Of Mice and Marathons

Lunch: 6.8-mile ride to the gym. HR 122.

13.5 miles in 1:45 on the treadmill. HR 156.

45’ Aerobic Builder + 6 x 20” Strides

25’ warmup, progressing to just under workout pace. Set the machine to 9.0 for 10’ then 9.1 and kept it there until maybe 6-8’ left and went from 9.2-9.4. HR right at 170 average. 5’ jog, then 6 x 20” strides @ 11.0-11.3. 20’ cool down. Felt quite strong. I’ll move workouts back outside when the weather is more favorable. Right now the mill is helping me find my rhythm and run at the right effort.

8.2-mile ride back home. HR 129. Did a detour to KLM to get some chain lube and bike lights.

Lunch: 6.9-mile ride to the gym. HR 103.

            6.2 miles in 65’ on the treadmill. HR 118.

            9.7-mile ride home. HR 115.

Did some single track and technical skills course work. I wiped out a few times, notably on some logs. Two kids on mountain bikes came the other way, gracefully making their way over. I also got of the bike and carried and ran it up a steep hill. Those shoes are not made for trail running.

Late: AIS, PT routine, situps

Lunch: 8.4 miles in 65' on the treadmill. HR 148.

Did 10' progressions from 6.5-9.0 w/ last 15' @ 9.0.

PM: 6 miles, averaged 9:56. HR 131.

First 4 w/ Megan. Rained a good bit and we got a thunderstorm. I was able to get in 60’ without incident.

Lunch: 11.4 miles in 1:33. HR 155.

24' Tempo @ 10-Mile Effort + 6 x 45" Strides

30' up/20' down. Same as the previous weeks, but with an additional 2 minutes. I managed to feel great, breaking the tempo into 6' sections for 18'. I went:

6' @ 9.5

6' @ 9.6

6' @ 9.7

2' @ 9.8

1' each @ 9.9, 10.0, 10.1, 10.2

HR 176 for the tempo.

PM: 35' shakeout (11:04 pace). HR 134.

Still pretty uncomfortable out there. First day of school tomorrow.

Lunch: 6.1 miles on the treadmill in 65’. HR 128.

Good first day of teaching. Nice to feel like I contribute to society again. Blocked out a good chunk in the middle of the day to run, do lunch, work. Getting up at 6:45 and not eating until 2 was a little rough, especially after 18 hours of exercise last week. 

PM: 6.4 miles, averaged 10:11. HR 132.

Hot day, but a front started to come through and it was a very nice run. A few sun showers and a great rainbow. My swan is back at the park. It knows when the fair weather folks are gone.

AM: 7.6 miles, averaged 8:48. HR 141. Did some strides.

PM: 5.1 miles, averged 8:52. HR 141.

No ride tonight as I found out my frame is cracked. They are going to see if Specialized will warranty it. I hope they do. I am still paying for that thing. I'm only slightly panicked though.

Night: AIS, PT routine, situps and pushups

Might actually go to bed at a decent time tonight.

Lunch: 7.8 miles. Did some hill blasts.

Did an introductory hill blast workout of 4 x 8". Warmed up 30', did drills and strides, the blasts w/ 2.5'-3' walkabout recovery, 30' down. The cool down was fairly quick with a 6:30 last mile. I was anxious and ticked off, but the workout was okay. I need to work on my form for the drills.

PM: 6 miles, averaged 9:29. HR 131.

Very much like fall. Got a call from KLM and Specialized is going to send a new frame. That’s pretty serious service from both parties, particularly within 24 hours.

Noon: 14.1 miles, averaged 7:41. HR 155.

50’ Aerobic Builder + 6 x 20” Strides

Warmed up 25', covered 7.7 miles in 50' (6:29 average w/ 171 BPM), 5' jog, 6 x 20" strides, and a 20' cool down.

