Breaking 15 #3
Weeks 5-6: November 4-17 | 31.81 miles, 5:23:15 time, 10:10 pace
I’m writing this from my childhood home in Grand Rapids, MI. I moved out of Greenville, SC, on November 27 (hence the lateness of this entry). Leaving was bittersweet. I wanted to continue living in Greenville indefinitely but couldn’t for one reason: my health.
I’m living in Grand Rapids for the next three months before officially moving to a TBD location. Breathing while running has been challenging, thanks to the cold temperatures and gusty winds. It’ll only get colder. I purchased this balaclava to make it easier to breathe and this exercise bike (the same one I had in Miami) to compensate for the lost running time and aid more movement.
Notables
I completed my first 4x4 zone 5 sprint session. The idea is simple: sprint for 4 minutes, walk for 4 minutes, repeat 4 times. The key is to sprint to the point where you have almost nothing left in the tank and need 4 minutes to rest. Dr. Peter Attia explains the concept well in this YouTube short. Moving forward, most of my sprint sessions will be 4x4.
I ran 30+ minutes only four times in the past two weeks. My longest run was 4.17 miles.
As noted in Breaking 15 #2, my only goal for November is to sleep an average of seven hours per night. I slept an average of 7 hours and 8 minutes from November 4-17.
Aches & Pains
Chest tightness and related symptoms (read this post for the background) continued but were manageable.
The blister on the corner of my left big toe is finally gone.
Runs
In the lists below, the RPE (rate of perceived exertion), heart rate, feels like temperature, and sleep metrics are averages for the week. The RPE average does not include sprint sessions.
November 4-10
2:28:36 total time running
14.29 total miles run
10:23 per mile pace
136 ft total elevation gained
43 total effort
2.2 RPE
128 bpm heart rate
62 feels like temperature
6:51 hours of sleep
81 minutes of yoga
November 11-17
2:54:39 total time running
17.52 total miles run
9:58 per mile pace
169 ft total elevation gained
100 total effort
2.1 RPE
133 bpm heart rate
59 feels like temperature
7:26 hours of sleep
65 minutes of yoga
Moving Forward
I’ll continue to experiment and find a way to improve my fitness in the unbearable winter in Grand Rapids.
Sleep will continue to be my main focus until I maintain a weekly average of at least seven hours per night.
I’m strongly considering getting a membership at Phlot to regularly enjoy the sauna, cold plunge, and sensory deprivation tank for $39 per session. I believe this will aid my recovery and help free myself from the chains of my cold allergy.
