Of Mice and Marathons

AM: 19.1 miles total. 4 up/2 down w/ half marathon race. 

I did this race last year and it was very humid and I really struggled. This year it was about as ideal as you get any time of the year. In the 40s, overcast, and almost no wind. I had planned to shoot for 1:23-1:25 based on previous workouts. I had done some 8-9 mile tempos around 6:26-6:30 pace, and I can usually run a half marathon between that and my mile repeat pace, which was around 6:07 a few weeks ago. I decided I didn't want to go out at that pace, but anything around 6:25-6:30 pace would be fine to start and try to work my way down. I didn't quite get there today, but I had a solid race. The race is decently rolling and definitely slower on the back half and a primarily uphill last mile and finish. 

I got to the race early as last year I waited in line for the shuttle and didn't have more than 13 minutes to warm up. This year I got right on a shuttle after packet pickup and pretty much got right on the shuttle and over to Dexter with an hour to spare. I warmed up a very easy 4 miles, which is more than I have warmed up before, but most of my workouts I warm up 3-4 miles. In the future unless it is a workout for the race I will cap it at 3 miles. Generally, I try to do 20-25' but it was cold and did a very light jog, some leg swings (which I haven't done in years), and some strides. 

I got out fine and settled into my pace and it felt quite easy so I knew the effort was right but going to get harder. By mile 6 or 7 I thought I could pick it up and did for a bit, but by mile 10 I guess I was losing motivation. I got passed a bit and didn't really bother racing too much, which sucked, but I just don't have the race frequency I used to. My heart rate apparently dropped a good deal there and I don't know if it was an error or if it was letting up slightly. I didn't get passed in the final mile or the partial, which was good. I wish I would have pressed a little bit harder but I wouldn't have been under 1:25. 

Cooled down 2 miles very slow. I was going to do 3 to get a 20 miler in, but there wasn't much flat and open real estate. I am fine with the outcome though I would have thought I could have run a bit faster. I think I need slightly more mileage and get my weight back down and longer long runs (up to 18 miles or so) so that I have a lot of strength in the final miles. I will do a shorter warm up. I think my workouts were fine for getting me where I wanted to go. 

For now I need to focus on recovery and the next 8 weeks to Beach to Beacon. My goal for that will be getting back into the low-6s and try to get back under 1:20 for the fall. PR attempts are out of the question this year, but that's okay. I have a time on the board and some races and goals in place, so I think I am officially back rolling. 

Splits: 6:26, 6:23, 6:24, 6:27, 6:28, 6:28, 6:18, 6:35, 6:29, 6:38, 6:36, 6:43, 6:38, 6:37 (for the partial)

AM: 7 miles, averaged 10:06. HR 117. 

Legs a little beat up but responsive. Absolutely fantastic morning. Warming up but still cool and comfortable with plenty of sun. 

AM: 7 miles, averaged 8:34. HR 131. 

Nice earlier morning run on the Polly Ann. Had a confrontation with a goose. I tried to give them room, but they kept running directly down the trail. Legs a little sore still but they are moving along well. 

PM: 2 hours 22'. 41.3 miles @ 17.4 MPH. 194W. HR 128. 

It was a nice night for a ride. My legs are still a little tired, but overall, I feel pretty good. I definitely wasn't ready for a bike workout today. Mid-low zone 2 was fine. 

AM/Lunch: 2 hours 41'. 51.2 miles @ 19.1 MPH. 219W. HR 147. 

Decided to get my bike workout in while the boys were in school and maybe run later if timing permits. It was decently warm and the air wasn't super breathable but it wasn't too bad. Between warmer temps, the Canadian wildfires, and the cottonwood, my HR was solidly elevated. It's not often that I do a training ride and my HR is in the 140 range these days. Solid sweet spot session on the tempo loop, which is in great shape currently. 

3 x 20' Sweet Spot (6' recoveries): 267W @ 158 BPM; 270W @ 163 BPM; 267W @ 165 BPM

Most of my recent sweet spot stuff my HR has barely got into the 160s. It was closer to what it has historically been or a bit closer to my threshold intervals when it is cooler out. 

PM: off. 

Decided to get an early start on the evening with dinner and such so I can get to bed early and try to hard reset my sleep schedule. I have been very good about going to be early, but I think I am going to try to get in bed before 10 most nights to get up early to get my runs in before the boys get up as they will be out of school early next week. 

AM: 11 miles, averaged 8:25. HR 134. 

I decided to go a little longer and just kept it easy and did a slight variation on my typical loop to get in a bit more elevation gain. 

Messed around with the dishwasher off and on throughout the day trying to get it fixed. Decided not to do Thursdy Night Dirt so Megan could go to the gym and I could do a lighter bike ride. 

PM: 2 hours 8'. 37.2 miles @ 17.6 MPH. 201W. HR 120. 

A few roads were a little muddy, but not too bad. Temperature was dropping quite a bit. HR rate actually dropped throughout the ride. 

Lunch/PM: 15.7 miles, averaged 7:40. HR 153.

10-mile progression + 2 x 1 Mile

Decided to do a workout. I had some plans to do something faster, but wasn't sure. It was getting warm as it took me a while to get out the door. Cottonwood is in full bloom, but it didn't seem to bother me. A little more summer-like outside, but manaegable. 

7:51 down to 6:37. Did a one-lap jog and did 2 x 1 mile 6:23 and 6:25 w/ 3' job between. I am glad I didn't try to do an 8-mile tempo around 6:30-6:35 pace as I would have blown up. HR was 169 on the last 

I have been trying to decided on my bet approach to training for the next 8 weeks. Part of me wants to do a lot of 5k and threshold stuff, but part of me wants to keep longer aerobic stuff and touch on just a bit of speed. Usually, I have a good idea, but I am not exactly sure right now. 

PM: 2 hours 18'. 41.2 miles @ 17.9 MPH. 202W. HR 136. 

VO2 Max Session: 2 (3 x 4') w/ 8' B/W Sets

I was going to get up and do a short recovery jog, but slept until the boys got up around 6:50 or 7:00. Had a good session, though I was a little nervous as I tend not to perform well on anything over threshold, but this went well and I have one stretch of the tempo loop that is around 4' @ 23ish MPH and I wanted to try for the KOM. I missed it by 4 or 5 seconds the first time, but then got it on the third time I think. I ended up doing it again and improving by one second in the in the second set. Power was decent and I think I nailed the effort. 4' actually isn't that hard to focus on, but it is challenging. 

Recovery was essentially as slow as I needed to go to be able to maintain the same power or better throughout. Lately I have been doing zone 2 for my recoveries and cool downs. 

(335, 329, 329) (338, 334, 326). HR peaked around 170-172, but I was breathing pretty hard toward the end of each interval in the set. 

I definitely need more of these sessions on the bike as well as running. Not every week, but maybe twice a month at most.