If you've ever been to the Grand Canyon, you know it's incredible beauty and size. My brother, brother-in-law and I will be doing the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim hike sometime in November 2026 and this is my training journal. For the past couple of years, I have been an avid pickleball player and so this training is requiring that I put that on the back burner for awhile. That also means, I'm not in particularly good cardio shape coming into this. My history is as a runner - I picked up running sometime around 2009-2010, innumerable 5Ks/10Ks, a bunch of half-marathons and two full marathons. I was a cyclist for a couple of years in there as well - so endurance sports aren't foreign to me, but I'm curious to how my body will respond to this challenge. Our goal is to complete the R2R2R hike in one day, 42-some miles and over 11,000 feet of elevation gain.
Update 1: Found out that the North Kaibab Trail (NKT) is going to be closed Oct 2026 - February 2027 so the R3 hike is not going to happen. Trying to figure out something else to pivot to.
Update 2: Going to do a couple of 14ers in one day in early October. Wetterhorn Peak and Uncompaghre Peak.
9/2 - 50-minute run on the treadmill because of the heat (heat index over 100). Pushed the incline most of the way, ended up "ascending" 350 ft. Legs felt good - sweat a lot.
9/1 - Rest Day.
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August Stats: 62.4 miles running, 307.2 miles cycling, 9 hours and 53 minutes of pickleball
8/31 - Almost two hours of pickleball with the normal Monday night crew - lots of good (competitive, close) games. Set monthly highs for running miles and cycling miles for the year. Unfortunately, it looks like our plans might get changed again due to fires in Colorado.
8/30 - Hour run on tap and Char joined me for the first 2.5 miles which was great - it underscored for me how far I've come in this training cycle so far. When I started running in April, maintaining a 9:30 pace had my heartrate in the upper 150s to low-160s. I was running about that pace with Char and my HR was sub-140. Did the last 36-minutes by myself in the rain and averaged about 8:35/mile. Legs felt good.
8/29 - Two-hour bike ride, tried out a new route just to change things up a bit. It ended up not being quite the direction that I intended, but it worked out and essentially just did an out-and-back. I think I need to set my watch to auto-stop because there were a couple of times I forgot to stop it and then one spot where I rode for at least a mile on pause. Had to hose my bike off afterward because the path dust is serious. Crossed the 1,000-mile mark since April for cycling.
8/28 - Friday paddle up 'n play for about an hour as a treat for a good week at work and then 35 minutes of running on the indoor track. Body feels really good lately.
8/27 - Another absolutely beautiful morning for a bike ride. Picked up some new lights for my bike so I could start before the sun came up. Did my usual NW route. My legs were definitely tired from yesterday, although not sore, just seemed to lack power. Left hammy is bothering me a little bit, not painful, just uncomfortable.
8/26 - 40 minute run on the indoor track and the gym and then 2 sets of 100 step-ups. My friend Tim was telling me that he had started doing these and that he feels stronger in his knees and lower back. The big hike is about 6-7 weeks away so gotta start doing more of this.
8/25 - Rest Day.
8/24 - Did about an hour and 40 minutes of pickleball with my normal Monday evening group. No energy to run afterwards.
8/23 - Didn't sleep great last night but still wanted to get a run in; I texted my neighbor in the late afternoon to see if he wanted to go and the timing was perfect because he was just about to leave. He's training for the Chicago Marathon and is in good shape and had gotten some new shoes that he wanted to try out, plus go a little faster. It took a lot of work to keep up with him for 5K and then I finished the last 5K by myself. Averaged 7:59 for ~6.3 miles which is a pace I haven't kept in probably a year and half. That's back-to-back weeks of ~90 miles total, I'm thinking I may pull it back for a week this week just to let my body recuperate a little. Weighed in at 180.6.
8/22 - I didn't set out to do 40 miles but that's what it ended up being; the weather was nice and there was a Northwest wind so I decided to go out facing the wind and then have it at my back on the way home. Took the normal Elgin route and then just kept going north. Some of the crowds and uncertainty about my route slowed me down around Elgin itself, but pretty much flew on the way home.
