Blake Bennions running

Really nice and warm, ended up being a little faster than I'd planned.

Easy run around the neighborhood.

Ran around the track and over to the store.

7 miles with 8x200m thrown in. Tried to keep my heart rate under 140 for the first 2.5 miles, which was tough.

1 easy mile while waiting for food to cook.

3 quicker miles, averaged about 6:30

1.8 miles before dinner and 5.2 after. Trying to imclude a few strides in each run. I need to get a power tower, I miss doing pull ups but don't want to damange any of the frames in my house.

Started off with an easy 1.5 miles. Was going to do a mile or 2 at marathon pace but it turned into 6.5 miles at a little faster than marathon pace. I felt good!

I think I'll start doing some higher mileage days like once per week. Maybe like 10-15 miles running and a few walking. I'm also going to sign up for a half marathon, ideally in march before the baby comes. Not sure whether I'll try and go under 1:20 or if I'll just run goal marathon pace for the first half and then pick it up for the 2nd half and see what I can do.

Ran to meet Becca for dinner on her way home from work. Ran two of the miles at goal marathon pace, still a little sore from this weekends run.

Easy long run, perfect weather for the first 7 miles. Felt like spring. Around mile 7/8 there was a very sudden change, it started raining and almost out of nowhere the wind picked up to like 40 mph. Felt good though, achilles complained a little towards the end but not too much.

Nice run at the track while Becca walked. Ran a mile at goal marathon pace. I'll have to start doing some miles at HM pace again too.

Warmed up a mile and then ran two miles at goal marathon pace and one mile at goal HM pace. The two marathon miles felt really nice and easy, I feel like I could run a 13.1 miles at 6:40 pace right now. The HM pace mile felt really tough though, I think even a 5k at that pace would be challenging. Cooled down 3 miles after.

It seems strange that 6:40 pace feels so good and 6:00 feels completely horrible.

Pretty cold today, just need to get through february and the weather will stop sucking.

Mile warm up on treadmill and then 5.2 miles around the neighborhood. Felt tired today.

Recovery day but it ended up being really nice weather so I went for a walk/run with Becca. Walked about a mile and ran 4.2. I'm tentatively planning on a easy long run tomorrow, mostly on grass.

Only 15 miles to my first 100 mile month since 2020, and 2nd since 2018. I won't push it if I'm feeling achey tomorrow, the larger goal is to get over 1000 miles before my marathon this fall. Plan is to build up to 40 mile weeks by the end of the summer, but we'll see how it goes with the baby coming.

Ran over to the track and park for a long run. There was a very light rain for most of the run today, it felt pretty good. I took the first 5 miles pretty easy, 4 of them were on the grass. It's about a 2 mile loop around the field at the park next to my house, which will be even nicer to make use of when its less muddy.

After the firt 5 I did a few marathon pace miles and a 5k pace mile. For the 5k pace mile I tried to keep it to a pace I was confident I could do a 5k in my current shape and didn't push beyond that, I was hoping for 5:45 but ended up going 5:56. I'll do a 5k and try and run 5:56/mile or faster next weekend. A sub 1:20 HM is certainly beyond my current fitness, but we'll see how I'm feeling after a couple more months of 20-40 mile weeks.

Easy treadmill run to get to 100 miles for the month. Tomorrow I'm planning on doing a 5x1000m workout with a goal of 3:30 per k and a quarter mile jog recovery between reps. Hopefully this time next year I'll be doing this workout at 3:05-3:10.

Looking back at 2018 and 2020 it seems like I was able to get into better shape a lot quicker than I can now. I think part of it is that I just need to get used to running faster paces again and do some faster speed workouts. What's important is that I've been able to reliably keep my achilles healthy and am confident I can keep that up. Avoiding faster speed workouts also might be a big part of whats keeping my achilles healthy, but I'm going to start testing that a bit. One step at a time.

2 mile warm up to the track

5x1000m at 5k pace with 600m recovery between reps. I was shooting for 3:30 but I ended up going 3:22, 3:19, 3:29, 3:22, 3:25. So an average of 3:23 and on pace for just under 17 minutes. A good amount faster than I was planning on, not going to complain about that. Hopefully this summer I'll be able to run a 5k under 17 minutes!

4.5 easy miles on the treadmill. Initally was just going to do 2. I've been doing a lot of work demoliting the hardwood on our main floor the past few days and have lacked the time/energy to get out and run. Also preparing to defend my thesis in a couple weeks. It'll be nice once february is over.

A few laps around the neighborhood. Lungs were pretty irritated from the wood dust yesterday, should have worn a mask. February is going to be super busy, I'll be happy if I can keep getting over 20 miles per week.

Went out for a 7 mile easy run but during mile 3 I ran into a fellow runner at the track and we got into somewhat of a race. I sped up and ended up running miles 4 and 5 in 5:40 and 5:45. Felt pretty good, tough but really pretty good.

Made me realize that 6:00 pace is pretty close to 5:40. It felt a lot more like I remember this feeling back when I was in college and high school. Made me pretty confident I could run a 17 minute 5k at the moment. And I also think it's possible for me to run half marathon at 5:40/5:50 pace in a year if I keep slowly building my mileage and speed like this. Today was a big confidence builder for me, I feel like my fitness is coming back!

Easy 4 miles

Frustrating run. I couldn't catch my breath for the entire run after the first 3/4 miles. It's okay though, just need to keep running, get my asthma medication, and get back to doing my nasal rinses.

I'm going to start new goals of at least 2 runs with marathon pace miles each week, and at least 1 run with 5k pace workouts. I'm not sure if I'll be ready for a marathon this fall, but we'll see how it goes. I definitely want to break 17 in the 5k this summer though. I think I'll do a time trial this or next weekend to break 18.

Perfect weather today, went for a walk with Becca and then a run. Makes me excited for the spring. 70° in february is pretty special.

Also I took a closer look at my run yesterday, turns out my garmin was screwing me on the 1.08 mile loops. It was super inaccurate, all the loops it tracked were really far within the actual loop. I was fighting really hard to keep on pace but my watch kept jumping between 6:00/6:10 and 7:00 and then even 8:00 when I backed off a bit. I used the crop feature on strava to measure what my watch counted the loops as and it said they were .9 to 1.0. If that's on average giving me .9 miles for every mile I ran- or course I was feeling frustrated with how it was going. Geez. It did the same thing today, I'll have to look into why that's happening.

Celebratory 2 mile run after defending my thesis. Feels good to be done! I ran at like 8pm and when I was leaving the park where the track is a bunch of high schoolers showed up and one of them blocked the entrance to the park with their truck... so that was weird, probably just some silly teenager stuff, I think I saw an air soft gun. Anyways, I threw some strides in-it was great to get out and run!

Past few week have been crazy finishing up my thesis and demoing and prepping the floors in my house. This weekend I worked for 30 hours straight with just a 1.5 hour nap during that stretch... but it's all done now. Tomorrow I'll start out slow and slowly build to marathon pace and then I'll stay at marathon pace for a few miles. Maybe I'll do a couple laps at goal 5k pace as well.

Ended up just doing 4.25 at whatever pace gelt good. I think I'll just try and run each day the rest of the week and see what mileage I end up at. If I'm feeling good I'll throw in some marathon, 10k, or 5k stuff.

Another day in the most temperate state in the USA... apparently. It got up to 72 today after being in the 60s yesterday. Highs will mostly remain in the 50s and 60s for the rest of February. Been a strange winter for Ohio, I love it.

I ran in my neighborhood and at the track. Felt good!

Great weather today. Usually high 40s/low 50s is a little chilly for me, but with no wind it actually feels great. Ideally it would never be windy.

I tried a new workout where I did a mile at marathon pace, 2 laps at 5k pace, and 1 lap at goal mile pace. It was really fun. I think I might do 3/4 reps of it later this week.

Ran over to the field/track and did 3.25 miles warm up and then 2 reps of the marathon mile, 2 laps 5k, 1 lap mile pace.

Didn't feel 100% today, never felt smooth and was drained by the end. Really nice day and always great to get out and run.

Went out for an easy 4-7 miles and ended up running a half marathon in 1:27:37. My first mile over to the track was 7:25 and my 2nd was 7:07. So I decided to pick it up a little and see if I could run goal marathon pace without too much effort. I ended up running mid 6 minute pace for the next 11 miles.

I felt great up until mile 9ish and then I had to push it to keep up with the pace. The last 4 miles were still all 6:35-6:40. I feel pretty happy about keeping the pace consistent once I got tired. I've got a long ways to go with both speed and endurance but today was a big step in the right direction!

Easy and mostly on the grass today. I also ran a few strides and one lap on the track at goal 5k pace. I love having a track that's so accessible.

Nice late night run. Been another busy week. Remodel is really starting to come together in the later stages, also like 2/3 weeks from becoming a dad. On top of that I think I'm close to landing my dream job, we'll see... exciting but busy time.

