Of Mice and Marathons

Off.

Didn't feel great. Anxious and really couldn't much, which almost never happens.

Off.

Really didn't eat much. Felt awful.

PM: 90' on the trainer.

A good deal better today. Did 30' @ roughly tempo effort to blow out the crap. Zwift was messing up, but thankfully it ate my warmup and not my workout or cool down.

30' @ 252W (HR 167)

About 40' up and 20' down. 

I was going to run, but was nervous about my foot, which has felt completely normal.

AM: 90' on the trainer. 203W. HR 150.

Felt decent today, but slept horribly. Couldn't fall asleep and then had crazy dreams and the cat was at the door and I didn't get much sleep down on the couch before the boys were up, but I got my coffee and got to work before they were fully ready to be up. Had a very productive day. 

50 and raining, so running would be fine, just overly cautious about my foot, which has still felt fine. Some anxiety during the day, but this feels like normal worry over normal things and that is managable and normal. Oakland starts tomorrow, but my classes are online. Lawrence Tech starts on Monday and I have a full section there this semester, so it is going to be extremely challanging, but I have better materials and a better sense of the course. It is similar to courses I have taught in the past.

Lunch/PM: 60' on the trainer. 196W. HR 146.

Oakland's classes started today.

PM: 6.4 miles, averaged 10:11. HR 150.

It got pretty dark and I didn't have a headlamp. Not sure if my old one works or where it is, so I ordered a new one. Might have to run in the early mornings or later in the evenings this semester. Still not quite sure. Working out the schedule, which takes about 2-3 weeks at least. 

Feeling a bit anxious. I think it is about my in-person class. Not sure why it is so intense as I didn't feel that way about teaching in person last semester.

Not sure if I ran in my Altras this day or not. I think the first day was Sunday.

AM: 90' on the trainer. 237W. HR 160.

4 x 10' @ 95% w/ 4' Recoveries 

Did an impromptu workout to try to burn off some anxiety. It felt good and not too hard but hard enough. I was thankful for that.

Interval 1: 289W @ 171 BPM

Interval 2: 288W @ 172 BPM

Interval 3: 287W @ 173 BPM

Interval 4: 286W @ 174 BPM

I got most of my work ready for the week so that I am not too anxious when we visit Megan's parents to do the boys Christmas gifts from them.

AM: 3.4 miles, averaged 10:24. HR 141.

Betwee recovery and easy. Wanted to get something short in before travel. I tested a new pair of Altras. I like them so far.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 193W. HR 137.

First day of the semester at Lawrence Tech. Did not have a great start, but it likely wasn't as bad as I thought it as. 

PM: 90' on the trainer. 209W. HR 151.

Got a decent amount of work done throughout the day. The boys went to their friend's. Felt much better today. Feeling like I am getting more settled, which balances me. Weight has dropped a bit, but I would rather that not come from being anxious and not having much of an appetite until later in the day.

AM: 6.5 miles, averaged 9:58. HR 147.

Ran before class. Not sure I have run at 7:00 since early 2019 maybe? Put me in a good frame of mind for the rest of the day. I think Mondays and Wednesdays I am going to need to get a run or a trainer ride in before class, then if time allows in the afternoon something else or just keep working. Feeling much better today than the last 10-12 days for sure. 

Lunch: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:41. HR 152.

Ran before individual meetings after putting the boys down for their naps. Felt pretty good. Settling into the semester quite well.

AM: 6.5 miles, averaged 9:58. HR 148.

Definitely felt more like January though not bad at all. Temps have been above normal and almost no snow. Great Janaury for running I suppose.

PM: 85' on the trainer. 234W. HR 158.

70' tempo effort w/ 10' up + 5' down

Felt quite strong. Tried not to press too hard. Did this in resistance mode to mix things up. Megan ran. Boys were at their friends for a bit.

Lunch/PM: 120' on the trainer. 215W. HR 145.

Somewhat hilly route to keep things interesting. Found out last night/afternoon that I got a summer class at Oakland, which was a total suprise, but it could not be better news. It means a decent chunk of money and means I can legitmately just take vacation from May to early July. 

We went to an Oakland basketball game with the boys. It was fun. They stood and danced and watched and the Pistons half time peformers did a bunch of trampoline dunks during the halftime of the game. Good stuff.

AM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:44. HR 145.

Solid week of training getting back into routine. A bit over 10 hours. Just under 6 hours of riding and a bit over 4 hours of running. Next week will add a set of strides and move one run back up to 80'.

AM: 120' on the trainer. 206W. HR 136. 

100' of it was a progression w/ 20' @ tempo (10' progressions) and 10' @ sweet spot

PM: 6.8 miles, averaged 9:35. HR 148.

A little indulgent for MLK Day, but Megan went to campus because one of her students won a Keeper of the Dream Award, so I stayed with the boys.

PM: 90' on the trainer. 216W. HR 154.

5 x 10' (4') Recovery 

288W (164BPM), 286W (170BPM), 285W (173BPM), 283W (175BPM) 286W (178BPM)

Did these in resistance mode. Pretty challenging on the last interval. Settling into the semester and feeling quite good. 

AM: 5.8 miles, averaged 11:14. HR 131.

Recovery run before class. Felt good. Legs felt okay, but I figured it best to run at recovery effort so that I could absorb the bike workout and practice recovery run effort for when running workouts pick back up.

PM: 120' on the trainer. 196W. HR 137.

Put in a good amount of work throughout the day and watching the boys in the morning still allowed me to work a good deal, so I ended up riding longer than originally planned. Trying to stay ahead of the work as we have two trips planned this semester. 

AM: 7.7 miles, averaged 10:22. HR 10:22.

