Of Mice and Marathons

PM: 90' on the trainer (Phoenix -3). 190W. HR 143.

Felt pretty good. HR-to-power ratio was decent. We had a pretty good day at home with the boys. We got some snow.

PM: 2 hours on the fatbike @ Orion Oaks. HR 158.

Conditions were slower than I hoped, so it was kind of a slog in places. But the conditions should improve over the next few days with some packing down I think. I am not sure if I will back out during the week as most of my outdoor rides will likely be back on the weekends, with many weeks likely inside. The fatbike segment race series starts this week, so I am looking forward to that. Tried to find some studded tires, but they seem to be all out everywhere I look (at least for the particular tire combination I need.

Up and down day mentally. I think mostly just impending semester stress. Headed to be early tonight to get myself well rested. 

The winter fatbike series started today, though the segement was released only in the evening. By the time get back out I imagine the roads will be all ice.

AM: 60' on the trainer (Zwift). 77W. HR 98.

Recovery ride, which seems easier to do on Zwift, but could probably just take TrainerRoad workouts and take it out of ERG mode.

Did some light prep for coursework on Wednesday. Decent day overall, slightly irritable, but not overly anxious as I recall. 

AM/Lunch: 3 miles on the treadmill. HR 132.

Felt good to just really plod. 

+ Ancillary work.

Did pullups and pushups between doing some hip and core work. It was a productive 20' session.

AM: 60' on the trainer (Pettit). 170W. HR 141.

PM: 60' on the trainer (Zwift). 142W. HR 134. 

AM/Lunch: 90' on the trainer (Townsend). 170W. HR 137.

PM: 60' on the trainer (Zwift). 155W. HR 135.

Rode through a London tube station. It's a neat game/exercise interface. Watched CNN for a bit before turning to some cooking shows. We got a dusting of snow. Still going back and forth about doing the segment. I might do it tomorrow in the morning or maybe the afternoon when the boys are at their friends. 

AM: 90' on the trainer (Phoenix -3). 190W. HR 144.

The boys went over to our friends' for a little while in the afternoon. 

PM: 90' on the fat bike. HR 172.

Today was the right choice to do the first segment in the winter fat bike race series. Unfortunately, everyone was out and everyone was passing me. Good to see a few people I knew. 

The roads were in very solid shape, so I rode there. It was an insanely hilly segment. My buddy Mike passed me and told me my tire was low, which I knew. It seemed to get worse, so I stopped and hit it with some CO2, which apprently is something you are supposed to do in the winter (I missed that physics lesson I guess). I used my small hand pump but nothing seemd to work. I had a tube but was done for the day. Called Megan and she loaded up the boys. This is why I don't ride outside that much. Oh well. I was starting to get very cold and was starting to get pretty out of it by the time she got there. 

I managed to finish the segment, which I thought I missed, but paid huge time penalties for stoppage. 

AM/Lunch: 90' on the trainer (Andrews -1). 164W. HR 135.

PM: 4.4 miles in 40' (9:11). HR 158.

Treadmill seemed to work fine. Forced myself to run as I was not feeling the day, but felt good during and after.

5' each @ 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 6.0 (all @ 2% incline)

AM: 4.4 miles in 40' on the treadmill (9:09) HR 151.

Megan has a synchronous class on Tuesdays, so I did a run in the morning instead of a ride to save time. Same session as yesterday at a good deal easier effort.

5' each @ 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 6.0 (all @ 2% incline).

As long as the treadmill seems to be working I am going to keep runnign days on Monday and Thursday for now, and likely a short on on Tuesdays as time allows. I'll add 5' each week and extend it out until I hit 80' twice a week and keep it there. Right now the treadmill at a moderate pace is helping me focus on running. It's brutually cold outside anyway.

PM: 60' on the trainer (Pioneer). 208W. HR 148.

This was a very efficient hour. HR stayed quite low. I will start midweek intervals in about three weeks, so I did a steady/moderate hour just to see what things would look like.

The boys are good. I think they have 3-4 (or more) teeth coming in join the first round. Definitely starting to get more toddlerish.

