Of Mice and Marathons

AM/Lunch: 3 hours 45' ride. 196W. HR 133. 17.4 MPH.

Last night I decided I wanted to ride in the morning and maybe run in the afternoon time permitting. I got out later than I planned and back a little later than I planned, so I decided to skip the run as Megan was with the boys all day. It was beautiful out and I had a good ride. Picked up a few new miles. Roads were in decent shape. I tried to take in nutrition at a sensible rate as I had only eaten a banana before leaving. 3 bottles was plenty today. Got a little warm at the end (into the mid 70s I think), but it was quite comfortable. A very nice start to summer. 

Looking forward to my first Thursday Night Dirt of the season tomorrow night. Last year I did 5 or 6 before the semester ended. Didn't work that way this year. Not sure how many official rides there have been but they have definitely been taking place.

AM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:47. HR 126. 

Good recovery run. Even at 9:25-9:30 pace my HR was still only at 130 BPM. Weather was beautiful. Looking forward to the group ride tonight. 

100 Pushup Challenge Week 1 Day 3 (I guess I did Day 2 Twice): 11, 15, 9, 9, 13; 30 Day Plank Challenge Day 1: 3 x 45" Front Plank

Threw the plank challenge into the mix as well. I think doing planks every day is probably not a good idea when you haven't done much core for a while, so I will see how it goes an space appropriately.

PM: 3 hours 8' (55.5 miles). 193W. HR 141. 17.7 MPH.

Thursday Night Dirt!

Good ride for the first one of the season. I got dropped going through the Proving Grounds as a gap opened up, but another guy and I worked together and kept the effort going. We didn't really slow down, but the others really hammered. 

Loop Data: 20.8 MPH 252W HR 162

It's been I think since pre-COVID that I have been that fast on the loop, which has changed slightly since then but the climbs all remain the same. I think one of the rides last year I did something in the low 20 MPH range. 

It was nice to see everyone. It's been a while. I skipped the bar as Megan had a party to go to, which worked just fine for me as I kept rolling once I left the group. I was pretty hungry when I got home. Weather was warm, but not humid and I didn't take in a ton of fluid. Looking forward to these this summer. I wasn't sure if I would make it weekly, but it looks like I might be able to. Since I will be riding only 2-3 times per week it makes sense to do this and to probably do A group to practice faster riding in groups and bring my fitness level up a bit.

AM: 7 miles, averaged 9:47. HR 126.

Good recovery run. After last night's harder bike effort it made sense to treat the run as if I did a run workout. It was raining anyway and felt good to plod. Recovery pace continues to be down even though it was in the low 60s.

PM: 5 miles, averaged 9:51. HR 123.

Another good recovery run. HR stayed very low. Looked like thunderstorms but they stayed north. 

AM: 70' on the trainer. 225W. HR 132.

Got up early to get something in. I was going to run on the treadmill, but find it hard to focus on running while the boys are stirring in the morning, so the trainer it was. I ended up doing a hard effort for 30'. I thought that I was doing a course for the second time, but it sent me on a different route, so I didn't get the full data, but it was 30' @ 289 watts, but I don't have the HR data. It only peaked at 167, however, with a good deal of it only in the 150 range. Cooled down to 70', so about 14'. 

PM: 11 miles, avweraged 8:12. HR 146.

30' Steady

Decided to just get the weekend long run/weekender in. Slightly humid, a bit warm, but overcast with a few very light sprinkles. Pleased with how this went off not much sleep and a slightly hard morning bike session. 30 up/30 down

Averaged 6:46 @ 166 BPM

Finished the last mile in 6:34. Felt quite strong. I think things will start to turn back around now. I expected to struggle with the warmer more humid weather, but it went well. Hopefully I don't get blasted this summer when the conditions are much worse, but I will likely just be on the treadmill.

AM: 6.3 miles, averaged 10:22. HR 120. 

Good recovery on the Polly Ann for the first part of it. I ran most of it with my HR averaging in the 1teens, which was good to see even if the pace was quite slow. I actually find 10' pace to be perfect for recovery. Legs were tired from the double bike/run session yesterday but I just let them do their thing, which is really all a recovery run should be. 