Warmed up a couple miles and then did a 5k time trial. My main goal today was to be under 18 for 3 miles- which was successful. I started out with a 5:38 and ran into a wall with asthma in mile 2... Need to get meds for that. Cut the rest of the run short because my toes were bleeding quite a bit.

Did 7 strides building up to a sprint. Wasn't feeling 100% today, had some rough shortness of breath. I think I should do sprints more often, that will probably help a lot with my top end speed.

Baby should be arriving in just about 2 weeks, so that's really exciting. Still need to build some furniture but the only main outstanding projects we have on the house are the counter/island and the stairs and we've got plans for both of those.

I'm also getting towards the end of the interview process for a couple of remote jobs... so that will be pretty awesome if one of those works out.

I think I'll just start making 6-7pm my running hour each day. I've need to get out and do a few miles per day more consistently. Especially in the beginning of having a baby I think I'll probably keep runs shorter- but I'll just kind of see what fits into my new life as a dad.

Ran with Matt today, met him on a Facebook group for Columbus runners. He went to BYU and is a grad student at OSU, cool dude!

Did mile warm up and then 4x400, cool down walk. About 2 mins rest between 400s, I averaged 68-70 I think. I think one of them might have been a 65/66. I forgot my watch and was just keeping track on my phone. Legs were wrecked from Wednesday, excited to see how much faster I feel once they're all healed up.

Might do a few more miles today, it's kind of cold. We'll see.

Easy run, felt good.

Was interested in how a hard 800M would feel. My legs were still pretty tired from last week's workouts but I just went for it- goal was to run 2:15-2:20. I figured I'd try to start out in 33/34 seconds for the first 200m and then see where things went from there. I was right on pace and continued through 68 for the first lap, the 2nd lap felt surprisingly good but my legs were drained. I ended up right at 2:20. I could have pushed harder the 2nd lap if I'd realized how much I was slowing down but I'm happy with it- was just a hard effort to see how it felt, I didn't mean to race it. That didn't spare my throat from getting super raw, I really need to get my nasal rinse and asthma meds going.

I think the next hard effort I do will be a sub 5 mile, but I want to do another 400m workout or two before then... Or maybe I should just make an effort for sub 5 this weekend because the baby is coming next week and I have no idea how much I'll run once I have a newborn and a wife recovering from childbirth...

Warmed up a few miles and then did 6 200ms at goal mile pace and a couple strides. Amazing weather, really beautiful outside today. Also walked about a mile.

Heck yeah, I got a sub 5 mile. I really died on the last lap and threw up after. But I got it. I clocked it at 4:59 and my Garmin says it was 4:54... But it was 4 laps around the track so I'm pretty confident my time is correct. I went into the last 200m at 4:20 and was dying pretty hard. I think I could get down to under 4:50 if I can just switch from dying the last lap to going into the last lap feeling good and closing in a 70 and wear racing flats or spikes instead of trainers.

Sitting here in a shaded patch just off the track until I can get back up and run again. I feel like death, I was having cramps during the warm up so ig it's not overly surprising I puked. Ugh I feel sick though. Think I'll walk home and get a drink before cool down.

Cooled down a little over a mile. I have a lot of goals to get back in the best shape of my life before 30, run some prs in the 5k and mile, run a fast 10k, podium in a few spartan elite races. HM and marathon can wait for my 30s... Maybe. We'll see how having a baby impacts those goals haha. 6-7pm is the plan for a daily workout hour while Becca has mommy daughter time. I've been stuck around 20mpw recently and I think in April I'll just try and maintain that with being a new dad. Ideally I want to build up to 50-60 mpw by this time next year. Who knows, maybe workout hour will be a huge hit and I'll run 150 miles next month. But I'm not too worried, mostly excited to meet my daughter!

Around the neighborhood.

Nice run around the neighborhood and track. On the last lap of the neighborhood loop I decided to pick it up to a hard but relaxed pace and ended up kicking in the last couple hundred meters. Averaged 5:43 for the loop, it's just under a mile.

Baby will be coming in just a couple days... exciting times.

First run as a dad, amazing weather today. Whitney is adorable and both she and Becca are doing great!

I ran around the neighborhood and track and did 4 100m strides, 2 400ms in 69 and 71 and 2 200ms in 36/37. Nice first day back, definitely felt a little tight. Today was a good shake out and solid mileage for the first day back. I'm pretty confident I can still get 80 miles in this month and stay on pace for 1000 miles this year.

Nice evening run around the neighborhood. My Garmin is being a little inaccurate again, maybe it needs an update or something. Pretty amazing being a dad, also really draining. Was hoping to get some work done tonight after my run but instead of sleeping Whitney had a cluster feed/poop session for 2 hours. She's finally out so now I'll have some time to knock stuff out. She's a really sweet and happy baby, so lucky to have her!

Easy 10k around the neighborhood. In some ways it's actually easier to get out for runs with a kid. This week I've just been going a little after dinner before the night shift begins and that routine has been nice. I've been on my feet more too so it's easier to just get out the door. I'm also starting to get more confident with my achilles, calf raises and massages seem to do the trick. I might making running a little more frequently.

Ran at Battelle Darby while my mom pushed Whitney in the stroller. It was hot and sunny and I forgot my hat so I cut it a bit short, I'll need to get some sunscreen and maybe a new running hat that shields my face better. Also feeling kind of tired today, might take tomorrow off and just do a stroll around the neighborhood.

10 minutes at 5k pace followed by a couple 400ms. I got through 1.8 miles in the 10 minutes, I didn't time the first 400 but I did the 2nd one close to all out. I ran a 61 which is kinda slow but not too bad after I'd already done a pretty hard 10 minutes. Trying to get somewhat of a kick back. I still feel kind of awkward and tight when I'm running at faster than like 4:30 pace, need to keep doing strides and drills and hopefully that will get better.

Ran to the track and did a couple mile repeats at 5k pace with 800m recovery jog between the two. I finished with 4 strides and then cooled down to 6 miles. I'll do an easy run next. The 2nd hard mile felt a little harder than I would have liked, buty legs were tired and I really really need to get back to regular nasal rinse and asthma meds.

4.7 miles around park and neighborhood. Tried to take it easy but naturally sped up to marathon goal pace, which I suppose is a good sign. Outside of the heat it felt really smooth and easy.

Easy run around the neighborhood. Apparently didn't stop the Garmin when I ran into Whitney Becca and my mom and then stopped it when I started running again. So I missed tracking part of my run, but I know I ran a .6 mile loop and then a little more beyond that before I noticed it was paused... so I'm just rounding up to 5 from my garmins 4.3.

Might run at the scioto mile tomorrow. Then maybe Friday off and a long run/workout Saturday.

Ran while my mom biked along the scioto mile, 4.1 miles. Lots of speeding up and slowing down, felt great on the surges and sped up to sub 5 minute pace at some points.

After I dropped my mom off at the airport I came home and ran a little over 4.2 more miles, it's been perfect weather this week. I felt pretty good today, maybe I'll do a 400 or 800 meter repeat workout on Saturday.

1.5 mile warm up and then 6x800m at the track with a lap jog in between reps. All the 800ms were between 2:46 and 2:50. The last rep was the fastest because I sped up a bit for the last 200m. Cooled down to 7.5 miles and added a couple of strides.

Felt pretty good today. The 3rd rep was kind of tough and was the slowest, it had me a little worried, but I guess I got something of a second wind because the 4th rep was my 2nd fastest and I ran my recovery lap at the quickest pace between the 3rd and 4th reps.

My achilles was feeling it towards the end of the workout and cool down, I need to get back to doing calf raises. My calves were sore going into today for some reason, even though the past couple runs have been easier. Will have to do an easy run on Tuesday where I can't go faster than 7:30 pace.

Ran over to the track and did most of my run there. I ran a 5k pace mile and then 2 200s and 2 strides. The mile was in 5:49, the goal was to run 5:48 and feel really easy. It just a bit beyond easy, and today was one of those days where I just can't stop having shortness of breath.

The goal is to win my local 4th of July 5k and ideally I'll be able to run low 17s or high 16s by then.

5.5 miles east and then 10x400m at goal 5k pace with 200m jog recovery between reps. I averaged about 83 and ended with the 10th at mile pace with a 75. The pace felt really good outside a little shortness of breath on the 8th and 9th.

Easy run around my neighborhood and the park/track, Ohio is super pretty. There was a huge rainbow for a few minutes of the run.

Also did some research on the local 4th of July 5k and it looks to be a slow course and a little over a 5k. So not the best course to run a fast time on, but it does look like a cool course and hopefully I can compete to win it. I'll have to make a schedule of races I want to run this year. So far it's just 4th of July and Thanksgiving if I'm here for it. I want to race like once a month or every other month now that I'm getting into a little better shape.

Easy 5 miles with 4 200ms at 5k pace. They were all 41-42 which was a little quick but felt really good. Tomorrow I'll either do a workout or time trial.

2 mile warm up and then a 5k time trial. Started out pretty slow with an 89 second first lap. I ended up running 5:51, 5:53, and 5:55 for a 17:40 3 mile and then finished the 5k in 18:23.

