Of Mice and Marathons

PM: 7.7 miles, averaged 9:05. HR 144.

Legs didn't have much in them and I wasn't feeling the run, but it was a nice day out. Switch morning and afternoon with Megan. 

AM: 10.8 miles, averaged 8:48. HR 157.

35' @ Half Marathon Effort 

Tried to do a semi-proper warmup for once. Did 2' @ roughly marathon effort, but could have been a touch lighter on that and have done maybe 3'. Did two shorts strides, so not a full warmup, but I am not running that fast so I really don't need anything crazy. It wasn't too hot, but I was sweating like crazy. 

Struggled mentally with this one. Just doesn't feel worth the effort to run low 7' pace, but I did this to myself and now I just have to grind it out and get back the fitness I lost from 2020 until now. Anyway, a tough workout. 40' next week, so that should be fun. 

7:19 pace @ 174 BPM

PM: 6 hours 10' ride (103.2 miles). 186W. HR 144.

Jason's End of Summer Hundo 2023

Planned out a route and it would load on my Garmin, so I freewheeled it and it worked out well. Quite warm. Drained two bottled and my backpack by 70 miles and the last thirty I went through a bottle and change and maybe two more liters in my refilled backpack. I felt great through 100k and was averaging 17.5 or so on dirt roads, but then I died a good bit but stopped at 70 and got some fudge and more liquids and came around. 

Not sure how many 6 hour rides I will do this fall. 4 hours or so, up to 5 is about right. Not training for anything that requires it just like riding long now that I am running more and hoping it will help with weight loss.

AM: 5.7 miles, averaged 11:21. HR 132.

Recovery as much as I could make it. It was hot. Wanted to get a second run in but I am guessing in the heat I won't feel like it. Mondays will typically be double days once the boys start school this week and next week.

PM: 90' on the trainer. 210W. HR 141.

3 x 12' @ ~90-92 %

Meant to get in a run, but didn't get up early enough. Needed to be back and up before the boys as Megan had a long day. Napped while the boys napped at lunch, and snuck this in before dinner.

Legs felt pretty sluggish. 282 watts @ 155 BPM, 289 watts @ 165 BPM, and 285 watts @ 167 BPM. Goal was 285, 295, 300. Still feeling the hundo in my legs I would say.

Lunch: 8.4 miles on the treadmill, averaged 9:34. HR 150.

20 x 1'

Didn't want to chance getting caught in a thunderstorm so I went to the gym after class. These were supposed ot be around 6:30, but I know they would have been faster on the roads. On the treadmill I had to start at 8.5 and work my way down. Worked my way .1 faster every few repeats until I was running the last 5 intervals at something like 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 10.0. Might have been a little conservative in the beginning but it felt like I was flying. 

I was going to do weights as I had plenty of time now that Megan takes the boys all day on Wednesdays but I wanted to get my grocery shopping down and spend some time with them, which worked at as Megan needed to put out some fires at work.

Lunch: 6 miles, averaged 10:55. HR 129.

PM; 4.2 miles, averaged 10:54. HR 127.

The boys' first day of school! Megan dropped them off as my classes started at Oakland and I teach all day. Charlie had a little trouble going in, but didn't break into a full cry. Sawyer walked right in and Charlie followed. They were excited when they got home, which made me feel a ton better. I have been worried. 

Lunch: 7.3 miles, averaged 8:56. HR 144.

PM: 4.4 miles, averaged 9:01. HR 141.

Picked the boys up from school. I ordered them their first pizza, which they ate while I was running. Pretty solid week. My dad is in the hospital with some other issues unrelated to his dementia. It's been a bit of a week, but the boys have been great once they get into school. They really like the cots they nap in, which sounds about right.

AM: 12.4 miles, averaged 8:26. HR 153.

40' @ Half Marathon Effort

I was a bit nervous about this one given how last week went, but I did it on the longer safety path loop as that tends to be better for longer efforts. Ended up being a solid workout. Didn't take splits, but my watch told me there was a 7:03 mile in there, which is promising. Averaged 7:17 @ 166 BPM, so really most of it was actually marathon effort. I just didn't want to push too early and blow up. Started around 7:30ish for the first mile, that I do know. This was promising even though it doesn't look like much on paper. Tipping along. I imagine I won't be where I want to be by the second week in November, but I imagine I will be a lot fitter than I currently am. I am very much enjoying my running and training, so that's definitely A+ good.

PM: 4 hours 20' on the fat bike. 190W. HR 141.

Good ride. Solid weather. Did the Oakland County section of the Polly Ann and then a bit of the Lapeer County section before heading west. Went down Fox Lake Road, which is a seasonal road, which has recent been improved. Some good, Ice Man style climbs.