8/21 - About an hour of pickleball and then 30-minutes of running on the indoor track. Legs felt fine, calves and left hammy have been a little tight the past few days but not painful.
8/20 - I lost my bike lights a few weeks ago and really needed them this morning as the sun didn't rise until after 6am. There was just enough light to go at 5:40 and so I headed out on my normal northwest route. Today was the first day since I started this training cycle in April where I felt a real sense of not wanting to do it. It wasn't just that I was unenthusiastic about the workout, but more than that - a "what am I even doing" type feeling. I think one of the things that's been missing with this cycle is having to do most of it by myself. In every other longer endurance thing I've prepared for over the years, I've always had other people I was doing it with...and that makes it so much better. Anyway - knocked out a 30-mile ride. It took my legs a good 10 miles to 'wake up' and then the back half of the ride was much better.
8/19 - 60-minutes on the treadmill today; did the first 45-minutes running with varying inclines (0.5-2.0) and then did the last 15 minutes walking 3.5mph at 10% incline. Felt flippin' great while running, my body feels good and I wasn't working that hard. 700+ft of 'elevation' gain over the course of an hour.
8/18 - Rest Day. Mowed the lawn in the evening and wanted to go for a run, but also knew my body needed a break.
8/17 - 90-minutes of pickleball with my regular Monday evening crew. After 5 straight days of activity, I didn't feel like running afterwards so I didn't.
8/16 - Went for a 40-mile in the middle of the day, doing a clockwise loop, opposite to the last 40-mile ride I did. I should have done it counter-clockwise because I ended up fighting a West wind all the way to the Fox River (first 12-13 miles). Legs never really felt very strong during this one, and the last 10-15 miles were an absolute chore. Yearly high for weekly running AND cycling miles so pretty happy with that.
8/15 - Wasn't sure if I was going to do today - it could have been a rest day, but my body felt good enough to do something, so I decided on a 45-minute run. It was probably the most humid its been (dewpoints in the mid-70s). I was absolutely soaked when I got back, like - my shorts were dripping wet because my shirt had soaked my shorts. Managed to keep my HR under 160 which seems like a win in those conditions. Overall, felt good.
8/14 - Started off with some pick-up game pickleball for about an hour and then ran on the indoor track for 30-minutes. My legs felt great today, no lingering soreness from yesterday's run and while both my achilles were noticeable, it was not painful.
8/13 - Jumped in with some guys who are nearing the end of Ironman training (their race is in September). I was told that it was going to be a fast ride and thought it would be interesting to see where I was at fitness wise...it turns out I'm not that close to where they're at. Hung in there for ~10 miles and could have kept hanging in there for more, but they were doing 40 and I knew I didn't have 40 miles at that pace in me, and I still knew where we were and how I could turn it into a solo ride, and so that's what I did. Still, it was my fastest ride of the year so far and while difficult, I enjoyed the challenge. Did just over 36 and was back home before 7:30a.
8/12 - Rest Day.
8/11 - Went for an hour run and the boy came with on his bike; I knew it was gonna be muggy and warm, but this one kicked my butt. Dewpoint was in the low-70s and pretty quickly my HR was well above 160. I was determined to keep going so I just gutted it out. I can't remember another run where I sweat more. I weighed myself afterward with my shirt on and off and it was 2 lbs difference.
8/10 - Pickleball Monday with my regular crew. We started late so didn't have time for a run afterwards.
8/9 - Rest Day, full day of driving back home.
8/8 - Went for a ride with my brother and my dad out to the Central Lakes Trail in Alex. Beautiful day, did the first 15-miles with them and then the last 15 or so by myself. Felt good throughout, pretty brutal wind coming home, but all in all a good ride. Turns out no major problems with my bike - haven't had any issues.
8/7 - My brother convinced me to go for a run and I'm glad we did; temp was in the mid-70s but the dewpoint was in the 50s which felt great. Did 45-minutes and it was probably the best I've felt running in a month. No knee or achilles pain.
8/6 - Early morning ride before spending all day in the car on the way to MN. Felt really sluggish at the start as my quads were still feeling pretty destroyed from the running earlier in the week. Legs gradually woke up as the ride went on but still didn't feel all that good, even towards the end. Ended up doing just over 30 miles.