The first 7 laps felt really good and the last 5 started to get pretty tough. I never got into a good rhythm for this run. I really need to get back in budesonide too.

I feel like my fitness is coming back kind of slow, and also I'm a little surprised I was able to break 5 in the mile but can't break 18 in the 5k. Running takes patience though. And 5k has never been strong distance for me, but I'll get there. I think maybe I should run sub 11 for a 2 mile and sub 2:15 for a 800m over the next few days. Then it'll be time to start doing some bigger workouts every now and then. I need to do 8-10x400m with 90-120 seconds rest at 69-71 for the mile and mile repeats and 5x1000ms for the 5k. I also want to run a sub 38 10k later this month.

Warmed up a couple miles and then walked over to the track with Becca and Whitney. I ran another 2.5 miles there with a hard 800m. I did half a mile at marathon pace and then the hard 800m for a 5:45 mile, the 800m was in 2:20/2:21. The first 400m was way too slow at 71 and then I picked it up the second lap for 69. I felt way too good going into the last straight away and especially at the halfway point- wasn't feeling it at all.

My legs were tired from yesterday so it was tough to gauge my pace for today, I think I might do a workout of 8x200m at 32 with the last 2 all out and a 4x400m at 62-64 and the last one under 60. I think maybe I should focus on getting quicker at shorter stuff and easy long runs.

Didn't have a ton of time today so ran a little quicker than planned. Wanted to do 10 easy miles but ended up mostly being at marathon and then 10k pace. I ended with 2 miles in just over 12 minutes. There seems to be a huge difference for me in how tough 6:05 pace feels vs 5:45. I feel like I could probably run a sub 38 10k at the moment but was unable to run 5:45 for 3 miles last week. Tomorrow I'll do a long run and some strides, maybe even 8x200m at goal 800m pace. I need to get a better hat, I've been avoiding running before 7:30 to protect myself from getting too much sun.

Shorter than I'd planned but still a good run. Was tired today, didn't get quite enough sleep last night. Run felt pretty good. I did 4 200ms at 800m pace, the last one was more of a goal kick for the last 200m. I ran 32, 34, 34, 30. The 30 felt surprisingly hard, I've been able to run 24/25 seconds without spikes for a 200m since I was 13/14 and now in spikes I think I'd run a 27 or maybe even 28. Not a good development at all, eventually I'll lose my top end speed for good- but I'm still only 26 and there's no reason I shouldn't be able to run a 24/25 second 200m... I lost some of my sprint/kick ability during my mission when I lost a lot of my strength/muscle but this is definitely more severe haha. So I'm going to do some work to get that top end speed back.

Also walked 1.5 miles with Becca and Whitney, beautiful day but the bugs are out. Need to get bug spray and a better running hat.

Warmed up 2 miles and then decided to go for a hard 10k. I think my watch was a little fast, it said I ran 37:46. Which I'm pretty happy with if true. The last two miles were a lot harder but I still averaged 6:15. Just cooled down a little under a mile because I was pretty beat.

I did some math on the portion of the 10k effort that was on the track (which was most of it. I did just under 22 laps all in lane 7... Strava said this was a 10k but 446x22 is 9812. And I'd say it was probably more like 9700. So the 10k effort was probably closer to 39 minutes.

I should do another 10k effort soon on my neighborhood loop, my garmin is usually better about recording that loops distance accurately. Who knows, maybe the track is a few meters long haha.

Easy run with 4 strides after mowing the lawn. Felt a little short of breath. I was to do 8x400m at 70-72 tomorrow or Wednesday.

Easy run. I was going to do a workout today but I was a having really bad shortness of breath and my legs were pretty beat. Really need to schedule an appointment with a pulmonologist.

Couldn't breathe at all today. Not sure what's wrong, I need to see a ENT. I think my sinuses or nose is messed up. Probably just need to refill the meds I'm supposed to take for nasal polyps and asthma. Felt really crappy like every run this week, who knows maybe it's just allergies. But I've been putting off getting back on meds for too long.

Warmed up and started doing 8x400m at goal mile pace but tweaked my calf on the 6th rep. I was still having some trouble breathing but less trouble than last week. I ran 73, 73, 72, 71, 71, 74 for the 6 400ms.

They definitely didn't feel as smooth as I'd like them to, my running has been in kind of a funk ever since I ran that 10k. I'm finally getting back on asthma meds though so we'll see how much of a difference that can make.

Also walked 3 miles, did core, and lifted today. I'm getting into a good groove with stretching and core every day, and now that we have adjustable dumbells and a power tower I should get my strength back. Right now I'm just kind of exercising whatever muscle groups aren't sore... Once I shake the rust off I'll make a better organized workout schedule.

3 miles walking

Mowed the lawn and then ran 8 easy miles followed by a 1.5 mile walk with Becca and Whitney. The run was at an easy pace of 7:40 but my lungs were still killing me. I had shortness of breath and tightness in my chest the whole time. Maybe it's just bad allergies, who knows. Either way my asthma medication should start kicking in by the end of the week and start helping.

I want to start running more like 5 days a week instead of 3/4. I've also started walking a good amount now that the baby is here, I suppose I'll start logging that too.

Felt pretty good today, lungs still didn't feel perfect but certainly improved. I think the medicine is helping. Been doing lots of stretching, core, pull ups, squat jumps, dead lifts and stuff like that lately. The home gym is complete outside a cable machine. I think I'm going to do a Spartan race in Tennessee in October. I want to be able to do 3 min hang time, 3x20 pull ups, and run a sub 36 10k by then... We'll see how it goes.

3 miles walking, half a mile of it on the treadmill at 10% incline. I jogged for a quarter mile of the treadmill incline half mile.

Warmed up 2 miles and then ran 2 miles at 5k pace, 2 400s at mile pace, and 2 200s at 800m pace. The 2 mile was in 11:30, I thought of continuing on to try and run a sub 18 5k but thought better of it and stopped after an additional 200m. I took a 400m walk jog break before a 400m in 74 and athen 100m walk and 100m jog before the 2nd 400m in 70 seconds. 200ms were both 31s.

Right calf is still kind of tight and legs were sore today in general. Lungs and throat/sinuses felt better today, but still have some room to improve.

Warmed up a mile and then did a Spartan type workout. I did 5x alternating between .3 and .6 mile loops and then jumping right into 4 pullups and 10 push ups between each rep. I also did squat jumps for one of them. I meant for it to be pretty easy but I sped up and ran mid 6 minute range for the whole workout- mile two was in 6:22. I felt pretty great at upper 6 minute pace but started feeling pretty hot and out of breath going between core and low 6 minute pace. The core felt pretty easy, I think all of the tight turns and stopping and starting, getting in and back out of the sunroom/exercise room in the back of my house was equally hard as the pull ups/push ups.

I took a break after the first 4 miles and drank some water and walked around to let myself cool down. Then I ran 4 miles easy, about 1.5-2 miles of it on grass. I finished with a mile in 6:23 and then 10 burpees and then a quarter mile in 77, I meant for it to be at mile pace but I guess I was pretty tired. I went right into 10 more burpees after the 400m and then cooled down about 3 quarters of mile.

Eventually I want sub 6 pace to feel like 6:45 pace feels now. I imagine it will take a year or so of consistently increasing mileage and doing speed/tempo workouts to get there, but if I could maintain sub 6 pace in a Spartan race outside of hills and obstacles that would be pretty great. I'll do an actual easy long run next weekend.

Also walked 2 miles with .5 of it on the treadmill at 10% incline.

Walked to the track with Becca and Whitney and ran a couple miles while they walked. Nice easy recovery day, but still did a good amount of lifting and core- all upper body though.

Am- 3 miles, I need to ease into morning runs. Also need to get out on runs by like 8 if I'm going to run in the morning. Did a mile at 5k pace on the track, was going to do a bigger workouts but it was really hot and sunny so I decided to just do a 2nd workout tonight. I'm going to start running more around the neighborhood instead of the track.

Ran a couple miles and did as close to a monkey bar workout as I could on the swing set at the park, honestly it was probably harder/better. But there was dried bird crap or something on part of the top of the swingset, so that was really gross. I think I'll try to clean it off tomorrow.

I went home after that to wash my hands and got sick and threw up, unrelated to the bird poop I think. The rest of the run felt kind of meh and I took it easy, started feeling better towards the end. Did a couple strides at the end and then walked a mile with Becca and Whitney.

Ran a little over a 10k around the neighborhood. If I tack on all the extra loops in the neighborhood there's a 1.9 mile loop so I ran that 3 times plus some extra. Felt a little hot and humid, I averaged just over 7:00 and that felt a little quick at times. After the run I did a quarter mile at 9:00 pace at 10 degrees incline on the treadmill, twas pretty tough. I'll do that a few times a week and then start also adding 200m incline with sandbags for Spartan training. Final step will be jogging 200m with 80 pounds of sandbags for 200m at 10 degrees incline during a tempo run.