The weather was very fallish and that helped. I didn't take splits, but the loop is just over a mile, so I had some idea how fast I was running. I was suprised to see that the overall average at the end was at or just under 6:30. Judging from Strava, most were consistently 6:25-6:28. My breathing was good and I nailed the 170 BPM mark without looking. My legs were sluggish after 3-4 miles, but that is due to mileage and hill blast yesterday, which reminds me . . . my calves were quite sore and tight. That's pretty rare for me.

PM: 4.2 miles, averaged 10:14. HR 129.

Missed Megan as I didn't get back from the grocery store in time but saw her coming back on her run.

I didn't expect this week to be as big as it was. I did double 6 days, which is probably a PR or tied for one. If I double tomorrow, that will be a full week of double. Traditionally, I have done up to 5 doubles, with a single on a long run day and then one easy single day of ~1 hour. I also think this is my biggest week since leaving Philadelphia, but I need to check.

My last week in the 90s was March/April 2016. I have had a few 80-mile weeks since then, but a pretty steady diet of 65-75 the last 12 months.

AM: 6 miles, averaged 10:52. HR 122.

PM: 4.25 miles, averaged 10:32. HR 121.

Lunch: 8.1 miles, averaged 8:00. HR 154.

Ran on and near campus for a change of scenary and some hills. About 450 feet of gain, which is probably 10 times my usual route.

PM: 6 miles, averaged 10:04. HR 129. First few with Megan.

Late: AIS and lightish PT routine.

AM: 10.7 miles, averaged 8:20. HR 155.

20 x 1' On/Off

30' up/20 down. Did a few strides during the warmup. Weather was very pleasant. Park was pretty empty. I felt quite strong and my turnover was good. Paces did not reflect how fast it felt, but they are just 1' intervals. Finished the last two strong and was working pretty good on the last one.

PM: 4 miles, averaged 10:27. HR 127.

Ran w/ Megan.

Lunch: 6.4 miles, averaged 10:07. HR 131.

PM: 5.2 miles, averaged 10:30. HR 119 (somewhat suspect given that it dropped off).

Went to a post-meeting happy hour even though it wasn't my meeting. I paid dearly for the even the lightish sampling of some appetizers on this run. Atomic indigestion. Could have been the beer too, but I think a jalapeno on the nachos more likely.

The bike shop is loaning me a demo model for the ride tomorrow and my new rig should be in next week. It's going to be incredible.

Noon: 7.9 miles, averaged ~8:25. HR ~141.

I stopped in the woods for a second and forgot to restart or otherwise flubbed restarting my watch. Kind of anxious and sluggish, so I did a sporadic pickup of ~10' starting a moderate effort to marathon effort, working my way down to 5k pace. The last .75 was 5:53 pace.

Evening: 21.3-mile ride. HR 149.

Picked up a demo bike and a little over halfway through the ride dropped a chain and somehow wound it around the bottom bracket and inner chain ring. The frame is scratched and likely damanged. I felt really awful even if it was just a freak thing.

I was on pace for roughly 20MPH (was at 19.8 when the chain went) as we did a combined ride that got a little hot. I felt great and was well on my way to a course PR. Instead I was on the side of the road feeling like an idiot.

Lunch: 6.9 miles. Did some hill blasts.

30' warmup, drills and strides, 5 x 8" hill blast, 25' cool down with faster finish

PM: 6.2 miles, averaged 9:42. HR 132.

Warm but very pleasant. Quiet at the park.

Lunch: 8.2 miles, averaged 7:56. HR 152.

Blown Workout.

Rx was 25’ up, 55’ Aerobic Builder, 5’ jog, 6 x 45” strides, 20’ down. I got through 20’ or so and pulled it. It was 80 degrees with 77% humidity and 70 dew point. I haven’t been running in those conditions and it showed. Managed 3 miles at 6:47 pace, so much slower than last week but I had fall weather then.

Racing a 10k next weekend.

PM: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:44. HR 131.

First few with Megan. Warm, but drier than in the morning, so quite nice.

Late: AIS

Lunch: 6.6 miles, averaged 9:52. HR 129.

