Of Mice and Marathons

Lunch: 6.9 miles, averaged 9:32. HR 140.

5 x 20" strides.

PM: 90' on the trainer. 231w. HR 149.

Did 90' progression III on Zwift. I was a little over my head as I haven't done much of anything for bike workouts the last 5-6 weeks or whatever it has been. Tapped out the last 5' @ 300 watts and 5' @ 315 watts. I also didn't want to compromise my running workout for tomorrow morning.

AM: 9.6 miles, averaged 9:20. HR 154. 

6 x 5' (3')

Workout was supposed to be 8 x 5' but I lost concentration and confidence on the seventh rep. It was pretty humid, but not too hot, but I was soaked by the second repeat and by the cool down my shoes were squishy. After looking at the paces after, it was slightly fast. Might need to break down and turn pace on to help now that I have some sessions under my belt. I ran with current HR rather than lap HR and that probably hurt a bit, but I don't have a lot of data for shorter intervals like this and anything shorter than 8-10' is kind of hard to work with as fitness levels dramatically change how much heart rate drifts. 

This is the first time I have ever used the programmed function on my Polar, which I bought in fall 2019 (took some mile splits and so forth then but that was it).

Rep 1: 6:58 @ 165 BPM; Rep 2: 7:01 @ 170 BPM; Rep 3: 7:02 @ 172 BPM; Rep 4: 7:04 @ 174 BPM; Rep 5: 7:05 @ 177 BPM; Rep 6: 7:09 @ 178 BPM

Rep 5 and 6 HR started to drift a good deal and max HR was around 182-183, which I can do, but just found it unsustainable today. Might have been a bit too much on the bike yesterday, so I will rethink that going forward. Got 9 hours of sleep last night and I think almost a two-hour nap after lunch. 

Lunch: 5.9 miles, averaged 11:06. HR 132. 

PM: 3 hours 54'. 169W. HR 143.

Thursday Night Dirt

We started potty training aggressively today, which actually went well. Megan told me to still do the ride, so I did. Got dropped at the first dirt corner on Gunn as I let a gap open and I cannot corner. Really need to work on skills. Just made for a tough ride as I tried to keep up the effort. Had a good time at RJ's after. 

Loop Data: 18.2 MPH, 211 Watts. HR 159. 

PM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:43. HR 135.

Felt a little sluggish at first, but then felt pretty decent and progressed from 10:30 to 8:30 pace. 

Potty training is going quite well. Pleasantly surprised.

AM: 90' on the trainer (Phoenix -3). 216W. HR 128.

Potty training day #3. Going quite well. 

PM: 16 miles, averaged 8:08. HR 155.

130' w/ 90' Steady (Averaged 7:41. HR 161)

Quite humid but cool and on the cusp of raining, which it finally did a bit during the cool down. Did the workout linking a series of neighborhood loops, which worked very well. Mostly flat with one small hill. Kept things around 155 PM to low 160s, only pushing into the upper 160s in the last few minutes. 

My shoes were squishing the last 40' of the steady portion, which was annoying and felt like I was slipping the whole time. Miles 5-14 were all in the mid to low-7:40s, other than a 7:41. The first portion was around 8' pace. I was pretty pleased to see the consistency os splits and the paces being solidly in the 7:30s. 5 seconds faster than last week and an additional 10' and 2 BPM lower. Lots of work to do, but this is promising. 

AM: 5.8 miles, averaged 11:16. HR 121.

Trying to set some running goals. Just not sure what direction to go. Still tempted to try an ultra or a trail marathon. Still really not sure if I want to give the marathon another crack or not. I wouldn't mind taking a crack at breaking 75' in the half marathon in 12-18 months time (or whatever it takes). Not really sure about shorter distances, though I am not against focusing on those either. Time will tell.

PM: 120' on the trainer (Polar Bear -3). 219W. HR 136.

I was going to run before, but I took a very long nap and then mowed the lawn. Two hours pretty steadt zone 2 will work. Running workout tomorrow.

AM: 11.3 miles, averaged 8:55. HR 152. 

8 x 5'

Got through last week's workout. Did these on a different section of one of the neighborhoods, which ended up working out quite well. Loop is just over a mile. Tried to run with average lap pace, but it was doing the full running lap for workout, which wasn't helpful, so I just tried to dial in perceived effort and heart rate. It was decently humid and the dew point was up, but managable. This loop has a little bit more shade at least in places, so I think it will serve me better.

The last one seemed a little faster than I thought, but I was trying to push a bit. I did make an early turn on that one as I was going to be too far out for the 20' cool down. Either way, I am sure it was faster than the first 6.

7:13 @ 159; 7:14 @ 162; 7:10 @ 164; 7:03 @ 167; 7:04 @ 169; 7:08 @ 169; 7:01 @ 173; 6:43 @ 175

PM: 60' on the trainer. 166W. HR 111.

Solid day overall. Felt very good about the workout. Potty training went okay. On the warmup I wasn't sure if I needed a secondary poop myself, so these things definitely take time. 

PM: 6 miles, averaged 10:51. HR 135.

Evening: 3 hours 40'. 175W. HR 146.