7 miles around the neighborhood and park, about 2.5 miles of it on grass. Felt okay, legs were a little tired from yesterday.

Been avoiding going outside due to the wildfire smoke this week, but decided at a certain point loss of fitness is equally bad. Tonight the AQI was down to 60-70s too so I thought it would be a good time to test it out with a 400m workout.

The air quality was pretty bad, I ended up turning around and heading home after 4 reps because I was coughing. The sky is a smoky haze covering the clouds from the wildfires up north. I guess Canada is the Midwests California.

On top of the bad air quality my legs also felt heavy tired and awkward today. No idea why except for bad sleep this week. It's Becca's first week back to work so I've been sleeping from about 1:30/2 to 7 this week. Trying to get to bed earlier but there's a lot to do in the day and I used to finishing whatever I don't get to during the day at night. Hopefully will eventually be getting to bed by 11/11:30 or even earlier. I've been tired this week but every day has been amazing , very grateful for my family.

Anyways yeah my legs didn't feel good, I hit 76 for the 4 400s and it didnt feel smooth. I'll chalk today up to lack of sleep and bad air quality. I think I'll do a treadmill run tomorrow to avoid the air quality. Grateful I invested in an upgraded air purifier earlier this year.

4.5 miles on the treadmill, still avoiding bad air quality. Started with half a mile at 12 degrees incline at 9 minute pace, ran most the rest of the run at mid-low 7 minute pace. I did another half mile of 12 degrees incline at the end with about a quarter mile of it at 7:30 pace and the rest at 9 minute pace. The 7:30 pace at 12 degrees incline was quite tough for me.

My core workout has been some yoga and then leg lifts, calf raises, figure eights, push ups, hip flexers, burpees, and pull ups. Now I'm adding lunges and squats. I do deadlift, dips, and squat jumps every now and then. For lifting throughout the week I do bent over rows, prone bench rows, deadlifts, 3 main shoulder lifts, shoulder press, curls, dumbbell bench.

Once we get a cable machine I'll add some more exercises. Sometimes I do tricep extensions but I'm leaning away from those because I feel like they add too much size to my arms and I need to lean down a bit. Once the cable machine is here I don't think I'll miss much standard gym equipment. In cedar city the retro fitness gym I would go to had a weighted jump machine and a continuous rope pull machine. Both really cool gym equipment machines I've never seen since.

No running, just lots of core. Still waiting for air quality to improve. I have a tendency to fixate on stuff like this. One of the perks of moving to Ohio for me was that the average AQI here is 24 and the average in Utah and Colorado is 30-33.

So unless you have a carbon filter air purifier the average pollution throughout the year is equivalent to smoking 3 cigarettes a week in Colorado/Utah vs 2 here in Ohio. One cigarette is equivalent to about 22 ug/m3 of p2.5 and am AQI is about 8 ug/m3 over 24 hours. AQI of 24 is about 5 ug/m3. That's still about 100 cigarettes in a year of damage to my lungs every year, which (along with risk of VOCs from our remodel) is why I bought the best heavy duty carbon filter air purifier so that I could reduce that to pretty much 0 at least when we're home. Don't want young Whitney to have any lung problems. My upgraded air purifier we got this spring is probably my most prized possession along with my adjustable dumbbells, those are amazing. With how much I've moved around the past few years I really don't have a lot of possessions I'm attatched to, but now I have this 50lb air purifier and 180lb for the two adjustable dumbbells that I will definitely take with me in any future move... I suppose lots of baby stuff too and thats before we get to Beccas stuff. Gone are the days everything I need in life easily fits in a sedan.

Anyways, I figure when you're doing an intense activity like running you're basically getting your full days worth of exposure to the bad air quality in about an hour (maybe that's extreme), which means that going on a run on a day like today where the AQI is over 100 would be the equivalent of smoking 2 cigarettes. Is a run as good for your lungs as 2 cigarettes are bad? Maybe I'll research that next, but I'm pretty sure that would be hard to compare. Its interesting to consider that even on an average air quality day, that line of thinking means that 30 miles of outdoor running would also come with negative pollution effects worth 2 cigerretes. I'm not sure why the EPA considers AQI of 50 perfectly safe... does that mean that smoking is perfectly fine as long as you limit yourself to under 200 cigerettes per year? At a certain point you just have to live your life and not worry about it, but it is a consideration for me.

I just hope the air quality improves quickly. Probably should have done a treadmill run today but my basement gets kind of stuffy if I don't open a window when I run...which would defeat the whole purpose of the treadmill.

Split the run in half because I didn't have a free block long enough to do the whole run. Felt a lot better for the 2nd half actually. Air quality is mostly back to normal so that's nice.

Didn't have much time for a run today so I ran fast and short, averaged 6:20 with mile 2 just under 6:00. I feel like I could run under 1:25 for a half marathon right now. Maybe I'll try that this weekend, give the shorter stuff a break. I think it's better to concentrate on building mileage right now anyways and then get back to track workouts a couple times a week once I'm used to 30-35mpw. I'll still do hard runs and get some running in at 800/mile/5k paces, but just as part of my long runs. Once I run a sub 1:20 half I think I'll sign up for a marathon and start doing some 16-20 mile runs a couple times a month.

Hopefully I never spend much time below 20 miles per week again, it's hard to get fast again after a few years of being a slouch, it amazes me that in 2020 summer I was able to pick up after a year and a half of very little running and get into low 17 minute shape in like a month or two. Now I've been slowly building back since March 2022 and I'm still not quite back there. What happened between the summer of 2020 and 2021? It seems like I used to be able to jump back into 17 minute shape with just a few weeks of good training and now it's taking forever to get there.

But now I am healthy and my achilles pretty much healed finally after 7 years, I'm enjoying my running injury free. So my slow and patient approach has paid off even if I don't feel like I'm in great shape yet. Things are just starting to pick up, I think I'm going to start seeing good returns these next few months once I'm averaging over 30 miles and am deep into my core/lifting revival as well.

Busy week, run the first 4 miles at current goal HM pace and then took the last half easier. Didn't feel as good as earlier this week. Felt kinda weak and tired.

I'm going to make a workout schedule and try my best to follow it.

Ran a little over a mile during our nightly stroll. I picked it up for the last quarter mile or so. My legs have been feeling heavy when I run fast. Probably just need to run more miles and include more strides and pick ups in my long runs.

Treadmill run today because the crappy air quality is back. I've had pretty bad luck with wildfires following me around the past few years. Between bad smoke from California the last summer I spent in Utah, the Boulder fire the month I moved to Denver, and now the first summer I'm in Columbus we're dealing with all this smoke from the giant wildfires in Canada. Probably won't be much better in future years as climate change issues aren't being given enough attention, and even if they were there's only so much people can do without major advances in clean energy. Easier to just blame the Canadians, screw those guys.

It is pretty interesting to consider the reaction the world had to covid vs climate change. Especially considering 5 million people died from "abnormal temperatures related to climate change" in 2021 according to a study I read. Over the past 3+ years covid has accounted for just under 7 million deaths, although I'm sure that would be much higher without social distancing and quick vaccines. But if you factor in all the illness caused by pollution and such, and the fact that all these effects are going to exponentially worsen... I guess it's more of a slow burn type of deal.

Anyways treadmill was okay, I did a mile of it at 12 degrees incline at 8:00 pace. Treadmill was making a weird sound towards the end, lie something was loose and banging around. Still running fine, I'll check it out tomorrow... probably better to become a treadmill repair expert sooner rather than later.

Still bad air quality but I didn't want to do a treadmill run and I wanted to get some sprints in. So I decided to warm up on the treadmill and then go out. I got 2 miles on the treadmill with 5 minutes at 12 degrees incline, it actually felt really good today so I think my legs are adjusting. Then I went outside and ran over the park/track area and did 6x200m building up from 5k pace to a sprint. I tried to do the first 59 meters at 5k pace, 2nd 50 at mile pace, 3rd 50 at 800m pace, and then all our sprint for the last 50.

The 200s felt hard, probably because of th air quality. The AQI was down to 65 when I went out but I was still coughing by the end of the workout. I did feel my form get smoother and feel less awkward as the reps went on.i did the last 2 reps on the grass, I think I might do them all on the grass next time, much easier on the feet and ankles.

I'm trying to do more injury preventative drills during my morning core/stretching. Today I tried doing clam shells, single leg deadlift, bird dogs, reverse lunges, and bridges. I should get a band to do some of these with. For my morning workout core/yoga time I have Whitney do tummy time and then just hang out on her blanket and practice hitting a bell toy that hangs down over her blanket. Daddy daughter workout time is one of the best parts of the day, hopefully a morning ritual that will last a long time.

Wanted to do 8 but got out of the house a little late and didn't quite have time. I had to pick it up a bit as it was and I didn't want today to be too hard, I'm pretty sore. I ran 2 of today's miles on the grass. I also walked 3-4 miles with Whitney today.

