Of Mice and Marathons

Lunch: 6.9-mile ride to the gym. HR 103.

            6.2 miles in 65’ on the treadmill. HR 118.

            9.7-mile ride home. HR 115.

Did some single track and technical skills course work. I wiped out a few times, notably on some logs. Two kids on mountain bikes came the other way, gracefully making their way over. I also got of the bike and carried and ran it up a steep hill. Those shoes are not made for trail running.

Late: AIS, PT routine, situps

Lunch: 8.4 miles in 65' on the treadmill. HR 148.

Did 10' progressions from 6.5-9.0 w/ last 15' @ 9.0.

PM: 6 miles, averaged 9:56. HR 131.

First 4 w/ Megan. Rained a good bit and we got a thunderstorm. I was able to get in 60’ without incident.

Lunch: 11.4 miles in 1:33. HR 155.

24' Tempo @ 10-Mile Effort + 6 x 45" Strides

30' up/20' down. Same as the previous weeks, but with an additional 2 minutes. I managed to feel great, breaking the tempo into 6' sections for 18'. I went:

6' @ 9.5

6' @ 9.6

6' @ 9.7

2' @ 9.8

1' each @ 9.9, 10.0, 10.1, 10.2

HR 176 for the tempo.

PM: 35' shakeout (11:04 pace). HR 134.

Still pretty uncomfortable out there. First day of school tomorrow.

Lunch: 6.1 miles on the treadmill in 65’. HR 128.

Good first day of teaching. Nice to feel like I contribute to society again. Blocked out a good chunk in the middle of the day to run, do lunch, work. Getting up at 6:45 and not eating until 2 was a little rough, especially after 18 hours of exercise last week. 

PM: 6.4 miles, averaged 10:11. HR 132.

Hot day, but a front started to come through and it was a very nice run. A few sun showers and a great rainbow. My swan is back at the park. It knows when the fair weather folks are gone.

AM: 7.6 miles, averaged 8:48. HR 141. Did some strides.

PM: 5.1 miles, averged 8:52. HR 141.

No ride tonight as I found out my frame is cracked. They are going to see if Specialized will warranty it. I hope they do. I am still paying for that thing. I'm only slightly panicked though.

Night: AIS, PT routine, situps and pushups

Might actually go to bed at a decent time tonight.

Lunch: 7.8 miles. Did some hill blasts.

Did an introductory hill blast workout of 4 x 8". Warmed up 30', did drills and strides, the blasts w/ 2.5'-3' walkabout recovery, 30' down. The cool down was fairly quick with a 6:30 last mile. I was anxious and ticked off, but the workout was okay. I need to work on my form for the drills.

PM: 6 miles, averaged 9:29. HR 131.

Very much like fall. Got a call from KLM and Specialized is going to send a new frame. That’s pretty serious service from both parties, particularly within 24 hours.

Noon: 14.1 miles, averaged 7:41. HR 155.

50’ Aerobic Builder + 6 x 20” Strides

Warmed up 25', covered 7.7 miles in 50' (6:29 average w/ 171 BPM), 5' jog, 6 x 20" strides, and a 20' cool down.

The weather was very fallish and that helped. I didn't take splits, but the loop is just over a mile, so I had some idea how fast I was running. I was suprised to see that the overall average at the end was at or just under 6:30. Judging from Strava, most were consistently 6:25-6:28. My breathing was good and I nailed the 170 BPM mark without looking. My legs were sluggish after 3-4 miles, but that is due to mileage and hill blast yesterday, which reminds me . . . my calves were quite sore and tight. That's pretty rare for me.

PM: 4.2 miles, averaged 10:14. HR 129.

Missed Megan as I didn't get back from the grocery store in time but saw her coming back on her run.

I didn't expect this week to be as big as it was. I did double 6 days, which is probably a PR or tied for one. If I double tomorrow, that will be a full week of double. Traditionally, I have done up to 5 doubles, with a single on a long run day and then one easy single day of ~1 hour. I also think this is my biggest week since leaving Philadelphia, but I need to check.

My last week in the 90s was March/April 2016. I have had a few 80-mile weeks since then, but a pretty steady diet of 65-75 the last 12 months.