AM: 60' on the trainer (Beech). 184W. HR 135.

Bars dropped during the ride. I tried to tighten the lever on the cam lock and snapped it off. I was not please but should have seen it coming. Ran to the hardward store to pick up a bolt set up. Not thrilled. Apparently the slippage is a known problem and Wahoo has some weird, drawn out overnight settling process for it.

PM: 4.4 miles in 40' on the treadmill (8:58). HR 154. 

5' each @ 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0. 7.5, 7.0. Did some strides in the last 10' around 9-10+ MPH

iFit console has been buggy and apparently has been shutting off on Megan. We think it might be a Wi-Fi issue as we have a lot of devices connected and the Wi-Fi signal is not full strength. Just more crap to go wrong.

AM: 60' on the trainer (Bald Knob). 181W. HR 140.

My bolt setup worked, but not completely. Wahoo is sending me a new clamp, but if my re-reworked setup works, I'll just put it in the parts bin.

Slammed the bars so they couldn't possibly dropped and made all the adjustments around that and tested it this afternoon for fit. Seems like I got it pretty close. Some light tinkering left maybe, but I feel more confident that stuff isn't going to move.

PM: 60' on the trainer (Zwift). 167W. HR 138.

I think daycare are basically shutting down, so it looks like childcare should be difficult. We weren't going to put them in daycare the first part of the year anyway with the virus raging. Should probably just wait once again with my class cut. Just gets to much with everyone home all the time.

AM: 90' on the trainer (Phoenix -2). 201W. HR 148.

Felt strong. Good tempo ride.

AM/Lunch: 120' on the trainer (Beehive). 189W. HR 139.

Got through 2 hours on the trainer fine. Picked my wheels up at the bike shop. Was going to tried to get the bike ready for the morning and stud the rear tire, but just didn't get there. The guys ended up going out later anyway. Oh well.

PM: 90' on the trainer (Andrews). 190W. 141.

Good week of training. 11 total hours. 9 cycling 2 running. Needed to get an ancillary session or two in but didn't. FTP test on Tuesday. We shall see how much fitness I have gained. 

Lunch: 6.2 miles in ~55' on the treadmill (8:48). HR 154.

Almost got through an hour before the mill shut off. Screen is kind of wonky. 

5' @ 5.0, 5.5

10' @ 6.0, 6.5, 7.0

5' @ 7.5, 8.0, 8.5

PM: 60' on the trainer (Truuli). 176W. HR 144.

Tensioned the legs a bit for tomorrow's FTP test.

AM: 60' on the trainer. 193W. HR 141.

FTP Test 

2.2% increase over the last 6 weeks. Went from 275 to 281. 

Interval 1: 315 watts/172 BPM

Interval 2: 311 watts/172 BPM

I was trying to hold closer to 320+ but didn't quite get there. HR was a good deal lower than the assessment 6 weeks ago where I went 308W/306W 185BPM/187BPM. In fact, 172 BPM is not that high for me (I've done over 2 hours at 179 in a race). Perceived effort was the same (eyeball out), so my heart is getting more efficient, which is good.

AM: 60' recovery ride on Zwift. 80W. HR 92.

Found out that Mom and Delia were not coming this weekend because my sister has COVID and it's been through their house and my brother's. Pretty disappointed as they were coming for my birthday. I am very tired of this virus.

Put a few more studs in my fat bike tire. I think I started it on Tuesday night. It is time consuming.

AM: 4.7 miles in 40' on the treadmill (8:32). HR 150-155.

5' each @ 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0 (all @ 2%)

5' each @ 8.0, 8.5, 9.0 (all @ 2%)

5' @ 5.0

Working dad kind of workout. I think I will keep this workout and extend it to 20' and pick up the pace over the next few weeks.

Sold my gravel bike through Pro's Closet. I love the bike, but it's got some miles and reminds me of the pandemic, even though I did a fair amount of memorable riding. Still waiting to hear on when the Specialized 2022 Cruxs are shipping. Should be lighter and faster, which is what I want.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 203W. HR 140.