Week 2 Day 1 of the 100 Pushup Challenge: 14, 14, 10, 10, 16

PM: 6.1 miles, averaged 9:48. HR 123.

AM/PM: 5 hours 47' (100.1 miles). 213W. HR 141. 17.3 MPH

Spring R&R 57-Mile Course Recon + Warm Up and Cool Down

I realized there was a gravel race next weekend that is about 20 miles or so north of us and it begins on the Lapeer County section of the Polly Ann about 20 miles out, so I figure why not ride to the course, do the route at a steady effort, and then ride home for about 100 miles as I have been trying to get a hundred miler in for my spring into summer mode. This worked quite well. 

I bought a new hydation pack as my old one just didn't function as I wanted it too. This one worked out much better. Less bulky and more comfortable. Kept the effort pretty steady at 18.1 and 238 watts with a heart rate of only 147, which was quite good. The course is 99% dirt roads and most are in great shape. The Polly Ann should make for a very interesting start and finish.

Toyed with the idea of maybe doing the 35-mile race, but we shall see. They also had a run/ride combo, which was kind of cool, but I am not sure I want to do that though probably should just to wing it. 

I had two 18-20 oz bottles of electrolytes and about 70 oz of water in my hydration pack. I think I took 4 packages of Cliff Bloks. My energy was generally very good throughout and felt like I could have gone longer but my butt hurt and I was a little tired, but I definitely had fuel to burn. 

This felt overly indulgent for a Monday, but the boys were in school and I got back in plenty of time to pick them up. 

AM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:43. HR 124. 

Got in a recovery run as the boys went to their friend's for 2 hours. If they go, they usually go on Wednesdays, so this was a nice way to get in an outdoor run in the morning on a Tuesday, which I haven't done in many months. Legs were tired, but not sore

PM: 7 miles, averaged 9:18. HR 129.

Legs were moving along a bit better than in the morning. Felt good, especially as recovery pace is creeping through the 9's. 

The boys were pretty good most of the day, but just before dinner they went off. Just very challenging lately not listening, throwing stuff, including toys and food, slamming doors, etc. Very stressful.

AM: 8.9 miles, averaged 7:52. HR 148.

20' + 10' Steady 

Got up early as I had to be on campus for faculty advisor training. I wasn't really ready for a workout at 7:00, but felt very solid once I got going. I figured about 6:45-6:42 on the 20' but hopefully faster and 6:35-6:32 on the 10' but hopefully faster. It went quite well and I was pleased. Air was damp but quite cool. 20' @ 6:35 pace @ 166 BPM and 10' @ 6:22 pace @ 168 HR. I would say that this is roughly half marathon pace with a 2-3 day taper. I have three week until my next half, so I will see what work I can get done between now and then. Not a lot of time, but still able to get in at least four quality sessions and the longer runs of 100'-120' should help. 

5' jog between intervals. 20' up and 15' down as I was running short on time.

PM: 4.4 miles, averaged 10:13. HR 120.

Beautiful afternoon. I was dragging my legs along. I haven't been doing secondary runs after workouts for quite some time, though lately have generally been doing 60' easy-moderate on the trainer. 

AM: 6.5 miles, averaged 10:02. HR 122.

Good recovery run on a route I don't do quite as often as I probably should to mix things up. It is slightly hilly, so I don't often do it for recovery runs. 

PM: Thursday Night Dirt - 3 hours 34' (60 miles). 189W. HR 132. 16.8 MPH

It was threatening to rain but still headed over to the middle school because I didn't want to look on Strava and see that 30 people rode and that the roads were fine. When I got to the parking lot I didn't see anyone but then saw a small group. The shower had passed and we decided to feel out the dirt roads. They were ust lightly damp in places and the pavement at Stony would have likely been just a bad I imagine. So we rolled and there was no rain and the roads were quite good. The effort higher than I expected as I did some pulling and we did a little good-natured racing. Loop data = 234 watts, HR 147, 19.3 MPH

Lunch: 7.4 miles, averaged 8:48. HR 137. 

