Very Gradual Progress

Well, I'm older, my metabolism, and training progress is slower than it has been in the past for me as well.

I'm up to 60 minute long runs now for the past 3 weeks at a really slow pace, averaging around 4.5 miles per run.

I'm trying to explore alternative locations for running. Someplace a bit cooler perhaps, higher up the mountain might facilitate a faster pace. 80+ degrees in 100% humidity with constant hills is just results in slow times for a slow, fat man.

I am down to 223 pounds now, but weight loss is slow as well.

A 10k seems like a brutal challenge at the moment. Comrades seems inconceivable. Nothing to do but keep running...

Hawaii Slow Running

Man, the side of a Volcano on a Polynesian island is not the best place to pick up running again after a long hiatus.

I run with a Garmin GPS watch that monitors my heart rate. I find it great for making sure I'm not slacking. It's usually pretty accurate too, generally matches when I take my pulse manually and studies have found the heart rate trackers pretty reliable.

Went pretty slow today for two miles at about a 13 minute mile pace. Yes, that pace sucks, but at least I know I was working at it. Average heart rate of 179 bpm for the run when my age adjusted max would be around 188 bpm.

And I feel it too, those two miles in 84 degree weather with a fair amount of hills are brutal for a chubby man like me.

About 650 days till Comrades 2019. Feels impossible to go from here, struggling to complete 2 miles, to 56 miles.

Odds are I'll probably give up. Two years is a long commitment to something this painful. But it's not just comrades at stoke but my health and life. Probably should focus. Keep at it. Stay to course. So on and so forth...

Richardson's Beach

I have to say, the cross training here on the Big Island is great. Went for a swim today at Richardson's beach park, one of the more popular beaches with tourists in Hilo. There aren't many tourists in Hilo though, so there are usually maybe a dozen or so people at this beach on a given weekday. More locals show up on the weekends and it gets more crowded.

I hope to explore the other local beaches, the ones with long Hawaiian names I can't pronounce, in the months to come. For the moment, it feels good giving my weak arms a bit of a push while floating over the fish and corals.

Haven't weighed myself since leaving San Diego (my scale doesn't arrive until the rest of our stuff does from the mainland in a week or two. Am curious to see how the weight loss has been coming, but it's also nice to be away from its tyranny.

Aloha

Since my last post, I've successfully moved to the Big Island of Hawaii. I live near the ocean on the slope of the great volcano Mauna Kea. The training here is much harder that it was in California. It is general in the low-to-mid eighties fahrenheit, humid, and the terrain is hilly (volcano and all).

The runs are much harder here than any training I've done before (it was generally flat and cool in the UK, Boston, Baltimore, and San Diego in the winter). However, Comrades is hot and very hilly, so this will probably be good prep.

I've started back on my old marathon training plan I've used to complete several marathons in the past. Max run, 35 minutes for the next few weeks. A LOT shorter than my old long runs, but gotta start somewhere.

I've started back on a strict ketogenic diet which always helps me lose weight which will help the running. Cross training with open water swimming on off days is great, and I've joined the BJ Penn gym (yep, that BJ Penn, he's from the Big Island) to get some strength training in.

All in all, a good base to build from for the next few years.

Run #2

It's going to be a long 2 years. Run attempt #2. 2.3 miles in 31 minutes. A little better I guess?

Day 1

When I trained for Comrades before, I remember running a marathon or more every Sunday and Saturday for a month, back to back marathon each weekend.

Today, at the start of training again... I did 2.4 miles.... in 32 minutes.... as a run/walk.

Ugh.  Such is the penalty of encroaching on middle age I suppose.

The Start

Today is day 0 of Comrades training. This is me at the start, 235lbs. Going for a first run tomorrow. 2 years to go...