Monday, August 9th
As I’ve done in some past newsletters (like here), I’m going to be writing this newsletter a little every day this week. I’ll use this as a way to record my progress, what I accomplished each day and how I feel.
This time, I’m doing this exercise because it’s week 1 of my marathon training! 🥳
When I started running a few weeks back and announced that I would be running a marathon sometime next year, I didn’t really have a plan. I just ran a little every day, either around the block, or choosing a more interesting route by looking at a map. Other than that, I didn’t have much of a schedule or any specific exercises to follow.
Luckily, I have some awesome friends who have lots of experience with running and training for races, and so my friend Brigid offered to give me a running plan for my first 4 weeks of training. (Thanks Brigid!)
The plan consists of 3 runs a week: one speed run, one easy run, and one endurance run. Simple enough!
When I saw the plan, my first thought was, “I want to run more than three times a week!” But rather than injure myself, or go too hard in the beginning and lose motivation early on, I’ll just stick to the plan for the next month and then see how I feel after that. In the meantime, I’ll try and sprinkle in some non-running workouts (strength/core training, swimming, biking…) on my off days if I feel up to it.
Following Brigid’s advice, I’ll run Monday-Wednesday-Friday, with the weekend as my rest from my longer endurance run.
Ok, so this week, the schedule is:
Monday: run .5 miles (fast), walk .5 miles ( x3 ) - 3 miles total
Tuesday: no running.
Wednesday: run 2 miles at an easy pace.
Thursday: no running.
Friday: run 1 mile (comfortable pace), walk .25 miles ( x3 ) - 3.75 miles total
That’s enough talking about the plan, now it’s time to run. I’ll write my thoughts about my Monday run right after this short intermission.
Ok just got back from my run and showered. I definitely went out the gate a little too fast, and when I stopped for my first 1/2-mile walk I felt like I could taste blood in my mouth (I told you, I’m really not a good runner). The 1/2-mile walks felt like an eternity, but they gave me a good amount of time to recover, and I feel like I could keep up a good fast pace for the latter two running 1/2-miles. Overall, it went pretty well. Brigid had warned me that the speed runs were the worst (in her opinion), and if that is the worst it’s going to be, I think I can take it (but we’ll see…).
My average pace (including the first two walks) was 11:32/mi, but in the fast parts, I was able to run about an 8:00/mi pace, which is quite good for me.
Anyway, enough for today. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 10th
I finished work late, so no exercise today.
But Tuesday is a rest day, so that is okay!
Wednesday, August 11th
Today’s run was the “easy” run. And it was easy!
I ran 2 miles around the block and it went well. I was able to keep running for the whole 2 miles, and I wasn’t as incredibly out of breath as I usually am when I stopped.
I’m happy with that!
Thursday, August 12th
Today is a rest day, but since I went to the pond after work with my family, I thought I would swim across and track the swim.
Friday, August 13th
Oopsie, I didn’t follow the plan today.
I ran more.
I had been wanting to run 10 kilometers for a while. I’ve run 10k once before with a friend, but never any longer than that. I wanted to prove to myself that I could still do it.
All week, while writing these small snippets, I had been thinking in the back of my mind that maybe, just maybe, I would run 10 kilometers for my endurance run (instead of the prescribed 3.75 mi = 6km). When Friday morning came and I was still up for the challenge, the excitement grew with the anticipation of a really long run after work.
So at 4 pm, I put on my shoes, downloaded David Guetta’s “One Love” album to my Apple Watch, and headed out.
Unfortunately, my downfall was the heat. A heatwave hit right on Friday, and it was sweltering hot. But hey, I never said I was smart, so I ran anyway!
The first two miles went very smoothly. I had already planned on taking a walking break every two miles for 1/4 miles (similar to the original plan), so I had that to look forward to, and so the first two miles were hot but fine.
When I stopped running for my first walking break, however, I realized that something was off. I was sweating way too much. Sweat was dripping down my arms and off of my fingers at an alarming rate. At that point, I probably should have stopped, but I just kept going.
So I started running again. One more mile in (around 3.25 miles total), suddenly everything started to hurt. My lungs hurt and my legs were killing me, and I was sweating even more profusely than before. So I slowed down and walked for a little. I told myself that if I could just run to the 4.25-mile mark (2 miles after my first walking break), I’d allow myself a longer, 1/2-mile walk. The longer break, I thought, would allow me to recuperate enough to finish out the 6.2-mile (10 km) run easily.