I was going to run again, but with a bike race tomorrow and quite an exercise load this week I figured I would rest. Looks like maybe a little rain in the morning and then not much during the race other than a passing shower.

AM: 3 hours 40'. 

Spring R&R 57 Mile Gravel Race

18.2 MPH, 250 Watts (259 Wighted) HR 155.

This was the course I did on Monday. Cold to start and it had rained a bit the night before and in the morning. The roads were okay in places but a bit gritty in others and we did get a little rain during the race. Overall, I was only about two minutes faster than when I did the course on Monday, but the conditions were slower. Just kind of diappointing becaause, like running, you should be running (riding) close to what you do on race day. My average power and HR were a good deal higher, so I know the effort was higher. 

I needed to get out with the lead group on the single file section to start on the Polly Ann. I need to be more aggressive at the start of a small race. 6 or 7 guys were out front and there was a guy ahead of me that let a gap open up and that was the last I saw of the leaders. A few guys passed me and we traded the lead for a bit and barked at one guy, apologizing after I realized he was on a single speed and that is why he wasn't able to maintain a constant pace. Still, it was pretty annoying as I wanted to work in the group of three we had. 

I ended up dropping one of them and working to catch the chase group I eventually could see ahead after maybe the halfway mark (I know if was just after crossing Rochester Road that I could see them). I knew one of the guys in that pack and one was a teammate that I didn't recognize. We worked together for a while, but I really wasn't happy with the pace as I was working, but I didn't feel like I was at full race effort. It started to rain and things were kicking up and I could hear people's rotars complaning a bit. On one of the last northern headed roads we started to drop two of the guys, so I went and started to press a bit. The other guy came with me and stayed on my wheel for a while as I could sense him there every once in a while or see him. I decided I had pulled him enough and then started to put power to the pedals and press and dropped him and then kept pressing and eventually I didn't see him. I knew my placing was decent but I wasn't sure how far up I was. I assumed top 10, but had no idea. 

I really got a solid effort in in that last few miles and never really slowed. It was cool, so I didn't have much sweat and I got in two gels and almost all of my 34 ounces of Maurten 320, which I would kill to have access to in a marathon!

The last half mile is on the Polly Ann and it was exceptionally greasy, which I was planning on. Finished slowly on the last grass section, apparently 5th overall (a very small race). I did manage to put 2+ minutes on the next guy and a few more behind that. 

Quads were complaining a bit, but I cooled down for about 20'. I managed to lose my car key, somewhere in the car I think. Looked everywhere. Called Megan and she brought my valet key. I was pretty mad at myself. Oh well.

First gravel race since I think July or August and first bike race since last November. I think I am more comfortable on the bike and definitely fitter. This was toward the tall end of what became a 21-hour training week, so I guess this was pretty good. 

PM: 12.5 miles, averaged 8:01. HR 147.

40' Steady, Averaged 6:43. HR 166.

Got up with the boys so Megan could sleep. Took the boys to Home Depot to buy flowers for Megan and we went to the grocery store. Took a nap. Worked in the yard for a while. Got the run in late, but still wanted to do my long run workout even after the bike race yesterday. It was warm but dry and really just beautiful for Mothers' Day. I figured I would be somewhat slow with the warmer weather and very tired legs, but things went quite well. I started around 6:50 maybe for the first mile and then mostly worked in the 6:40 range with the last two miles around 6:36-6:39. 

30' up/30' down.

This was pretty solid at the end of a 21-hour training week. I am unsure of when the last time I went over 20 hours. Maybe in 2018 or 2019 in the summer? It was an odd week of stress workouts and recovery runs mostly. Monday I did a 100 miler. Tuesday 2 x recovery runs. Wednesday was a midweek workout and a recovery run. Thursday was a recovery run and a 3+ hour ride with a steady 100' portion. Single easy run on Friday. Bike race Saturday and long run/workout on Sunday. I will definitely need very easy recovery on Monday and lighter than usual efforts other than my regularly scheduled workouts. 

Lunch: 6.1 miles, averaged 10:40. HR 123. 

PM: 6.2 miles, averaged 10:32. HR 120.

