Of Mice and Marathons

PM: 3 hours on the trainer. 234W. HR 144. 

60' @ Sweet Spot (285 Watts)

Solid session. I have been doing this session here and there over the last few weeks and I think it is a good one. I am not sure where you should slot it in bike training, but fall racing season seems like the place to do it, though I have seen it done during basebuilding as well. A few weeks ago I did 283 on the trainer for 75'. I did the session outside and did 269/277 normalized in mid-July. I was hoping to hit 290 or higher to set my best 1-hour power,  but didn't quite get there. The results were about where they should be though. HR was around the mid-160s I think. Not sure as I did 2 laps of Tempus Fugit for around 48 minutes and it was 161 for the first lap and 171 for the second, so maybe not even 165 BPM, which is solid. 

PM: 10 miles, averaged 10:20. HR 125.

Good day with the boys. Decided not to jump on the trainer and took a nap. Hard running 10 miles at almost 7 PM. Jogging is easy, but after afternoon coffee it is sometimes a toss up. 

AM/Lunch: 4 hours total. 3 hours @ 244W. HR 152. + ~1 hour easy cool down.

I was going to do a running workout or a regular run, but couldn't be bothered. I haven't been on my bike outside for about 10 days and the weather was cool, so I decided to get in about 3 hours or so. After 1 hour I decided to do a long tempo of 2 hours. 262 watts @ 161 BPM. Effort felt very sustainable as my HR was in the mid 150s for a large portion of it. I had trouble keeping the power up late in the ride, but it was mostly fatigue. My Garin started to die, so I stopped the ride and used my watch for the rest of it. Just a tick under 4 hours, so very indulgent on Tuesday, but the boys were in school and I only have a little work I am avoiding. 

AM/Lunch: 13 miles. averaged 8:11. HR 153. 

8-Mile Aerobic Builder 

I did this workout a few weeks ago and it was a good deal faster but the pace and effort were quite high. The effort today was quite controlled and where I think it is "supposed" to be. This is kind of a classic blog workout and I have used it many time in marathon training. It is a solid way to increase aerobic strength and get in a midweek medium long run. I will try to repeat this for about 6 weeks and hopefully get these back into the mid-6s. It's probably my favorite workout as you can mix it up a little and do it as a progression and you can do the back half close to or at half marathon effort if you are feeling good. Not much to write home about today, but it establishes a baseline. Still trying to get my running restarted. It feels like I have made some progress over the last two years, but at times frustratingly slow. It's time to press a little without being too crazy. 

I ran today's workout by HR starting in the mid 150s to high 150s and keeping most of the first half around the low 160s, which is quite sustainable for a long time. It is roughly first half marathon effort if I had to guess, but never had a HRM on during a marathon. 

Weather has been favorable, but I was still sweating a good deal. I'll take this effort after a bike workout yesterday. I am not sure if I will continue to stack midweek bike/run workouts or not. Probably a midweek run or ride workout, a long run, and a long ride with the option for some intervals is more than plenty. I just want to get it all in. 

7:20 average @ 166 BPM

7:35, 7:28, 7:24, 7:20, 7:21, 7:19, 7:15, 7:10

AM: 10 miles, averaged 10:24. HR 126.

PM: Thursday Night Dirt. ~3 hours. 

I told myself under no circumstances would I do A group after stacking a bike workout and a run workout. I stuck with it, but I am itching to get a solid fast group ride in. 

I met up with a guy from the neighborhood who was headed over to the ride. Knew him from Strava. Another guy from the area who does the ride also met up with us. 

I had a good ride. Tried to keep an eye on people and made sure some of the ladies didn't get flung too far off the back. Did a few efforts after the last climbs and raced a little bit. Couldn't let that go!

Loop Data: 26.3 miles @ 18 MPH. 188W. HR 137. 

Night: 60' on the trainer. 215W. HR 136.

Got on the trainer after dinner. Waited long enough to not want to get on, but did anyway. I was going to get something in the afternoon, but the boys wanted to do an event in Downtown Lake Orion, so I went with them.

PM: 120' on the trainer. 232W. HR 133. 

I got up with the boys. I was going to get a long run in, but if I don't do it in the morning or at lunch it usually doesn't get done. I could have ridden outside as it was absolutely perfect. Low-80s, sunny, and dry air, but I knew I would stretch my time out if I did, so on to the trainer I went. I will try to get my long run in tomorrow unless the bike calls my name.