Of Mice and Marathons

Lunch: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:57. HR 128.

HR is coming down quite nicely on my recovery runs.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 214W. HR 129.

All my 60' trainer rides lately seem to average 129BPM.

AM: 73' on the trainer. 198W. HR 137.

FTP TEST

I thought I could beat my numbers from the AI number from trainer road, but I was very humbled on this one. I thought I could put out 330-350 watts for 20' but I was promptly humbled when I went out through 5' and tried to keep pressing from 326 watts up, but then I just dropped over the last 15' to 306. I really wanted to quit, but I stuck it out and figured I would just finish it and get in a good workout. This dropped my FTP considerably. The 20' assessment is quite difficult to pace and I haven't done one in 4 years I think, mostly because they are so taxing and difficult to do well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised given that I haven't done much theshold stuff. 20' @ 306 @ 169 BPM. Still, I did 299 watts for 22' in a Zwift race, so this is pretty disappointing.

Much like my running, my endurance and general strength is decent but my speed and theshold stuff is pretty weak. After 4+ weeks at 15-16 hours of training per week, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Need to work in a recovery week. 

PM: 8 miles, averaged 8:13. HR 148.

First steadier easy run in a few weeks. Effort, pace, and HR all coming together.

PM: 10.7 miles, averaged 8:23. HR 146.

30' @ HME

6:46, 6:43, 6:50, 6:45, (6:46). Warmed up 30' with some accelerations. I was hoping to start in the low 6:40s and work into the 6:30s, but I didn't quite get there. HR was solidly in control, but it doesn't seem to be getting that high lately. I averaged around 168 or 169 BPM. 6:46 average.

A long way to go, but probably not far off from the treadmill workouts, so I guess that isn't disappointing. This was considerably faster than my 90' workout with 30' steady, which averaged around 7:30 and the last mile was around 7:15 and it almost killed me. I was decently hungover then and since January 6 I have only had drinks on my birthday. Definitely helping, but I wish it was helping more :-)

Switched morning/afternoon with Megan to do a ride with the guys tomorrow. It was nice to work a bit and watch the boys and watch the Olympic Trials. 

AM/Lunch: 3 hours 46'. HR 129.

I planned to drive to Stony Creek for some lake laps with a group and went back and worth about going in the morning as it was much colder than I thought. Planned to go out on my fat bike to ride my own pace and check out the dirt road conditions. Decided to go, then realized I wouldn't make the meet up and my bike rack was frozen, so I got the fat bike ready and road that. Ended up being a really fun run to Holly and back through Ortonville, etc. Most of the roads were in great shape. Very few potholes and the roads were firm (mostly) a few areas where there was runoff and some ice spots but I just slowed down as I wasn't in a hurry anyway. Ended up being dressed perfectly. 

HR stayed very low. Just under 15MPH on the big bike. No power reading as my power meter seems not to connect and really hasn't since before Iceman. Perhaps I did something during my crash the week dad died. 

AM: 7 miles, averaged 9:40. HR 124.

HR was suspiciously low, but my breathing rate was almost unnoticable.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 220W. HR 124. 

Lunch: 96' on the trainer, including a Zwift race.

50' @ 295 watts HR 161

Decided to do a race as it has been about two weeks. Was thinking the crit race series, which would have been around 32-34 minutes I think. This race was what I figured to be around 45' though I didn't realize there was that much elevation gain. I raced B and got dropped pretty hard in the first 10 minutes, but I worked my way up from about last place to 6 (out of 10). The hills just left me behind as everyone in front of me was definitely much lighter. I just kind of kept the effort up and put in a solid effort, trying to catch the 5th place person. I had to plug in my computer, so I jumped off the trainer and back on and that was probably pretty much the gap I needed to close. This was a personal best for 30 and 45 minutes. 

PM: 5 miles, averaged 10:16. HR 127.

Called to check the status of the treadmill. Still waiting on a truck and no idea if ours will be on it. I recieved a $100 credit without asking, which wasn't too bad. No upset, just trying to avoid having it arrive when we are in Florida and having the delivery pushed back even further. 

AM: 10.3 miles, averaged 8:11. HR 146.

