Of Mice and Marathons

PM: 2 miles on the treadmill. HR 150.

We were suppose to visit Megan's parents' in their living facility, but said they weren't feeling well, which I suspect was not the case and just didn't want to do what we had planned to get them out of their room. Boy howdy, we've had it coming from all angles this summer. Luckily we have my mom, sister, and niece coming in about a month for 5 days. We are going to need a nanny before that or I'm going to lose my mind. We are thinking one day a week, but that won't be enough especially at the end of the semester. We don't want them in daycare for health reasons. I'm already as exhausted at the start of the semester as I am at the end of a very tiring one. 

Want to plod, but the treadmill was starting to skip. Exactly what I do not need, so I ran faster and it seemed better. Need to call Nordictrack but I am not sure I can be kind or what they can really do at this point. 

Progressed to a decent pace to get the HR up and did my hip routine and pullups. Wanted to do more, but I was boiling hot about the treadmill. Went and layed down for a few minutes to close my eyes.

The boys have been sleeping very well at night and going down when we put them down. Or they play and settle themselves. They have been pretty fussy the last few days during the day. I think they get frustrated with their limitations and also wear themselves out through all the standing and crawling. 

The predictive fill-in feature on the blog to fill in miles is really pissing me off.

There. That covers most of it.

PM: 30' on the trainer (Taku -1). 130W. HR 115.

Intended to run, but Megan had a medical call to make and it was a very stressful day, but the boys were solid and turned 11 months today. Put my gravel bike on the trainer so I have another option. It rained hard today. 

Called Nordictrack and they are sending a different part. They thought it might have been something in the way I assembled it I think. I wish I could have had their assembly service, but they cancelled because of COVID.

AM: 6.4 miles in 65' on the treadmill. HR 145.

Took the motor cover off to film the speed control indicator light. Of course, I did everything that I think usually causes the issue (run flat, heavier shoes, jog slow, speed up, abruptly slow down) and it didn't do anything, which was actually kind of nice as I got in more than I thought I would. Jogged easy 5.5-6.0MPH for 35' and then increased .3 every three minutes until the last minute and went 9-10 MPH before going back to jogging for 5'. No idea what causes the issue. 

Got up with the boys this morning and did some work and Megan and I rotated about every 3 hours to switch work/watch with an hour at lunch time to both feed the boys. Works out quite well. 

PM: 45' on the trainer (Totten Key). 135W. HR 128.

AM/Lunch: 7.1 miles, averaged 8:28. HR 169. 

One mile honest easy, then steady to uptempo through 5 before slowing it down. About 8:00 flat for 4 miles, but my averaged HR was 173. My legs wanted to move but my aerobic system is saying "no thanks!."

PM: 4 miles w/ Megan and boys, averaged 10:53. HR 144.

Weirdly cool and humid today. My shirt was soaked on both runs but it never felt bad. I purposefully slowed Megan down as I wasn't planning on running our usual pace. It mostly worked.

Good day with the boys. Our friend is going to take them for 2-3 hours on Friday, which I feel odd about but they are right down the road and she has a little one that the boys can socialize with.

Going to try to get a fatbike ride in this weekend. Need to transfer my entry for Iceman and keep it and start riding. Just not sure what that time will bring, but I can always drop if life necessitates it. Just tired of not looking forward to events like this.

AM/Lunch: 75' on the trainer (Whorl -1). 140W. HR ~128. 

HRM dropped out a few times. Started watching Hemlock Grove the other day. Sexy, weird, and scary, which is pretty much in my zone.

Megan and I listened to the updates via Zoom on the ongoing bargaining. It's clear the university doesn't care about special lecturers. No idea what the winter will bring with enrollments. I'd like this to be a bit more long term. 

PM: 4 miles w/ Megan and boys, averaged 10:07. HR 148.

AM: 60' on the trainer (Petit). 160W. HR 136. 

A little more output than the last few sessions. HR looked good. Right glute was getting tight, but it does that at higher efforts on the trainer. You can't cheat on a trainer in erg mode. You put the power down or you don't (more or less).

PM: 4 miles w/ Megan, averaged 10:25. HR 142.

Just us. We dropped the boys off for 2 hours with our colleague who has a 15-month old. It was weird, but good for the kids to socialize. I thought it was going to feel like a long time. We got home did some minor work and went out for a run and then it was basically time to go get them. The boys didn't even care we were gone. Still too young I think. That's the first time we have been in the house without them since they were born.

AM: 4.2 miles, averaged 10:21. HR 142.

Did 3 x ~1' pickups. Will likely do some old-school fartlek workouts midweek starting this next week. Should keep things interesting and get some faster running without dying and then maybe ease my easy runs back down. Today was nice a comfy.

PM: 2:15 (31.3) of gravel on the fat bike. 153.

Absolutely beautiful fall day. Still nice and warm, but just lovely.