Of Mice and Marathons

AMlLunch: 120' on the trainer. 236W. HR 137.

4 x 15' Under/Overs

A solid session today. I felt quite strong after getting to bed a decent hour and sleeping until just before 9:00. Did some work and decided to jump on the trainer. I was thinking about going outside but it was just about freezing and didn't feel like taking the extra time to get my bike ready. I was also thinking about doing a long run, as my running this week has been more minimal and inconsistent than previous weeks, but I did three bike sessions and a long ride, so I had plenty of training. 

This was a progression from the last several weeks. 3-4 weeks ago or so my legs felt like crap on these. Today I was ready to blast and on most of them felt I could have held full threshold for the entire 15'. The overall average power for the intervals confirms this. 

Goals were 270 watts for 2' and then 295 for 1' with 6' of recovery at zone 2 between intervals. I exceeded those targets, starting around 275 and finishing most around 280-285 and the threshold sections around 300-306 and finished with a few around 310-325.

Overall: 286 watts @ 150 BPM, 289 watts @ 153 BPM, 289 watts @ 154 BPM, 291 watts @ 154 

PM: 8.4 miles, averaged 8:46. HR 126.

Lunch/PM: 15.7 miles, averaged 7:41. HR 144.

6 x 2k w/ 2-2.5' Recoveries 

I was looking to extend the mile repeats from 2 weeks ago. I didn't get in a midweek workout or a long run last week, but that was okay. I just haven't run fast in a while. I was hoping to get around 6:15 or so for these to be in line with the 6 x 1 mile workout from two weeks ago, knowing that that is a a good bit faster than half marathon pace but that I want to see if I can get pretty close to sub-80 minute shape in 8 weeks. Today told me I am closer to that goal than I could have imagined. Plenty of work to do, but it doesn't feel as unrealistic as it did 4 weeks or so ago.  

I warmed up just under 4 miles. The wind was picking up and it was starting to rain a little and it was supposed to snow, but we never really got it thankfully. I wore super shoes for the first time in a long time. The last time I raced in September I didn't even bother with them, but I do think they help a good bit. 

Goal was to hit 7:40-7:45 per 2k or 6:10-6:14 per mile. I averaged 7:40, or 6:10/6:11 per mile. Jogs were no more than 2:30 with most around 2:15-2:25. I didn't get too fussy with those. 

Cooled down about 3.2 miles or so. I didn't have much on the cool down and my vision was a touch foggy. Clearly not enough fuel. A little fatigued after the workout but I got in a nap before picking the boys up. I haven't felt knackered after a workout in a while. Usually I gather myself and I am fine after a mile or so of cooling down. My legs didn't have much more than 9' pace, which was fine. It brought my HR back down nicely. 

Pretty pleased with this one. I have made a lot of progress since February. I feel very fortunate to be able to do this. 

AM: 60' on the trainer. 142W. HR 93.

Recovery ride. Felt decent, but a bit tired. Fell asleep while the boys were watching TV. I went to pick my mom up at the airport as she is staying with me and the boys while Megan is at a conference in Baltimore. 

PM: 8 miles, averaged 9:13. HR 119. 

Felt decent to start, then pretty awful. Just low on energy and thought I had to go to the bathroom. Felt fine after the halfway mark and picked up the pace. I will be interested to see how fast I can run and still keep my averaged HR below 120. It used to take 10'+. Running feels very effortless and enjoyable. Quite pleased.4

AM: 120' on the trainer. 212W. HR 126.

3 x 5' Anaerobic Over Unders

30" hard, 4' vo2 max, 30" hard as you can go. These were supposed to be something like 590 watts/336 watts/590 watts, but I wasn't getting there. I did not expect the 4' efforts to be that high. I figured 100% of threshold or slightly over, not 112-115% or whatever it was. Good session even if I wasn't able to fully hit the numbers. Mostly zone 2 other than the recoveries and a short warm up and cool down.

Megan left for Baltimore this morning. I will try to get my run in after class and before picking the boys up from school, otherwise I will see if they will behave for my mom long enough to squeeze in an hour. 

PM: 8 miles, averaged 8:01. HR 136.

Felt fantastic. Had just enough time to run before getting boys after class. Ran about 8:20 for the first mile and sped up organically. My strides feels the best it has felt in years. 7:30 pace feels better than maybe it ever has. HR was right around 145 for those last miles, so basically my zone 2 has gone from 7:50-8:45 to something like 7:20-8:00. 

Got the boys off to school, but it was a little stressful. Not that it surprises me, but Megan and I rely on each other a lot to take care of the boys.

AM: 100' on the trainer. 211W. HR 120. 

20' @ Sweet Spot

Scheduled for 2 x 20' w/ short recovery, but the boys were up at 7:15 and down on the couch. I got them breakfast and finished my interval while they watched TV. I decided I wouldn't be able to focus on the second one with them up, so I just cooled down. Not sure why they were up so early, and they almost never just get up and come down stairs. 

PM: 4.8 miles, averaged 8:24. HR 129.

Planned on more, but I had a few students stay after to get their questions addressed. I was glad actually as they rarely stay for the extra time I have built in. It had snowed a bit the night before, which stuck/sucked, but the pathways were clear. 

Took a short nap after dropping the boys off at school and before class. Took another nap between classes. I have had a good time relaxing with my Mom. She doesn't get to see the boys as much as she would like.

AM: 90' on the trainer. 208W. HR 118.

PM: Off.

I was going to run, but was a little worried about leaving the boys with my Mom as they were in a bit of a mood. 

AM: 120' on the trainer. 231W. HR 136.

3 x 20' Sweet Spot (5')

Up early to get a session in before the boys got up. 275 watts (149 BPM) , 277 watts (154 BPM) , 281 watts (156 BPM). Good session. Increased power throughout. Boys were up around 7:30 or so, but I got them a drink and light breakfast and put them in front of the tv to finish up.

I planned to run, but worried the boys would be difficult and impossible for my Mom to handle, so I skipped it. They were a bit tough today and I didn't handle things well in the afternoon. Just exhausted from taking care of them since Wednesday. Trying my best, but I need to do better. I could really have used a run, but we did walk on the Polly Ann, something I have been wanting to do with my Mom since she started visit us in the new house in November 2020. It was important to me to get her out and moving around too.

Bummed to miss Barry Roubaix today, but next year for sure,