8/5 - 35-minute run in the evening after a very stressful and unpleasant day. Didn't feel great at the start but felt better as the run went on. Knee and achilles were not really bothering me.
8/4 - Rest Day - did the dune climb with the kids in the morning before I left the area; quads are extremely sore.
8/3 - Went for a mid-afternoon run, sunny and upper-70s and thought that would be pretty comfortable. One of the kids ran with me for the first mile; so I started out on the flats. Decided to do Inspiration Hill and it was a humbling experience, had to walk a couple of times and my HR was way too high. Pretty much let it fly on the way back down that hill. Very challenging run with over 400 ft of elevation gain in the last 30 minutes.
8/2 - Back up in the Glen Arbor, MI area for a few days and brought my bike. Did the "hilly route" which is challenging right out of the gate because the steepest and most difficult hill is a mile into the ride. I didn't feel great but it ended up being a good ride - just over 30. I think there might be a hairline crack in my back tire frame...probably from riding on it when the back tire was low the other day.
8/1 - Rest Day - played another round of golf up at Wuskowhan with Evan, Logan and Dave.
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July Stats: 46.4 miles running, 281.1 miles cycling, 5 hours and 48 minutes of pickleball
7/31 - Mid-morning run in the tennis dome - hot in there but felt good throughout.
7/30 - Up for an early morning ride and it was doomed from the start. About 2 miles in I realized that, of all things, I had forgotten to bring water. I thought, no big deal - SURELY there will be a water fountain somewhere on my route. Started looking after about 12 miles, couldn't find one, which added miles just looking for water. Had some gels so took those - didn't end up finding a water fountain until after the 30-mile mark. On top of that, about halfway into the ride, I realized my back tire was slowly losing air...which was making it harder to bike. I think I forgot to close the valve on my tire after I put air in it this morning. So, all-in-all, a very difficult 34-mile ride on legs that were already tired from yesterday's run.
7/29 - Got out for a 60-minute run after work; either I ate too many Swedish Fish before the run, or it was hotter than I was anticipating, or I was running harder than I should have been. HR got up around 165-170 and I could not get it to come down. I didn't feel like I was working as hard as that would indicate and I wasn't breathing that hard either. Weird. Achilles and knee bothered me for the first couple of miles and then quieted down after that.
7/28 - Ran out of time and energy today - helped my neighbor cut up and clear a big oak tree that had fallen in his backyard during the storm yesterday and by the time I was done with that, I didn't feel like running. Been icing my achilles and right knee in hopes of speeding some healing there.
7/27 - Had quite an interesting day - very severe weather around midday so lots of cleanup involved with that. Regular Monday pickleball game for about 80-minutes and then ran for 30-minutes in the tennis dome, which was HOT. Left achilles and right knee both bothering me pretty good during the run. 20k+ steps for the day.
7/26 - Rest Day - took the dog for a 30-minute walk but otherwise was pretty lazy. Legs felt trashed all day - quads very sore.
7/25 - Solo 40-mile ride and got the route right this time (tried a similar route about a month ago and got all turned around). Had to stop a few times to figure out where I was. I was definitely ready to be done when I finished, but also felt like I could have gone farther. Weather was nice, not much wind and reasonable temperatures.
7/24 - Played just shy of an hour and half of pickleball and then ran 30 minutes on the indoor track. I didn't notice my achilles too much so that's a good sign.
7/23 - Haven't had a morning this perfect in awhile - temps in the 50s and no wind. Took awhile for my legs to wake up, but they did around the halfway point. Did just over 30 miles on the bike.
7/22 - Rest Day.
7/21 - Beautiful evening for a run - ran around Lake Ellyn which is a more hilly route. Felt pretty sluggish at the beginning of the run, probably just ran too close to dinner. Temps have moderated some so the weather was super nice. Achilles continues to bother - icing and wearing calf compression to try and help. May have to back off on the running for a little while.
7/20 - Played an hour of pickleball with my regular Monday evening crew and then ran for 45-minutes on the indoor track. Despite my left achilles still barking, this was a good run.