So once again, I set off running. I had my sights set on 4.25 miles. I put all of my energy into getting to that goal. At that point, since I was past the halfway mark of the 10k run, I had turned back and was going back on my steps. The sun, that had previously been facing me, was now beating down on the back of my neck, and my black t-shirt that had long been soaked through was absorbing all the heat. My hat was so saturated with sweat at that point that it could no longer absorb any more, and the sweat started running down my forehead into my eyes. They started to sting and my eyes watered as my vision blurred. I feel bad for the beach-goers I passed carrying towels and beach umbrellas who had to see me.
But I was determined to get to the finish line. By some divine miracle, after finding the single square inch of my t-shirt dry enough to wipe my eyes with, I somehow made it to the 4.25-mile mark. Now I could rest by walking for half a mile, and I would only have about a mile and a half left to run after that.
But something weird happened during that walk. My body, which had been trying so hard to cool me down as I was running under the sun in a heatwave, suddenly succeeded. In an instant, I felt extremely cold. Keep in mind, the sun was still beating down on the back of my neck, but at that point, it felt very distant. I could hardly feel the sun or the pain in my legs anymore, just the cold.
In a blur, the 4.75-mile mark came, and it was time to run again. I put one foot in front of the other and tried to push myself as hard I could. My legs couldn’t move anymore.
Lucky for me, at that point, I happened to be right by my grandparents’ house (Hi Grandy!). I ran/walked the rest of the way there, and that was the end of my run.
5.01 miles.
Main takeaway? Don’t run in a heatwave.
Saturday, August 14th
Before I talk about today, I forgot to say that yesterday I also worked out before work — an easy ab-workout from the “SixPackIn30Days” App. Ideally, I would do an easy workout like that every morning (much more manageable than having to run and shower before work), and then run later in the day.
So that’s what I did again today for my rest day: I worked out as part of my morning routine, but no cardio (I really want to make sure I am perfectly rested for my speed run on Monday).
Sunday, August 15th
Another rest day, another easy morning workout.
Recap/takeaways
Overall, I feel really good about this first week of training. Speed training was hard but rewarding. I’m really happy about how consistent I was able to run throughout the 2-mile run. And I didn’t quite make it to 10k on Friday but I feel well rested now and ready for week 2. Same plan as this week, so should be a piece of cake?
Also, as of right now, Friday is supposed to be cold and rainy. Attempt #2 at the 10k?
In all seriousness, if anyone has any tips and pointers for me as I try and not suck at running, please dm me or leave them in the comments. Much appreciated ❤️
💪 Goals
Year Progress: 62%
Publish one newsletter a week.
Read 30 minutes a day. (182 hours total)
✅ Work out once a week.
Post 52 videos on TikTok.
Consume less, create more.
Meditate daily.
Paint two paintings.
✅ Get a tattoo.
Make music.
Starting July 18th, work out 4 times a week, including 2 runs.
📥 Input
Newsletters posted: 25 📈 +1
Hours read this year: 114 📈 +3.5 (on schedule)
Workouts this year: 75 📈 +7 (43 ahead of target)
Workouts since July 18th: 16 📈 +7 (on target)
Runs since July 18th: 10 📈 +3 (2 ahead of target)
TikToks posted in 2021: 9 (@maxzechef) + 17 (@maxlascombe) = 28 📉 +0 (4 behind target)
Screen time this week: 18h26
Number of times meditated this week: 3 📉 (4 behind schedule)
📤 Output
Newsletter subscribers: 49 (thank you ❤️)
Books read this year: 17
Number of abs: 1.3
TikTok followers: 127 (@maxzechef) + 51 (@maxlascombe)
📚 Reading
Currently reading:
“Money Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom”, Anthony Robbins.
“Homegoing”, Yaa Gyasi.
“The Tipping Point”, Malcolm Gladwell.
Please leave any book recommendations in the comments and add me on Goodreads.
🗓 Daily Routine
Thanks to all my subscribers and readers new and old. Really means a lot that you read this week after week. If you’re not reading from your email inbox, please consider subscribing below:
See you next Sunday ❤️
In the meantime, you can read last week’s newsletter:
If you get really short shorts you'll increase you pace by 10%