Of Mice and Marathons

AM/Lunch: 10.2 miles.

Progressive Warmup, Drills and Strides, 8 x 8" Hill Blasts, Cool Down

Did little over 5 miles before making a segment attempt for a quarter mile on some two track trail. I missed by a good bit but managed 5:30 pace for .24. Did my drills and two strides. Weather is drier and comfortable. Really nice actually.

6 up/4.2 down

PM: 38-mile ride. HR 164.

Rode A group. We caught B group even with an 11’ headstart. We were 20.2 MPH at that point. We rode with B group the rest of the way. 19.6 MPH, which is pretty fast over gravel (which can be as fast as tar when the conditions are right). Some sections were very chunky. It was basically an inch or so of crushed stone.

Noon: 9.5 miles, averaged 9:50. HR 140.

Weights after lunch:

Incline curls 3 x 20 @ 12# ea; incline hammar curls 3 x 20  @ 12# (10 ea); incline press 3 x 20 @ 17.5# ea; flat bench 3 x 20 17.5# ea; flat flys 3 x 20 @ 12# ea. hammar curls 30 ea arm @ 12#; dumbell side bends 3 x 20 @ 17.5# ea side; barbell curls 3 x 15 @ 40#; tri press 3 x 20 @ 55#; shoulder press 3 x 20 @ 30#

Megan and I went to see Chris Stapleton at DTE. Good show. Amazingly crowded, but it's metro Detroit!

AM: 41.7-mile ride. HR 130.

Met up with some folks in Oxford for the Dirt Road Derby Route as we did this time last year. Very casual pace, which was fine with me as I can still feel Thursday night's effort. It's beautiful out there. I don't think I have ever seen so many horses. A good amount of climbing (by Midwest standards).

PM: 4.2 miles, averaged 10:02. HR 129.

First few with Megan.

Late: AIS and PT

Noon: 14.1 miles in 2 hours on the treadmill. HR 155.

4 Miles Marathon Effort + 3 Miles Half Marathon Effort

Warmed up 30'/cool down to 2 hours

Marathon effort was 8.0 MPH. Recovered 1 mile very easy between harder sections. Did the 3 miles starting at 8.0 MPH and increased .2 every half mile. Worked up to 9.0 and then increased here and there the last half mile or so from 9.0 to 10.

Managed to get in a solid effort. Lots of work to do, but I salvaged the week.

AM/Lunch: 8.1 miles, averaged 10:34. HR 134.

PM: 5.1 miles, averaged 10:35. HR 128.

AM/Lunch: 9.5 miles in 80' on the treadmill. HR 150.

20' Tempo

40' easy to moderate warmup, progressive 20' tempo, 20' easy down

10' each @ 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5

5' each @ 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5

20' @ 5.5-7.0

PM: 4.5 miles very easy on the treadmill. HR 122.

I have switched from marathon training to a more or less full cyclocross season with 1-2 gravel races, and a 50k running race at the end of November. I am pretty excited for the new direction. Just looking to mix things up temporarily while still running a good deal.

Late: AIS

Lunch/PM: 8.2 miles, averaged 11:15. HR 127.

PM: 4 miles very easy on the treadmill. HR 124.

Lunch/PM: 59.2-mile ride. HR 136.

Cut through Bloomer and got some technical two-track decents to start think. Hit the MOT trail and took that north east of where I usually ride and connected eventually to some of the typical roads I ride. Mostly gravel, but a touch more pavement than I typically ride.

Only had a piece of toast with a small amout of butter and that was a mistake. I took 4 gels during the ride, which saved me. Came alive on the second half of the ride.

PM: Off.

Megan decided not to run and I figured 3.5 hours on the bike was probably enough exercise for one day.
 

AM: 8.3 miles, averaged 8:51. HR 144. Did some strides.

PM: 4 miles w/ Megan, averaged 9:58. HR 124.

Beautiful weather!

Did weights between runs:

Tri press 3 x 20 @ 55# + 1 x 12 @ 75#; Bicep curls 3 x 20 @ 40# + 1 x 12 @ 60#; Shoulder press 3 x 20 @ 30# + 1 x 10 @ 40#; Pull downs 3 x 20 @ 60# + 1 x 20 @ 75#; Chest press 3 x 20 @ 40# + 1 x 12 @ 60#

Captain's chair after.