2'-4'-6'-8'-10' w/ 2' recovery jogs

This workout went very well. First midweek workout outside this year, so I wasn't quite sure how it would go and I am not sure if this ordering is harder or easier than cutting down from 10' to 2'. Decent effort on the bike yesterday, so I wasn't sure how legs would respond but felt really quite strong. Warmed up about 26' w/ a few strides. Need to start doing a proper warmup and this was a bit better than as of late. I expected to start around 6:15-6:20 and then get slower throughout the reps. I slowed a bit, but mostly held steady, which was very encouraging. 

2' @ 6:18 (159BPM); 4' @ 6:30 (161 BPM); 6' @ 6:24 (164BPM); 8' @ 6:29 (165BPM); 10' @ 6:27 (166BPM)

I felt like maybe I was holding back slightly but I didn't want to fade through the longer reps. I also didn't want to go too hard and just tried to keep the paces the same. I will have time for really getting after it in the future. This felt comfortably hard. HR never really peaked much more than 173, so these were quite aerobic. My overall average HR for the workout was pretty low. Usually a workout such as this I averaged at least 152-157, so I know my HR is low and also recovering more quickly than it sometimes does.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 210W. HR 126.

AM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:42. HR 126.

Solid recovery. Pace really dropping. Got out earlier, which helped the rest of the day.

PM: 6.9 miles, averaged 9:24. HR 129.

Quite lovely out at around 55 or so degrees. 

AM: 7.6 miles, averaged 8:32. HR 140.

Felt great. Lower-8' pace for the second half and my HR was around 147, so things are really coming along. It was starting to get warm, as the forecast called for close to 60 by the end of the day.

+ ancillary dumbbell sessions w/ some squats and shoulder stuff. Left my glutes and hamstring sore for a few days!

PM: 60' on the trainer. 221W. HR 132. 

Should have gone outside to run again, but the wind was blowing and I'm getting older and lazier about my weather.

PM: 3 hours 23'. 203W. HR 133. 17.1 MPH.

Decided to do a bit more pavement than I typically do in case the dirt roads were muddy. The ones I went on were in phenomenal shape for February, but it was nice to clip along on some country tarmac and get in some new miles/roads/data. 23 new miles. Kept it steady, but sensible, just tried to keep steady pedal pressure and keep it easy without smashing it here and there.

AM: 11.8 miles, averaged 8:04. HR 146.

1:35 w/ 35' @ Half Marathon Effort

I figured based on how I felt during the midweek this week that this would be faster than the 30' @ HME I did last weekend. It was. 

Warmed up 30' w/ 1/2 mile @ marathin effort and two strides. I got the half mile at marathon effort during a warmup from Jake Krong a number of years ago. It works well prime the body and you don't shock yourself going from very easy warmup pace to your strides. Worked great. Been a long time since I have used it but it's great. 

Felt quite relaxed for most of it and my form feels solid. I tried to cut down a little bit without being overly agressive as the effort should be somewhat consistent. Started out around 6:45ish maybe for roughly the first mile and by halfway I think I was 6:42 and worked it down from there, with most of the progression the last 5-8' working down from 6:39 to 6:36. Wanted to get down to 6:35, but I needed maybe another minute. 

My HR through the first 10-15' or so was only around 160-161, which is sustainable for a long time for me, so maybe not quite HME to start, but I eventually found it. 

6:36 average for 35' (5.3 miles) @ 165 BPM

HR took very little time to recover. Please with how things are going. Feel like I am finally to a starting point of being able to be able to move in the right direction. I will work on increasing my milage to 50-60 and then over the next few weeks once we get the treadmill (whenever that is) to 70 or so and cut back on the cycling hours a touch. I still want to do at least 6 hours of that, so maybe just fewer rides.

AM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:42. HR 127.

PM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:47. HR 128.

Cold and crisp on the Polly Ann this morning. Felt good. A little hillier run this afternoon. Nice to be running 9:15-10:15 pace for recovery and keeping it under 130 BPM. 

We leave for Florida in a week. Looking forward to seeing my family. It was a very memorable trip last year. It will be a little weird without Dad, but I hope to get some easy running in for a much needed recovery run. 

PM: 60' on the trainer. 226W. HR 130. 

Skipped my Zwift race at lunch to nap while the boys napped. I was pretty tired and a workout would have woken me up probably, but I decided to rest and do the trainer later rather than running in the cold and dark.

Got a call that the treadmill will be delivered Friday, which is great. That should give me a few days to test it and make sure it works before going to Florida. This probably means my overall mileage won't go up until we get back, but that's okay. 

