. I had initially signed up for a half marathon this weekend, the Vitality Big Half in London, featuring the one and only Mo Farah, but after performing well in Barcelona and getting so beat up the next few weeks, I’m just looking to run through in marathon pace. An opportunity to run on the London course is too good to pass up and at this point, and the roads are the only ice-free part of the city, so let’s do this! Had a relaxing night of La La Land and a few glasses of wine, so I’m loose!
March 1, 2018 (52 days until London)
Total Distance: 9 Miles AM / 4 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & London City
Commentary: Fell on my ass HARD today! I mean, hard…so embarrassing, but fortunate to have had my backpack to blunt the fall. Don’t run fast down hill of ice! Somehow managing to get in the mileage, though it’s just wicked here. Russia is sending some bad post-olympic vibes down for sure. I survived the February cold, but March is off to a pretty bad start in terms of the weather.
February 28, 2018 (53 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 9 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Treadmill
Commentary: London has frozen over. Without seemingly any infrastructure to deal with this type of phenomenon, except loads of casually strewn sand, the streets are unfortunately frozen. My morning run almost ended as quickly as it started with a treacherous loss of footing on a bridge over regents canal resulting in a slow, but very manageable slide towards the edge. In the PM, I braved the treadmill for 5 miles before venturing out into the city, the sidewalks somewhat sticky with fresh powder. It’s actually very nice snow, especially for someone who’s used to the sleety mixes seen in the Southern United States. The forecast predicts freezing weather for the next 10 days, so, that’s nice.
February 27, 2018 (54 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM – 3 Miles warm up with [4 x 2000m @ 10k pace] – [6:05 / 6:05 / 6:03 / 6:05] – 5 Miles cool down
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Mile End Track
Commentary: Had somewhat of an upset stomach, so I opted out of a “surprise” 5th interval of the 2ks, though I of course regretted that immediately as the neurotic runner I am. Fortunately, feeling much more recovered than while in the throws of whatever fatigue and illness I had last week. This week, London is dealing with record low temperatures (-5C and 23 for all of you fahrenheit nuts out there) and snow, which covered a portion of lane 1 during the workout, though I’m told it’s very uncharacteristic of the weather here in the city. It’s just cold for a Texas boy! Grinding it out this week and hoping for some better conditions moving into March.
February 26, 2018 (55 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 10 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: PM run goals of A) finding access to a sauna – achieved, and B) picking up groceries – achieved. I ran the final 1.5 miles with 6 large eggs tucked under my wing and didn’t break a single one! Talk about core strength and stability.
February 25, 2018 (56 days until London)
Total Distance: 24 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I’m glad I had the wind at my back for the first 12 miles so I only had to fight it for the last 12….said no one ever. Just part of the gig I guess! I’ll need to go back and rethink what this week from a philosophical perspective, or at least from a “don’t be a dumb-ass” perspective. All-in-all, it’s been two weeks since I ran my half marathon in Barcelona, and I don’t think I truly have recovered to date. Maybe the vacation and the walking involved took more out of me than I thought, and maybe even one 6 days of lower volume wasn’t enough, and I started back with a 108 mile week way too quickly. I dragged this week, but I’m hopeful that this coming week will be back on track. I’m looking at gnarly temperatures through Saturday, so it’s time to bundle up and get creative if the weather is too cold (at least for a Texan). Will be traveling to San Sebastian in less than two weeks, so I have a nice little mental break to look forward to!
February 24, 2018 (57 days until London)
Total Distance: 3 Miles Warm Up / *Aborted Workout* / 6 Cool down – 13 Total
Location: London, England – Parliament Hill Track
Commentary: Not feeling super great today, so I aborted my 6 x mile workout after 3 intervals. It’s about being smart sometimes. Take your sickies, or quasi-sickies in this case, and live to fight another day. I ran 3 x mile in 5:00 but struggled hard on a really windy morning after a week of having a cold, so yeah, time to go get some Indian food and call it a day. JGIF, just get Indian food. Planning a big long run tomorrow, which will be a workout in itself. Got my tires rotated, which was long overdue.
February 23, 2018 (58 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Decided to squeeze a little more in this Friday, but am somewhat regretting it considering I’ve been a bit sick. Mileage still high this week, but I probabbbly needed a little more rest to get over this cold. Mostly gone, but lingering fatigue.
