P2: Run 31 Consecutive days — Log
Status: Succeeded
I have been running for a few years now. I think there are many benefits of running. Being able to eat more bagels, maintaining a more balanced blood sugar level, producing more brain cells are some of which I can remember.
Like all good things, running requires commitment and then a pair of injury free legs, good sleep and a balanced diet. With a combination of injury, vacation, jet lag and flu, I wasn’t able to run for about 6–7 weeks until two days ago. I ran twice in two days(3.5 miles and 2 miles), have sore legs after running less than 4 miles on road at a pace of ~10 minutes. That would be like little more than walking to me, if I was in shape. I have to get back into running. I also plan to have a 5K PR towards the end of the year but before, I need to start running.
Here comes my second challenge:
In August, I challenge myself to run at least 2 miles everyday for 31 consecutive days.
If I got sick or something prevents me from running, I will still continue until end of August. This challenge requires not just the discipline of getting out for a run everyday but also staying healthy. Two miles a day is short enough not to overtrain myself. I plan to rotate between a fast day and a couple of slow days. Once I start to feel better, I may do longer runs but, I don’t plan to do more than 6 miles at all as gaining speed is my second goal after being able to run everyday for 31 consecutive days.
I decided to write all the log entries in one article. You will need to scroll down to see the latest entry.
Day 1 of 31
I had sore legs but it was the first day of the challenge so I had to run. I planned to run 2 miles on the road, a mile out and in. It was 86 degrees but cloudy. While it was feeling hot, didn’t feel like miserable.
I pasted the stats for the first day below. I think once I have some data, I might create a chart which will show my progress.
Day 2 of 31
Tuesday is the group run day and shortest distance is about 3.5 miles. With an average of 8:12 pace, it felt hot, especially the last mile. I wanted to walk but instead put a smile on my face and didn’t stop. My legs were still sore, now I feel even worse. My average heart rate was 2 beats slower than yesterday but because the distance is 1.52 miles longer, my overall effort was much more. I will definitely run at a slow pace for just 2 miles tomorrow. I am very careful about not pushing too hard. Yesterday my right knee felt a little awkward and I slowed down. Today I felt nothing wrong. As soon as my legs get used to the daily beatings, I think I will feel much more confident.
Day 3 of 31
I was very motivated to run today. I didn’t even think not running as this is only the third day of thirty one consecutive runs. I would do it no matter what. I didn’t even think about it. I would run this evening and I ran. I wasn’t feeling any better than yesterday. My legs were still sore.
When I started to run, my left vastus lateralis started to hurt a little. I wasn’t feeling tired there so the little pain I was feeling made me anxious. I didn’t go fast, tried to increase my cadence and in a few minutes the feeling went away.
Then, right after I was feeling pain free, my right knee started to hurt a little. Just a little, that I wouldn’t mind normally, if I wouldn’t have to run tomorrow. After 2–3 minutes that pain went away as well. I ran just two miles. It was hot, I didn’t enjoy it much.
I am still waiting for the soreness to lessen and I wonder how long it will take without resting even a day.
I was pasting endomondo screenshots for the first two days. Today I put the one from Garmin which shows “Running Dynamics”. These are interesting numbers. I also like the “Training Effect” number. It is 3 for today’s run and 3.7 for yesterday’s.
Day 4 of 31
Today things didn’t go as planned so I had to run right after dinner. Literally, I ate dinner and five minutes later I was on the road running.
As it became the norm, first mile I was feeling pain here and there. First one was a outer side of my left knee. Second one was behind my right knee. None stayed longer than a few minutes. I think I might start running at a much slower pace to have more time to warm up. Maybe it is all about warming up properly.
Good news was, my legs weren’t sore. I was feeling great overall but better than previous day. I expect 5th day will be better.
I am not planning to go faster yet as I am terrified with the idea of injury. Maybe by the 10th day, I will start doing speed intervals.
Finally, the graph above shows a few stats for my 2 miles run. Interesting one is the cadence which improved towards the second mile as I was trying to take smaller strides. It helps with heels for sure but also reduces the vertical oscillation which makes you a more efficient runner. What I couldn’t understand it, my ground contact time increased towards the end. There was a slight hill, that could be the reason.
Day 5 of 31
It was a very hot day and I wasn’t able to run early in the morning at a cooler temperature. So I decided to run indoors on a treadmill, listening to my audio book Into The Magic Shop. I ran with about 8 min/mi pace.
It was a relatively slow pace, so I was in Z2 most of the time. Even though I was listening to a very interesting book (a mix of science, self improvement and a good story), I felt bored of running. Anyway, I had to do it. It was better than burning under the sun. I think the reason it got boring is, it was too easy. When there is no challenge, there is no fun.
Day 6 of 31
Saturday is the group run day. Still I ran alone as unfortunately there isn’t anyone close to my pace. I am not running fast at all. Just others seem to take easier runs on Saturday’s.