Legs were sluggish, but I felt pretty good overall. I realized about 30 minutes before I needed to be at the doctor's that I had an appointment, but I got there okay. Delayed my run a little bit. It was very warm and dry when I went out. Amazing weather. Evening run was good too. Had to keep the pace quite slow, but it doesn't matter.

AM: 60' on the trainer. 196W. HR 112.

Early trainer ride. Felt pretty decent, but still kept it pretty light. The boys stirred fairly early but I was able to finish my planned time.

PM: 8 miles, averaged 8:14. HR 139.

Good run, though I was surprised I wasn't moving a bit faster for the first few miles. HR stayed quite low. It's been a LONG time since I have been able to run low 8' pace for an hour and keep it under 140 average. 

We continue to have absolutely perfect spring weather.

AM: 10.7 miles, averaged 7:56. HR 151.

20' + 15'

Based on last week's midweek and last weekend's weekender, I figure 6:28-6:33 would be about right with 6:28 being a bit more than the prescribed steady effort. For the 20' I did 6:31 @ 169 BPM and the 15' which I wanted to be around 6:18-6:22 was 6:23 @ 172 BPM. I started the 20' interval a bit steadier than last week and basically kept on it rather than progressing, which worked fine. A bit higher HR on both interval this week (though it would be higher for the 15' because it was an additional 5'), but not bad. 

Weather was pretty ideal, though getting slightly warm on the 15' interval. Not looking forward to when it gets really hot and humid, but I am taking the weather and ticking off workouts for now. I think with a 2 x 20' effort next week I will have a good sense of what I can run in a half. Hoping to have both intervals right at or under 6:30 pace. I'm not sure where this leaves me exactly because last fall I had almost no workouts from mid-September  until by November half marathon. 

PM: 78' ride (21.1 miles). 177W. HR 123. 16.3 MPH. 

Easy mixed roads loop on the Polly Ann and Oxford and Independance Township. This was more appealing than a 4-mile shakeout. Last week my legs just felt dead after the workout. Just not used to running in the afternoon after a hard session these days. The bike or trainer seems to work better on the same day as the workout. 

AM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:43. HR 124.

PM: Thursday Night Dirt - ~3 hours 20' total.

Decided to do B group and chat with a few folks, one I haven't seen since probably September. It was definitely a very manageable pace and basically recovery effort except for a few efforts up Dequindre and racing down Sheldon. About 2.5 hours there plus doing the loop before going out the RJ's after. I didn't have anything to drink and just stuck with my chicken caesar wrap and fries. Road just under an hour home. My new light works quite well. It should for the price. Really enjoyed the ride and the relaxed effort. 

Loop data = 17 MPH, 176W, HR 126.

AM: 7.7 miles, averaged 8:31. HR 137.

Solid easy progression 9:28-7:39. 

PM: 6 miles, averaged 8:37. HR 135. 

I thought I might get hit by some storms but they kept their distance. Solid day of running. Felt good.

AM/Lunch: 7 hours (123.5 Miles). 201W. HR 132. 17.6 MPH

Planned on about 100 miles or so, maybe close to 118, rerouted a turn for a few miles and this is what I ended up at! Yehaw. A good ride. I started at 6:25 in the morning and new I had to keep a good pace to finish around my projected time. Course didn't have a ton of elevation gain, which was fine. I wanted to try to keep in close to 18 MPH if I could and without killing myself.

I picked up 70 new miles, which was great. Lots of country dirt roads and fields. Almost no potholes and minimal traffic. Just how I like my gravel riding. I tried to eat quite frequently, taking in a package of Cliff Bloks just before the turn of every hour (between the 45'-one hour mark). I had a Cliff bar for breakfast and a Cliff bar around 4 hours or so. I had most of the two bottles of Maurten 320 I had and around 20 oz of LMNT mixed one pack per 32 oz. I had around 70 oz in my hydration pack and drank 50-60 I would say. It got tiring toward the end but overall felt great and fueling was about right, though I think I would have eaten the Cliff bar earlier and had another one with me just because. 