February 22, 2018 (59 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.3 Miles AM / 5.7 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Brrrrr, getting cold again, do gooders. We’re getting closer and closer to the sun being out when I run home in the PM! By the end of March, the sun shouldn’t set until 7:30, which is a big deal for us Londoners!
February 21, 2018 (60 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Almost halfway from the start of the year, and way more than half-way since I started training post Valencia. Feeling much better than yesterday on the run home.
February 20, 2018 (61 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 3.5 Miles Warm Up – [6×800 @ 5k][2×2000 @ 10k] – [2:23 / 2:22 / 2:21 / 2:21 / 2:22 / 2:22][6:09 / 6:09] – 5.5 Miles Cool Down
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Mile End Track
Commentary: Shoreditch grind in the AM, with the Tuesday Track session in the PM. Very much a different type of grind in the Tuesday Track session. I came down with a cold after my vacation, which does typically happen after I drop my mileage for an extended time oddly enough, and am still feeling some soreness from the race, so this workout was a struggle, but I was glad to get through it within a reasonable margin of error compared to previous workouts. The goal is to just keep the 800s near 2:20, the 2ks near 6:00 – 6:05 and, continue to knock out the high mileage. I know I’m running on tired legs, so these are literally about trying to go through the motion and staying healthy.
February 19, 2018 (62 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.3 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Back to the grind, the typical morning run into work and run back home to Angel. Nothing to see here, just a man getting back on the horse!
February 18, 2018 (63 days until London)
Total Distance: 20 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I’m back on it! My lower legs are still feeling a little beat up, which surprises me, but the run was solid is every other way.
February 17, 2018 (64 days until London)
Total Distance: 0 – Took a sick day
Location: Paris, France
Commentary: I just didn’t want to run through the traffic and the city again, especially given an early flight to Dublin. Philosophy to come…stay tuned.
February 16, 2018 (65 days until London)
Total Distance: 9 Easy AM
Location: Paris, France
Commentary: First sunny day thus far. Took a long route by the Arc de Triumph to some greenery, but had to turn around right when I got there…running life in Paris does not seem ideal at this point.
February 15, 2018 (66 days until London)
Total Distance: 9 Easy AM
Location: Paris, France
Commentary: Rainy run through the city by The Louvre and along the Seine. Couldn’t really wait to be done, the city running in Paris is nightmarish…bam.
February 14, 2018 (67 days until London) <3
Total Distance: 4 Easy AM
Location: Barcelona, Spain – Park Guell
Commentary: Early morning flight to Paris! Got in a quick run back up towards Guell Park and got the hell out of Barcelona. Not much to report on, except that my cafe americano ordering skills are at a high point.
February 13, 2018 (68 days until London)
Total Distance: 8 Miles PM
Location: Barcelona, Spain – Barceloneta Beach
Commentary: Ran back and forth on the boardwalk with Gigi, who I had to track down to a beachfront tapas joint after her phone died. Nice to hear the ocean again, but not the best beach weather. Goals to getting back to the beach this summer are high…
February 12, 2018 (69 days until London)
Total Distance: 6 Miles PM
Location: Barcelona, Spain – Park Guell
Commentary: I wanted to get out of the door for a shakeout all day, but considering the Spanish eat at my bedtime, our reservation had been set for 9:00. I took the opportunity to run up to Guell Park and take in a great view of the city. Legs beat, so it’s great that I’m not in London this week attempting to crush another week of mileage.
February 11, 2018 (70 days until London)
Total Distance: Mijta Maraton Barcelona – 3 Miles Warm Up / 64:58 / 2 Miles Cool Down
Location: Barcelona, Spain
February 10, 2018 (71 days until London)
Total Distance: 5 Miles AM – Pre race
Location: London, England – Regent’s Park
Commentary: A very easy run around Regent’s Park with some drills to cap off what will be an ~80 Mile week of tapering for the Barcelona Half. I fly out in a few hours, which is a relatively quick turn around. Excited to be on vacation!
February 9, 2018 (72 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: A Shoreditch grind AM and a run back to Angel PM, classic. Recovering well, I believe, and am starting to carb-load, which I did with two chipotle bowls. I’m so thankful to be living this two Chipotle bowl life as a long-distance runner!
