Of Mice and Marathons

PM/Night: 3 hours on the trainer. 230W. HR 137.

Fairly minimal effects from the booster and/or flu shot. Light headache. Started to lose energy around lunchtime, but napped when the boys were napping. Felt decent after. Energy was decent on the ride, though I put down 320 calories and 80g of carbs per hour. Felt a little off after but I think I was just hungry. I had some chills, but I am unsure if that was from sweating and cooling off or the shots. 

AM: 8.2 miles, averaged 7:57. HR 148. 

PM: 4.8 miles, averaged 8:19. HR 140.

A baselayer and gloves this morning. Pretty humid but chilly. Sunny and dry in the afternoon. I skipped my midweek for this week to recover from the race. I also wanted to get some cycling hours in with four weeks to go to Ice Man. I imagine when Thursday Night Dirt ends in another 2-3 weeks I will make Thursdays a run day to get my mileage back up. 50-60 is decent right now, but I plan to try to bump things up to 80-90 if I can after Ice Man and into January before dropping things down to about 70-75 once I start my faster track workouts. 

98% sure I am not doing the ultra track once again. I could be ready in a few weeks as I have enough base and a few long runs of 18-19 miles, but I would want to treat it like a marathon buildup and I really like to have at least 7-8 20+ milers and I don't get think I can get that many in. I like marathon-style long runs, so I will likely do some of those during basebuilding. Not 20 milers but maybe up to 18 miles. Good for the aerobic fitness and overall mileage.

PM: 2 hours 53'. 52 miles @ 18.1 MPH. 202W. HR 149.

Thursday Night Dirt

I got out of class a bit early. My foot has been hurting the last few days a bit. Metatarsal head stone bruise that happens once in a while, but it has been pretty painful. I decided to ride and if it really bothered me, I would turn around. It was actually fine. 

I thought I was late as I was chasing two guys going down Gunn. It turns out that the group was behind them and the extra 4-5 minutes I had from last week was enough. I turned around because I still didn't see them and thought they would catch me rather quickly. I jumped on the back on one of the Hixon hills and got settled in. The group broke up here and there going down Dequindre, but I was determined to ride the front of the group (well, until one of the young, extremely fast guys took off). I was hoping to bridge a gap that open when three guys took off, but the group wasn't too interested in closing, so that was our group. Road with some of the really fast guys and actually did some pulling, which felt great as I have felt ready for a few weeks. 

This was not 100% race effort, but portions of it were. I would say it wasn't far off, though my HR was not extremely high. 

Lap Data: 24.7 miles, averaged 21.8 MPH 249W. HR 167.

AM: 8 miles, averaged 8:15. HR 147. 

PM: 5 miles on the treadmill, averaged 9:59.

Kept it very easy in the evening and the treadmill helped with my foot given the orthopedic belt and 1.5% incline. It hurt a bit here and there on the morning run. Not much energy on the morning run, but last night was a hard ride and I don't think I ate enough during the day or last night. I was bonking hard on the way home from the middle school lot last night. 

PM: 3 hours 2'. 54.9 miles @ 18.1 MPH. 215W. HR 137.

Overall a good ride despite some asshat drivers, one of whom told me to get on the sidewalk, even though they were on the other side of the road and not involved with my riding or being there in any way. I lit into them. Another beeped at me despite no other traffic around, in a school zone, with a dirt road starting in a few thousand feet.

Foot bugged me for just a few minutes at the start and then settled out. Riding seems to be better than running. I think I will ride again tomorrow and then run Monday. I think it will be fine if I don't push it and take preventative steps to deal with it, something I haven't done until just recently.

AM/Lunch: 2.5 hours on the trainer. 243W. HR 143

90' Wave Tempo: 15' SS/15' Tempo Float

Decided to do a workout. Wanted another three hours, but didn't leave quite enough time. Planned to do 2 hours of alternating, but in the last sweet spot segment, my legs just weren't firing, like they had run out of glycogen. Called it there and did 30' at honest zone 2 power. 

Needed to use a different course as the flowing, rolling hills made sustaining consistent effort hard and the power was a bit up and down. My HR only hit 161 for the high, so I wasn't pressing too hard aerobically at all. Some of the harder 15' efforts could have averaged well into the 160s.

