August 11, 2025 - Road to BM HM
If you’re wondering what this is about - One year ago I crawled through a 5K in 50 minutes—now I’m attempting the slightly unhinged goal of running a sub-2-hour half marathon, documented through daily brain dumps complete with training chaos, 5 AM existential crises, random tangents, and way too much heart rate data.
Disclaimer: Posts are lightly edited with LLMs for grammar and spelling, but the sleep-deprived thoughts and stubborn optimism are 100% human.
Sleep: 6h19m – Fair
RHR: 52 bpm
HRV: 111 ms
Workout: Countdown Intervals
- Warmup: 5 min
- Easy pace: 15 min
- Intervals: Run 5'05"-5'20"/km (VDOT recommendation 5'09"/km) for 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 min, each followed by 1.5 min easy (6'24"-7'30"/km)
- Easy pace: 15 min
- Cooldown: 5 min
Pre-run brain dump
For the last two days, I’ve been experimenting with taking Magnesium Glycinate and ZMA from Naturaltein before sleep instead of my usual routine. I used to take MuscleBlaze ZMA in the morning after waking up, but something about this new combination feels different. I’m taking 2 Mag. Glycinate and 1 ZMA before bed.
The difference is likely in the formulation—Naturaltein uses zinc-monometheonine versus the Zinc Oxide in MuscleBlaze. Zinc Oxide has terrible bioavailability. And magnesium - The glycinate form is far superior for absorption compared to the other forms you usually find in standard ZMA supplements.
I think I’m getting deeper sleep. This morning I woke up feeling fresh—my RHR was lower than usual, and HRV was elevated. This could be placebo, or other factors entirely, but the data is interesting enough to keep experimenting. I checked the dosage and it’s well below RDA levels, so feels safe to continue.
The theory makes sense—magnesium supposedly helps with deeper sleep and recovery, zinc plays a supporting role too.
Today’s workout is countdown intervals. I’ve also recalculated my paces based on the updated VDOT calculations. My VDOT score is now 34, which puts my interval pace at 5'09"/km. This might be aggressive, but let’s see what happens.
Also starting a new cycle at the box today—mainly back squat work with some mobility and accessories thrown in.
Post-run thoughts
| Segment | Target Pace | Duration | Actual Pace | Avg HR | Max HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warmup | - | 5 mins | - | 132 | - |
| Easy pace | - | 15 mins | - | 151 | - |
| Interval 1 (run) | 5'09"/km | 6 mins | 05'11"/km | 174 | 183 |
| Interval 1 (walk) | 6'24"-7'30"/km | 1.5 mins | 12'51"/km | 157 | - |
| Interval 2 (run) | 5'09"/km | 5 mins | 04'56"/km | 173 | 186 |
| Interval 2 (walk) | 6'24"-7'30"/km | 1.5 mins | 11'58"/km | 159 | - |
| Interval 3 (run) | 5'09"/km | 4 mins | 05'19"/km | 169 | 180 |
| Interval 3 (walk) | 6'24"-7'30"/km | 1.5 mins | 14'28"/km | 158 | - |
| Interval 4 (run) | 5'09"/km | 3 mins | 05'11"/km | 171 | 183 |
| Interval 4 (walk) | 6'24"-7'30"/km | 1.5 mins | 12'20"/km | 159 | - |
| Interval 5 (run) | 5'09"/km | 2 mins | 04'47"/km | 171 | 187 |
| Interval 5 (walk) | 6'24"-7'30"/km | 1.5 mins | 12'01"/km | 166 | - |
| Interval 6 (run) | 5'09"/km | 1 min | 04'17"/km | 167 | 177 |
| Interval 6 (walk) | 6'24"-7'30"/km | 1.5 mins | 13'50"/km | 165 | - |
| Easy pace | - | 15 mins | 10 mins* | 159 | - |
| Cooldown | - | 5 mins | Skipped | - | - |
* Duration recorded was 10 mins instead of 15 mins.
At the box today, we did pause back squats and regular back squats, along with some Copenhagen planks and Cossack squats. We ran out of time for the scheduled core work.
After the group class, I headed out for the interval workout. My fastest lap was 4:55 min/km for 1K, though I think I missed the 5'09" target on a few intervals by about 10 seconds.
I’m happy with the effort. Covered 8.78K total. The workout felt better than previous attempts—spent more time at higher intensities, which means more time in that VO₂max zone. Though I did take an extra minute or so of recovery during the 6-minute and 5-minute intervals.