7/19 - Rest Day. Played some pickleball with the kids and in-laws.
7/18 - Got up and went for a ride, about 13 by myself and then hooked up with my BIL Joel for the last 20-ish. Joel is a very active cyclist and he could have easily dropped me, but it was nice to have someone to ride with and I enjoyed the rural roads north of Indy. Left achilles is still barking.
7/17 - The smoke forced an indoor run and so I took to the treadmill. After a warm-up, alternated 3.0 and 5.0 inclines with quarter-to-half mile flats in between. This was hard - my left achilles/soleus area was barking afterward. Total elevation gain was ~350ft...kinda intimidating to remember that our hike will be 6,000+ ft of elevation gain.
7/16 - Solo ride on a very hazy morning - smoke from Canada has made its way down here. There was a noticeable scent in the air. I felt fine - coming off a rest day my legs felt good. Ended up doing just over 30 miles.
7/15 - Rest Day.
7/14 - Ran on the indoor track in the middle of the day. We're having a heat wave here - temps inside the tennis dome were ~85 degrees. Ran for 30 minutes and then did 5-minutes on the stair climber. Thinking I should probably be doing more with that machine and then transitioning some of my workouts to hills while incorporating squats, lunges, etc.
7/13 - Regular Monday night pickleball group with my guys - we had six playing so it went longer than normal and simply didn't have enough time to fit in a run afterwards. Played about 1hr 40 minutes.
7/12 - Had to wait until pretty late in the day to run because the temps all day were in the upper-80s. Felt good on the run for the most part, and completed 45-minutes.
7/11 - Travel day - rest day
7/10 - Vacation ride #3 - did a pretty similar route to my first vacation ride, my legs didn't feel great going into it, but wanted the challenge of the hills. Got that challenge, legs didn't really respond. Was definitely glad to make it back home.
7/9 - Another quasi-rest day - did the Dune Climb with the kids which is pretty steep (about 300 feet uphill) but also short.
7/8 - Ride #2 during vacation. Decided to take an easier (less elevation) route today due to how my legs felt and ended up having a really good ride. Had a pretty good wind going out which made for a breeze going back.
7/7 - More or less a rest day, played some pickleball in Glen Arbor with the kids and some randoms for about an hour but that was it. Sore from yesterday's run.
7/6 - Ran with Logan and he said he wanted to do the Inspiration Point run, so we ran up the hill which was grueling. HR was above 180 for me. Dropped him back at the house at about 3 miles and then kept going and finished up a 45-minute run.
7/5 - Got out for Ride #1 during vacation - took a route I hadn't done in about 4 years and it was beautiful. During parts of the ride you are in the forest, other parts you are near the Dune and then near Glen Haven, you can see Lake Michigan. It's all part of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. Ended up doing just over 30 miles and set a new biking PR for the ride up the Inspiration Point hill. 9% grade for about 3/4ths of a mile.
7/4 - Rest Day.
7/3 - Played 18 holes at Wuskowhan with Evan and Logan. Didn't play as well as last Friday but still had fun - such a nice course and enjoyed just being out there. On 18, hit a 40-50ft putt to finish the round, I guess I'll keep playing ;)
7/2 - Got out in the morning on the first day of vacation for a 90-minute ride. Have been enjoying the part-road, part-trail rides and so I did that again.
7/1 - Rest Day.
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June Stats: 48.9 miles running, 211 miles cycling, 11 hours and 45 minutes of pickleball
6/30 - Was thinking about making this a rest day, but had some energy late in the evening and had been waiting for the heat index to come down a bit. Did just over 30-minutes and the heat index was 96...so I got some altitude training in maybe. Absolute sweat-fest, but I felt pretty good for most of it.
6/29 - Absolute roaster of a day weather-wise, low-90s with dewpoints in the mid-70s. I decided to run to and from the gym for my weekly pickleball game. The way there wasn't bad - but the pickleball pavilion is in a covered dome, so I was sweaty when I got there, sweat through ~90 minutes of pickleball and then ran home. The two miles home was nearly max on the misery scale. Weighed in a 182.7.