Foot feels much improved. Ice and pain reliever has helped a lot. 

I think I am going to skip the Grand Rapids half. They want $135 and although I have the money and realized races cost money to put on, I am just not sure I want to spend that much on a race I'll run a mediocre time on. So I think I am officially at 12 weeks of basebuilding before the start of the year, which is just fine with me. I think I might try to pick up a race before Iceman and see where I am at. 

AM: 8 miles, averaged 8:42. HR 136.

PM: 6.2 miles, averaged 8:55. HR <140.

HRM spiked three times for about a quarter mile oddly. Usually the Polar H10 is pretty solid. Been a while since I have seen really wonky data. 

Foot feels much improved. I will continue to run as long as it feels okay. Happy with that. It was a minor issue that I ignored for too long. I know better.

Lunch: 8 miles on the treadmill, averaged 8:09. HR 144. 

PM: 78' ride outside. 20.7 miles @ 17.4 MPH. 199W. HR 134.

It was starting to get dark, but I wanted to attack a segment I almost got the author day at a steady effort. I jumped on it today and took the KOM. Rode in the dark for a bit and my light died, so I was using my iphone for the last few miles.  

AM: 8 miles, averaged 8:05. HR 144.

PM: 90' on the trainer. 223W. HR 129. 

Definitely getting colder in the mornings. It makes running a lot easier, but I am not looking forward to winter weather. Not much to be done about it.

PM: 2 hours 55'. 53.9 miles @ 18.5 MPH. 236W. HR 149.

Thursday Night Dirt - Solo Time Trial Edition 

Lap Data: 27.8 miles @ 20.1 MPH. 279W. HR 160.

I had 281 watts on my Garmin and 288 normalized, so I was pretty pleased. I dropped a bottle of carbohydrates, which I did go back for and I think I could have really used that.

I was looking forward to a group ride today. It was the one year anniversary of my dad's death. I was late and missed the start, so I decided to time trial the route again as I did about a month or so ago when I was late. Effort was good, HR was under control. I was trying to do 300 watts averaged or pretty close to it, but I wasn't able to. I managed 284/285 through most of the ride and the power dropped a bit the last few miles even though I still felt like I had a little bit left. It was getting pretty dark in the second half. 

I stopped at the middle school parking lot to see if people were still there and they were, so I visited for about 10-15 minutes. I skipped RJ's as it was getting pretty cold already and I did want to freeze later on the ride home. 

AM: 8 miles, averaged 7:47. HR 149.

Legs felt decent and I was out of the gate in 8 flat with most miles consistently in the 7:40s. It felt steady but easy. Fitness is coming along nicely on both the bike and run. I will try to keep most of my morning runs steady easy during the next few weeks of base building.

Megan and I went to an apple orchard with the boys for a field trip. It was a beautiful day for it. 

PM: 5 miles, averaged 10:05. HR 128.

The neighborhood had cider and donuts at the park, so it was round 2 of the day for us. 

PM: 4 hours on the fat bike. 195W. HR 143.

Wanted to ride my gravel bike, but it is Iceman season, so I figured a longer ride with some dirt roads and hit a couple of trails. I first hit Independence Oaks, which was super loose and dry, but it has some of the best Iceman-style climbs in the area. I had way too much pressure in my tires, so I let it down a bit. It's not my favorite place to ride and I haven't been there for a few years, but figured I would give it a shot. Looped back toward the house to go to Orion Oaks, and remembered Friendship Park, so I hit some of the flowy jumps and berms there, though I didn't get much air. Good work turning as I slide out slightly on one of the corners, unclipping, but staying upright. Did two tempo laps of Orion Oaks, then went to Bald Mountain South and hit my fastest time there without pushing too hard. 

AM/Lunch: 17 miles, averaged 7:30. HR 149.

10-Mile Tempo, Averaged 6:50

I wanted to get in a halfway decent long run of at least 2 hours with some quality aerobic miles (about 8-10 miles around marathon effort to a bit steadier if feeling good). I thought my legs would be heavy after four hours on the bike yesterday, but they were pretty decent.