I didn’t sleep enough last night but motivated enough for Saturday runs, I found myself running on a hot morning. I had no sore legs, wasn’t feeling tired but still not feeling that great either. I started slowly to be sure I won’t have any hurting muscles and joints in the first mile.
Third mile was uphill and probably the hardest. I stopped for about 5 seconds then pushed myself not to stop again until the end. It was a short run anyways. I had to stop again.
This time, a car stopped and ask for direction. There were two things interesting.
1- About a minute ago, I had finished Into The Magic Shop. The author talked about his compassion project and how not the fittest but the kindest serves better for humanity in the long run.
2- It was a clown, a gentleman probably over fifties, dressed and painted his face as a clown, asking the directions for a high school. I would feel upset as someone stopped me while I was running. Most of the time, I run against time, to do a PR for the last mile, for the section etc. This time, I almost felt the need to help. I didn’t know the address he was asking but searched on google maps and gave him the directions as shown on google maps.
I definitely recommend “Into the Magic Shop”. Great read (or listen).
Day 7 of 31
Today I had a company who is going to turn 8 in a few days. My daughter.
We ran about a mile at a slow pace. Then I ran about two miles a faster but still comfortable pace. I was wondering how much time I spend on the ground and how much I “jump” while running at these two different paces.
Below is the slower run, with 8.9 cm vertical oscillation and 280 ms ground contact time.
Below is the faster run, with 9.5 cm vertical oscillation and 240.8 ms ground contact time.
I was expecting faster run with much lower vertical oscillation and ground contact time. It turned out, I was wasting more energy than I should with going vertical. At least my ground contact time was lower as expected. I am not sure what the optimal values are. I need to research this.
Day 8 of 31
Today I had to run after a heavy dinner. 1755 calories with 118 grams of carbs and 103 grams of fat. So, I really had to run. I wish I ran before the dinner but didn’t happen.
I was planning to run my usual short route but on the way back I decided to do the hill which adds half a mile and some elevation. Training effect was 3.3 which is where I wanted to be. More than that, is probably too much yet. After day 10, I plan to run longer distances. After about 2 months of break, I think it is still pretty early to reach the level where I left. I wasn’t at my peak anyway as I was trying out zone 2 running for a while. My VO2 Max was 59 during early April. It is 54 now. It was 53 last week.
Day 9 of 31
Another run after dinner. I had to run, so I did. I was planning for a slow run. It was dark, so cooler. I am not used to run at night, didn’t have flashlight or anything reflective so I decided to do circles around our division. I felt like I have a good pace but wasn’t sure how it was.
I like the times when I don’t look at my running watch and figure out what my pace was when it beeps at the end each mile. I find it stressful to be constantly looking at my watch. If it is a race or I am going for a PR, it is useful but other times, it kills the joy of running. Maybe I shouldn’t wear it at all during the practice runs, but then I wouldn’t be able to compare runs and see my progress. Also I like how my watch shows the recovery time after each run.
After the first mile, with the beep, I checked my pace and it was 7:13 min/mi. I was surprised. Then I decided to keep my pace and run comfortably faster for the last mile or so. My pace for second mile was 6:39 min/mi. Chart below shows how my cadence and ground contact times improved after mile 1.5. Continuous line is pace. Gray dots are cadence and blue dots are ground contact time.
The higher cadence value, the lower ground contact time. Average stride length for this run was 1.4 meters which is 0.13 meters longer than a 7:23 min/mi run. I took more steps per minute, spend more time on the air and took longer steps because of the speed. I wonder if I was hitting my heels first because of the longer strides. I try not to.
Day 10 of 31
Easy run with 7:52 min/mi pace, all in aerobic zone which I rarely achieve. I think being a 2 miles run helped as likely if I had to go more than 4 even at that pace, considering my VO2 Max is 55, my heart would go beyond 171. I worked out a bit after the run, I was feeling tired. I haven’t been sleeping well since Monday.
Day 11 of 31
I was really feeling tired today. My quads were sore, I am not sure why. I averaged 6 hours 10 minutes of sleep since Monday and which clearly is not enough when I am running or working out. I don’t feel sleepy during the day but I feel the difference when I run. I had another easy run. This time little longer but little slower than yesterday.
I cut it little shorter than I planned as I had to listen to my body. I have ignored those signals for so many years, time to listen more closely as I don’t want an injury this month for sure!
Day 12 of 31
Another late run, at 8:19 pm. Late but not cool. I wasn’t feeling great, which seemed to be the norm. Maybe because of the hot weather. I think a few days rest would fix all but can’t have a break for the next 19 more days.
I think, eventually, my body will get used to this. Also 2 miles a day should not be a physical challenge but one about persistence.
Day 13 of 31
I ran about 4 miles and felt like I had to stop at minute 25 and then felt like I had to walk at minute 29. I walked almost a minute. It was uphill, my average pace was a comfortable 8:30 min/mi. At least comfortable on the paper, in my mind… Anyway, at least I was on the road for more than 4 miles on the thirteenth day.