Definitely my longest ride by time and miles. Weather was foggy and humid to start and a little bit of sun and warming up toward the end but not bad at all. I imagine these hundreds will be more difficult later in the summer, but I will try my best to cherrypick the weather and will keep in closer to 100-105 miles, so that it takes me 6 hours or less (I went through the 100-mile mark in about 5.5 hours I think). 

PM: 60' on the trainer. 196W. HR 116.

Felt pretty decent after yesterday's adeventure. I was going to run, but cannot recall why I didn't. I think it was quite warm this day.

AM/Lunch: 15.1 miles, averaged 8:37. HR 151.

50' Steady

I decided against doing this workout yesterday, the day after I rode for 7 hours. It was getting quite warm, but I figured if I ran truly by effort, then I would survive. I warmed up longer than planned (just under 40') as I wanted to run on a new tempo loop I was testing, which measure just under 3 miles. The loop is very nice in a very nice neighborhood and it is quite flat and safe (only probably is the distance to get there).

In ideal conditions I was hoping to run under 6:40 pace as the last few weeks I have been dropping of a few seconds average as the time has increased and last week was around 6:42 I think. I knew that if I tried to run that today I would blow up in half the time of the workout, if not sooner. I thought maybe 7:00-7:05 to start and cut down, hoping to run about 3-hour marathon pace. I never got there, but I kept the effort right, running 169 BPM average and 7:16 pace. I was pretty hot and tired by the end and wasn't looking forward to the long cool down home as it was looking to be longer than the warmup given where I finished the faster section. 

I stopped for some water at Friendship Park and figured that the water fountain that doesn't work has apparently just been replaced by a newer one inside. Why they don't tape off the old fountain that hasn't been on for a few years that I know of is beyond me. I hit 2 hours 10' and then walked for 34' @ 96 BPM to finish off. 

AM: Off. Planned to do something but slept in as the boys were sleeping in a bit.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 222W. HR 130. 

Need to get to bed sooner. Not exhausted but fairly tired. Even not drinking I seem not to get to bed early. Need to get back to getting dinner ready at a decent hour. I just don't like to go to bed too close to eating. 

I will likley move the midweek workout this week to Thursday or Friday. Likely Friday as I don't want to do a workout before Thursday Night Dirt, but that might actually work okay as long as I do B group.

Felt slightly down the last few days. Nothing serious or that I can point to. Think I need more sleep.

AM: 60' on the trainer. 219W. HR 127.

I was going to run, but it was fairly hot and I had an appointment and it was just easier to jump on the trainer and get immediately in the shower. 

PM: 6.7 milrd, averaged 9:39. HR 125.

Week 2 Day 3 of 100 Push Up Challenge

16, 17, 14, 14, 20

I did Week 2 Day 2 sometime last week but forgot to record it. 

AM: 7.3 miles, averaged 9:00. HR 133.

PM: ~3 hours 10'. Thursday Night Dirt.

Decided to do A group as I hadf an additional day between hard efforts and the weather was favorable. Lost the group early on Hixon as a guy in front of me was actually slowing and stopping and I didn't realize he was doing it. Chased for a while then eventually caught a chase pack and worked with them to keep the effort honest. Picked up a few stragglers and we kept it going. Apparently there were a few former pros up front, so things were quite hot. Managed to pull the group up the Dequindre Hill, which felt pretty good.

Hung around in the parking lot for a bit after and went to RJ's. It was chilly to start on the way home. 

Loop Data: 20.7 MPH, 236 Watts, 155 BPM

AM/Lunch: 10.7 miles, averaged 7:57. HR 150.

2 x 20'

I was hoping to get around 6:35 or faster for these based on the previous week's midweek, but didn't get down there. A little slower from a harder bike effort last night perhaps. 

20' @ 6:40 @ 164 BPM and 20' @ 6:43 @ 167 BPM

HR was a bit lower than the previous week, suggesting I could have pressed harder but I didn't want to blow up as it was a little warm (still not too bad). I imagine this will be close to the opening mile of my half the weekend after this one, but hoping to get the pace down after 4-5 miles and definitely in the closing miles. This is probably just a touch lighter than full half marathon effort. 