Thursday Night Dirt

Loop Data: 19.3 MPH, 224W. HR 164

A group started at a sane pace and picked up. I pushed too hard on the short Dequindre climb and then the group went by me and I couldn't get back in the paceline and that was that. Did a bit better than the week before. I worked with a guy here and there and then latched on to one of my team mates toward the end and we traded some hard pulls, which was fun. The bar was fun after. Only four of us though this week.

AM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:39. HR 134.

HR seemed a bit low, but I felt a good bit more comfortable than yesterday (air was better) if slightly hungover.

I signed up for a half marathon this November. Churchill's half in Ohio, the second oldest half marathon in the US. Going to try to build fitness and reevaluate from there. Quite excited actually, even though I won't be in decent shape. I definitely want to run under 1:30, but I highly doubt I will be running under 1:20, unless I drop 20 lbs. I'd be happy to run 6:30s at that point I think and then work on getting back under 80' next spring.

AM/Lunch: 15 miles, averaged 9:00. HR 151.

Supposed to do 2 hours, but the loop I picked out ended up being longer than I thought. I did end up walking a mile or so. Some sun, and then overcast and some rain at the end. Could have used more to cool me down. Had some words with a guy in a truck who cut me off at a crosswalk. It's been a while since I have had an altercation. That kind of ruined my run even though I tried not to let it. I wasn't in a good mood anyway. Dad's mobility is almost non-existent and he is sleeping a lot, which is essential what happen with my grandfather's dimentia (different kind) before he died. 

PM: 3 hours 12' on the fat bike. 146W. HR 116, but I am sure that was off.

Dropped my gravel bike off the workstand when I was trying to clean it and bent the hanger, which put me in a pretty foul mood, which intensified from the previous night. I still was able to get out for 3 hours on my fat bike, so that was good. Did a handful of laps at Orion Oaks and then some dirt roads to finish up. 

I signed up for the same gravel race I broke my elbow at last year. Hoping to round off the summer with a decent race. Pretty nervous, of course.

Lunch: 90' on the trainer (Phoenix -2). 229W. HR 136.

Solid tempo workout. HR seemed quite low, but I think it was correct as I also ran my optical monitor. Switched my run and ride days because I needed to monitor the boys while they napped. I did get my bike into the shop and they fixed the bike for now.

PM: 120' on the trainer (Polar Bear -3). 219W. HR 138.

Student conferences this afternoon. I was going to get my midweek workout in a day early but it was raining pretty good and I just didn't feel like it, so I am going to try to get up early tomorrow morning before conferences and knock it out. I am sure I will really not feel like doing it then either, but I need to get it in before travel on Thursday.

AM: 12.5 miles, averaged 8:50. HR 153.

10 x 4'

Got up early to get this one in (early for me anyway). It was cool but humid and foggy (I could actually see my breath a little bit at first, which was weird and I assume the warm dry air meeting the cooler wet air). Still got pretty sweaty, but felt generally very good to slightly strong. I don't have the exact paces because my watch messed up. It said I was averaging 10:41 pace for the whole workout after the first several intervals and didn't budge from there and I knew that was wrong as I knew my warmup was around 9:30-10:15 pace. Looking at the pace graph I was around 7:15 maybe on the first one and solidly in the 6:40s or slightly faster on the last one, which was @ 177 BPM. The first one averaged 160 BPM.

Wish I had the pace just to get a sense of the progression, but it ultimately doesn't matter. Got the session in at the right effort. Next one is 90' w/ 30' @ half marathon effort, which should be interesting. It has been a long time since I have run anything sustained at that effort.

Lunch: 3.3 miles, averaged 10:47. HR 129.

Short run before heading to Sagatauk for an overnight trip with the boys. We had a good dinner and the boys were quite well behaved. Sawyer actually pooped on the toilet at the restaurant, which was great. No accidents all day or the next day and they were dry after their naps and riding in the car. 

PM: 60' on the trainer (Truuli). 201W. HR 138.

Openers. I would probably do something a little lighter before a race if done in the evening rather than a full 24 hours prior to a race.

We took a boat ride with the boys in Sagatauk (or Saga-taco as they kept calling it). The boat was moving up and down pretty good once we got out onto Lake Michigan. They were enjoying it, I was slightly nervous.

AM: ~2 hours 30'. 

249W. HR 167.

~20' up/~20' down.

This was the race I crashed in last year and broke my elbow. We still missed the turn this year, but I called it out and no one turned, so I had to keep going. It was a solid effort, but the pace was not that strong. Should have kept up with the front group earlier in the race and the effort wouldn't have been as bad. It was VERY hot out of the gate. I was averaging just under 24 MPH and 300 watts for the first 10' and that just wasn't going to work. Worked with a group for a solid portion of the race. I wanted to place higher and at a faster pace. I think I was around 21.5 MPH when I crashed last year with ~30' to go. This was right at 20 MPH, which is not great considering I have gotten dropped on Thursday Night Dirt and still managed about that. Not diasspointed, but wanted more. 

Hung out with the guys and had some free beer, which is quite nice for the race director to do even if people still managed to complain.