Night: AIS and PT

Lunch/PM: 16.2 miles, averaged 9:19. HR 145.

Did a mix of trails and roads. Ran to Bloomer Park and finally ran some of the trails, which were fairly technical compared to most single track I have run here. I was dying by the end, but my weight is high and it makes everything that much harder.

AM/Lunch: 8.5 miles, averaged 10:42. HR 126.

PM: 34.1-mile ride easy. HR 127.

Lunch: 10 miles treadmill, averaged 8:42. HR 142. Did strides.

PM: 4.7 miles treadmill, averaged 9:34. HR 131.

Felt great this evening.

PM: 10.4 miles treadmill, averaged 8:39. HR 149.

30' @ Marathon Effort

30' up/30' down. Started around 8 MPH and picked it up just slightly. A meager, but hopeful start.

We took Oliver to the vert since he hasn't been eating (and he was just at the vet last Friday). He has some sort of kidney abnormality that we are waiting on bloodwork for. Megan and I are a bit panicked if somewhat hopeful.

Night: 4 miles treadmill, averaged 11:15.

Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 10:21. HR 130.

PM: 5.4 miles, averaged 10:21. HR 131.

Beautiful out. Nice dry air. Around 82 or 83 degrees.

Night: AIS, PT, and pushups

Noon: 6.2 miles, averaged 7:50. HR ~155-157.

Steady easy to moderate to uptempo short run. HR monitor dropped for a little while.

PM: 34.5-mile ride. HR 168.

Hard effort. Got dropped but gave it some welly solo and caught back up and got dropped again. 19.7 MPH and 20.2 MPH for the loop. My upper hamstrings/glutes are shredded. I have some frozen chicken breasts on them.

Lunch: 8.3 miles, averaged 9:42. HR 144.

PM: 4.1 miles w/ Megan, averaged 10:02. HR 129.

Noon: 9 miles w/ short tempo + hill blasts

30' warmup, 15' tempo, 5' jog, 8 x 8" Hill blasts, 3-mile cool down

This was more challenging version of my typical weekly hill blast session. Tempo was not fast (about 6:47 pace) but the effort was right on. Took a second or two to collect myself. jogged 5' minutes, did drills and strides, the blasts, then cooled down.

Warm to start but breezy and the air really dried out over the course of the workout. Had some good pop in my legs for the blast. Still very saddle sore from Thursday's hard bike effort.

PM: 4.3 miles very slow. HR 124.

Short weight session: chest press 3 x 20 @ 40#, pull downs 3 x 20 @ 60#, rows 3 x 20 @ 40#; shoulder press 3 x 20 @ 30#

Night:

AM: 4.2 miles, averaged 10:08. HR 135.

Warm and muggy. Megan and I drove to Petosky for an overnight trip. Had a great meal at The Papr Station. Much cooler up here.

AM/Lunch: 5 miles w/ Megan, averaged 10:19. HR 124.

Nice run in Harbor Springs. We looked at all the houses we’d never be able to afford.

Lunch: 11.1 miles treadmill, averaged 8:08. HR 154.

30' up, 30' marathon effort, 30' down

A bit faster and felt stronger than last week, but that could be due to two very short easy days. Did 5' each @ 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 then 1' each at 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9

Night: 5.6 miles treadmill, averaged 10:46. HR 128.

Indigestion as expected. Left hamstring pretty sore today. Both were sore this weekend. Feels fine when I get warmed up. Icing now.

Lunch: 10.3 miles, averaged 10:16. HR monitor wacky.

Lost 7.2 lbs/3.26 kilos of water weight on this run. Was decently sweaty, but not my best work either.

PM: 4 miles treadmill, averaged 11:00. HR 125.

AM: 6.2 miles, averaged 10:00. HR 130.

PM: 34.5-mile ride. HR 159.

Nice batch of cooler dry air. Very pleasant for exercise and sleeping. Strong ride. Did a lot of pulling people to try to catch the front of the A group.

AM/Lunch: 12.3 miles, averaged 8:13. HR 156.