Honest 3-mile warmup at sub-8 pace straight into the workout. I figured I would start around 7:20-7:25 and cut down, but I was already in the low 7s headed uphill and progressed nicely from there, staying in control and never really struggling or pressing though not really able to cut down much beyong the low-6:40s, which was fine as I haven't been able to run that fast in a few years. My HR never got that high and I will sometimes press solidly into the 160s and even low 170s if I am feeling good the last 2-3 miles. 

7:08, 6:55, 6:52, 6:53, 6:50, 6:48, 6:47, 6:46, 6:48, 6:43

HR was just under 160 average, which seem about 5-8 beats low, but who knows. HR dropped down a beat or two in some miles, when it should have climbed slightly due to cardiac drift if nothing else. Effort was right in any case. Cooled down to 17 at a honest easy pace, while allowing the HR to drop back down. 

It's taken me two years of fairly consistent training/running, but I think I am on my way to my old self. I still have a lot of work to do, but this is really the first longer aerobic workout where I have run significantly faster than my planned pace. A few weeks ago 6:40ish pace for 8 miles in a race felt pretty hard. Today it felt comfortable, and if I were doing 6-8 miles of work, I would have cut down into the 6:30s or even high 6:20s possibly. One for the positive column for sure.

The boys had their 4th birthday. We didn't have a party other than the immediate family. They have had colds so the timing wasn't great, but they had a good day I think.

AM: 6.3 miles, averaged 10:28. HR 119.

PM: 6.3 miles, averaged 9:38. HR 126.

Chilly and damp. Good day of recovery runs. Legs felt decent. Kept both runs to mostly soft surfaces of the Polly Ann.

AM: 8 miles, averaged 8:09. HR 144. 

PM: 60' on the trainer. 227. HR 133.

Megan took the boys to the pediatrician, so I snuck in a morning run when I have more typically been running on the treadmil while they nap on Tuesdays.

AM: 8 miles, averaged 8:15. HR 145. 

Did a 1-mile pickup in 6:07. Felt decent. I picked it up progressively after a slower start. Felt like running a harder mile just because. 

PM: 4.1 miles, averaged 8:33. HR 146.

7 x 200: 41, 41, 41, 40, 40, 39, 39

PM: 90' on the fat bike. 214W. HR 147.

Did 3 x progressive laps of Orion Oaks. Just under 52' 15.7 MPH. 239W. HR 157. I think I needed a little more pressure in my tires, but I am trying to get out of the habit of inflating them too high for trails. 

AM/Lunch: 17 miles, averaged 7:39. HR 156. 

10-Mile Tempo @ Marathon Effort

69:16, averaged 6:56 @ 168 BPM

I thought given how I felt last weekend I would be able to run a bit faster, but my legs were tired and it was a good bit warmer than last week (not complaining). I'm also trying to not get caught up in split times week to week. In fact, in an entry from 2015 or 2016 I think Rob Murphy gave me some advice about comparing times week to week. I don't recall the exact wording, but the takeaway is not to get caught up in. I ran my effort and kept an eye on heart rate without being a slave to it. I am almost 100% certain my HRM was off last week as I have run enough by HR to know where it is at. 

Started in the mid-160s, which feels about like marathon effort once you get the first miles under your belt. I had thought I might do 8 miles, jog, then do 2-3 x 1 mile, but I figured I would just do the last two miles to be consistent with last week. And I wasn't sure I could move too much faster (I planned on the mile repeats being something like 6:35, 6:25, 6:18). 

Splits were good, but I kept an eye on them: 7:07, 6:56, 6:55, 6:56, 6:56, 6:54, 6:58, 6:52, 6:54, 6:50. Avg HR 168

PM: 4 hours 31' ride. 82.8 miles @ 18.3 MPH. 213W. HR 137.

The weather was absolutely awesome, so I figured a long gravel ride would be what I wanted even though I should be riding my fat bike for Iceman prep. Picked up a few new miles. Took in about 520 calories in gels and about 500 in drink mix. Energy was very good and didn't really hit any low energy points. 

AM: 8 miles, averaged 10:10. HR 123.

Quick trip to Toledo to see Megan's parents and for a birthday party.

AM: 8 miles, averaged 8:17. HR 142.

PM: 5 miles, averaged 8:59. HR 131.