PM: 60' on the trainer. 182W. HR 111.

Off.

First day in 42 days (April 12) with a number of weeks between 14-22 hours of training. It was Megan's birthday and we went to Ann Arbor to see friends.

PM: 5 hours 46' (101.3 miles). 196W. HR 141. 17.5 MPH.

Planned on a good 4-5 hours, but my pace was really solid through the first half as I was averaging in the upper 18 MPH range, so I figured 100 miles would be aroudn 5:20-5:30 so I  figured why not knock out another hundred this month. On the way back I got some solid winds that made portions unpleasant, but eventually settled into a rhythm. Hit Orion Oaks for a lap around 92 miles and around some of the the neighborhood roads to round it off. Felt a bit sluggish after 60-65 miles, but felt better a bit later in the ride. I don't think I ate or drank enough. I did do a 10' interval at 4 hours 30', That was 278 watts (284 normalized) 20.7 MPH HR 166. 

I think that is three hundreds this month. Last year I did 1 and I had only done 1 one other time in 2020. They are definitely getting easier. 

AM: 6.3 miles, averaged 10:27. HR 119.

PM: 6.2 miles, averaged 9:39. HR 123.

Saw 5 snapping turtles in under 3 miles in the morning. I guess the rain woke them up from the swamps or something. Legs felt very good in the evening.

PM: 90' on the trainer. 226W. HR 141. 

2 x 20'

Decided to do this session rather than a zone 2 ride or one of the shorter sessions I was thinking about. I was hoping for about 310-315, but I didn't quite push that power. Couldn't quite find my cadence. HR was solid. This was a good deal stronger than when I last did it at the end of September. 

302 watts @ 161 BPM

298 watts @ 164 BPM

AM: 6.4 miles, averaged 8:28. HR 143. 

8 x 45" w/ 75" Recoveries

Just a little something aroudn 5k effort to sharpen up for the half marathon this weekend. Got my hair cut and took a solid nap. Did some minor yard work here and there and fixed a few small things. 

PM: Off. Planned to run, but the time got away from me.

]AM/Lunch: 8 miles, averaged 8:11. HR 144.

PM: Thursday Night Dirt - 3 hours 13' (58.2 miles @ 18.0 MPH). 205W. HR 142.

Met up with one of my fellow Lake Orioners on the way over as I took a different route as my typical cross roads had been graded or sprayed or both. It was nice to chat. Decided to do A group and we turned into the group as they were headed up Sheldon. I wasn't sure how my legs would feel after running a bit steadier than I typically do in the morning on Thursdays. 

Moved up in the group so as to be able to draft but not have too many people around me. Moved up more as we headed up Dequindre and took a turn pulling. Intended to pull off for the next guy to pull, but a small group came by and I couldn't. I guess my pace was too slow or something, so they went by and the group latched on to them and a gap formed into the Proving Grounds and I never recovered. Ticked me off, but I guess they really didn't do anything wrong, just didn't seem proper. So I still ended up getting dropped in the Proving Grounds, but did better staying close earlier on. I think I will just need to be more aggressive. 

I played chase the entire ride and actually kept the pace I was on, even speeding up as my averaged speed kept climbing to over 19MPH inlcuding the ride over, so I knew I was solidly above 20MPH for the loop and hoping for 21-22. My power also continuted to climb out of the 250 range into the 260 range and up to 265, which makes sense given I was alone. My legs felt incredibly strong and I could have pushed even harder, but I was around 160 BPM and figured I was already working decently and didn't want to make it too much of a race. I was pleased with how I was able to push solo and never slow down.

Loop Data: 21.1 MPH, 262 Watts, HR 159

Chatted for a few minutes and then one of the guys asked if I was headed out, which I decided to do as I wasn't super keen on going to the bar. The food is subpar, I'm not drinking, and it was going to be cooling down rapidly. Best to conitnue riding anyway.

PM: 4.4 miles, averaged 10:09. HR 123. 

Legs a little sluggish, but that is what happens when I delay a recovery run or only do one a day. Warm and dry. Quite pleasant other than the cottonwoods shedding and giving me grief.