My dad has colon cancer in addition to his frontal temporal dimentia. Not sure the extent of it.  Not sure what day it was that I found out, but I'll mark it here.

Lunch: 6.2 miles, averaged 10:30. HR 130.

PM: 4.2 miles, averaged 10:48. HR 128.

Don't recall what shoes I ran in in the afternoon.

PM: 7.7 miles, averaged 8:31. HR 148.

Good steady easy run. It's been a few years since 8:15-9:00 pace has felt easy. Broke in a new pair of Kinvara 13s. I say new but they were clearly used slightly, but I didn't feel like returning them to Amazon. So far so good.

Dad's surgery is scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Lunch: 11.4 miles, averaged 8:46. HR 155. 

15 x 2'

Averaged 6:27 or 28. Thought it would be in the teens or low 6s, but my legs had no pop in them. Decided to sleep in a bit or try to before class and do the workout at lunch rather than before. Had a hard time concentrating thinking about my dad at times, but just worked through it. Knew I would be more upset if I pulled out on the workout. It wasn't hot but the air was damp. Sweat a ton.

Lunch: 6 miles, averaged 10:52. HR 128.

PM: ~3.5 hours on the gravel bike. 

Snuck a run in at lunch between my morning classes and my afternoon classes. Feel very fortunate to have some time to myself even though I miss the boys when they are at school.

Thursday Night Dirt

Did B group as I wasn't interested in compromising recovery from the run workout yesterday. Roads were great where they weren't sprayed with calcium chloride. Took a corner and start to lose control thinking it was the slippery mud, but it turns out my thru axle was loose and the tire went into the fork. I have minimal bike skill, but sometimes I impress myself with how I ride out of stuff like this. Got it sorted and continued out. Went to the bar with some folks after and rode home. Chilly but beautiful night. 

Lunch: 7.6 miles, averaged 8:33. HR 148.

PM: 5 miles, averaged 9:47. HR 134.

Proper double.

Went back to bed after helping Megan briefly get the boys ready for school. Surprised I felt as good as I did after staying up too late last night drinking. I was home from 9-4, which is great but also weird. Need to get more work done on Fridays. Had a tough week and had trouble concentrating, but I have a solid week of running going and Charlie seems much better about not crying going to school, so some check marks in the positive column.

AM: 14.9 miles, averaged 8:31. HR 159.

50' @ half marathon effort + 10" + 6 x 45" Strides

Effectively steady state effort. Felt decently strong and nailed the effort. Ran by a combination of pace and effort to guage things and it work. Last two minutes uphill were starting to get challening but I was mostly just tired. 7:29 pace @ 170 BPM five minute jog, then 6 x 45" strides with 75" recoveries. 6:00-6:27 pace on those. Turnover felt pretty solid.

Highest mileage week on a few years. Late 2019 I think. 

PM: 6.1 miles, averaged 10:41. HR 127.

69+ miles Monday to Sunday. Will try to keep mileage in the 60s for a while if I can. I don't think I'm running 100-mile weeks ever again, but who knows. 60ish with some doubles and a few rides seems pretty good. Didn't get my long ride in today as we were out of town, but that's okay. I was going to take a day off but was anxious and irritable, so I figured an easy recovery run might be good. It (mostly) help.

AM: 7.5 miles, averaged 8:45. HR 147.

Cool and humid. Enjoying running this loop as it has some up and down but nothing crazy. No midweek workout this week, so just regular runs with a long run on the weekend. Quite tired overall, but I plan to get a nap in after class and a second run in after doing some work and before picking the boys up. 

PM: 4.75 miles, averaged 8:26. HR 148.

A perfect fall day for running. Sunshine and fallish but just right.

Lunch: 90' on the trainer. 225W. HR 144.

Pretty steady on the trainer while the boys napped. I took them to Orion Oaks to watch the dogs run and they wanted to run on the trails, so we did our first run together. Did about a third of a mile to a half with just a bit of rock collecting and walking, but I had to get them to stop, Charlie in particular. I was worried they were just going to overexert themselves. We ended up doing about 2.5 miles total. 

PM: 7.6 miles, averaged 8:32. HR 149.

AM: 6.8 miles, averaged 9:38. HR 132. 

PM: 4.8 miles, averaged 9:22. HR 144.

Quite a bit warmer in the afternoon. Didn't drink enough fluids between runs either.

AM: 6.25 miles, averaged 10:25. HR 126.

Earlier run. Good morning for it. Long day ahead. 

Lunch: 4.1 miles, averaged 9:40. HR 137.

PM: ~3 hours 13' ride. 

Thursday Night Dirt

Great weather for September. Good ride. Some rerouting due to chloride. Did B group evening though with no midweek workout this week it would have been a perfect week for it. Probably not after a double run day, but still.