Ugh looking ahead at another bad week for air quality. Tomorrow looks to be the only good air quality day so I'll get in a good run.

Easy longer run during the day, so it was a little warm. I added 2 200m build ups on the grass. My back was hurting towards the end, I did a good back workout before my run so it probably had something to do with that.

Treadmill run because the air quality has been really bad this week. Hard to boost mileage when like 2/3rds of the days this month have had an AQI of 100+. It's okay, I've been adding more injury preventative drills and an extra month at 20-25 mpw isn't going to kill me. Hopefully the air quality in July is better.

5 miles running and 4 miles walking today. Made the most of some good air quality. Ran 4x200m buildups. Not sure if I'm in shape to win the 5k on the 4th but it'll be good to get into a real race for the first time in a year. This course looks pretty slow so I'm not expecting a great time but it'll be fun racing people.

6th place at my local 5k. The guy who won it was pretty quick. I stayed with the lead pack going out, one guy was pretty clearly faster than the rest of us and another guy was trying to go with him. I ran in a group of 4 or 5 other guys and eventually we kind of strung out. I ran in 5th for most the race but some kid ran a smarter race than me and passed me around the 2 mile mark and I wasn't feeling good enough to go with him. I could feel legs wanting to take off in the last mile but something was holding them back.

The course was on a golf course full of sharp turns and really steep hills. Like steeper hills than I've raced on for a 5k since I ran at that Herriman meet in high school. Air quality was also pretty rough today. I forgot my watch at home so I had no idea about my time. Once I saw how hilly and sharp the course was (plus according to other runners before the race, the course is a few hundred meters long), I decided sub 19 would be a solid time for today. I ran like 19:05. So time was pretty slow, as I expected, but the course was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

It was a fun run and beautiful course, and I ran some hill sprints on the beginning of the course during my cool down. I'll be back next year assuming we're in Ohio for the 4th. I should sign up for a another 5k and give sub 18 on a quick course a shot.

The two kids who finished 15 and 30 seconds ahead of me both ran 4:40s for 1600m and and I'm the low-mid 10 minute range for 3200m this spring. So I'm getting close to my sophomore year level of shape. Really not a bad performance for me today, I think by the end of the summer I should be running sub 4:50 for a mile and maybe I'll take a shot at a 3200m as well. I think I ran a pretty good race, maybe I could have tried to stick with the guys in 3rd and 4tb when they started to separate from me. And I had plenty left in the tank for a kick, I should have tried to run down the kid in front of me with 800m to go but I didn't know how close to the finish I was until like 200m left and by then it was too late.

Legs were still sore from Tuesday. Ran pretty easy today but included 6 100m strides. I ran 4 of them on the track. I did tried to just do them at a pace that would stretch my legs out, which turned out to be 17 seconds. I think I'll do a few more weeks of just doing these 200m buildups or strides on my runs.

Pizza I had for dinner turned on me during my run tonight. I made it through the planned 4x200m buildups. The first 3 felt rough but the 4th actually felt super good, I felt like something changed on that one and my legs started turning over a faster on that one. I think doing these buildups a couple times a week, along with the drills I've been doing, is really fixing whatever is wrong with my running. Slowly but surely. Maybe I'll try doing an all out 400m soon.

Mowed the lawn and ran. Felt pretty good.

Warmed up and ran an all out 400m in 59 seconds. Then did 4x200m buildups. Just happy to be under 60 seconds for the 400m. I'd like to get back down under 55 seconds by this time next year. For now I'll just try to get over 30 miles this week and keep doing strides and buildups every run.

Felt great today, averaged just under 7:00 pace and it didn't feel like I was pushing it any point. I did 4 strides towards the end of the run and the last one was probably closer to 200m. Some good changes are starting to happen, I'm getting back into shape. I'm still a ways from the best shape of my life, but that's the goal. I want to get faster and stronger than I've ever been and this time I want to maintain it until age starts to eat away at my fitness.

I started out easy and then did a harder mile. I decided to do a couple 400s at mile pace, I ran 73 and 74. Those felt pretty good, I think next week I'll do an 8x400m workout at 70-72. I think I'll start doing those more often and then after a while I'll start doing 5 or 6x1000m workouts at 5:20 pace.

Meh run. I need to do more Spartan specific workouts. At least one run a week needs to be lots of random core/hang/lifting workouts mixed with running at under 6:30 pace.

Treadmill run, air quality has been awful this week. And the worst part is the forecast keeps saying that the next day will be in the green, and then it gets there and is at like 90 for AQI. About a mile at 12 degrees incline at 7-8 mph.

Ran to the track and did 6 400s, was going to do 8 but I ran out of time. First was a 76 and the rest were 71-73. They were pretty tough. Had trouble breathing by the time I got home.

A little over 10 at Battelle Darby. Felt great. Did a few hard hill efforts at the end. Really beautiful day. I need to get out here more often. Having a baby has really changed my perspective and understanding on the importance of sleep, I need to get better at averaging at least 7 hours per night. I got 9 hours today and I think that's a big reason for feeling good on my run.

Also the other runs this week were on Wednesday and Thursday, not Thursday a d Friday... I'm too lazy to fix that rn.

Mowed and then ran. Felt good today. Between scrambling to get my broken HVAC system figured out and my brother visiting I missed out on running last week. I did get some good workouts in with climbing and tennis though. Had an awesome weekend hanging out with Adam. We also got some window ac units to hold us over and the home warranty our sellers gave us for the first year is covering a decent amount of the new system, so really it's all worked out perfectly. Pretty huge update for the house for cheap.

Warmed up a mile and then did a Murph in 49 minutes (no weighted vest). I used the CrossFit kipping method for the pull ups as best I could with my wobbly power tower. I started with doing all the pull ups and squats, I did 67 of the pull ups with the 300 squats. I did the first 100 push ups with the last 33 pull ups. Then I was left with 100 pushups... Which took me another 8 minutes... So definitely should have started on those earlier haha. I had no idea how long this would take me and am pretty happy with it. I'd like to get down to sub 40 by the end of September, I think mostly I just need to increase the amount of push ups I've been doing. I found a pull up program online where you just do sets of 4 pull ups all throughout the day as often as you remember to. The squats weren't really that bad honestly. Push ups were harder than I'd anticipated, usually I just do 50 in a row each morning... After the first 70 or so they got pretty tough.

Walked to the track and started running but called back home to help with an angry baby pretty quick.

Warmed up 2 miles and then ran 5x1000m and ended with a quick 400m. My splits were perfect but I took a little extra rest time towards the end of the workout. The splits were 3:26, 3:24, 3:24, 3:25, 3:25, 67.

If I could get my breathing figured out this pace would feel really good, so I probably just need to take my asthma medicines regularly and do more breathing exercises. The last 1000m actually felt the best so that's a good sign. The 400m felt pretty hard but really smooth, my goal was under 68 so that was perfect.

I noticed when I was running the 1000ms that the pace felt great outside of when I needed to take deep breaths, and then when I had to take those deep breaths my form got interrupted and it threw off my rhythm. Good I have something to learn how to fix.

First 2.25 were really slow trying to keep my heart rate at in my garmins easy zone, so they were like 8:30/8:40. Then I ran 10x10 shuttle run. After that I ran 4 miles at goal marathon page and cooled down a bit. Felt a little sore today.

Warmed up a couple miles and then did 400m in 67, 300m in 45, 200m in 28.2, 100m in 13.5, 400m in just under 64. I was going to do 2nd repeats of the 300 200 and 100m but I ran out of time. It was 85 and humid and I was trying to get full recovery between each rep so that was tough. Cooled down back home.

My goals were 65-67 for the 400s, sub 45 for 300m, 28 for 200m and 14 for 100m. So it went pretty well. Also did a couple 10x10m shuttle runs and a couple sprint starts yesterday during a walk. Probably good I ran out of time because I was a little sore before todays workout and especially after that last 400m was getting pretty tired. My form probably would have deteriorated on any additional reps.

8.5-12 easy tomorrow morning.

Ugh heat and humidity got to me today. I got out way too late and it was mid 80s and quite humid the whole run. I also stopped and mowed for 20 mins after the first 5.2 miles. I stopped in the shade a few times during the run to cool off. Not exactly the easy long run I had planned.

Tomorrow I'll just a short recovery run, I was going to try to do 6-10 but I think I should adjust to either a day off or shorter recovery run. I'll see how I feel though.

Very easy run today, also walked and played tennis with my mom. I'll do 8x400m either tomorrow or Tuesday.

A little over 2 miles warm up and then 8x400m at goal mile pace. I ran 73, 72, 72, 72, 72 (Garmin lap button took a few presses to work, it told me 74 after the delay so I'm guessing it was 72), 72, 72, 70. Then I cooled down to 7 miles.

Warmed up and did 3xmile at goal 5k pace. I jogged two laps between each rep. My Garmin was a little off and clocked 5:31, 5:19, and 5:27. It was kind of annoying because my watch kept clocking the laps like 20 meters early and I couldn't get the correct split for any of them. I need to figure out how to turn off the auto-lap at a mile setting. There's also the possibility that my local track is a few meters long haha.