February 8, 2018 (73 days until London)
Total Distance: 9.5 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Victoria Park
Commentary: My motivation to get up in the mornings has been waning, so it was a real struggle getting out of the door for this! This is possibly another area I need to explore or ask for advice on, because my stress levels absolutely fluctuate depending on which side of a 10 minute window I end up leaving on! I did make it out however, and managed to get in all the required miles in the AM as I had a team promotion celebration after work.
February 7, 2018 (74 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I had to stop into Whole Foods quick for some dinner supplies on the way back, so ran the last mile cradling a jug of almond milk. Worth it.
February 6, 2018 (75 days until London)
Total Distance: 3 Miles Warm Up – 4 x [1200 @ 10k pace / 400 @ 3k pace] – 6 Miles Cool Down
[3:33 / 67 / 3:33 / 68 / 3:33 / 68 / 3:33 / 68]
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Mile End Track
Commentary: This would have been a 6 set workout, but as I’m running Barcelona this weekend, we cut it short. I’ll admit that I’m slightly ahead of where I was fitness-wise before Valencia, which is always a scary position to be in. I haven’t overtrained in recent history, but I definitely have in the past, so I’m always careful not to get too far over my skis. In review, I took 5-6 weeks easy after Valencia (adequate), have only put in 5 true weeks of high mileage (70+), and have 6-7 workouts in the books, so I don’t think I’m overdoing it, but I’ve been surprised by how well some of the runs have gone. Here’s to the unknown!
February 5, 2018 (76 days until London)
Total Distance: 10 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: The start of my rest week. Easy ten back from work. It’s incredible realizing how much time you spend running when you start doing it only once per day! So much time for activities!
February 4, 2018 (77 days until London)
Total Distance: 22 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I cut the long run by two miles as I was ahead on mileage for the week and am running the Mitja Marató de Barcelona next Sunday! I’ll be 70 days out exactly next Sunday, with some good quality mileage under my belt, so I figured that, considering I was already going to be in Barcelona, it was as good of a time as any to get in a rust buster. My PR is technically 1:08:24, which is closer to the second half of my marathon at Valencia than I’d like, so I’m just hoping to PR and feel in control. My big half marathon trial is in 4 weeks at The Big Half in London, on the London Marathon course, so anything positive from the half in Barca is a win. Time to rest up for a week, it was a very tough January!
February 3, 2018 (78 days until London)
Total Distance: 12.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Decided brunch was more important than a run in the AM, so I saved my run for the PM today. Easy run along the canal in the rain. Dark, and waiting for the sun to come back out.
February 2, 2018 (79 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: AM run on Shoreditch grind with a PM run back to Angel. EASY DAY! I’m tryina recover.
February 1, 2018 (80 days until London)
Total Distance: 5 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal -> The Secret Frog
Commentary: AM run on Shoreditch grind loop on my way to The Secret Frog Coffee Co, a very cool coffee shop attached to an equally cool running store, The Running Works. PM Run back along the usual canal loop with a stop at Shephard’s Foods to pick up essentials, including a nice bottle of organic red because, come on, we made it to Friday. 60+ miles in 4 days plus a couple late nights at work deserves an early weekend celebration!
More importantly, I have 2 months until the hard work is done, which shrinks even further considering I am resting up next week. Time to re-commit to important items such as meditation, positive self-talk, core, nutrition, and sleep. Even more importantly, I’m dropping to volume next week after 3 weeks of target mileage preceded by 4 weeks of building. Rest and recovery is key.
January 31, 2018 (81 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: It was a relatively late night at work, but again, it would have taken me 40 minutes to tube home, so I just ran instead. That traded 15 minutes of potential sleep for my run, which I’m glad now that I didn’t skip. Small trade off for getting in the miles.
January 30, 2018 (82 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 14 Miles PM
3 Miles Warm Up – 4 x [2000m @ 10k pace / 400m @ 3k pace] – 6:08/70/6:06/70/6:05/70/6:04/70
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Mile End Track
Commentary: My hamstrings have been tiring out, and I think it’s because I haven’t been going through my old man exercises. Every runner pushing 10 years of training must (I think) have their old man exercises that they perform (or feel better when they perform) in order to stay fresh, little tricks they know will realign, reactivate, or trick their body into pushing on for just one more day. Mine consist of 10 minutes or less of glute work, lower ab activation, and adductor activation. Staying healthy is the name of the game. Do your old man work! The workout went well. I’m getting fitter, but have some work to do yet.