6/28 - The heat and humidity is back so I got out there in the morning for a 45-minute run, which was a pretty quick turnaround from having biked yesterday evening. Little man rode with me on his sister's bike. I didn't miss the humidity - the run mostly sucked.
6/27 - Big day - Dadaventure Day with the kiddos in the morning; took them to Waterfall Glen and we biked the big loop, stopping (of course) at the waterfall for awhile. Little man blew his front-tire about 5 1/2 miles in but fortunately the bike was still rideable. Completed about 10-miles biking (at very easy pace) with the kids - did lunch and the Naperville Riverwalk area for awhile and then came home. Then I set out on my own ride, got just over 25 miles in. Felt good - definitely pushed it bc of the day off yesterday.
6/26 - Rest Day - played a round of golf at Cantigny in the afternoon.
6/25 - Early morning ride on an absolutely beautiful morning. Took it a little easier just because of yesterday's hard workout. Ended up doing about 30 miles - felt good throughout.
6/24 - 60-minute run; definitely went out of the gate too fast, then tried doing quarter-mile speed-ups with quarter-mile rest jog in between. I did that for the middle 25-minutes and just could not get my heartrate down. I ran inside the Tennis dome and it was 77 degrees in there and HUMID. That's probably why I couldn't get my heartrate down. The last 10-15 minutes of the run were an absolute chore. 10-minute ice bath afterwards felt good.
6/23 - Rest Day.
6/22 - 75 minutes of pickleball with the regular Monday crew; didn't feel like running afterwards so I didn't. I think my body needs a rest day.
6/21 - Father's Day run and it was pouring rain. Little man came with me on his bike and it actually turned out to be my best run in over a year. My legs felt good and my HR stayed relatively low. Was only going to do 30 minutes but went longer.
6/20 - Solo ride in which I meant to do a loop, but it ended up being an out-and-back due to a wrong turn. I fought a heavy west wind all the way out to the Fox River then instead of turning north which is what I intended, I turned South. Once I realized my error, it was going to be too many miles to make up so I just went back the way I came. Flew on the way home. 35 miles - probably the longest solo ride I've ever done.
6/19 - 90-minutes of pickleball
6/18 - Solo early morning ride. Beautiful morning with temps in the 60s and a west wind. Felt good throughout.
6/17 - Rest Day - not been feeling 100% the past few days. Not sick, but feeling run down. Figured discretion was the better part of valor.
6/16 - 60-minute run. Felt pretty uncomfortable for the first 2-3 miles but then better after that.
6/15 - 90 minutes of pickleball with the regular Monday evening crew and then 30 minutes of running afterwards.
6/14 - Rest Day - this one was unintentional; just didn't not have a window of time during the day to get any kind of workout in. Nice to get back-to-back rest days in, but wasn't looking for that.
6/13 - Rest Day
6/12 - Played pickleball in the morning for about 90-minutes and then in the evening we had our annual parents vs. daughters soccer game. This used to be a slow-speed affair with nobody trying all that hard. Now the girls are 10-11 years old and it takes more of a serious effort. Parents ended up winning 6-4, but this may be the last year we're able to beat them.
6/11 - 90-minutes pretty hard on the bike this morning. Ended up going solo because several in the regular group couldn't make it. Had some heavier storms yesterday so lots of debris on the roads. Continues to be very muggy.
6/10 - 45-minute run; dewpoints have been crazy high the last few days (mid-70s). I thought about doing this one on a treadmill but I hate the treadmill so I opted for the indoor track. The indoor track is under a tennis dome and inside the dome it was almost 82 degrees and only with a slightly lower dewpoint. Could have gone for an hour, but knowing a have a longer and likely more demanding workout tomorrow morning, I opted for less time.
6/9 - Rest Day - thought I would have time to get a run in, but that time never materialized.
6/8 - Biked to and from work, nothing strenuous, the car was in the shop so I had to. ~90 minutes of pickleball with the regular gang in the evening.
6/7 - Rest Day.