My actual splits were more like 5:35, 5:25, 5:32 I think. Somewhere around there. Still pretty good. I need to start doing more strides before these workouts, my first reps are consistently the slowest and feel harder than the 2nd.

I was going to do this workout tomorrow but the air quality looks like it might be really crappy so I switched the workouts in case I have to be on the treadmill tomorrow. Legs were kinda sore going into today so I'm pretty happy I felt as good as I did. Lungs felt better today than usual.

Air quality has been awful this weekend, today was supposed to be the worst and I was going to make myself do a treadmill run- but the AQI ended up dropping down into the 50s so I just ran outside. It was pretty hot, high 80s, and with the humidity it felt more like it was in the 90s.

I felt pretty good up until the last couple miles. I ran 3 of the first 5 miles on the grass, which always seems to drain my energy. I've probably been doing about 25% of my overall mileage on the huge field next to the track I run at.

Easy treadmill run with some incline, walked a while as well. Air quality was bad today, treadmill runs a lot easier to get into when it's cold outside and you get to warm up. When it's summer and it's nice out but the air quality is terrible... kinda sucks. I also felt a little ache in my shins today. Had a lot of nights of good sleep lately, hopefully that trend continues.

Half a mile at 12 degree incline at 7mph, then 8xspartan circuit of .4-.6 miles at sub 7 page, 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 10 squats. For the 4th or 5th rep I picked up two 45 pound dumbbells and lifted them above my shoulders and carried them around the perimeter of my house. I had to drop them into farmers carry position a little over half way because I was already pretty tired. My exercise equipment is in my 3 season room and it gets super hot in there... I like it when I'm just doing pull ups or bent over rows- but when you're in the middle of an aerobic workout it really sucks, I need to install a window ac unit for that room... 3 season rooms are kind of a dumb idea. Who wants a room that doesn't get heated/cooled by your HVAC?

Anyways all the non running was in a room that must have been in the high 90s and it was decently hot outside, so this workout wiped me out pretty good. By next month I'm going to be doing the same thing but a full mile uphill at the start and then I'm going to do 12 circuits and finish with a sub 6 mile... so that's really going to beat me up.

Some good things from today workout are that the pull ups felt really good, I had good form on all of them and from the first to last rep they didn't get that much harder. Another good thing was that I was able to throw in surges and get back down under 7 minute pace even when I was tired. Also the uphill half mile to start definitely took a little out of my legs, but not enough to tank my workout- that's another good sign.

Some bad things. I've been building good upper endurance but my strength is a lot lower than it was last time a ran a spartan. I just haven't been lifting enough, I need to do more diverse upper body exercises and I need to start lifting more. I'll have to bring back some workouts from 2018 summer. Another thing I didn't like was how hard sub 7 was to maintain throughout the workout, I felt kinda gassed early on. I'm happy I was able to push though it well, but I want to be running sub 6:30 on a workout like this by the time the race rolls around.

Easy run, first 2.75 were outside but the air quality was bad so I finished on the treadmill. I felt great today. Track world championships have been a lot of fun to watch this week, and football is just around the corner once they're over.

Warmed up 2 miles and then started doing 6x1000m. I felt drained before I started my run, just wasn't a good day for a hard workout. The first one felt really bad but I ran a 3:21, it took way too much out of me but I decided to continue and keep running the rest. I ran 3:22, 3:22 and 3:23 for the next 3. After the 4th I was feeling completely done and I knew I would blow up on the 5th but I did it anyways and ended up running a 3:36. I cut the workout there because I didn't think a 3:50 or whatever I would have turned in for the 6th would benefit me and it was getting late. I'll just get out the door tomorrow and run whatever feels right. I'll do a long run either tomorrow or Sunday depending on how tomorrow feels.

Easy run. I felt drained by mile 3 but pushed through it and felt better by the end.

Ran home 2.25 miles from dropping off my car for an oil change.

Ran 4.3 miles on the way to pick up the car. I stopped by the track and did a few sprints. I'd like to get down under 12 seconds for 100m with trainers on.

Mowed the lawn and then did 8 easy miles. Felt pretty good today, lungs felt a little weak and my legs were sore but my energy level stayed pretty high throughout the run and I felt good. I have a few ideas for what I'll do on Friday, I was thinking I'd do a progression run but we'll see.

Don't seem to be getting faster, but running takes a lot of patience. My Achilles have been acting up a bit this week. I think the multivitamin I've been taking has helped my runs feel better at least at my easy pace. I'm fortunate to be able to enjoy running, the pace and speed don't matter that much. It's a pretty amazing feeling to get out and run.

Easy run, considered going longer but opted for walking with my family. Ideally I'm running both the next 2 days so figured my legs could use a recovery day before a longer run and then track workout.

Easy run, I sped up a little towards the end. I felt good and was pushing the pace the last few miles but the times were not what I expected for that effort. Night running always feels faster than it is though, and I was sore. Missed the last couple days of running because I had to get a bunch of yard work done.

Looking at the Strava map the the slow pace can partially be attributed to bad gps... but mostly I need to accept I'm not in as good shape as I want to be and not get ahead of myself. It took 4 years of 40-60 mpw to get into 4:20s mile shape, it may take that long again.

Ran home from dropping car off for batter change. Few hours later ran over to pick it up. Couple miles after dinner, did some sprints as well.

Easy run after some yard work.

Warmed up a few miles and then ran 7x200m at 800m goal pace. Was going to do 6 but the first was a 34 so I did an extra. Reps were 34, 32, 32, 32, 33, 32, 29. I remember this pace feeling a lot smoother in high school and college, I'll get back there eventually. I'd like to run a sub 2:10 800m and a sub 4:50 mile this fall.

Mile at 12° on treadmill @ 7mph followed by 12x.4 or .6 loop, 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 10 squats... every 4th rep was 80 pound dumbbell carry around the house over my shoulders with 5xoverhead press and weighted squat. Ended with a half mile in 3:00.

I felt kinda tired towards the end, and the mile to start was certainly challenging. Today was the best workout I've had in a while. I averaged 6:40 for the running portion of the circuits (not including treadmill of course). I think the spartan race will go great if I average sub 7 for the running and I don't mess up the obstacles.

Solid run today, ran 4x200m at goal pace for a sub 11 minute 2 mile this weekend. I ran 41, 41, 40, 40 for the 200ms. They felt really good even on dore legs, very smooth.

Smashed my foot into my lawnmower as I was taking the trash out Thursday night. Not sure if I broke the toe next to my pinkie toe or not, I think it's probably fine. It's still fairly sensitive and just a bit swollen, doesn't hurt that much though. I just buddy taped it and took Friday off from running. It seemed a little worse after running today but l not too bad at all.

I warmed up just over 2 miles and then ran 6x800m in 2:44, 2:43, 2:44, 2:43, 2:46, 2:45. Rest was about 2:30-2:45 between each rep.

The last couple were tough, on the last rep the effort felt strong and I came through 400m at 85. I picked it up and closed in 80 to finish in 2:45. My goal was 2:40-2:45 for today... but I was hoping it wouldn't feel this difficult. To be fair it was the middle of the day and kind of hot, only in the 70s but I'm sure my performance would be better in the 60s.

I think I'm getting back there, this was a decent workout. I can start jogging with Whitney in a couple weeks, so after my spartan race I think I'll start averaging more like 35-40 miles per week. Ig it depends how much Whitney enjoys circling the track, probably going to be pretty slow miles. I think I'll probably do a few 2-4 miles a few times a week with her if she enjoys it, probably start at 10 minute pace and hopefully end up getting up to 8:00 pace.

8 miles easy with 6x200m at mile pace. Felt pretty good. Been a good weekend, even though the Bengals lost again.

Easy run with a couple strides. Felt great today.

Mile warm up and then 8x400m with 60-90 seconds rest. At first I started with 60 seconds rest and quickly went to 80 seconds rest, 90 for the last two. Got out really slow on the first one and then overcorrected a bit but stayed strong throughout the reps.

I ran 76, 70, 70/71, 73, 71, 72, 71/72, 70. Reps 3 and 7 the lap function lagged, they said 71 and 72 but might have been a second or two faster. Either way I averaged under 72, and my goal was to average under 72.5. I'm not sure if I'll try to do a mile time trial before the spartan race, would need to be next week if I do it before. Sub 4:50 seems attainable.

Easy run, I'm thinking of doing 3x2 miles at just under 6 minute average tomorrow. Sunday will be an easy run and then Monday will be 12xcircuit workout again. Then my last big workout before the spartan race will be next weekend.

3x2 mile sub 12. Reps were 11:45, 11:56, 12:01.

Happy with this workout. After the 2nd rep I didn't feel like I'd be able to stay on pace for the last one so I just made a goal of keeping sub 6 for the first mile. I came through at 5:59 and then started to fade a bit, the first half of the 2nd mile was 3:10 and I drained but feeling strong enough to make a push. I sped back up to 6:00 pace for the 3rd lap and then finished with a 78.