Had a student cancel a meeting so I jumped on the trainer for the second qaulity session today. Felt good and the sprints got more power each time, which is probably what they should be.

AM: 90' on the trainer (Phoenix -2). 206W. HR 146.

Good effort. Stronger than last week and slightly lower HR. Resting HR was 42, which is good to see. Fitness slowly building. Weight is chipping away, slowly but in the right direction.

PM: 90' on the trainer (Zwift). 184W. HR 142.

Did 5' pickups toward the end of every 30'. Wanted to do 2 hours, but didn't leave myself enough time.

AM/Lunch: 120' on the trainer (Zwift). 182W. HR 140.

Decent spin. Continued watching the latest Ozark season. Turing 37 tomorrow. As I write the number it sounds very young. I don't feel young. 

The boys' 15-month pediatrician appointment is tomorrow.

PM: ~90' on the trainer.

Zwift Race #1

The boys had their 15-month appointment. All went well. Mostly a topical day. 37th birthday. I decided to sign up for a Zwift race and see how it worked. It was much more exciting than I thought. Warmed up a little bit, but didn't leave myself enough time. The first group was way out in front. I suspect they were major sandbaggers as my FTP is just under the cutoff for the C group. 3 laps of Watopia's Volcano Route. I figured it would be about an hour and it was just over 59'. I waited to long to start the sprint and got crushed, but it was oddly exciting and I pushed a decent effort 251 watts/163 BPM or 90% of FTP. I think this would be more beneficial than doing intervals, but I can see the place of intervals. Still, I might replace the upcoming midweek workouts with some of these races just to keep things interesting. 

Cooled down for 20'.

We got 5-6 inches of incredibly light powered snow. Will try to get in a fat bike ride this weekend hopefully.

Lunch: 6.8 miles on the treadmill in 60. No HR data.

10' each @ 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0

Treadmill started to shut off just after 60'. Hoping to get the electrical box straightened out and hope that this sorts the issue. If not, I am not sure what to do. 

AM: 60' on the trainer (Pettit). 174W. HR 121.

Charlie has start to stand up and walk a bit. We did a lot of practicing the last few days, Saywer isn't super interested and seems cautious, but he does like to stand in his crib and laugh.

AM: 90' on the trainer (Bays +1). 201W. HR 135.

PM: ~7 miles on the treadmill in 60'. HR 154.

20' Tempo 

WU: 10' @ 6.0, 5' each @ 6.5, 7.0

Tempo: 5' each @ 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5

CD: 5' @ 5.0, 15' @ 5.5

The last 2-3 minutes were difficult. HR was solidly in the 180s and my form was breaking down. It's been a long time since I have run that fast on a treadmill. I imagine the 90' tempo ride I have planned tomorrow morning might be difficult.

AM: 90' on the trainer (Phoenix -1). 216W. HR 142.

Good session. Starting to get stronger and fitter for sure.

The boys went to play with their friend. They were excited when we came back to get them at first, then they went back to playing. 

AM/Lunch: 150' on the trainer (Kennedy Peak +1). 213W. HR 156.

An excellent ride. Leveled up from what I was planning and it might have been too much (more than I needed to do that is), but I made it through just fine. Definitely missing some fluids after this one. Recovery ride tomorrow.

AM/Lunch: 60' on the trainer (Zwift). 67W. HR 98.

Recovery ride. Spent the afternoon with the boys as Megan was in Toledo doing some final stuff for the sale of her parents' house.

AM: 3 miles on the treadmill in about 30'. No HR data.

Didn't leave myself enough time for the full hour. Had my car picked up for service, which is a nice convenience. Sounds like it might cost me some money, which sucks as the car only has 26,000 miles on it. Best to maintain it I guess and not have to worry about it further down the road.

Will jump back on the treadmill later or ride the trainer.

PM: Off.

Thought something was wrong with the trainer, but I researched it and there was bluetooth interference from an open TrainerRoad app on my phone. Wished I had figured that out before I lost it. $900 in maintenance for a car with 26,000 miles on it did not set me up to be in a patient mood.