6/6 - Absolute roaster of a bike ride today - mid-70s and dewpoints in the 70s made for a very uncomfortable 20 miles. Once the HR was up, I couldn't get it back down. Got 20 miles in and done and then spent the next two hours cooling off.
6/5 - 80-minutes of pickleball, don't think I won a game today. Starting to feel my right knee a little bit. Noticed it during my last run as well. Something to keep an eye on.
6/4 - Early morning ride with the usual group - beautiful morning for a bike ride. Thought maybe I was coming down with a cold yesterday evening, but slept fine. I don't like the 4:30a wake-up call, but once I'm up and about it's good, and then I appreciate the sense of accomplishment I get when I've biked 30 miles before 7am. Felt pretty good today - not as good as last week.
6/3 - Rest Day.
6/2 - This was the least enthusiastic that I was for a run since I started training in April. I did not want to go, I didn't feel like doing it and could have easily been talked out of it. But I made myself do it. And it ended up being a good run. 60-minutes, one very brief stop at a drinking fountain. Felt pretty good throughout minus just being tired of running towards the end.
6/1 - 30-minute run and then 90+ minutes of pickleball. The run felt fine - if anything I'm starting to get bored, I need to mix in some different speeds. Also need to start doing more stairs, weights, rucking, etc.
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May Stats: 44.3 miles running, 157.9 miles cycling, 27.4 miles walking, 9 1/2 hours of pickleball
5/31 - Rest Day.
5/30 - Probably went against my better judgement, but really wanted my rest day to be Sunday, so while little man was at baseball practice, I went for another bike ride. I felt pretty good during the ride, had a nice tailwind most of the first half of the ride. Completed about 26 miles. Now my body is very tired - Garmin is telling me I need 70 hours of recovery...
5/29 - 60-minute run; felt great for the first 1/2 hour, didn't feel bad for the second 1/2 hour but was running on the indoor track which is in a tennis enclosure and the thermometer said it was 77 degrees in there. So the heart rate was creeping up. Was definitely glad to be done, did some foam-rolling and stretching afterward.
5/28 - Hooked up with the same group from last week (plus one more rider) for another pre-dawn bike ride. Ended up going about 32 miles (just over two hours) - felt much stronger this week compared to last week. Been feeling great lately and sleeping well too; in a good groove! Gonna try for a 60-minute run tomorrow.
5/27 - 90-minutes pickleball
5/26 - Rest Day.
5/25 - 45-minute run; we've had such a great stretch of cooler weather so far in this training cycle and this was the first run I've been on where I felt like I was overheating. It was low-to-mid 70s when I went out but the dew points have been higher. Little C biked along with me which was great - his constant chatter kept my mind off of how much my body was protesting. 185.0 lbs.
5/24 - Managed to sneak in a 20-mile bike ride. Combination of paths and streets - legs felt stronger than they did on Thursday.
5/23 - Rest Day.
5/22 - About 90 minutes of pickleball
5/21 - Hooked up with my brother-in-law and a couple of other guys for an early morning ride. We ended up going about 27 miles - my body is definitely still recovering from that walk, particularly my quads. I had no power today - my heartrate was up but not overly so; when we got to hills or I needed a little extra something, I had nothing. Maybe should have waited another week but was glad I got it done.
5/20 - Rest Day.
5/19 - 30-minute run; first run since the long walk and my legs felt fine, took it nice and easy. It ended up being a progression run.
5/18 - 90-minutes of pickleball. This went fine - was concerned because I still have a blister on my right foot, but it didn't bother me.
5/17 - Rest Day.
5/16 - Joined the F3 Wheaton guys for their "Long Walk West" CSAUP (completely stupid and utterly pointless) event. Woke up at 4:00am, joined the group at 4:45a, hopped in a van which drove us down to the Lake Michigan lakefront and then walked from there back to our cars in Wheaton. 27.5 miles in about 9 hours. Walked on a blister for the last 9 miles. Finished the day with 61,000 steps and about 10 new friends. Lots of good conversation along the way and although I can't categorize walking that far as "fun", it wasn't absolute misery. Felt pretty wrecked at the end - big blister on my right foot and a left calf that was barking pretty good.