This is my long run. 80'. Kept it quite easy. Effort was definitely all-day pace, which is fine, especially given the training volume this week. Likely will be back up to 90' for the long run next week. Looking forward to working back up to around 2 hours. Got this in before meetings, which was good. Boys didn't go to their friends, so no seconday workout on the trainer, but I had a good afternoon with them.

AM/Lunch: 180' on the trainer. 230W. HR 153. 

4 x 30' @ Progressive Tempo w/ 5' Recoveries 

Decided I wanted something longer, but I didn't want to just spin moderately for three hours, so this is what I did. It was quite hard and although I have done a decent number of 2-hour rides recently, I have gone much over 2 hours or so since probably November I would imagine when I was still outside. Last interval had me working a bit, but I was unfueled and this was a big workout for January, but I am trying like crazy to get my weight back down.

243W (151 BPM), 249W (157 BPM), 258W (165 BPM), 267W (174 BPM)

PM: 4.1 miles on the treadmill. HR 135. 

Tried the treadmill and it wasn't working right after 44 minutes. I kind of knew it wasn't. Put in another service call, which won't be answered. Almost ordered an entry level Precor but then thought that was pretty reckless. I know the issue, but don't think I can get anyone to resolve it.

AM: 6.2 miles, averaged 10:29. HR 133. Did some strides.

5 x 20" strides

Roads were a little slippery from a light glazing of snow, bit not too bad. Found a place to do some strides. I am unsure if I have done a full set of formal strides since we moved. Probably I have, but now they are scheduled weekly.

PM: ~100' on the trainer.

Zwift Race 

Had a few workout ideas planned and thought of doing a steady group ride, but then decided to do a race as it has been some time. I did a race on my birthday last year as well (today was . I ended up missing the start of my picked race, but then jumped into another one that was shorter. I got crushed, but put in a good effort to start and when the gap opened it just increased. I tried to coast a little bit more to save some of my legs, but I am unsure how successful I was at this.

24' @ 295W (175 BPM)

15' up, 24' race, 60' easy down

AM: 6 miles, averaged 10:50. HR 129.

A fair amount of snow, scheduled for 6-8 inches, which is a big deal in these parts. I ended up making the executive decision to cancel my in-person class. 

Night: 60' on the trainer. 109W. HR 96.

Moved the trainer setup around a bit to give the basement a little more room and to work on the setup for a new TV. I never really got the old one setup quite right as I had it mounted way too high with my old trainer. Should have dialed in the setup before as I have spent probably 300+ hours (at least) on the new smart trainer since December 2021.

PM: 8.8 miles, averaged 10:13. HR 137.

90' long run. Safety paths were a mess around the school and near our subdivision. They were clear on the opposite side of the road. Go figure. Neighborhoods were slushy and hard packed in places. 

Tried to get a secondary session after dinner, but I ended up messing up a circuit in the basement trying to mount a new TV. Lost my mind for a bit. I'm out of practice with hands on stuff. The next morning I figured out I just trip reset switch on the outlet in nearest the panel. I had already tried to reset the breaker, which doesn't do anything. Ended up cancelling the electrician appointment. That would have been an easy, but expensive fix. I'll figure all this housing crap at some point. 

AM: 60' on the trainer. 216W. HR 142.

Cramped for time as I wanted 90', but I was cleaning the basement to prep for the electrician when I found the reset switch in the corner. Used TrainerRoad AI to detect new FTP of 306, but I forgot to change it in Zwift. Will likely keep both programs running for 1 more month to see what I can get for an increase. 

More snow coming tomorrow. 

AM/Lunch: 180' on the trainer. 232W. HR 153.

Big Workout

2 x 15' @ Tempo (5'), 6 x 8' @ Sweet Spot (2'), 2 x 15' Tempo (5')

244W (150 BPM), 258W (158 BPM); 271W (161 BPM), 280W (166 BPM), 279W (168 BPM), 284W (170 BPM), 283W (170 BPM),  282 (171 BPM); 242 (161 BPM), 249W (165 BPM)

This one was tough. Didn't really transition into these last two 3 hour rides very well, but I had a lot of 2 hour rides. Mixed in some quality to keep things interesting. My leg muscles were pretty dead by the end. I will likely just do endurance for 180' the next two weeks to absorb some of these bigger weekend workouts.

My long run will likely feature some quality this next week, so I will need to change up my schedule. As the running picks up, I think I want to still try to get a 3 hour ride and anything I can fit in after dinner and then when spring comes get back outside. I would like a shorter interval or tempo session, but once midweek running workouts come back, it will be too much to fit into one week. 3 quality sessions between running and riding is plenty, and likely too much. We shall see and adapt accordingly. 

AM: 5.8 miles, averaged 11:20. HR 128.

Got a light dusting of snow, which made things even more slippery. Managed to stay up for the most part, until some guy decided he wanted to walk on the wrong side of the path, then I kicked an ice block and rolled. Kept going. Much easier than crashing a bike at 25-30 MPH and breaking an elbow.

AM: 6 miles, averaged 10:46. HR 132.

Roads were covered. The slight hill on the neighborhood loop was like running in sand. I think this was the day I broke out my Katoola nanospikes. Screw shoes weren't cutting it.

Lunch: 7 miles, averaged 9:23. HR 145.

65' w/ 20' steady. 8' pace @ 163 BPM. It was quite slippery. Out and back on the safety paths. Worked out. 

PM: 90' on the trainer. 15' @ 204W. HR 127. 75' @ 231W. HR 157.

Second workout of the day. 6 x 5' @ ~105% w/ 3' recoveries. Boys when to their friends so I got some work in and then jumped on the trainer. Averaged 315.8 W/170.6 BPM, goal was around 320-325, but that was pushing it.