Day 14 of 31
9:32 pm run, indoors, right after watching Usein Bolt’s 2016 Rio 100 meter victory, I ran a boring 2 miles on treadmill. It is interesting to see how smooth ground contact time is. It seems like the decrease on contact time correlates with the increase in speed.
Day 15 of 31
Without any elevation, I ran about 4 miles at 7.23 min/mi pace. Last minute pace was 6 min/mi. This is my second fastest time since I started this challenge and it was for 4 miles.
My VO2 max also increased to 55 in the last few days. I want to hit 59 before November.
The first mile, I felt like pain behind my both knees. Likely I started a bit too fast, without enough warm up. It eased after the first mile, rest was easier.
Oh, almost forgetting to write. It was 91 degree and feeling like 97. A cup of coffee and a dinner with about 50 grams of carbs helped afterwards.
Day 16 of 31
I decided to run another 4 miles today, feeling not bad, not great either. I would run the same course second day in a row and being familiar to the course usually makes it more fun to run.
I didn’t have any early pain this time but little something on my left calf. So slowed down the last mile significantly. Overall, I felt like I was running much slower than yesterday. It turned out I was but only 11 seconds per mile. It is interesting how different it feels when I change my pace only ~15 sec/mi.
Today I completed half of the month. No injuries, no missed days. I am looking forward to the remaining 15.
Day 17 of 31
Today I would run in the morning in gym or probably wouldn’t be able to. I didn’t take the chance and went early to the gym, get on the boring treadmill and rolled myself for 2 miles with an average of 132 BPM heart rate. It was an easy run, listening to “The 4 Percent Universe” and thinking about what is ahead of us…
Day 18 of 31
I don’t think running at least 2 miles a day, everyday, for a month, is impressive for some. For me it is. So far I am:
- Not injured
- Haven’t pushed my limits so next day became torture
- Improving slightly
- Still enjoying going out, even it is just for 2 miles most of the time
- Haven’t missed a day
Today’s run was another easy one with 143 BPM average heart rate. Second mile lasted longer than the first. As seen below, GPS stopped working a few times for some time.
Day 19 of 31
I wasn’t planning to run fast but having the first mile mostly downhill, and the second not that uphill, I ran with 6.28 min/mi average pace for two miles. This was my fastest run since a while. Not really impressive as it is even shorter than 5K but a good sign, I am getting there. Tomorrow I plan to run longer, likely 6 miles which I haven’t done for almost 2 months.
Day 20 of 31
Long run day. I planned to really slow.
Not as slow as I did, but even at this slow pace, I felt really tired after 3–4 miles. I stopped a few times, just to rest. My heart rate was not high but I was feeling really tired. A few months back, I was able to run 8 miles on the trails. Now I respect that me. It doesn’t look easy when your body is not at that level of conditioning.
Day 21 of 31
I ran on this interesting machine today. It is a curved treadmill and doesn’t require pushing any buttons to increase or decrease your speed. You can run really fast or just walk. As expected it shows time, distance, calories burned. I think can connect to heart rate monitor wirelessly but I didn’t try. It feels like running uphill so I felt some pain when I was running fast so slowed down. But then it is so easy to change your speed as you would do when running outdoors, I decided to to fartlek training. After 2 miles, I was done.
Day 22 to 30 of 31
Yes, I ran each of these days. I was very busy with work that except sleeping and eating I worked and didn’t have time to write updates. I could create time maybe, just didn’t so. Day 30 was eventful.
Day 31 of 31
This was probably the hardest run of all 31 days. Yesterday while doing my first trail run after a several weeks, I hit the ground hard after tripping on a root. I was listening to an audiobook, had sunglasses, so I was a little too focused on the book instead of the trail and as it was later hours of the day, sunglasses made my vision a little too dark. I was running on a narrow path, I fall so quick to my right and it was little downhill and covered with plants on both sides, there wasn’t enough space to roll, instead I fell on my knee and mostly right hand and elbow. I felt so much pain on my toes, initially I thought a few were broken. I stayed there for 5–10 seconds and slowly stood up after being sure I was able to move my toes. My knee was bleeding. It was hurting. My right wrist was hurt, it wasn’t too bad initially but after an hour it got swollen and I wasn’t even able to lift my phone. I ran back to the car. My whole right side, toes, knee, elbow, wrist were hurting while I was trying to sleep. Right wrist was the worst, still is.
So running today was not so fun but I had to do. Last day of the challenge. I would do it, even with one foot, if I had to.
August 2016 became the 3rd most miles I ran in my life. 82.99 miles. In March 2106, I had done 111 and then I have a 90.7 miles month in 2015. When I look at the picture above, I see many 2 miles and doesn’t seem remarkable. Usually I would run 4–6 miles when I go out and I do 3–4 of them a week or that is what I believed so. When I look at my stats, usually it is not the case and I miss a lot of days. It is obvious, if not well planned, it is easy to postpone todays run to tomorrow. I plan to run similar milage next month but likely on 4 times a week.
…and yes, I ran everyday in August 2016. I don’t think I had even a seven day strike before.
Mission accomplished!!!