About 80 degrees out. I missed most of it during the second run though.

PM: ~1:40 on the trainer. 

Zwift Race - Oktoberfest Handful of Gravel (5 Laps)

Decided to do a Zwift race as a kind of last harder effort before Iceman. I did not run at lunch as I ended up napping while the boys napped. Passed out for 90'. It was needed and glorious. 

Race went okay. I have done this race in the past (February 6 or 7?), though it was 4 laps. I think that race was around 50' and 292 watts. I knew this race would be approximately 60' and I wanted to try to hold 300 watts for the full hour. Didn't quite get there and could have maybe pressed a bit but it is racing and a group of teammates were working together, so they were able to draft any time I pulled ahead, so I backed off just a touch here and there. 288 watts @ 165 BPM. I am also down 8-10 lbs from February, so my watts/kilo was slightly better even with the power being a few watts lower (could be explained by racing tactics, fatigue, etc). Finished gasping for air even though my breathing wasn't that heavy. It was like all of a sudden the air was thin and the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. I had a decent coughing fit, but recovered. 

25' up/15' down

AM: 8.1 miles, averaged 8:01. HR 146.

PM: 4 miles, averaged 8:10. HR 144.

Broke in a new pair of flats/lightweight trainers. I have been looking for a more traditional racing flat that works for me. I like my super shoes okay for longer stuff, but for shorter races I am not sure. I haven't done a lot of faster end stuff in the super shoes. These are Active 88s from Danny Abshire who was one of the co-founders of Newton running. I haven't really run in Newtons for a while since the quality went down hill, but these remind me of my first pair of Newton MV2 but they are a touch firmer and hoping they will break in a little bit. Weight is solid on them, but my foot wasn't happy but I was excited to try them. I had just enough time to squeeze in 4 miles before picking up the boys. 

PM: 90' on the trainer. 240W. HR 143.

4 x 8'

10ish-day-out Workout. I probably could have done something a bit more difficult and involved, but I think this worked out okay. 90% of FTP was around 289, but I knew I wanted to hit around 310-320 or 95-100% of FTP. Managed that without too crazy and effort.

Ended up getting in 90' when I thought I was only going to get an hour. The boys watched Scooby-Doo while I extended my cool down. 

312 watts @ 156 BPM; 317 watts @ 158 BPM; 315 watts @ 162 BPM; 316 watts @ 164 BPM

Lunch: 10 miles, averaged 8:17. HR 146. 

PM: 60' on the trainer. 219W. HR 125.

PM: 4 hours 6'. 71.5 miles @ 17.4 MPH. 215W. HR 137.

Solid ride despite some jerk at the Baldwin circle who squeezed me out and I raised my hands in a WTF gesture. He then proceeded to follow me. You've never seen road rage like you see in Michigan. Car culture is all that matters and it really shows up when you are a cyclist. I could just have easily spit tagged his car or put out a taillight with my bike pump. Decided to ignore him and keep riding, but he slow rolled behind me for a while. Took me a long time to settle down. Usually I stew for a few minutes and carry on, but this sent me for 90' or so. Decent power. I was around 220 or so until I hit Orion Oaks and the power dropped. I thought my speed would be closer to 18+ with slightly higher power than normal, but I think the wind did it. I didn't feel as good energy wise as last week, but I took in a good deal of calories. I think for rides of 4+ hours I will mix my bottles at race strength. 

We took the boys to Canterbury Village for the Halloween event. It is always a highlight of the fall for us.

Off.

First day off in 80 days. Decided it was time to just take one. We took the boys to Blake's Cider Mill.

AM: 10 miles, averaged 7:55. HR 148.

PM: 4.1 miles, averaged 9:29. HR 136.

Warm!

PM: 120' on the trainer. 229W. HR 130.

Ice Man this weekend. I think I am ready for a pedal race. I am not sure when my next running race is. Likely March after an honest base building period and a couple weeks of threshold workouts.

AM: 8.3 miles, averaged 7:51. HR 149.

About 65 degrees at 9:00 AM!

PM: 4.1 miles, averaged 9:51. HR 125.

Off.

I was going to jump on the trainer after trick-or-treating but was pretty tired. I had tried to get up before class, but shut my alarm off.