AM: 9.6 miles, averaged 7:55. HR 152.

10 x 3' w/ 35" Recoveries

20' warmup with ~1/2 mile @ marathon effort and two strides. These microrecovery workouts are always tough. You slow down for 7-10 seconds, get 10-15 seconds of actual recovery and then need to start gearing back up in the last 10ish seconds. I figured around 6:20 to start and then work down. Averaged 6:14.

6:20, 6:18, 6:14, 6:11, 6:13, 6:15, 6:13, 6:12, 6:14, 6:10

I was hoping to get to around 6:00 flat for the last two, but I just kept the effort. This ws a pretty solid workout. It wasn't brutal, but it was challenging particularly at the end and I knew better than to go out too fast as the recoveries only offer the slightest moments of recovery. 

PM: 60' on the trainer. 196W. HR 123.

AM: 6.9 miles, averaged 9:29. HR 124.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 219W. HR 127.

Quite chilly and very windy this morning. Did not feel like going back out in it again.

AM: 95' on the trainer. 220W. HR 133. 

60' on 5' Sweet Spot/5' Float @ Tempo

I was going to run, but worried that the treadmill might come early and I didn't want to miss it. I ended up doing an impromptu workout and I quite liked it. I didn't do any measure intervals, just used on of the courses that is around 15' for the pace I was going. Ended up around 269 watts and 150 BPM, which was really solid.

Treadmill delivered and assembled and of course it is tripping the GFCI, so that is about my luck. I called an electrician to get it sorted. Different issue than the other treadmill, but at least these is a common, identifiable one. 

PM: 125' on the trainer. 250W. HR 141. 

Did one of the portal climbs on Zwift three times. Apparently it is a gammified looking version of a real-world climb called col du Platzerwasel, featured on the Tour De France some years. Quite a lot of climbing but my bike maxes out at 20% and some of the grades might have been above that. Still, it was enough to get me out of the saddle and up my average power quite a bit.

Went to the Oakland men's basketball game. They salughtered the other team by about 50 points, including one guy who had about 8 or 9 threes. Lots of dunks. 

AM: 12.4 miles, averaged 8:08. HR 146.

40' @ Half Marathon Effort

Slept like a rock last night. Didn't hear Megan get up with the boys and slept soundly until almost 9. Went back and forth about the workout as my cold has got a little worse, but nothing terrible. Looked at the next week's training and decided I needed to finish out this round of workouts. It was quite cold and a decent wind on one stretch of the tempo loop. A bit of ice here and there, which I worked around while trying to avoid cars that still don't slow down even when you are trying to find decent footing in a neighborhood. 

I was hoping to get out fast and try to get 10k in for the 40', but I knew that that was quite a bit faster than last week and I might fade slightly. So I just figured I would run by the effort prescribed. The first lap was around pace and then I slowed as the GPS got established. Kept the average pace between 6:35-6:36 until the last 5' and picked it up. Didn't really have much of a gear left, but it was quite steady. 6:34 average, just under 6.1 miles for 40' HR 168. I thought about going to 10k, which was probably only another minute but it was mostly just for getting in the full distance. This would have been around 40:50, so I am definitely ready to get back under 40 in a few weeks assuming I don't lose any training the next 3 weeks. I will have a better sense before the race my target pace, but I think sub-39' will be my goal and then 12 weeks after that, try to run the same pace for the half and get back into the low-1:20s at the start of summer and then work on getting back into the high 1:teens by the end of the year.

Leaving for Florida to see my mom and siblings tomorrow. Should be solidly in the 70s, which will feel good.

AM: 60' on the trainer. 203W. HR 117. 

Got on the trainer early before flying to Florida. Mom and Katie picked us up at the airport. We hung out at the place Mom was staying and then went to the place we were staying. Hung out with Josh and Megan and had drinks. My sister was staying with my Mom. 

Off. 

Of course I planned to run twice a day while in Florida but it didn't happen. It was a bit harder to have people watch the boys as we weren't all at the same house and it was a lot of coming and going. 

We went to Fort Meyers Beach and I got pretty cooked by the sun. 

AM: 4.1 miles with Megan, averaged 9:54. HR 132.

It was nice to run with Megan. We ran in Maine together over Christmas and we haven't run that much together since the boys were quite a bit younger. 

We went a street concert, which was pretty fun. The boys got to dance a bit.

Off. 

