Month: September 2024

End-of-summer running report

lpaulriddle

This was a brutal summer for running. It was tough to stick with it, but for the most part, I was able to keep at it. The first issue was the heat in July and August. While 2022 and 2023 had hot stretches, this year seemed worse. When the heat and humidity are high, 4 miles is about my max, and that’s assuming I get out early and stick to shady areas. I had my best runs in July and August when I stuck to one particular route that is mostly shaded. If I went out in the sun, I overheated really quickly.

While the heat was a big factor, a larger issue was my left big toe. At some point early in the season, I stepped on something (splinter, tree detritus, etc) that got embedded in the base of the toe. It bugged me until mid August, when I finally got around to seeing a podiatrist, who removed the offending object, after which the toe healed up. In the meantime, I had been favoring it, which always leads to issues elsewhere. A month later, the toe is fully healed, I’m no longer favoring it, and most of the ancillary foot/leg issues have mostly resolved. Going forward, I’m going to be more careful about walking around outside barefoot, particularly in the spring/fall when the most stuff is falling from the trees.

Finally, over the past month or two, I’ve had an issue where I’ve been “pooping out” at the end of my runs. I’ll get maybe 4-5 miles, and then I’ll start feeling listless/tired and want to stop. I’m not sure of the cause, but things that have come to mind have been:

  • Lack of hydration / electrolyte imbalance
  • Other nutritional issue (glycogen depletion, protein or carb insufficiency, ???)
  • Hot/humid weather
  • Seasonal allergies that hit me in late summer
  • Mild virus
  • etc…

Just figured I’d document this here, so that I can refer back later and see if it’s something that happens at specific times of year. Obviously, hydration/electrolyte issues are going to be more common in the summer, and I seem to recall having some similar issues in May/June, which could be allergy related.

Today’s run was the best I’ve had in a good long time. My energy was much better, I ran 7 miles, and didn’t feel an overwhelming urge to stop at the end. For the record, I drank around 16-24oz of water between 6:00am and 8:00am. For breakfast, I had a protein smoothie with Greek yogurt, vanilla almond milk, chia seeds, almond butter, banana, frozen berries, quick oats, and mixed greens (not my tastiest creation, but that wasn’t the point 😀). I also ate a protein popsicle (my wife’s concoction) and a Rice Krispie treat. I went out just after 8:30. Temperatures were in the high 60s and humid, and I worked up a good sweat. On my last several runs, I’ve felt a little stiff and heavy-footed, but today felt more graceful and fluid. My feet felt great, and other than a bit of left hamstring stiffness toward the end, my legs did, too. Hopefully, this will be the start of an improvement trend. I’d love to get back to where I’m doing 10-milers on the weekends.

Rise up Pura Vida (bags #2 and #3)

lpaulriddle
  • Beans: “Pura Vida” from Rise Up Coffee Roasters (Easton, MD)
    • Roast level: Light
    • Origin: Costa Rica (Finca Las Gravilias)
    • Tasting notes from web site: Complex and very well balanced; bright with hints of honey and orange citrus. Light roast, sweet cup
    • Roast date: 8/13/2024
    • Purchase date: ~9/3/2024, 9/10/2024 at Green Valley Marketplace in Elkridge, MD
  • V60:

I have a new grinder this month. I’ve been happy with my 1Zpresso JX hand grinder, but got tired of hand-grinding beans twice a day. I also wanted something that could grind enough beans for more than one cup. For now, I’ve taken the JX to the office, so I can grind beans there instead of pre-grinding at home. I’ll also continue to use the JX as my travel grinder. My new home grinder is a Fellow Ode Gen 2. I initially had my sights set on a Baratza Virtuoso, but I had a 25% off coupon from Fellow which brought the Ode 2’s price down enough for me to pull the trigger. (Sometimes it pays to take surveys. 😀)

The Pura Vida have been my favorite of the beans I’ve bought (at least locally) this summer. They have also been the freshest Rise Up beans available at the local grocery store for the past few weeks, so I’ve bought 2 12oz bags from the same batch this month. I’ve brewed a few cups with the JX at setting 18 (same as July) and a bunch in the Ode at setting 5, most of them with the size 1 ceramic V60, and this morning’s with the plastic size 2 V60. The JX cups have been fine, but the Ode cups have been better. The grinder has been the only variable, so I’m curious if the difference has to do with grind size, grind consistency, presence or lack of “fines” in the coffee bed, or all/none of the above. As I’ve noted before (more than once), with identical grinds, the size 1 V60 consistently drains faster than the size 2, and today was no exception. With the Ode at setting 5, my brews in the size 1 are always finished by 02:30, but today’s brew in the size 2 finished at 02:35-02:40. Not a huge difference, but it seemed like this morning’s cup was a tiny bit better extracted than some of my previous cups. Just something to keep in mind when I’m trying to dial things in, as one size might work better than the other, depending on the beans and various other brewing parameters.