Of Mice and Marathons

AM: 90' on the trainer.

Dirty Mitten Racing League Winter Is Coming Opener

We had the first Zwift race in the regular series. Some guys I know, some I don't. They put us on teams, which is kind of fun. Still trying to figure out Discord and all the other tech crap. Got in a short warmup and the race went off at 8. I was racing in the C group as I got demoted, which was humbling but correct. Need to weigh less or put out more power or both, so I figured I would do more than earn my spot. 

Race has a neutral start, which is weird for a virtual race, but it was kind of neat. I was behind the lead group when the offical start went and it felt like I was way off the front of the B and C group, so I slowed down and then put it in a zone 2, only belatedly realizig that there were Bs and Cs in the lead group, which eventually broke up. I then chased for a long time to close a gap. I finally did and then sat in for a bit. I saw some Cs about 90"-120" ahead (in the lead), so I just figured they were going. Rode with the chase group for a while, then at 45' I made a move to gap them over a short climb with a downhill. I got 5-7 seconds on them and then increased that gap to 15-20 seconds or so and increased it, thinking they would bring me back, but I continued to press and dropped them all pretty hard (both Bs and Cs) and kept increasing my lead and working on cutting the gap to the top C spots, some Bs and even a lagging A. I caught them around 67' or thereabouts and tried to work to break them. They repassed me with a power up move that I thought I wouldn't cover, but did, they sat on my wheel, then I put in a few more efforts, and I dropped them. Finished on a tough climb up the volcano and held off third place for second (I was in the top half of the Bs by time as well). I was pretty pleased to get second, a much better showing than the preseason. By the end of the day I ended up in first as someone else got disqualified for some reason. So I am now wearing the yellow jersey.

I feel like I raced much better than I have been, had fun, and got in a good effort. Looking forward to this series and seeing what happens. Our team is currently in the lead for points as well. 88' @ 281 Watts @ 168 BPM

AM/Lunch: 8 miles, averaged 9:38. HR 135. 

I took the boys for a bit, had some coffee, caught up on the Discord banter, and didn't feel like getting back on the trainer to cool down, so I got in a run, which felt good.

Picked my Mom, Katie, and Delia up at the airport in the evening.

AM: 8 miles, averaged 9:05. HR 134.

PM: 60' on the trainer. 228W. HR 133.

AM: 10 miles, averaged 8:59. HR 133.

5-Mile MAF Test

A rare AM run on a Tuesday. Decided to do a MAF test as I think any time I have started this process I have only ever done the protocol once, so I figured start with it, see where it goes, try not to get bored. Results 8:32.6/8:33.2 @ 140.2 BPM. Apparently your first mile is supposed to be your fastest, but when you are decently fit I guess you tend to get faster as you go at the same effort, which makes sense given that this is how my easy runs are and this is on the steadier but very easy end of easy. I did it on one of my workout loops which is about a long kilometer and it worked well other than wanting to speed up because that is usually what I do there. 

Upper 30s. Decent wind on the loop. A bit of a headwind, a bit of a tailwind.

For posterity (although Strava gives slightly different splits phone versus computer)

Mile 1 = 8:41/8:43 (140)

Mile 2 = 8:35/8:36 (140)

Mile 3 = 8:40/8:41 (140)

Mile 4 = 8:22/8:23 (140)

Mile 5 = 8:22/8:23 (141)

PM: 80' on the trainer. 222W. HR 133.

Planned on an hour, but wanted to finish the full course in case it isn't available again until the race on Sunday. Quite hilly with some serious short grades in there around 20%. Going to benefit the skinnies. I think I'm probably on the lighter end of the Cs but I would have to look at the data.

AM: 8 miles, averaged 9:14. HR 129.

PM: 76' ride outside. 24.7 miles @ 17.2 MPH. 206W. HR 133.

Decided to do a quick outside ride rather than doing the time trial today. It was chilly but almost no wind. I don't expect that I will get outside many more times before the turn of the new year. It got dark, but my light worked perfectly.

Mom, Katie, and Delia are flying out tomorrow morning. It has been a good trip, mostly just hanging out. 

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

Took my Mom, Katie, and Delia to the airport. Jumped on the trainer before heading to Toledo. Megan's Dad is in the hospital, but we went to see her Mom and we had dinner at Chas's. We hung out and the boys watched a fair amount of Mary Poppins, which they enjoyed. 

PM: 90' on the trainer. 

Dirty Mitten Racing League Stage 2 Time Trial

Warmed up about 20, did the time trial, and cooled down for 45'. I figured based on some other times, around 24-25' was about the length given the course. I wanted to start easier than the last time trial, but it didn't work that way. I am not great at these short time trials. Need to do more of them or figure them out better. 25:02 @ 304 watts. HR 175, peaking at 184. I was pretty disappointed as I can generally do 10-20' intervals at the same power. Did set a 20' power PR @ 309 watts. 

I hope to have a better showing on Sunday. I got bumped to B group, so I am hoping I am able to validate my spot.

AM: 120' on the trainer. 219W. HR 129. 

Earliest I have gotten up on a Saturday in a while. I wanted to get in some time before getting up with the boys. They slept in, so I kept going. 

PM: 4 miles on the treadmill, averaged 10:10. HR 133.