I think this was the day we went to Robert's to swim in the pool and go in the hot tub. The pool at mom's wasn't heated and quite cool.

Off.

Went to Bonita Beach and to Doc's Beachhouse, which has been restored from the damage from Hurricane Ian. Megan and I haven't been since our honeymoon almost 10 years ago. 

Off.

We went to a beach that my Dad liked to collect shells at. We spread some of his ashes and took the boys to a playground for a little while. 

Travelled back to Michigan. Tired and anxious and lacking energy. My usual post travel issues of not enough to eat and too much to drink. 

AM/Lunch: 90' on the trainer. 227W. HR 138.

60' Wave Tempo Alternating 5' sweet spot/5' Tempo

This was solid given my energy levels and worked through some of my anxiety. 

Megan got up with the boys. I was wide awake at 3:45 and didn't sleep well for much of the early morning. Feel alseep decently from 7 or so until 9 and layed in bed worried I'd be anxious as soon as I stood up. I was but kind of worked through it. 

I wish I would have got at least my minimum 65' each day in Florida so I could absorb all of the work I have put in this year, but when vacationing I always have the best of intentions and it is harder with kids and other people's schedules. I have two solids weeks before my first race of 2024, which will be my first 10k since fall 2018. I imagine it will shock the system and I will be lacking a gear, but I do have a chance to get in two faster workouts around 10k effort to sharpen up a little. 

Break this week and the boys will be in school, so I am looking forward to that. An electrician is coming tomorrow to hopefully sort out the new treadmill GFCI issue.

AM: 90' on the trainer. 217W. HR 128.

PM: 7.2 miles on the treadmill, averaged 9:02. No HR data.

Road the trainer waiting for the electrician. Glad I got some decent time in as it is break.

The electrician came and figured we needed a dedicated circuit, which I kind of assumed. They said they could do a regular non-GFCI, so I said we would go with that, cut in a new outlet, and might as well make it a 20AMP. Had a few other outlets fixed throughout the house, which I know I should be figuring out. I knew it was going to cost, but holy moly. I do have a working treadmill in the basement now. I was really happy they could get it done today. Tried to use Zwift, but it was disconnecting from the iPad, but I think it is just old and mostly done.

Need to tweak the overall setup and level the adjustable feet a bit, but it is a really solid machine. Should be logging some decent time on it when necessary. It is quite firm as far as treadmills go, so I don't think I need to worry about running in firmer shoes, just whatever feels right or is working through the rotation.

AM: off.

Got up with the boys and took care of them as I usually do on Tuesdays. I was going to run or ride during their nap as I now have this option, but I took a nap with Megan instead. A good decision. 

It was 70 degrees today. We voted and took turns with the boys in the athletic fields. 

PM: 7.6 miles on the treadmill, averaged 8:33. HR 147. Did some strides.

Used my trainer desk and laptop and Zwift worked perfectly and the window works well as a mirror when it is dark, so my tweaks to the setup are coming along nicely. Quite pleased. 

AM/Lunch: 90' on the trainer. 243W. HR 153.

85' @ 250 Watts 

PM: 7.1 miles, averaged 9:11. HR 147.

HR seem a little elevated, but I think it was dehydration. Woke up sweating in the middle of the night and sweat a lot on the trainer at lunch and didn't properly rehydrate.

AM: 11.7 miles, averaged 8:01. HR 156.

6 x 6' @ 10k Effort w/ 3' Recoveries

I was nervous about this one after not doing any workouts last week and not doing much running. I was quite tired and slightly dehydrated and had a few drinks last night (it's break, so I decided it was okay), so I wasn't sure where things would land. Mostly just lacking confidence, but it was quite cold and the workout went very well. I figured starting around the low 6:20s and cutting down would work, but ended slightly faster. 

6:17 @ 171 BPM, 6:14 @ 174 BPM, 6:12 @ 176 BPM, 6:12 @ 175 BPM, 6:10 @ 177 BPM, 6:09 @ 179 BPM

Averaged 6:12. I think this is probably close to current 10k pace. My HR was definitely elevated but not bad. I am sure that my current 10k pace is faster than 40' as I think I was around 41' or so for 40' @ half marathon effort 2 weeks ago. 

I was happy with how this went. I could have done the extra 100 meters or so for the full mile. 3' recovery jogs were plenty. I was definitely working. Not dying, but it was an honest effort.

Night: 60' on the trainer. 208W. HR 129.