Cooled down back home. Good workout!

Scary thought of the day: Whitney is already 3% of the way to turning 18 and going off to college... life is short.

Mile at 12 degrees incline at 7mph on treadmill and then 12xcircuit of .4-.6 mile, 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 10 squats. Reps 4 and 8 I walked around the perimeter of my house while holding two 45 pound dumbbells above my shoulders. 12th circuit I did 3 swing assisted hammer curls into overhead press reps with the 45s and 10 burpees. Finished with a hard 2/3ds mile and then cool down a bit.

Averaged about 6:40 pace for the running portion of the circuits. Considering the first mile was over 600 ft elevation gain at 8 minute pace and I rarely do hills I'm happy with how well my legs held up. I started feeling pretty tired after halfway through and the last few circuits I was quite drained. Will have to carb load before the spartan, a good taper will help too.

Easy run, couple miles on the grass and a couple 200ms at mile pace. They felt really good. I think I'm finally starting to get back in shape these past few weeks, really gives me something to build off of going forward. I've also been walking a couple mile every day the past few weeks, that's been really nice.

Wasn't sure what to do today but mile repeats seemed like a good choice. I warmed up 2 miles and then ran 5:18, 5:25, 5:23 with a mile jog recovery. I felt really good today.

I started the first mile in a 75 second 400m and briefly considered trying to break 5, but I figured that would probably ruin the rest of my workout- and if I wanted to do an all out mile I should have started in 70... so I slowed down to 5:25ish pace for the next 3 laps. I felt really good the whole first mile and after though. I felt pretty tired after the 2nd rep though. After the long recovery the 3rd mile felt pretty good. Good workout!

Easy run with a couple miles on grass. I need to test out my trail shoes this weekend.

A couple miles easy and then 4x400 at mile pace. I ran 74, 70, 74, 71, they didn't feel as easy as I'd hoped. I wasn't able to get out until 8pm and for some reason it's always harder for me to pace accurately when I'm running in the dark. I also think when I run later at night I'm just tired these days. I guess that's what becoming a parent does to you, I used to have tons of energy well past 8pm during grad school.

Tomorrow I'll do a little uphill running and a few miles with circuit type stuff. Nothing too hard. I think after that I'll take Sunday off and do easy 4-5 miles on Monday and Wednesday, then probably just a shake out on friday before the race next weekend. Not ideal that I went 3 days without a run this week but I didn't really have any time- I'm tapering anyways.

Ran just over half a mile at varying speeds and inclines between 6 and 12 degrees and 6-9mph. Then did some pullups and went out to the park. I did some of my running at the park in my brooks and some of it in my trail shoes. I did about 12-15 spartan workout type things and sped up to mid 6 minute pace for a while. I climbed field goal posts and did some monkey bar stuff with those, same on some goal posts, climbed on the fences a bit, did burpees, pushups, jumped over some fences, flipped some tires at the track. Not sure how heavy the tires are but they seemed pretty heavy, heavy enough that I when I dropped one of them it rolled on my foot and my toe started bleeding... still kinda sore.

I'm not sure whether I'll wear my brooks of trail shoes at the race next week, the trail shoes feel way better on the grass- like probably 20 seconds per mile difference. But on the other hand the trail shoes have terrible grip on hard surfaces, so if I need to use my feet on any of the obstacles that will be a problem... Guess I'll check the map when it comes out in a couple days and make a decision based off that. I think it will be a really fun race!

A little upper body workouts and 5 easy miles with few 200ms between mile pace and 6:30. Felt a little sore today which I wasn't expecting, I'm sure I'll be 100% by Saturday though.

Easy 4 miles with a couple strides.

Spartan race today, I think I took like 9th but I'm not sure and I also have no idea what my time was except for that I got back to my car about an hour and 20 minutes after the race start time haha. Had a lot of fun though!

I started out well with the top pack but I let a few guys go because the course was a lot more technical than I was expecting. When I did this in Utah it was mostly just a regular mountain trail, a fairly technical one- but I was pretty used to those at the time. This course has a lot of high grass and lots of rocks so I had to slow down because I didn't want a repeat of the most other races I've done on technical courses... Too many sprains.

First couple obstacles went well, I was a little slow on the cargo net climb because I'm not great with heights- then I missed the spear throw, but I'm pretty sure almost everyone misses that. So I had to take a penalty loop there.

Next several obstacles went well, I whacked my leg pretty hard on a post during one of the barbed wire crawls. Hercules hoist was heavier than I expected but I got it done just fine. Really everything went pretty well until the Olympus wall.

I was in 5th place and had 3rd place in my vision when I got to the Olympus wall but my terrible technique on that obstacle caught up with me, I really should have taken the penalty loop. It's basically a 20 foot long wall and there are chains, climb holds, and holes for your hands but nothing for your feet. I know the better way to approach this obstacle is to grab the chains and push off the wall with your feet. But I decided to just use the holes and dead hang while I pulled myself along the holes, which went up and down. I almost fell a couple times and had to exert a ton of my grip strength and upper body strength holding on. I made it but the toll was way too great, I had to slow down and my upper body was shot bad enough that I had to take the penalty loop on the next obstacle- which I normally would be able to do fairly easily. 1 guy caught me while I took that penalty loop.

Then there were the bucket carry and sandbag carry right after that and my upper body was still pretty shot, sandbag was 60 pounds and bucket carry was either 60 or 80. Both were about 200-300 meters up and down a hill. Again usually I would be able to get through both those pretty well, but my upper body was shot and another 2-3 people caught me during those. I think all the driving yesterday didn't help with my lower back for those as well haha.

Overall a great workout and has given me a good goal to train for this year. I think if I keep training I'll be a lot better by the next one next summer in Cincinnati. Need to find some technical trails around Columbus to train on and do that once or twice a month, idk how to train to improve my technique on the Olympus wall haha. These are a lot of fun though!

Might jump in a half marathon in Louisville tomorrow on the way home.

I felt good the day of the race but the day after I felt maybe the most sore I ever have, and my ankle felt wrecked. I twisted and rolled it a few times a little funny but nothing too severe during the race, and I also whacked it really hard on a post while rolling over during the barbed wire crawl. But it felt terrible on Sunday, felt better and better the last couple days. Finally decided to test it out today, it still feels pretty sore but pretty stable.

Easy run with a few 200m pickups at the track. Still pretty achy and tight. My goals for the rest of the year are to run sub 18 in whatever thanksgiving 5k I do, run sub 4:50 for a 1600m, and average over 30 mpw during November and December.

I've successfully built up to running 30 mpw without my Achilles falling apart over the past 2 years. Kind of an insane timeline... Maybe too conservative, but now my Achilles are the best they've been in 7 years and I'm ready to start doing some real mileage. My goal is going to be 2000 miles for 2024. I only have a couple years left before age starts becoming a factor in shorter races, I want to be running 60-80 mile weeks and set some fast PRs in the 800m-5k before I'm 30... So I've got 24, 25, and the most important part of 26. Hopefully I'll be even faster when I'm 30-31 but I think it's wise to see what I can do before then.

Garmin map was all over the place today, been doing more of that lately. I signed up for a trail half marathon next month with 3k feet elevation gain, hopefully I don't bonk out!

Ran to the park/track. I did 6x200m, 2 at mile pace, 2 at 800m pace, 2 starting at mile pace and building up to a sprint. Legs didn't feel super fresh but I hit the splits I wanted to for the first 4.

Easy 4, legs feeling pretty tired today. Was considering signing up for another long trail race just 1.5 weeks from now but am leaning towards not doing that. This one would be 15.5 miles... I think 13.1 with a month to prepare is more realistic.

Warmed up and did 2x800m at mile pace and 2x300m at 800m pace. I felt slow and heavy today, I have since the race a couple weeks ago. The 800ms were both 2:28 and the 300ms were 49 and 51. Good to get moving though. I missed my run on Wednesday because my weekly got shuffled around a bit. Tomorrow will be a 10 mile run, or 90 minutes of moving time if I bonk out.

I haven't been feeling 100% the past couple weeks but it's time to start upping the mileage because that half marathon will be here soon- I really only have time for 1-3 10-12 mile runs to prepare. I think over the winter I'm going to focus on building mileage to 4 8 mile runs and one long run per week, doing lots of strides/sprints, and working on marathon/ half marathon pace. I'm going to start with doing half marathon pace at 6:30-6:40 and hopefully work it down to sub 6:06. Once I'm there I'll jump into a half marathon this spring and hopefully run sub 1:20. Once that's all done and I've been working on sprinting and doing strides, then I'll revisit the 5k and mile distances and hopefully be ready to run some fast times at some track meets.

Felt good today, I felt a little tired around 2-3 miles but then felt great for the rest of the run. Started off with some easy miles around 8 minute pace and the got faster as the run went on, with the last 3 miles under 7 minute pace. I also did 4 strides.

