The Eugene Diaries: Chapter 6
Reward
After multiple weeks of lamenting the state of (my) running in 2024, it was nice to put together a week where I wasn’t so often tricking myself into having fun. The sixth week of training — days 36-42 of a 125-day cycle — featured my fewest miles since the first week of the year. After 70+ mile weeks three times over, I enjoyed my step-back week more than normal. A reward for the effort I had put in so far and a respite before the Pfitzinger 18/85 Marathon Plan would earn its name.
It couldn’t have come at a better time.
For the first time since the aforementioned first week of 2024. I was able to run every single mile outside. The big gains of week five didn’t stop and I left multiple runs feeling stronger and stronger. It’s not like my fitness took some massive jump overnight, yet I would finish a run, take a peak at my metrics, and again start wondering what was possible. In Eugene this April. In Chicago this October. In other locations in future years. I was craving more mileage, while enjoying a bit of downtime before the party really begins.
I was having fun again.
This week in podcasting:
Hollyanne Fricke was this week’s guest on Chasing Three Hours and what a wonderful conversation it was! Hollyanne ran a 3:14 marathon at CIM back in 2018. As she told me, she thought that would be the beginning of the next part of her running journey. Five years later, it’s still her PR. We discuss why that happened, how it’s affected her mentally, and what’s next. I highly recommend this podcast. Many thanks to Hollyanne for being as vulnerable as she was.
Know someone you think would be a great fit for the pod? Drop me a note: chasingthreehours@gmail.com
The log:
January 29th: 7 miles
January 30th: 10.01 miles with 10 x 100 meter strides
January 31st: 10.03 miles
February 1st: 6 miles
February 2nd: 13 miles
February 3rd: 16 miles
February 4th: 6 miles
Total: 68.04 miles
January total miles: 316.8 miles
Year to date: 357.8 miles
January 29th: Over the course of the next nine Mondays, give or a take if there’s some mileage juggling, I’ll be running doubles. Monday the 29th was the last one without two runs until April 1st and it was one I very much enjoyed. After running the previous two days at Flanagan and Cunningham, I returned to the West Papio Trail for the first time in almost a week. A couple ice spots here or there required slowing down a tick, but it was mostly clear of anything too worrisome. I started off with a 9:23 mile, averaged 9:07 across all seven, and kept my heart rate in check, averaging 126. Even saw some of the trail regulars as well. Throw in a couple walks with Banks, as well as a trip to the gym for a session, and it was my favorite Monday in weeks.
January 30th: The gameplan for Tuesday’s run was essentially to scout out where (or if) it would be best to knock out my ten strides. On a normal day, I like to finish my last stride with about a mile left in the run. With Tuesday’s lasting ten miles total, I’d eschew my usual plan if the trail was in better shape at the halfway mark. Oddly enough, that’s where it was at its worst. Thankfully, it was mostly fine, so I ended up executing the run like normal.
Strides aside, it was turning into a really good run! My HR averaged 142 throughout the first seven miles, all of them hanging out around 8:00 each. I felt comfortable and confident, even with some ice spots here at there. And while my 100-meter sprints were nothing to write home about, (a) I didn’t slip and (b) I was going fast enough to feel like it was worth my while. All told, 7:40-per with my HR at 147 on average. Another good one!
Tuesday was also when I crossed the 300-mile threshold for January, the first time I have ever done so in a month. One of the things I was excited for when I started this plan was going after big mileage and finding about my limits. I wrote about it at the start of the year:
Which is why I asked the question to my friend. Was this a mistake? Was I biting off more than I could chew. Over and over the last few months, I’d ask experienced runners — runners with 100+ mile weeks under their belts — if this was something I could do. Something I should do.
Mentally, January could have gone better1. Physically, I was incredibly happy with where my body was at. January was a record mileage month. Even with two fewer days, February will be too. As will March.
Tuesday was the first milestone of many this cycle.
January 31st: I added another ten to finish things up with my friend (and podcast guest!) Stephen Mohring, doing so on a really enjoyable Wednesday morning. Ice spots aside, it’s hard to imagine a better January 31st weather wise than the one we had and the miles flew. Similar to the day before, I averaged 7:41-per mile. Again the HR averaged 147 across all ten.
For the third time since 2019, I’ll be running the Chicago Marathon this October! And for the third time since 2019, and fourth time overall, I’ll be doing so in honor of St. Jude. Did you know families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food? At St. Jude, all a family should have to worry about is their child.
I’m raising $5000 for this year’s marathon and I’m about 10% of the way there with eight months (and eight days!) to go. If you’d like to support, you can do so here.
Thank you for your support.
February 1st: While the sun didn’t peak out as much as I would have liked on Thursday, I did get to wear shorts for the run, so we chalked it up as a win. To do so on a recovery run, where I often wonder if I’ll get warm enough to make shorts vs. pants the right decision, made me happy. I averaged 9:08-per mile with my HR at 124.
February 2nd: I’ve written — and podcasted — before about how a specific run or runs became a marking post for the training cycle; a sign things were improving and big things were ahead. We’re still 12 weeks out from Eugene, but as Friday’s run finished, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d be thinking about it over the course of the next three months. 13 miles at easy pace, I found myself hanging out in the 7:30s throughout much of the first eight miles and 7:20s throughout much of final five. I felt good out there and just kept on going a little bit faster the longer I went. 7:33-per mile, one of the fastest runs in this zone I’ve ever had, with my HR averaging 148 front to back. Felt strong.
February 3rd: I met up with Derek from Strava early Saturday morning at Lake Cunningham, as I had 16 miles on tap. He was already a loop in, so after connecting, we ran my first eight together and did so pretty much right at an 8:00-pace. I barely peeked at my watch and found myself super happy after the run when I saw my HR was often hanging out in the low-to-mid 130s.
When he went home at the halfway mark, I picked up the pace a little bit, running similar mile splits to the ones from Friday, if a bit slower. By the time I finished, it was another one I’d be remembering moving forward. 7:48-per with the HR at 143 over the course of 16.
I’ve found myself enjoying the lake a lot in the early part of the year, running the 10k loops for the second time this week and the third time on the young year. With Flanagan still under construction, I imagine I’ll be there quite a bit as 2024 rolls on.
Plus I got my new hat!
February 4th: I wore it on Sunday morning, as I finished up the sixth week of the cycle. I found myself running the recovery miles a bit slower than usual, averaging 9:15-per mile. My HR averaged 123. I did exactly what I hoped to with this one. For four years now, I’ve been preaching about the benefits of running slower. The reasoning, as always, is that it will help you get faster (and it’s good for you).
Yet, it wasn’t until Sunday morning that I realized what it really was: A reward for all the faster miles you put in over the course of a week, month, or year. As this cycle rolls on, I’ll continue to run miles in the 7:40s. Marathon pace mileage in the 6:20s. Workouts where I’ll run 1000s or 1200s (hopefully) in the low 5:20s. I’ll go hard.
And I’ll get rewarded for it with a run like this one. Nice and slow.
I’m looking forward to it.
Perhaps you’ve read my previous diary entries.