David Taylor Gonzales

7/7

I ran 10 miles on Saturday. We had a great 4th of July weekend with family and I was thankful for the time to run, despite the oppressive heat. The run was really challenging but I kept my nutrition dialed in for it so despite the exhaustion, the chia seed pouch gave me a much needed boost at mile 5. I finished the run with a mild strain on my right ankle, just below my calf. I’ve watched enough NBA basketball to be a bit worried about the possibility of an achilles injury so I took Sunday off and did some cross training with my Dad. It’s possible that the issue is related to my shoes. I crossed the 400 mile mark in my Brooks Ghost 16s, the shoes I plan to race in. I bought the Ghost Max’s today to see if I like the extra cushioning better.

I ran tonight, 4 miles at recovery pace (10:09/mi). I kept a zone 2 heart rate for most of the run (average 133 BPM). I wanted to see if the shoes were really the problem or not. As I sit here drinking my magnesium supplement, I feel fine. I don’t know if I really need to retire the shoes but I’d rather be safe than sorry. I’ll keep them for low mileage recovery days and walking.

I ran 31 miles last week, that’s two weeks in a row above 30 miles. This week I’ll throttle down to 25 or so. The build phase of my training starts next week and I don’t want to be fatigued going into the most intense block of training.

7/8

I’ve been using ChatGPT for nutrition advice. I’m surprised by how effective it is at tracking macros for me and giving me estimates on caloric intake. It makes plenty of mistakes but it’s helpful. I’m trying to get down to 168 pounds (losing about 5 pounds). My theory is that it’ll help my running form and efficiency. Only problem: I love cookies and Andy’s frozen custard. We’ll see how much discipline I truly have.

I have a 3 mile shakeout run tonight. It’s been raining off and on all day so it’s gonna be humid and miserable. Gotta learn to be thankful for these days and these runs. New shoes come in Thursday. I am giving my body some time off before a big threshold workout later this week. Still monitoring my calf. Garmin says my training readiness is at 97 today.

7/9

Well, I felt too good during the first half mile of my run to keep it low and slow. I ran the first half mile at 8:55 pace and ended up running a 5K at an average pace of 7:15/mi. My heart rate peaked in the 170s, average of 150 BPM. I missed my PR by 20 seconds so if I hadn’t run that first half mile at a warm up pace, I had a good chance at a PR. I’ll have another shot at it on July 19th at a race in Branson. I’m excited for that one. Some of my buddies from church are gonna run it together.

I worked out with my Dad this morning. We did chest, back, hamstrings and glutes. 3 sets of pull-ups and jumping negatives, 4 sets of dumbbell bench press, 4 sets of trap-bar deadlifts, 4 sets of single-arm rows, 5 sets of dumbbell shrugs. I can tell I’m gonna be sore tomorrow. I’ve been impressed with him sticking with it. He told me he would do four workouts with me while in town and this was number three. We’ll do our last on Saturday before they leave town. He asked me about what it means to run “smooth” and I told him about how I’ve been working on increasing my cadence the last few weeks. We ran a bit together after the workout so I could show him what I was talking about. He bought Hoka Cliftons for walking last week but my hope is that he tries running a bit when he gets back home.

I love working out in the morning but one thing I miss when I do that is my quiet time. I always feel more centered on God throughout the day when I spend that first 30-45 minutes of my day with Him. I’ve been thinking about how I can do both in the morning. Unfortunately, most of the ideas I’ve come up with involve me waking up at 5:30 AM. That would be a challenge. As a former night owl, the idea of going to bed at 10 PM was a foreign concept to me until a year ago. 5:30 AM would probably require a 9 PM bedtime.

My parents came in to town to hang out for a couple weeks. Living many hours away from family with two kids at home has been a challenge so I’m thankful that both our parents both have the flexibility to visit us and help with the kids as often as they do. My wife and I are seeing F1 at Alamo tonight. It’s our first time going to an actual movie in theaters in at least a year and our second date night since my parents got here last week. I’m really thankful for the time we’ve gotten to spend alone together. I’m trying to keep my nutrition dialed in but I’ll tell ya, I’ve got a hankering for those loaded fries. I’ll let y’all know if I cave in or not.

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