PM: 6.2 miles, averaged 9:42. HR 130.

Lunch: 7.1 miles on the treadmill in 65'. HR 146.

     Did a easy progression of light to moderate hills.

     10' each @ 1.5%, 2.5%, 3.5%, 4.5%, 5.5%

     5' @ 6%

     10' @ 6.5% (or were the 6%s reversed?)

PM: 6.4 miles, averaged 9:25. HR 128?

Evening: AIS and light PT routine

AM: 10 miles, averaged 8:51. HR 137.

Stridlek Workout: 2 (8 x 45")

Shorter workout with a race this weekend. 30' up with some light accelerations, the workout with jog back recoveries and 5' jog between sets. Cooled down to make it 10 miles. Felt pretty strong and decent overall.

PM: 4 miles w/ Megan, averaged 10:11. HR 122.

Lunch: 7.1 miles, averaged 9:11. HR 135.

Looks like when the fall air is here I might be out of 10'+ pace purgatory for sensible recovery runs!

PM: Off. We did happy hour and appetizers with Megan’s colleagues. I had insane heartburn after doing that last week and wasn’t in the mood for that even though I wanted to run.

AM: 6.2 miles, averaged 8:50. HR 131.

Evening: 37.2-mile ride. HR 135.

It rained quite a bit today and I wasn't sure about the ride as I hadn't heard anything about my bike or if people were riding. Turned out a few were and I got a call that my bike was all built up and ready. I made it in time to put a few final accessories back on and do some test pedaling around the parking lot, and we went out. Cooler but humid. We did a combined ride as there only 6 of us, so the pace was decent but not fast. My HR stayed quite low. We slowed here and there to wait for people. The new bike is incredible.

AM: 8.4 miles, averaged 8:24. HR 146.

     30’ up, 6 x 20” strides, 30’ down

PM: 6.4 miles, averaged ~8:43. HR 135.

     Humid and windy this morning. Really windy and drier this afternoon. Summer turned                     -    to fall. Misfired the stop on my watch on evening run. 

       Power flickered off and on all day. Currently without power. I put my bike headlight       -     on to read. Still trying to finish the last Dark Tower book.

Noon: 4.3 miles, averaged 9:26. HR 126.

Pre-race shakeout. Very fallish out there.

PM: 8.6-mile ride. HR 120.

Decided to do a very short ride to do a cyclocross skills session. Probably wish I hadn’t done any new movements tomorrow morning, but it was fun. Practiced dismounts and remounts and running with the bike. Then I set up some logs to hurdle over. It’s all quite technical. I finished with a hot lap around the lake to take the Strava segment. I now have both the running and cycling KOM.

Evening: AIS, light PT routine, and situps

AM: 13.3 miles total w/ Brooksie Way 10k in 37:48

Signed up for this race as longer race prep for the Detroit International Half at the end of October. Times have been pretty slow in previous years with an occasional 34' or 35' winner thrown in. The course had some hills (360 feet of gain), so I figured that would be a good fitness indicator, particularly given what happened at Beach to Beacon.

The weather was perfect. Upper 40s and no wind. I managed to get in a decent 35' warm up with some strides and one ~2' interval at race effort. 

We got started late because the race crew permitted two women to start the half marathon almost 20 minutes late. How this was able to happen I have no idea. 

The 5k and 10k were together and I could see two motorcycle escorts, so I figure I would have to wait until the split to see where I was. I started out about 7th or 8th in the mixed group but I think I lead the 10k from the start. I started passing people after the first 2-3 minutes and I think there were only two people in the 5k ahead of me. There were some gentle downhills and one steep downhill on gravel in the first two miles. Toward the end of mile 2 is a significant uphill that I was not prepared for but ran it quite well. Around 2 miles or so I was catching a 5k guy and could see a gentle downhill section where we split and I could see the motorcycle cop waiting. Guess that means I am leading.