5/15 - 70-minutes of pickleball; this has been good for my legs post long-run the past two weeks. It gives me a chance to move and get the lactic acid out, but isn't demanding to the point where my legs are more sore afterward. 26+ mile walk tomorrow...
5/14 - 60-minute run; ran midday and while it was only in the low-to-mid 60s, I definitely felt even the 10 degree difference from what it's been lately. Last half of the run was more of a challenge, but got it done. Calves are pretty achy but I think that's just from higher than normal volume. No sharp pains, just sore.
5/13 - Rest Day.
5/12 - 45 minute run late in the day - weather was great, beautiful evening. Felt pretty good; seeing definite improvement in pace compared to effort.
5/11 - 30 minute run follow by 90+ minutes of pickleball. I had previously been doing my run after the games on Monday, but this time I did it before. Felt about the same, maybe a little more lethargic during the games that I otherwise would have been. Legs felt fine.
5/10 - "Rest day" - power-washed and did a lot of work getting the backyard ready for summer. My lower back is really starting to ache again. Weighed in at 188.1.
5/9 - It was tricky because I'm solo parenting this weekend, but got the ride in. 26+ miles on an absolutely perfect weather day (50s, sunny). Had the wind in my face most of the way out but was flying on the way home. Unlike the past few rides, this one was almost all roads. Felt strong - took a couple of GUs along the way and going to start incorporating those into longer cardio efforts.
5/8 - Played pickleball for an hour - it was great to see a bunch of people I haven't seen in awhile since I've backed off of playing. I was a little sore from yesterday's run coming into today and then my legs felt great afterwards. It was a good low-intensity workout after the long run yesterday. Hope to get a long ride in tomorrow.
5/7 - 60 minute run - felt great today, for most of the run it felt easy and my body felt good. Towards the very end of the run by feet were starting to feel it but that's all. Did some compression therapy afterwards for 15 minutes.
5/6 - Rest Day, ran out of time
5/5 - C wanted to run with me, so I ran 5K of the run with her, then she dropped out and I finished out 45 minutes. This is the first run since I started back in a month ago, where I felt pretty good. Ran a sub-9:00 mile for the first time in awhile.
5/4 - Did about 90 minutes of pickleball and then ran for 30 minutes. The goal of pickleball was to not make my lower back worse, and I succeeded. Run afterwards felt fine. We discovered today that our plan to do a R2R2R is in jeopardy. The North Kaibab Trail in the canyon will be closed from Oct 2026 to Feb 2027. Current thinking is that we might end up doing a south rim to river to south rim hike, but that would be quite a bit scaled back from the R3.
5/3 - Ended up taking another rest day due to how worn down I felt. Got some mulching in around the yard, but that was all the activity I could manage.
5/2 - Went for a longer bike ride (25 miles) in absolutely perfect weather. Very little wind and about 50 degrees. I definitely felt how out of shape I am on this ride; was completely worn out by the time I got back. Part of it was that I hadn't eaten prior to this ride and only brought four tootsie rolls as fuel during the ride.
5/1 - Rest day, ran out of time
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April Stats: 40.8 miles running, 48.6 miles cycling, 9.9 miles walking, 6 hours of pickleball
4/30 - Ran late in the day again while listening to the Wild beat Dallas (which made this run go by fast). It rained the whole time but that didn't bother me. ChatGPT talked me off the ledge from the disappointment I was feeling yesterday - just gotta keep being consistent and by week 6-8 or so, I should start feeling better. 45 minute run at E pace.
4/29 - Pretty discouraging run today - was not trying to run hard at all, just a 45-minute run at an easy pace and easy pace felt hard. It's discouraging because it doesn't feel like this is getting any easier. I expected not to feel great that first couple of weeks, but now I'm almost a month in. After the run I used the compression gear for my legs which felt good.
4/28 - Rest Day.
4/27 - Got a run in pretty late, didn't get started until 8:30p or so. 45-minute run, didn't feel all that great, partly from soreness from the bike ride yesterday and partly from still digesting dinner.
