Breaking 15 #5 | Floating
December 1-22 | 30.83 miles, 331 minutes, 10:46 pace
Christmas is just around the corner. In ten days, we’ll usher in 2025. Are you ready? I am!
It’s been constantly overcast and freezing in West Michigan throughout December. It should surprise nobody who grew up in the area, but it surprises everyone every winter.
The average wind chill on my 22 runs in 22 days this month is… 22!
Is that spooky?
Wins
Yesterday, I floated for one hour at phlōt in Grand Rapids. Once I fully relaxed, the experience was amazing. If there is a sensory deprivation tank near you, I highly recommend you try it at least twice. Now that I have the experience, it’ll take a minute or two rather than twenty minutes to become fully relaxed.
Nine days ago, I completed a one-hour fire and ice session at, you guessed it, phlōt in Grand Rapids. It was my second-ever session. I stepped into the cold plunge tub five times for 8-15 seconds each. The second time was the easiest, and the fourth was the most challenging. I never fully immersed my body, and I won’t anytime soon. Sitting in the infrared sauna at 160-170 degrees, being fully immersed in my sweat, was soothing and healing.
I intend to incorporate floating and/or fire and ice treatment into my routine one to two times a week for the next two months or more.
Aches & Pains
The sharp knee pain that came about after an intense 5-minute indoor cycling session on November 30 never returned.
I suffered after an intense 5-minute indoor cycling session on November 30 is gone. It hasn’t returned. I didn’t cycle for a week after. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve cycled for 2-5 minutes at a time with a resistance of 3-6. I peddle much slower. My heart rate is usually 100-120 bpm.
Runs December 1-22
Most of my runs (17/22) this month have been 1 to 1.25 miles. This will continue for the rest of 2024, but I’ll ramp up to 3+ miles in January 2025 (there is a good chance symptoms will return, causing me to run less than 2 miles for most runs). Starting this afternoon while watching the Lions football game (I plan to cycle for at least an hour), I’ll ramp up my indoor cycling time.
In the lists below, the metrics for the rate of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate, wind chill, and sleep represent monthly averages to date.
331 total minutes running
30.83 total miles run
10:46 per mile pace
15 ft total elevation gained
108 total effort
2.0 RPE
128 bpm heart rate
22 wind chill
6:58 hours of sleep
133 minutes of yoga
Updates
I’m no longer tracking RPE for short runs. As of today, I’m defining a short run as less than 20 minutes.
Starting now, each newsletter reflects runs for the current month up until the published date of the newsletter.
I’m considering calling this journal Breaking 18 instead of Breaking 15. Although my impossible goal is still Breaking 15, I first need to break 18, and my PR for the 5K is 18:29.
Where are you running? How’s the weather?
Go Lions!
Todd