Lunch: 7 miles, averaged 9:18. HR 144. 

Warmish. Got rolling late. Went back to bed after getting the boys in the car. Picked up the boys at school and picked up the downstairs. 

PM: 4.3 miles, averaged 9:20. HR 138.

Did 4 x 200 on the middle school track. Felt good to run "fast." Assuming I had the marks right, which was difficult with the grass mowed over it I went: 45, 43, 43, 43. I will try to repeat this once a week or so. I used to do them in the afternoons in Philly for a shorter run. Always enjoyed it. I used to do them near all out. These we hard but maybe 85%. Worked on form and pumping my arms. Beautiful and quiet night to run on the track just 5-7 minutes from the house.

I hit 1000 miles for the year. Surpassed mileage from 2020, 2021, 2022, which wasn't hard to do. I used to have a list of when I hit the 1000, 2000, and 3000-mile marks, but I cannot find it. I think I have it noted on the blog somewhere. From 2013-2019 I think most years I hit the 1000-mile mark in April. 

AM: 60' on the trainer. 234W. HR 145.

I was going to run a regular easy run, but decided to do a short session on the trainer. I slept in a bit so I didn't have time to do my long run before going to a township event. Figured I will do the long run in the early afternoon on Sunday. Mileage was high enough anyway. 

4 x 10' @ 88-95% (Antelope -5)

268 watts @ 146 BPM; 274 watts @ 151 BPM; 287 watts @ 157 BPM; 281 watts @ 158 BPM

HR seemed on the lower side, but it was a short session and the AI dropped my FTP by 8 watts. Still felt like a good effort and the breathing didn't seem to match the HR.

PM: 7.7 miles, averaged 8:27. HR 149.

I didn't end up getting my long run in. I was tired and decided to nap. The update on my dad wasn't great, which suggested that the cancer is in his lymph nodes as it sounded like when I got the first update. I still got in a regular steady easy run. It was absolutely gorgeous out. We took the boys to Caterbury Village after for Fall Fest to walk around and get some donuts and stuff.

Lunch: 7.6 miles, averaged 8:36. HR 148.

PM: 4.5 miles, averaged 10:10. HR 128.

Off.

It's been three full months between either a ride or run or both. I was tired when I got up and tired later in the day. Napped when the boys did and a bit later when Megan came home. It's been a minute since I have done that. Emotionally a little drained but doing okay. Figured it was good day to rest. Rained a good bit today, so we played in the basement a bit. Couldn't get the boys to ride their bikes. They basically wanted to look through bins of toys, name them, then throw them, not in a tantrummy way, just mild disinterest. 

PM: 7.7 miles, averaged 8:24. HR 150.

Didn't want to get out of bed and was quite irritable. Didn't get in any sort of run this morning, thinking I would do my midweek at lunch or in the afternoon, but I was just way too tired. LTU class was fine. Took a nap. Megan had something on campus so I took the boys after our nap. I wasn't super patient with them. Went back up stairs and slept some more. Felt better after I got up. Run felt great. Light on my feet and ran with good form and a steady pace without overdoing it. Just what I needed. Energy feels better now. I was quite fatigued today and yesterday. Kind of just hit me.

Lunch: 7.6 miles, averaged 8:36. HR 148.

PM: 4.3 miles, averaged 10:27. HR 126.

Pretty tired. Teaching went okay, but I didn't bring much energy. I didn't get up to run before class as we all slept in miraculously. 

I believe I am headed to Maine the end of next week to say goodbye to my Dad. Mom is going to give him a bit more time, but as soon as they pull the antibiotics and the feeding device it's just a matter of dosing him with morphine I think.

AM: 7.6 miles, averaged 8:35. HR 146.

PM: 4.4 miles, averaged 8:59. HR 149.

6 x 200 on the track: 40, 43, 40, 40, 40, 41

Better than last week. Decided to add two more for good measure. A few late lap hits and a bit of weaving for the walking couple in lanes 1 and 2. 

I'm headed to Maine tomorrow, so a bit sooner than I expected, but I am not surprised. 

AM/Lunch: 1:45 on the trainer.

I was going to get in my long run, but just couldn't get myself to focus and I figured I didn't ride at all this week and didn't want to take a zero on that, and perhaps still get in my long run tomorrow in Maine. Warmed up 15' and decided I wanted to do a hard session, so I restarted and did:

2 x 20'

286 watts (160 BPM) and 291 watts (165 BPM).

I was decently please with the workout. I don't know if I have ever done the session, but it's a cyclist's staple. 

Got to the airport and had a light dinner, which looked like crap but wasn't too bad. Slept a good bit on the plane. I got into Portland around 11:30 or so I think. Mom picked me up and I drove home. Stayed up talking to her until a late hour.