I felt really good at this point, especially knowing that going into mile 4 I had a good downhill but a decent uphill at mile 5. I felt strong and smooth, which just hasn't been me lately. I had to run a bad tangent going into the halfway as they had the timing mat on the opposite side of the road. I caught some gentle inclines here and there, which really helped to recruit different muscles. I hit an 180-degree turn after a right-hand turn and started back out to the roundabout during mile 4. At this point I could see guys coming the other way but knew they couldn't catch me. Going into 4 miles I was around 23:52, but somehow I added too much distance as I was running 100m over. 

We wound around campus and I tried to keep the effort honest. I felt the best I have in a race in quite some time, and the motocycle helped to give me something to focus on rather than staring at the ground. Going into mile 6 I started to work a bit but didn't feel like I was 100% @ 10k effort. The finish is slightly uphill and my legs didn't want to turn over much, but I had a decent finish. 

The course is certified, but you are prevented from running tangents, particularly late in the race when the slower 5k and 10k runners are where you need to be. I lost close to a minute overall, which always pains me.

Strava Splits as I didn't take any: 5:43, 5:47, 6:03, 6:03, 6:16, 6:08, 5:43 (for the partial). HR 171. 

Cooled down for 3.2 miles. Megan and I had a beer. Megan also ran and did well on a challenging course. After we went to brunch at HomeGrown Brewery in Oxford, where I had been after a gravel ride with the guys back in July.

PM: 18-mile ride at Paint Creek. HR 110. Just kept it very easy and enjoyed the fall air.

Lunch: 4.6 miles, averaged 9:52. HR 125.

Legs feel quite good. No soreness. Slightly tight, but nothing much really.

PM: 6 miles, averaged 10:00. HR 125.

Light rain. Felt kind of nice. Love fall but I could still use some slightly warm, un-himid days. Running does feel effortless on these days though.

AM: 6.2 miles, averaged 9:39. HR 131.

PM: 7 miles, averaged 9:21. HR 135.

Low blood sugar and bonky on afternoon run. Felt pretty awful. Heartburn too. I think it’s dated too close to running.

Late: AIS and pushups

Lunch: 7.8 miles, averaged 8:16. HR 145.

PM: 6.5 miles, averaged 9:12. HR 133.

Late: AIS, PT routine, and situps

AM: 7.8 miles, averaged 8:42. HR 135.

30' up, 6 x 30" strides, 30' down. 

Lunch: 19-mile commute ride. HR 130. Got a little turned around. Added 7ish miles.

PM: 4.7-mile ride to the ride. HR 133. Just made it on time.

Evening: 37.3-mile ride. HR 140.

Good combined ride. Thought I wouldn’t feel great given I exercised more than planned but felt good and could have pushed harder but the main thing is I enjoyed myself and stayed safe and others did too. Good time after the ride.

AM:

7.2 miles, averaged 9:02. HR 132.

Ran with Megan in the morning, which is rare.

PM:

5.8-mile ride. Did my second cyclocross skills practice session. I think off the bike I'm going to pass some people giving my running background. The bike skills will come.

Evening:

8.1 miles, averaged 8:00. HR 140? (slightly wacky looing data)

AM: 42.1-mile ride. HR 136.

Decided to do this ride with the guys when the email went out early this week. I just have a short long run tomorrow with no quality miles, so I should be okay. Fell off the pace a bit but my legs were junk. Probably from the 15+ miles yesterday.

Weather was very cool, but gorgeous. Wore some of my running arm warmers, which worked well.

PM: 7.5 miles, averaged 8:38. HR 135.

Late: AIS

Noon: 18 miles, averaged 7:32. HR 148.

15 on the schedule but I felt great so I continued. Kept it relaxed as scheduled. I was surprised to see the last 3 splits under 7 w/ a 6:39 last mile when I wasn’t trying to push. The whole run ended up being a progression starting at 8:26. The bulk of the miles were 7:45-7:10. Weather very cool (49) and damp, but almost no wind. Solid long run for me. Didn’t start to wear out until the last mile. I think the cycling has given me an endurance boost.