Adarq.org

- run 40:34, 8.18 km, w/strides x 5
net downhill to the gym, so a little quick.

- squat 185 x 5,5

- deficit calf raise 185 x 6,6
did in squat shoes, more stable than sneakers.

- GMB "gettin' old" strength circuit x 2
-- chin up x 8
-- spiderman push up x 4,4
-- partial L-sit 3 x 5s holds
-- bent arm bear crawl x ~10m forward and back
-- assisted shrimp squat x 5/leg
i like this circuit. lots to work on and can do anywhere. from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD0rSWoi4Ps.

- KB SLRDL x 8,8 w/hip and hamstring stretching circuit

- interval workout
-- warm up
-- 7 x [3 min @ 90-92% of 5k pace w/1 min jog]
-- cool down
track was locked so i did this on the sidewalk around the perimeter of the high school. struggled to keep pace consistent and ran most of the intervals a little too hard. target was 4:13-4:17, i ran 15, 11, 9, 10, 10, 8, 5. RPE 7, though, which is good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ETA: since it's new year's eve, figured i'd do a little recap of the year. the highlight, obviously, was finishing my first and second ultramarathons. i didn't have time goals in mind for either and ran both at the limit of what i knew my body could handle on the day, which i'm proud of. also learned a lot both in the races and along the way about nutrition, the importance of specificity (more downhill!), and how much i can push through fatigue.

i also PR'd in the 5k, in february, and the half marathon, in april. both times are still way below what i would like to be running, there is much room for improvement. ran a crappy half in september, as well. i would say that's better forgotten but (1) it was a good learning experience and (2) i like the shirt from it and so will be remembering it on at least a biweekly basis until it gets too hot to wear long sleeves, lol.

i ran a total of 2724 km/1692 miles in 2025. that's roughly the distance from my house to el paso or the eastern edge of yellowstone national park, as the crow flies, or to denver by road. 302 hours on my feet. those are clear lifetime PRs, and my overall weekly average of 32.5 miles/52km is also something to be proud of. passing 2000 miles next year would be a good minor goal, although who knows what things will look like after the baby comes. i ran 229/365 days (4.3/week on average), plus an uncounted number of gym-only days.

that last number points to one of the main shortcomings of my year in running: consistency. i was hurt in late feb/march, and had big rises and falls throughout the year in monthly mileage. a higher-level goal than total miles run will be hitting at least 5 days week-in and week-out, which would get me to 260 days of running over the course of the year. most weeks should be 6 days.

another shortcoming was how far i fell off at the gym. strength work is not going to be my focus anytime soon, but in 2026 i'm resolving to be more consistent with it, and see some improvement in grip and pull up strength, core strength, shoulder and hip mobility, and squat strength.

so, in sum: a year to be pretty happy about, given where i started and what my goals were. i wish i'd run more days, and i wish i'd been better about strength work. but plenty to build on in 2026 and beyond!

so, as of NYE, here are my 2026 goals, imagining that i'll be able to carry on more or less uninterrupted after the baby comes, which, lol. but let's pretend:

• run sub-3:00 in the marathon (ideally BQ)
• run 260+ days
• run 2000+ miles (38 miles/week)
• do 3 days per week of strength work, including 2 in the gym
• stay injury-free

i think that's enough for now! will add as other things occur to me.

thanks!

- run 55:19, 10.46 km
definitely a bit detrained after the long partly forced layoff. HR was higher than usual, felt a bit stiff especially in right hip. knees also protested a bit post-run, which happens from time to time without any pattern that i'm aware of. you've got to start where you are.

foot basically fine

 

great to see you, and glad you're back on the horse. hope the foot stays okay and eventually returns to normal!

- run 1:38:44, 17.91 km
RPE 3.5, an easy run but felt like a bit of a slog, especially in the first half. we got an 1-1.5" of snow overnight and it was just above freezing on the run, so snowy/slushy/icy and i guess that upped the difficulty a bit.

- run 54:44, 10.42 km
nice and easy. RPE 3.

- track workout
-- warm up
-- 3 x [200+400+600 w/200-400m rest]
-- cool down
the buddy i ran with over the weekend invited me to come do a speed workout with him and another friend of his. the idea was to negative split each rep and also the workout overall. started at ~5k pace and ended a bit under 5:30 mile pace. they let me start to lead the second 400 but i went out too fast, oops. fun workout. RPE 7.5.

ETA: upgraded the RPE for this one because i really was pushing on the last 200m and it would have been hard to do another set at the same level of intensity after that.