Of Mice and Marathons

AM: 8.3 miles, averaged 9:35. HR 130.

PM: 5.2 miles, averaged 9:40. HR 130.

First double since March 7. Just a few short ones this week. No more than 4-5 miles.

Late: AIS and PT routine

PM: 10 miles, averaged 8:36. HR 158.

Did a half mile pickup at 5:48 pace because I was moody. Weather was supposed to be nice, but it felt a lot colder. First day all year in a t-shirt though, but could have run in a long sleeve, non-thermal base layer.

Off. Unplanned day off.

Had student conferences most of the day. Got home and crashed and didn't feel like going out in the high winds and it was dinner time anyway.
 

Off.

Had student conferences and had a trying experience with an international student whose friend has been writing his papers for him. The student pleading with me for a long time, waited for me outside my office, and followed me outside. At that point I told him he needed to stop or I would call campus safety. After that, I was mentaly sent and went home and took a nap. It's been a very challenging semester.

Weather looks nice the next few days. Not sure if I will run or cycle, but I hope to get motivated to do one or the other or both.

PM: 10 miles, averaged 9:36. HR 149.

First few with Megan. She got me out the door thankfully and I continued on after she left the park. Felt okay. Good weather. Just not motivated at all.

Lunch/PM: 8.3 miles, averaged 9:48. HR 146.

HR and breathing quite elevated. Felt crappy. Gorgeous weather though. Going to try to get a gravel ride in later.

PM: 38.5-mile ride. HR 164.

Pretty hard effort when it didn’t need to be. Gravel is still rough in places, but solid. It’s much easier to ride in a group.

Lunch: 10.3 miles, averaged 9:42. HR 142.

PM: 8.3 miles, averaged 9:12. HR 147.

It was beautiful out. I did a progressive mile starting around 9' pace and ending around 6' pace. I split 7:14. It felt very hard. I have a physical Thursday. Hoping for an antibotic just to see if that works. I'm not much for taking medicine when not necessary, but I've rarely taken antibiotics.

Felt pretty rough overall. Trying to run to relieve stress but even very easy running felts difficult.

Lunch: 10.3 miles, averaged 9:14. HR 152.

I had trouble breathing. Wondering what is going on.

PM: 35-mile ride. HR 152.

Did a solo ride. Hit a few gravel roads I haven't been down. Rode in my new race fit kit, which I love. Roads were rough in places, but super smooth in others. We need rain to get things in good shape.

I am racing Barry Roubaix this weekend. Not sure what to expect, but it should be packed and riding too close together does not thrill me. It's pretty much the most famous gravel race in the US.

I had a much better ride than my run.

Off.

I was going to run after class, but we had a happy hour event and that was much easier to do. I might double tomorrow. Friday will be easy as I am racing on the bike on Saturday. I will likely try a shakeout in the afternoon. Since my marathon buildup went to crap its much easier to focus on grading, even though I really never seem to get that much more done. Looking forward to summer.

PM: 10.3 miles, averaged 10:25. HR 140.

Felt decent. Slow, but decent. The geese were agressive. They were flying after me, which I haven't seen for a while. Tried to give them space as I know they are nesting.

Had my physical prior. She seemed to think my issue was lingering infection. Resting heart rate was 40, which is about 3 beats higher than last year and I was lighter and not in the same sort of shape.

Today was my grandmother's 95th birthday.

PM: 12-mile ride. HR 142. Did some openers.

"Openers," as I learned today is bike speak for "strides." I didn't do them in any structure fashion, but I found a stretch of suburban gravel and got my heart rate up, lungs open, and legs turning.

Nice and sunny but windy. Was going to run, but I did a little bike maintenance and wanted to make sure it was okay for tomorrow. Both nervous and excited for tomorrow. Hoping when classes end early next week my running motivation will return.

AM: Barry Roubaix 36-Mile Gravel Race. HR 167.

A mix of roads and gravel with some rough and sandy two track mixed in. Conditions were dry but very windy (around 19 MPH I think, which is rough on a bike). About 2000 feet of elevation gain and pretty much non-stop hills.

369 out of 1342 and 22 out of 59 in 32-34 age group. I've never been big on age groups, but they are meaningful to cyclists. I am not sure if this is the number of competitors or what. But they do podiums for age groups and categories.

In many ways bike races are better than running races. Later start times (at least for the Michigan Gravel Series) are one of the most noteable.

Brief Notes/Thoughts

I was hoping to come in under 2 hours, but there was a lot of wind and didn't ride with groups too much. My chain came off 3 times, and only after did I realize that the clutch was disenaged, so the proper tension was not on the derailleur. The gravel composition was fairly rocky and sandy (as opposed to dirt and small rocks w have here). One road was rutted/rugged two track, which also featured 3-4 inches of sand. I managed to stay on the bike. I gave the race a good effort, but also had a good time, especially after I linked up with the KLM (the bike shop) guys.

I will do more of these. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make the few that are throughout the summer. I will definitely do the September race I planned to do last year. Some time in the future (perhaps next spring) I would like to couple gravel races ultra training (for a flat race).

PM: 10.4 miles, averaged 10:14. HR 131.

