Of Mice and Marathons

PM: 14.7 miles in 2 hours on the treadmill. HR 153.

120' w/ 60' Steady

I probably could have gone outside but it was pretty windy and I wasn't sure if the slick spots were gone and I wanted to keep consistent with the last few weeks. I warmed up 30' starting pretty slow and progressing to workout pace and a few strides around 10MPH+. I changed speed by miles, which I almost never do just for something different. Planned to start just below 7:30 pace and see how I progressed. 

I didn't feel like I had a ton of turnover and I was sweating quite a lot so I didn't get too aggressive, but I think I ended up doing for 60' what I did for one of the 20' intervals I did this week, so it went quite well.

The progression was something like mile 1 @ 8.2, mile 2 @ 8.4, miles 3-5 @ 8.6, mile 6 @ 8.8, mile 7-8.6 @ 9.0. I completed 8.6 miles in 60' so around 6:55 average @ 169 BPM. I did the first 32 minutes or so at 1.5% and dropped it down to 1% after that, so slightly faster than belt speed pace if you follow treadmill conversion charts, so around upper 6:40s to low 6:50s. I think I would probably be able to run that pace for an hour outside, probably faster in the colder temps. 

I felt this was a really good workout, especially given that it was roughly the same pace as my midweek 2 x 20' from Wednesday. I felt like crap after. Stomach was sour and I had no energy and it got worse throughout the evening and I didn't really feel like eating dinner after I had a late lunch/very early dinner. 

AM: 6.2 miles, averaged 10:29. HR 121. 

Solid recovery run. HR quite low, proper recovery effort. The Polly Ann was pretty much all frozen crusty footprints, which I did not expect given the recent rain and melting.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 193W. HR 119.

Lightest zone 2. I was going to do strict recovery but decided on something in between so long as my HR stayed low. 

Feeling quite good with my training. Need to get the treadmill in to get in an extra run day and back to consistent doubles, by the cycling continues to add high aerobic volume without too much impact. 

Lunch: Just under 2 hours on the trainer. 226W. HR 140.

~72' tempo @ ~265 watts

Zwift doesn't have a lap button so I just lapped around one of the courses and pulled the data from that. Lap 1 = 254 watts @ 146 BPM, Lap 2 = 265 watts @ 153 BPM, and Lap 3 =  274 watts @ 159 BPM

Felt very strong and my HR was quite low, almost makes me think the top of zone 2 is higher than what I have it set at. I guess I need to do an FTP test. Kind of loaded the legs for tomorrow's midweek run workout, but I will survive. I skipped my typical Zwift race, bit didn't want to just do zone 2 but I didn't want to do anything as hard as intervals. This fit the bill and plays to my strengths. 

AM: 10 miles on the treadmill in 1:22:30. HR 152. 

10'-8'-6'-5'-2

This was supposed to be 10-8-6-4-2, but I thought I hadn't gone long enough on the 4' rep even though I was keeping a close eye on the time. Better over than under. I backed off from the planned progression that had each interval descending from 9.2-10.0. I think I got the effort right. 

10' @ 9.2, 8' @ 9.4, 6' @ 9.4, 5' @ 9.5, 2' @ 9.6/9.7 (all @ 1%)

HRs were in the upper 160s to low 170s, but I am finding that with my fitness and HR being quite low the 170s are challening once I get into the mids and definitely upper 170s. These were definitely mor threshold type reps than my last few midweeks, which have been challenging but not overly taxing. I was working to concentrate on the last few minutes. I was very glad the times were descending and not increasing. 

PM: 60' on the trainer. 213W. HR 131.

I sweat a ton today. Lately on my afternoon indoor rides I haven't been sweating much but I sweat a lot on this one.

Lunch: 6.7 miles, averaged 9:57. HR 128.

HR is coming down quite nicely on my recovery runs.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 214W. HR 129.

All my 60' trainer rides lately seem to average 129BPM.

AM: 73' on the trainer. 198W. HR 137.

FTP TEST

I thought I could beat my numbers from the AI number from trainer road, but I was very humbled on this one. I thought I could put out 330-350 watts for 20' but I was promptly humbled when I went out through 5' and tried to keep pressing from 326 watts up, but then I just dropped over the last 15' to 306. I really wanted to quit, but I stuck it out and figured I would just finish it and get in a good workout. This dropped my FTP considerably. The 20' assessment is quite difficult to pace and I haven't done one in 4 years I think, mostly because they are so taxing and difficult to do well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised given that I haven't done much theshold stuff. 20' @ 306 @ 169 BPM. Still, I did 299 watts for 22' in a Zwift race, so this is pretty disappointing.

Much like my running, my endurance and general strength is decent but my speed and theshold stuff is pretty weak. After 4+ weeks at 15-16 hours of training per week, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Need to work in a recovery week. 

PM: 8 miles, averaged 8:13. HR 148.

First steadier easy run in a few weeks. Effort, pace, and HR all coming together.

PM: 10.7 miles, averaged 8:23. HR 146.

30' @ HME

6:46, 6:43, 6:50, 6:45, (6:46). Warmed up 30' with some accelerations. I was hoping to start in the low 6:40s and work into the 6:30s, but I didn't quite get there. HR was solidly in control, but it doesn't seem to be getting that high lately. I averaged around 168 or 169 BPM. 6:46 average.

A long way to go, but probably not far off from the treadmill workouts, so I guess that isn't disappointing. This was considerably faster than my 90' workout with 30' steady, which averaged around 7:30 and the last mile was around 7:15 and it almost killed me. I was decently hungover then and since January 6 I have only had drinks on my birthday. Definitely helping, but I wish it was helping more :-)

Switched morning/afternoon with Megan to do a ride with the guys tomorrow. It was nice to work a bit and watch the boys and watch the Olympic Trials.