18' Tempo

4 up/5.3 down. Low 70s and very dry. A little breezy, but ideal weather for late August. Decided to warm up to the park and move the workout until tomorrow if my legs were smashed from last night's ride. They felt fine, almost responsive. Did a few strides and felt somewhat snappy. Pace was about what I could expect at this point. Effort was good. Got a little slugglish the last 2' as I was on loose gravel. Did a longer cool down for miles and since the weather was perfect.

The people who work at the park decided that my shirt did not belong in the grass and removed it. Not sure why as there are plenty of other smaller bits of trash they could pick up first.

Splits (nothing to write home about): 6:34, 6:32, 6:30 (for .75 miles), about 6:33 avg

Late: AIS

Wanted to get out again, but I had a longish dinner prep and decide it best not to push things.

Lunch/PM: 51-mile ride. HR 136.

Good ride. Took it easy and did some exploring.

PM: 4 miles w/ Megan, averaged 9:39. HR 141.

Ran with Megan about 90’ after getting back. We went out for drinks with a colleague in the evening.

PM: 70.7-mile ride. HR 145.

Good ride. Died a bit here and there, but felt mostly strong. Didn’t have a full proper meal, which would have helped. I think this is the first rides of any substance back to back. Beautiful day. Feeling very fortunate for the time and fitness I have.

PM: 12.3 miles, averaged 8:29. HR 144. Did some strides.

Legs were dead from yesterday’s long ride, but responded well. Most miles were lower 8s without pressing or much change in effort. It was lightly raining, which was quite pleasant. Felt great through 9-10 miles and then I had to hit the bathroom, which inevitably means very painful GI distress for much of the remainder of the day.

Sign up for two bike races two weeks from now. They are about 2.5 hours from home on back to back days, so I splurged and got a cheap hotel.

AM/Lunch: 10.2 miles, averaged 8:03. HR 157.

40' Tempo @ Marathon Effort

Around 80 degrees with dew point at 70 to start and 80+% humidty. Luckily it was overcast. Warmed up 4 miles. Felt pretty decent even after a longer run yesterday following the long Sunday ride. Pace was about what I would expect for current fitness and weather conditions. I started to work the last 1.5 miles or so when I was actually a good deal above marathon effort.

7:27, 7:17, 7:09, 7:11, 7:04, 7:01 (for .55 miles). Averaged 7:13

I got to just over 10 miles total and walked the rest of the way home as my stomach was going south again. I believe I have isolated the culprit. Cooled down .67 and walked 1.67.

PM: Off.

Late: AIS, PT, and pushups

PM: 10.3 miles, averaged 10:37. HR 127.

PM2: 4.2 miles with Megan, averaged 10:06. HR 127.

Dry and breezy. Feels like fall. Hoping this doesn't mean winter thinks it can arrive in October. One week of summer vacation left. Some people only get one week in an entire year. I am very fortunate.

I read a little bit this summer, but not as much as last. However, today I read one of the most fascinating articles on a guy who is a private detective specializing in stolen cars (very rare, extremely valuable ones): Esquire article

Lunch/PM: 6.3 miles, averaged 9:00. HR 142.

PM: 34.4-mile ride. HR 150.

Thursday Night Dirt. A bit windy, but a good ride. Set a handful of PRs for segments.

Lunch/PM: 11.4 miles.

16’ Tempo + 8 x 8” Hill Blasts

Warmed up 27’ with the scheduled 18’ tempo in mind. Felt decent and fairly strong but lost power on the very small hills. I ran out of prime tempo real estate at 16’ so I cut it short before the grinding, winding hill. Jogged 5’ then did the blasts, which felt snappy. Cooled down at an honest effort for 5.3 miles.

Averaged about 6:32. Faster than a couple weeks ago but I’m still very slow. Far off typical off season fitness I’ve had for the last 5 years or so.

AM: 4 miles, averaged 10:23. HR 130.

Noon: 8.3 miles on the bike for Cx practice. HR 161. I got some expert tips from one of our team riders on riding sandpits. I got a lot better in the span of 10 minutes.

PM: 7.2 miles, averaged 9:52. HR 131.

First few with Megan.