A little over half a mile uphill on the treadmill and then some quick miles. All there was time for today, been a busy week.

A little over a half mile uphill on the treadmill and then a little over 5 and a half miles at 6:30 pace.

Retraced my route yesterday because my Garmin didn't get location until the last half mile yesterday. My Garmin had estimated 5.4 miles but it said 5.65 today with location for the whole run. Pretty happy with how 6:30 pace felt yesterday. Today I went at an easier pace and then did 8x200m at the track, I ran 3 at mile pace, 3 at 800m pace, and 2 building up to a sprint. Pace was a little slow, my legs were tired.

Felt great today, I sped up over the first 7 miles and ended up going pretty quick. My goal today was just to run 10-12 miles and run however fast felt good. I ended up running sub 38 for a 10k to end the run and 18:20 for 5k towards the end. I'm feeling pretty confident for the trail half marathon in 2 weeks. Maybe I should have done that 15 mile trail race that was today.

Nice recovery run. A little sore from yesterday but not too bad. Yesterday's run felt good enough I'm considering jumping in a half marathon in January or February and trying to go 1:20 then.

Perfect weather today, a high of 72 this late in the year is pretty great. Tonight we went on a family walk and I started running a few minutes in, Whitney has been getting mad when I leave the house to go running at night. We went to the track and and I ran while Becca walked with Whitney. I warmed up a little over a mile and then did 10x200m with 4 at mile pace, 4 at 800m pace, and 2 building up from 5k pace to sprinting.

The 200ms went really well, I ran 35-36 for the first 4 and then 32ish for the next 4. Last 2 were pretty good as well. I think this 200ms and threshold/tempo runs plan is a good one. I'm excited for these trail races the two weekends after this one. Need to decide which shoes I'll wear.

Quick run after mowing the lawn.

Just had time for a little uphill running on the treadmill, Annie and Ryan came to visit this weekend. Whitney loves having visitors, twas a good weekend.

Probably too late for uphill training to help for the race on Saturday but figured just a little wouldn't hurt either.

Warmed up a bit on the treadmill and then did just over 6 miles outside. The cold is finally here. Although it got up to the high 50s this afternoon when I took Whitney on a walk. By the time I could get out to run tonight it was in the mid 30s. Didn't feel too bad honestly, I actually took my jacket off and just ran in my short sleeved shirt after the first 2/3 miles. I think the association I built up between the cold and my time in Quebec is finally wearing off, I don't hate it nearly as much as I have in recent years.

Also did 6 strides at the track, I think I'm getting my stride back. I tried following through and using my calves to push forward a little more and my Garmin said I was going 4:40 pace and it felt pretty easy. I think in general getting back to a bigger stride will help me get faster again.

3rd place at the alley trail marathon. I forgot to clean off my trail shoes and ended up doing the whole thing in my trainers with very worn down tread. The race had 3000 feet elevation gain and the course was wet and covered in leaves. There were switchbacks and lots of sharp turns on the downhills... I really missed my trail shoes.

I led the first 10 miles but my feet started cramping up the last few miles and while I'd hoped to shake the competition with a fast first lap (they got rid of the extra $100 for fastest first lap this year:(), it was a pretty competitive field and new guys with smarter race strategies and more endurance came alive later in the race.

Still ended up winning my race entry back, a gift card to the local running store, a cool hat, and a plaque/trophy. Also had no injuries and pushed through bonking out pretty well. I wouldn't even say I bonked out because mentally I was unphased by it and my body just slowly went out on me over the 2nd half of the race. Always a great day when you start your morning off with a fun race like this, taking top 3 is the cherry on top!

Very sore this weekend. Today I did a 2 mile shakeout run and mowed the lawn. I felt better and better over the course of the run/mow. I think this week will mostly just be getting back to feeling good for the 11 mile trail race on Saturday. It's fun to be racing again.

Previewed the course just a bit and walked to the fern cliff state park waterfall with Becca, Whitney, and Ryan and Jill's family.

2nd place at Broken Boulder. Warmed up just a bit getting to packet pickup and then back to the car to switch out of my sweats and into my trail shoes. Race was a ton of fun. I ran with the guy who won for most of it, Chris. I was a bit faster on the flat sections and uphills but I was a little lost on the course and he was familiar with it, so I didn't want to push too far past him. He was faster on the technical parts so I kept getting worried when he put a bit of a gap between us on those.

Chris got out of sight around mile 3 and I almost got lost but luckily we were pretty close to an aid station and I spotted it before I took a wrong turn. The trail cleared up and I was able to catch back up to him, we traded off leading on a massive hill that went on for about 3 quarters of a mile after that.

Around mile 7/8 there was a super technical long stretch and he tapped me by a lot on that and I lost sight of him for the rest of the race. I need to get better at technical sections, they're particularly difficult out here because they're always covered in leaves... Maybe summer trail races will be easier for me haha. Very happy I was able to do this race!

Got sick on the drive home from Illinois the day after the trail race. I generally try to run as soon as I feel good enough whenever I'm sick, I feel like it helps fight off the illness. Yesterday I wasn't feeling quite good enough but today I did 4 miles on the treadmill. I sped up to 10 mph for mile 3, I really want to get in shape for a sub 1:20 HM. Today didn't feel great, but my treadmill always feels like I'm running faster than it says I am... And I'm sick.

I feel way better than yesterday, just a cough and bit of a sore throat. I wasn't nearly as sore after this race, and my ankles felt good even though I rolled my ankle and landed on them funny a couple times during the race.

I'm signed up for the warm up Columbus half marathon in February, hopefully I'm feeling ready for sub 1:20 by then but if not I'll start out around 6:20-6:30 pace and work my way down.

Feeling better but still not 100%. Did 8/9 strides at the track. I think right now I could run a half marathon in about 1:22/1:23, sub 1:20 in February is a little ambitious. I'm confident I could average 6:20 for 13 miles this weekend and potentially speed up in the 2nd half of the race.

I'll have to see how training goes over the next few weeks, I'll try doing a 10k at goal HM pace before I head out to Utah and if I can do that without feeling like I'm dying by the end I think I have a chance.

Cold and windy today, just an easy run with some strides. Didn't feel 100%.

Dealing with some peroneal tendonitis. I noticed it a bit during my last couple runs and then Sunday/monday it was beginning to hurt when I was walking. I ordered a brace and some compression socks and gave it some rest. Was planning on just doing 4-6 today but I was feeling good and wanted to keep going towards the end. My ankle got a bit sore during the last mile or two so maybe that was a bad call.

One of the only things I'm a little bitter about in life is how bad the athletic training staff were at SUU. The guy I would always check in with before practice for my Achilles would just pinch along my tendon until he found the most painful part of it- every time I would go in, and then he'd wrap my ankle... which never seemed to do much for the Achilles. I wish I knew back then that all I needed was a massage gun and calf raises.

Easy run with a couple strides at the end. Still some pain in the tendon, hopefully it's resolved by the time I get to Utah.

Becca and Whitney got sick over the weekend but I have evaded the bug thus far, looks like we'll push back our flight to utah though. Pretty good run today!

Solid run today, 6 strides with a couple at 5k pace, mile pace, and building up to 400m pace, then I did 6x200m at half marathon pace but iI was a little quick on them. I tested positive for covid Wednesday/Thursday but have had very few symptoms, and now Becca and Whitney are pretty much completely recovered.

We pushed back the flight to utah a week to avoid getting people sick, probably would go Monday/Tuesday but my grandma is living with my parents and twould be quite bad if she got covid. My ankle is also starting to feel pretty good, not quite 100% yet. Time to start building mileage again, hopefully haven't lost too much fitness so far this month.

Fun thing from today, my brother and I jumped on fortnite for the first time in like 5/6 years and took first in 3/4 duos games we played. Quite a fun time. Also Whitney is more and more fun to hang out with each day, nothing in life could bring me more joy than being a dad.

Twas a cold night, my ankle/foot felt pretty good. I'll keep running in compression socks until it's totally better. Over 1000 miles for the year with this run, next year I want to run over 1500. Ideally 2000, but I won't worry about that until it's spring/summer. For the moment I just need to focus on getting up to 25-40 miles per week.

Played racquetball and lifted a bit, then I ran up the canyon while my Dad biked. I miss doing this kind of stuff. My throat felt torn up the next day, I don't miss the air quality in Utah.

We might move back here before we have kid number 2, it's really fun to be around family and makes parenting easier. Utah is also really pretty and has lots of cool stuff. House prices, air quality, and a potentially imminent water crisis are tough to get past. I'm beginning to land more closely towards an attitude of: If Utah is doomed we should at least enjoy the last 10-20 years before it potentially becomes unlivable, and hopefully we'll figure out ways around the environmental issues.

Ran up the canyon while my Dad biked, felt better than last time. Wish we could work out together more often. When I get back to Ohio I've got to get a few good training weeks in so that I can have a decent race at the half marathon, I think 1:23 is a good goal but I think I'll start the first mile at 6:40s/6:50s and work down.