January 29, 2018 (83 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.3 Miles AM / 8.2 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I felt well enough after the Adventure Run to make it all the way back from work while chatting on the phone with Gigi. I sometimes debate myself on the merits of stopping in Angel, which saves me ~2.5 miles of running, but costs me 2 pounds 40 and an extra 5 minutes of my time. Do I really need those extra miles, or is the bit of rest helpful? If I’m feeling ok, I’m going to try to just jog in the extra distance instead of paying to navigate the tube for 3 stops, unless I need to stop at the grocery store that is or unless I just ran the Tuesday workout. I need a spreadsheet for this! The time is what’s important here…plus the fact that it feels like I’m making a pound per mile…I’ll take it for my 3,500ish miles per year!
January 28, 2018 (84 days until London)
Total Distance: 25 Mile Adventure Run
Location: London, England
Commentary: Adventure run! I was torn up a bit from the hills so I dedicated myself to running this a little slower. I picked a few landmarks and decided to run between them, getting slightly lost along the Thames between Big Ben and Battersea Park. I enjoyed the run, the sun, and just zoning out listening to a couple podcasts, though the wind off the Thames is pretty wicked I learned. After 20, I stopped in Notting Hill for lunch, so I did have a nice lengthy break before the last 5.
January 27, 2018 (85 days until London)
Total Distance: 2 Miles warm up / 7.5 Miles of Hills ~22 reps varying from 2 mins to 30 seconds / 2 Miles cool down
Location: London, England – Primrose Hill
Commentary: This was brutal. I used to do hard hill sessions at Flagpole Hill in Dallas, TX, but haven’t done consistent and lengthy hill workouts since I was 18. My legs are going to feel thrashed tomorrow on my adventure run.
January 26, 2018 (86 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Easy 4 in the morning on the Shoreditch Grind route. 6 Miles to Angel for a Delhi Grill dinner with the flatmates.
January 25, 2018 (87 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM – NEW ROUTE ALERT!
Location: London, England – SOHO & Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I decided I needed a change of scenery so I scooted around Regents Park towards the Green Park tube station! A straight shot from there on the Jubilee means a little less stress in the stations. I felt much better, fatigue-wise, on the run home.
January 24, 2018 (88 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Still beat today, so I just made sure to run with good form to not aggravate anything. I’m not moving fast on some of these days, but just getting through the volume should allow me to come out strong on the other side…eventually.
January 23, 2018 (89 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 14.5 Miles PM – [4 x 1200]@10k pace [4 x 800]@ 5k pace [4 x 400] @ 3k pace with 60-75 seconds rest – [3:35/3:37/3:38/3:36][2:23/2:27/2:26/2:25][70/70/69/69]
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Mile End Park Track
Commentary: Felt pretty beat today, which I guess is to be expected after that 24 miler. To me, the 24 miler was a chance to prove to myself that the fitness is coming along, so I probably won’t be doing that same type of effort again for a few weeks. While I sometimes think these track workouts are a bit quick, in the context of the 100+ mile week, I think of it as a minimal amount of speed workout that might serve to maintain my ability to run sub half-marathon pace. I believe this type of thing really helped me out last marathon cycle, as there is something comforting about being able to run 4:40 pace easy when you only have to run 5:15-5:20 through a marathon. In the past, I’ve run nothing but long-tempos and barely felt like I could run a 5:00 mile, which is not a powerful feeling relative to my marathon pace.
January 22, 2018 (90 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.3 Miles AM / 6.7 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Typical day all the way into work in the morning. I was extremely surprised at how good I felt after yesterday, so I actually tried to conserve it a little more to make sure I also felt good for the workout tomorrow. I stopped at a gym on the way back to inquire about a sauna. I just want to sit and sweat my ass off in a wooden box, which doesn’t seem like it should cost more than maybe 20 pounds a month, but apparently stand-alone saunas are either 1) creepy or 2) non-existent. I proceeded to sulk an additional mile back to Angel.