This might be it for bike races until earlier November with Ice Man, which is fine with me. I didn't expect to get in three races this summer, one of which I was marginally satisfied, one was pretty pleased with, and one complete disaster. 

PM: 6.1 miles, averaged 10:44. HR 132.

Recovery. I was going to still try to do my weekender, but the conditions were miserable and I was pretty sore from the bike race yesterday. This was actually pretty manageable.

Kind of a low mileage week, but I did a bit more riding with the weather and race prep. I will try to bring it back up next week.

AM: 6.2 miles, averaged 10:27. HR 126.

More recovery. Ran before class. First day of the semester at Lawrence Tech. Had a fine first day teaching. The run helped to set me up for the day.

PM: 11.2 miles, averaged 8:54. HR 158.

10 x 3' (3')

20' up/20' down

Got the midweek in today as I didn't want to try to fit it in before class, but once the semester is in full swing I will have to, which probably means getting up at 5:30. Decent conditions, warm but not hot and fairly dry. Rx was 6:55, and I ended up averaging 6:43, from 6:51 down to 6:32, which was solid. 

Got an overload class from Oakland, which will have me very busy but the extra pay will cover 2/3 of the year for preschool, so I figured it would be less of a stress teaching an extra course than dealing with how much extra money school will be. 

AM: 6 miles, averaged 10:52. HR 121.

Recovery. Felt pretty decent, legs a bit heavy. Broke in my new Garmin 265. My Polar has been doing weird things, and could probably use a factory reset but it has been a couple years, so oI figured why not. 

AM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:44. HR 139.

PM: 120' on the trainer. 220W. HR 139.

Got up at 5, which I haven't done for a non-race situation in a while. 6:20 or 6:30 is early enough for me. Figured I would try it for prepping to get up before my Tuesdays with the boys. It was insanely humid and I am glad the sun wasn't up or out for most of it. Always nice to get in a run early and see what the rest of the day brings.

Solid 2 hours on the trainer. It has rained a ton and the last two days and I knew the dirt roads would be crap and although the group would likely ride Stony Creek, I had work to do and took the boys for a bit longer today as Megan has a ton of stuff with her new chair position.

AM: 6.8 miles, averaged 9:38. HR 138.

PM: 4 miles, averaged 10:00. HR 129.

First running double in a long time. Time to get back to it when I can.

AM: 10.5 miles, averaged 8:37. HR 154.

30' @ Half Marathon Effort

30' up/30' down.

Kind of knew where the pace should be for the effort, so I ran with pace on and just peeped the HR here and there. I dug back through some data from previous races to check my memory of HME heart rate. I only had one decent set of data from Broad Street 2014, which was a 10 miler, but that is close enough. Data from Detroit half 2018 was junky in places but where it was on I could tell and that helped. Anyhoo, 7:17 pace @ 172 BPM. I haven't run that for half marathon pace since early 2012. Ho hum. This upcoming week it goes to 35' and the following to 40', which will likely be tough. Not sure how many minutes will be added the week after or if I will be on to something new.

PM: 4 hours 26' on the gravel bike. 183W. HR 133.

Weather was ideal. Had a route planned out and used my new Garmin Edge 1040, but I didn't have as much time as I planned as I got out late. A bridge was out anyway, so I made my way around Goodrich and Hadley and Metamora rather than going through Fenton. Good ride. HR stayed quite low. I wanted 5 hours, but 4.5 was pretty darn good. Need to figure out why my radar isn't linking with my computer. It was annoying not being able to see how many cars were behind me.

AM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:37. HR 130.

PM: 4.1 miles, averaged 9:50. HR 131.

Got a second run in just before dinner. It got dark pretty quick. Need to fit the second run in earlier than 8:00 PM. Weird to run doubles more than 12 hours apart, which I have only done rarely. 

PM: 90' on the trainer. 204W. HR 135.

3 x 10' @ 90-95%

I was going to run, but thought there were thunderstorms coming in. Decided to do a session on the trainer. It has been a while since I have done any structured intervals and i just felt like a harder but not overly taxing session. This fit the bill. I was pretty tired, but it went well other than not being able to get in a comfortable and relaxed position.

Interval 1: 291W @ 155 BPM

Interval 2: 293W @ 162 BPM

Interval 3: 300W @ 165 BPM

AM: 11.3 miles, averaged 8:50. HR 151.

15 x 2'

Started off pretty slow, around 6:55, but then got moving a little bit toward the end at 6:13. Most were around 6:35-6:28, averaged 6:33 overall. I was hoping that in 8 weeks that is roughly what half marathon pace would be, but I'm not that hopeful now. Just grinding in mediocrity I guess. Good to get this one in before class

PM: ~3.5 hours. 170w. HR 138. + (From the bar) 163W HR 137 

Thursday Night Dirt 

Decided to do B group because I stacked a bike workout and a run workout on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tried to sweep but it was hard as one rider was getting shelled, another had a mechanical, and the group didn't hold up. I tired to work with a small group to chase down the group, but we were unsuccessful. A group passed us, so I jumped on with them to see who I could find on the way back. 

Loop data: 17.9 MPH, 206 watts, HR 149.