Training Log: Six Months Out from China

My weekly mileage in Portugal and Jacksonville, July 26 to October 3, 2026.

Issue #21

On August 10, six months before I begin running across China, I sat down with my coach, an ultrarunning legend, Lisa Smith-Batchen, to record the first episode of Lisa’s Coaching Corner, which we’ve been producing ever since. She has coached me for twelve years and was an integral part of my runs across America and Europe.

If anyone can talk me out of my own worst instincts, it’s Lisa.

Now, I’m doubling down on her expertise and experience as I train for my run across China, which, if all goes well, will kick off on February 20, 2027.

The Math Behind the Madness

My route across China will cover approximately 3,277 miles. At about 31 miles a day, seven days a week, that’s 217 miles a week, for roughly 15 weeks.

I came into the plan with a base of running a total of 40 to 50 miles per week, plus two rounds of Pilates and a weekly strength workout. Lisa’s plan is to incrementally push the miles up, back off, and push again, so that I get in an 80 to 100 mile week before I leave.

The goal is to arrive fit, not peaked, and build endurance on the road because, as she cautioned, “If you go in there in the best shape of your life, you’re going to be overtrained and you’ll be exhausted before you start.”

The Knee Speaks

On our very first Coaching Corner call, I mentioned a pain in my left knee from a strength workout the week before. By our next conversation a week later, we were rebuilding, slowly.

She called it a bump in the road, not a setback, and recommended walking and cross training. It was a necessary adjustment, “especially with us aging athletes,” she added.

I truly believe a coach is most valuable when I’m hurt. That’s when I need someone who’s objective and ready to tell me when to step back and rest.

Back to the Tropics

On September 10, I ran my last miles in Portugal. Two days later, I was back in Florida, running on a Jacksonville bridge — the only hill I have here, although there’s no shortage of heat and humidity. I ran 14 miles in the tropical soup and lost a few pounds even though I was drinking tons of water.

Lisa treats heat like altitude: slow down, add fluids, electrolytes and salt, and give the body time to adjust.

I’ve logged 191 miles in Jacksonville in the three weeks since then. My weekly mileage climbed from 54 in Portugal before I left to 70.

A Son, a Race and No Baton

My son Gabe wants to run the Brazil 135 ultra with me on January 7. I’ve completed it twelve times and thought I was done. But if Gabe wants to go, then number 13 — hopefully lucky — appears to be on the horizon.

Here’s my dilemma that I shared with Lisa: The race falls about six weeks before China.

“Realistically no, it’s not a great idea,” she answered, unless I treated it as training.

So, that’s what I’m doing — easy running and a lot of power hiking, which elicited a green light from Lisa.

When I told her that running with Gabe made me feel my age and like I was passing the baton, she shut me down.

“There is no baton being passed here. You’re still chasing it!”

Tired Is Not Hurt

On September 28, after a 66-mile week, I told Lisa I was starting to feel the effects of the added miles. I had some pain on the top of my right foot and my right patella. It was all manageable, but it was affecting my sleep.

“There’s a big difference between something hurts and I’m tired,” she said. Being tired is natural. Her prescription was simple: stretch, rotate shoes, more electrolytes, and a week that covers the same distance as the last, or maybe a little less.

My mind doesn’t like “less.”

“It’s called go slow to go fast,” Lisa said.

Progress Can Mean Stepping Back

With a little over four months now to China, the most important work has been stepping back when the knee spoke up, slowing down in the heat, learning the difference between tired and hurt. It may not look like progress, but as Lisa put it, “A step back is really a step forward. Sometimes the first step is a step back.”

The Mileage Log

Ten weeks of training for my run across China, July 26 to October 3, 2026.

During my last coaching session, I asked Lisa for any words of wisdom.

“Keep trusting. And, relax.”

Okay, Coach. That’s the plan.

Hope to see you on the road.

Cheers,

David.