4/26 - Today the weather was perfect (upper-50s and sunny) and so went for a longer ride. Was originally going to go 20 miles, but went a little farther than that because I explored some of the longer sections of trails from our house. Ended up going 22.5.
4/25 - Saturday was another travel day but I managed to get a morning walk in (~2.25 miles). I thought about running yesterday after we got back, but it was later in the day and I was tired.
4/24 - Had a work trip to Tampa and well, I'm really not good at maintaining a schedule when I'm on the road...so I missed a few days. L came with me on the trip so we decided to make a weekend of it and spent the day at the beach on Friday. I'm not the type of person to sit at the beach, so I spent the day walking. 3 total walks, about 6.5 miles of walking. 26,500 steps for the day. Legs felt good. My lower back is still bothering me, but it's mostly when I sit for a long time or in an uncomfortable chair.
4/20 - Got a late start (8:30p) because of kids activities but was a beautiful night for a run, cool temps and little to no breeze. Kept a pretty easy pace for 45 minutes.
4/19 - Hour long bike ride in perfect weather (sunny, about 50). Been massaging and keeping heat packs on my back which provides at least some relief, though the pain is nearly constant (low level). It didn't hurt during the ride though - I made a couple of adjustments to my bike before I left and it was about 200% more comfortable than last week's ride. Wind was right in my face the whole way out and then more of a side wind on the way home.
4/18 - Played my typical Saturday morning pickleball game and right in the first game, I managed to tweak my lower back pretty good - I think it's the Piriformis area and was perhaps an aggravation of mild piriformis syndrome. That seems to explain my symptoms pretty well. I finished out an hour and half of pickleball and then ran a couple of miles. Outside of my back hurting, I felt fine.
4/17 - Rest day outside of 'Dad's Gym Night' with the kiddos.
4/16 - Another 40-minute timed run; ran with C for most of it and she did pretty well. For whatever reason, this run felt hard, even though the pace wasn't up. I had eaten dinner about 30-minute prior so maybe that was part of it, but also my legs just feel heavy. Not sure if this is just part of getting back into it or what.
4/15 - 40-minute timed run - I was expecting to feel better having a had a day off, but legs felt heavy and what should have been an 'easy' effort didn't feel all that easy. Did an ice bath afterwards for about 7-8 minutes.
4/14 - Rest day but still got 10K steps in. My lower back has been bothering me the past week - its the worst in the morning, doesn't really hurt at all when I'm running or doing other activities.
4/13 - An hour and half of pickleball followed by a 30-minute run. My focus is more on the time spent on my feet rather than mileage/speed. Legs were very tired afterwards.
4/12 - Rest Day.
4/11 - Pickleball game Saturday morning for a couple of hours. My body is tired.
4/10 - Went home a little early from work to get a bike ride in. I got a new hybrid bike last Fall and had never really ridden it. Also got new shoes that had new pedal clips. So...it took a little bit to get everything ready to go. The seat -- very uncomfortable. Other than that - it was an enjoyable ride...it's always surprising to me how different cycling feels than running.
4/9 - Ran in the evening and definitely had too much pizza for dinner. Outside of that, I felt fine and completed another 30-minute run (3.15 miles), this time outside. Weather was pleasant. Charlotte ran with me for the first mile but a side ache took her out after that. Back has been feeling better/less tight but the new pain is right under the very center of my rib cage. Looking forward to when I don't feel doughy and weak.
4/8 - Took it easy yesterday and basically did nothing. My lower back was very tight yesterday and did some stretching in the evening. Still tight this morning, but it didn't hurt to run. Decided to do a timed run, 30 minutes (3.2 miles). Felt good, felt like I could have gone longer. I'm trying not to go crazy out of the gate and then just end up with some kind of injury, so this first month will be pretty light mileage, base-building, etc. Weighed in at 189.8.
4/6 - I guess this was the official start of training. Last night I played pickle for about 90 minutes (I have a regular Monday night game) and then afterwards I ran 2 miles at a relatively easy pace. Right at the beginning of the games there were a couple of points that tweaked my lower back and as I write this on 4/7, my lower back has been singing quite a bit this morning. Legs otherwise feel good - going to take it easy today and see if that doesn't help my back.
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