January 21, 2018 (91 days until London)
Total Distance: 24 Miles – 6:00/mile average
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal, westbound
Commentary: I got into the pace quicker than I expected, so just kept working with closer to 6:00 per mile. Felt an extreme amount of depth in my energy reserves (if that made sense), though I obviously felt a slight bit of a beating in the last 4 miles. No bonking, which is always nice. What I was most happy about was that this run was done off 1 “bulletproof coffee” and a bit of almond butter as a continuation of a low carb / high fat diet that I’ve been working with. I’ll get more into that in a later post, but as training progresses, its nice to know that the energy is there when I need it, in spite of my experimentation.
January 20, 2018 (92 days until London)
Total Distance: 13 Miles
Location: London, England – Hampstead Heath & Regent’s Park
Commentary: 2 miles warm up and a 6 mile segment over hills. One muddy 1.25 mile segment that quickly became “no-go” territory, followed by 3 sets of [1 x parliament hill on the main side, 1 x parliament hill on the shorter side including 15 seconds of bounding]. Nothing structured here, just trying to get some hard work in and partially acclimate the hammys and glutes to future hill sessions. I’ve gone too hard too early on hills in the past only to aggravate something, so this was intended to be a happy medium between an easy run and an hamstring strangler. 5 miles cool down around Regent’s park focussing as hard as I could on floating and feeling smooth.
January 19, 2018 (93 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Took a recovery day today in anticipation for a big weekend of mileage. It’s an opportunity to squeeze in more mileage in the future, perhaps.
January 18, 2018 (94 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I did the same thing as yesterday! How boring! I did roll my legs out for the first time last night, so I felt slightly fresher. While I do think this can make an impactful difference in how I feel, I fall off the wagon very quickly, and not in the way you think! Once I start rolling, I’m turn into a massage junkie and tend to overdo it, so for the most part I stay away as long as I can. In the past, I’ve made the mistake of intensely working on my legs because I was just tired, leading to being even more worn out, or just doing too much the night or two prior to a workout or marathon, which is just a bad idea all around.
January 17, 2018 (95 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8.5 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: A slow Shoreditch grind in the morning, followed by a slog back home searching for butter
January 16, 2018 (96 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / ~14.8 Miles PM
4 Miles Warm Up / {4 x 800}@5k pace {3 x 2K}@10k pace – 75 seconds rest between everything / 5.3 Miles Cool Down – 5k pace roughly 4:45 & 10k pace roughly 4:56-5:00
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal & Mile end track
Commentary: A nice slow Shoreditch Grind run in the morning to warm up the legs. The guys have figured out my order at the shop, which makes me feel slightly cool, but oddly suspicious. “Dammit Edward, how’d you know I was going to get coffee?” I’m starting to think it’s going to be just as windy during track season in London as it was in Texas! PM workout on the track was slightly breezy, but I’m very happy with what I’ve maintained for this being my fourth week above 60 miles. The workout went well, but running on tired legs for sure.
January 15, 2018 (97 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.3 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Brutal winter morning in London…sprinkling rain and almost freezing. It was hard to peel myself out of bed hearing recognizing the sound of cars driving through the puddles in the street outside, but that’s metaphorical of the marathon in general and today was a day for the militaristic mindset after cutting myself some slack on vacation yesterday. I ran back to Angel after work and stopped for groceries at Planet Organic, a new grocery store I found along the route! I can now run all the way back to Camden OR Angel for groceries, whichever seems more convenient!
January 14, 2018 (98 days until London)
Total Distance: 13 Miles AM
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland – Water of Leith trail
Commentary: Jogged around lost, hoping my phone didn’t die. I finally found the Water of Leith trailhead and ran along a babbling brook towards the sea in East Edinburgh. Nice little run, but I had to check out of my hostel at 10, so an 8:30 sunrise and a low “vacation” level of motivation left me with this just this 13 mile long run. I think there’s a time for militarism, and there’s a time when you just let it go and take your rest day. 91 for the week, so it wasn’t slacking either way.
January 13, 2018 (99 days until London)
Total Distance: 13 Miles PM
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland – Hollyrood Park
Commentary: I took the 7 am train up to Edinburgh this morning to watch the Great Edinburgh XC meet, a race I’ve always followed online and never really thought I would see in person. I jogged around Hollyrood Park, a gorgeous and incredibly hilly park in the heart of Edinburgh, and took atmosphere created by a small, devoted fanbase overpowered by the massive cliffs. I found it odd that more people weren’t there for such an high class event, and found myself cheering for the USA runners by first name. Fun times all around!