Cold, rainy, windy, but I had a good run. HR seems pretty normal today even after the hard bike effort yesterday.

Evening: 8.3 miles, averaged 10:25. HR 141.

Heart rate high again.

Riley Cook, formerly of the blog, ran the Boston Marathon today in 2:20:23 (he was 1:09:10 at the half). I think he was the 12th American and 29th overall.

AM: 4.2 miles, averaged 10:51. HR 130.

PM: 8.3 miles, averaged 10:14. HR 138.

AM: 3 miles, averaged 10:12. HR 133.

Evening: 8.2 miles, averaged 9:05. HR 144.

Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 9:11. HR 144.

Felt pretty good. Getting back out of the hole I think.

PM: 6 miles in 60' on the treadmill. HR 146.

The new Planet Fitness opened behind our complex last week. The building was the former Hollywood Markets, a local grocery store chain that went out of business November 2017. We have greatly missed it, but now I can play the game of using equipment and trying to figure out what part of the store it corresponded to. Today I think I was pretty close to the meat counter.

Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 10:10. HR 130.

PM: 4 miles in 44' on the treadmill, HR 131.

Varied the incline every 2' the last 14'.

Did some weight after. Trying tp get back into that routine after falling off sometime in Februrary or whenever it was.

Pec Flys 3 x 12 @ 45#; Chest Press 3 x 12 @ 40#; Pull Downs 3 x 15 @40#; Shoulder Press 3 x 10 @ 25#

PM: 15 miles, averaged 8:38. HR 147.

High winds and rain for portions of the run. Around 42 degrees. Managed to enjoy the run. Picked it up a bit at the end. Felt decent overall. Hoping fitness snowballs back, but I am happy to be feeling mostly better overall.

Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 10:12. HR 135.

Beautiful spring day for Easter.

PM: 4 miles w/ Megan, averaged 10:10. HR 127.

AM/Lunch: 9.3 miles, averaged 8:28. HR 156.

20' Tempo

Back to workouts. I knew pace would be humbling, so I tried not to worry about it. I managed just below 3 miles. 6 weeks ago, I was running the same pace with less effort for 18 miles. Today's goal was just to get through the 20' at the right effort, which should be the goal for most workouts.

Did the workout today rather than tomorrow as we might have thunderstorms in the morning and higher winds. Today has been absolutely beautiful. Sunny, around 70, and dry. My favorite spring weather.

PM: 4.7 miles, averaged 10:10. HR 141.

Felt a little rough an anxious and couldn't relax and enjoy the run. HR was elevated.

Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 10:27. HR 139.

PM: 4.5 miles, averaged 9:57. HR 141.

Night: AIS and PT

Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 9:11. HR 155.

Did some strides. Felt pretty rough overall.

PM: 4.3 miles, averaged 9:11. HR 148.

Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 10:14. HR 133.

Second Thursday Night Dirt ride of the year tonight. Need it.

PM: 37.2 mile ride. HR 142.

Good ride. Started out slow, got moving, then hung back fro some stragglers, one guy was nnew and didn't want him to feel like people were leaving him hanging and not wanting to come out again. It was much cooler than forcasted/expected, but very comfortable. Gravel was nicely packed in places, but very loose rocks on the top and VERY dusty. The few cars we encountered were driving insanely fast and recklessly. Usually you get one or so every few rides, but people were nuts tonight. Enjoyed the ride. Hope rides will start to be more consistent. Still tough with the rain as people won't ride in the rain generally.

Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 9:38. HR 134. Did some strides.

PM: 4.2 miles in 45' on the treadmill. Weights after.

Chest press 3 x 12 @ 40#; Pull down 3 x 15 @ 40#; Row 3 x 12 @ 40#; Pec flys 3 x 12 @ 45#; Shoulder press 3 x 12 @ 25#; Bicep curls 3 x 12 @40#

AM/Lunch: 15.3 miles, averaged 9:32. HR 137.

AM/Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 10:41. HR 123.

Cool but lots of sunshine. HR stayed low and I think I finally kicked the bug.

I just submitted grades a little after 2:00, which I think is an Oakland PR. They are due by 10:00AM tomorrow I think, so this was an improvement over last semester, which I think was midnight and the first fall, which I think was 1 or 2 in the morning. Going to do some cleaning, then go for a longer ride this afternoon.

PM: 50-mile ride. HR 141.

Weather was perfect. Just barely warm enough for short sleeves. The rain we had kept the dust down. Longest ride so far. Some beautiful views. I had an absolute blast.

AM: 4.3 miles, averaged 10:52. HR 120.

Got out early before our department end of year conference. 35 degrees, but the air felt good.

Evening/Night: 8 miles in 1:21 on the treadmill. HR 136.

Varied incline from 1.5-3.0%. Not my favorite time to run but I got it in. It’s nice to have a Planet Fitness within a 2’ walk.

Noon: 10 miles, averaged 9:03. HR 148.

Bridge/Building Workout: 2 (8 x 45" On/75" Off)

I think this will bridge me back into 20 x 1' and some of the other faster workouts from fall and early winter. Felt pretty decent. Stride felt solid once I got fully warmed up.

3 up/3 down.

PM: Off.