January 12, 2018 (100 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.7 Miles AM / 7.7 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 100 miles per week is tough, not only physically, but just logistically. I got through today realizing that I wasn’t anywhere near hitting my target, so snuck in some extra miles on the back end by running to Whole Foods for dinner. Typically I’ll follow a “Blueprint” of sorts, which is really just the last 100 mile week I ran. This may not be the week I actually hit 100, but I can tweak this and make it fit the format.
Today my 100 day Gong begins. See the post, and reference to the urban monk.
January 11, 2018 (101 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 6 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Typical Shoreditch grind run in the AM with a short tube ride into work. I could feel the disdain from my tube compatriots as they had no choice but to make contact with a sweaty runner at 8:00 in the morning. I took the opportunity to have a few drinks with my cooworkers after work, so my PM run was cut a couple miles short. I managed the Chipotle run to Angel, but was uncomfortably inebriated for attempting a run with 5 mile long water hazard.
January 10, 2018 (102 days until London)
Total Distance: 10 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Relatively beat up from the first workout back. Abductors slightly tight. I realize that I have been failing to roll or stretch even the slightest bit.
January 9, 2018 (103 days until London)
Total Distance: 3.5 Miles Warm Up / {6 x 800} {2 x 2K} {3 x 300 stride} 75 seconds rest between everything / 5.5 Miles Cool Down
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal / Mile End track / Regent’s Canal
Commentary: First workout back, did not feel incredible, but better than I have for first workouts in the past. It is still incredibly early, so I may as well have not run this, but I felt that this was a good week to get back into the full routine. Warmed up to the track, workout with Team Run Fast & The Running Works, Cool down back to Angel to acquire Chipotle, and accidentally took Katie D’s Chipotle bowl with the chips and guac. SORRY KATIE D! The world is truly a cold and indifferent place.
January 8, 2018 (104 days until London)
Total Distance: 8.3 Miles AM / 5.7 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: I’ve decided I need to buy a Galen mask for my runs down the canal, which is lined with dozens of wood burning vessels just pumping away the fumes at this time of year. Be on the lookout!
January 7, 2018 (105 days until London)
Total Distance: 18 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Breezy, but sunny day! Planning on getting up to 24 miles on a consistent basis. Listened to a French 101 podcast…Bonjour, ca va bien? Tres bien…tres bien, merci dude.
January 6, 2018 (106 days until London)
Total Distance: 12 Miles AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Cruised along, by feel, heading west on Regent’s Canal. Listened to the Andy Wheating podcast by Citius Mag and reflected on the role that youth and ignorance (in the grand scheme of running) has on performance. Similarly, I can imagine most runners have an experience of mind-blowing performances that come when least expected. Is it possible that caring less is the key?
January 5, 2018 (107 days until London)
Total Distance: 4 Miles AM / 8 Miles PM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 4 Miles on the Shoreditch Grind route and 8 Miles back to Camden. Destination, Vietnamese food…beef garlic, red wine, spring rolls. Note to self, eat more spring rolls.
January 4, 2018 (108 days until London)
Total Distance: 10 Miles PM – Raining in the AM
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: 10 miles including trip to pickup some groceries; brussels, mushrooms, two cans sardines, avoided sparkling white wine due to imminent explosion after shaking in my running bag.
January 3, 2018 – (109 days until London)
“You had a nice break. Now back at it.” – Coach Jeff
Distance: 8.3 Miles AM / 5.7 Miles PM – 14 Miles
Location: London, England – Regent’s Canal
Commentary: Post construction on an underpass on Regent’s Canal, my route to work is 8.3 miles, with my route to Angel 5.7 miles…the perfect day. Who says that you need to run singles? Why does everyone say running longer once is more beneficial than running shorter more often? I don’t know the answer, but this route is nice. Coach Jeff said hello.
January 2, 2018 (110 days until London)
Distance: 10 Miles
Location: London, England – Hampstead Heath
Commentary: Over hills and muddy. I found a nice 4 mile loop around the heath for a potential tempo route.
January 1, 2018 (111 days until London)
Total Distance: 10 Miles
Location: Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. – White Rock Lake
Commentary: 10 miles including short hill sprints whenever I stumbled upon a hill. It just felt right to do these, sue me.
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