week in training

As the road miles increase, I’ve felt better and better. Truly is a wonder how muting the need for constant intensity keeps the mind and body so much fresher for longer! I’m still a sucker for long training days and have loved incorporating cycling and swimming as bricks to my run workouts – you’ll see that below. This week marks the first where I felt constantly eager to fit strength sessions into my regimen, which was certainly not the case often prior. Our apartment gym reopened this week, and I intend to visit soon to get some heavier workouts under my belt.

What workouts have kept you motivated this week?

Monday, 5/25: 34.34 miles, 15.3 mph cycling (135 minutes)

A long blast of a workout on Pittor to start the week! 6 x 3 minute hill intervals pushing around 65 RPM/zone 4 sprinkled in a 2hr15min ride – big oof. Cycling is starting to feel much better than a couple weeks ago, and I think fueling might be a big reason. Straight before hopping on the saddle I chowed down on an apple for quick carbs, and midride enjoyed a Clif Caramel Macchiato bar to ensure steady energy as I hit the hard efforts. Though most definitely difficult and sweaty and tinged with all sorts of colorful swear words, the intense sessions rewarded me with a sense of satisfaction once I finished.

Tuesday, 5/26: 1,800 yard swim (37:43) + 5.21 miles, 9:52 pace

Swim-run brick for the first time and I LOVED it! For one, sopping wet hair and a cooled body really helps delay the impact of midday heat, which allowed me to run on the lower end of what I planned in relative comfort. For two, my legs felt fresh after the zero-impact workout in the water and I was able to squeeze in a faster finish at a 9:10 split since I felt so good.

Swim:

• 200 yard easy warmup, half with the pull buoy
• Main sets: 4 x 300 yards steady – 6:14, 6:10, 6:13, 6:12, then 2 x 100 yards fast – 1:55, 1:53
• 200 yard easy cooldown, half free half breaststroke

Wednesday, 5/27: 4.06 miles, 10:22 pace + 45 min strength + 2.28 miles, 10:14 pace

Another stacked workout, this time wedging an awesome core and leg session in between runs. I wanted to simulate how running on fatigue feet feels at the tail end of any sort of race while maintaining a steady rhythm and finishing strong. I didn’t want to turn this into a gut-busting fast session, thus kept the paces easy, but the takeaway is the same!

Run #1 splits: 10:26, 10:32, 10:11, 10:11

Core/Legs/Stability: Each exercise 3x through

• 12 single-leg dumbbell passes per leg (these are SO deceptively hard, I was wobbling over constantly!)
• 12 curtsy lunge toe tap + raise
• 12 sumo squat press-ups with pulse
• 12 reverse lunge press-out to kickback to high knee (big compound movement challenging total body stability)
• 20 weighted prone back extensions
• 20 plank butt-ups
• 20 jackknives to X toe tap per side
• 15 windmills

Run #2 splits: 10:17, 10:06

Thursday, 5/28: 7.35 miles, 9:44 pace + 2,000 yd swim (41:17)

My VO2 Max somehow dropped after this run, which is rather befuddling. Sore legs made the recoveries of the intervals and the cooldown much harder than it did the reps themselves, which overall I think I’m pleased with! Having not raced in awhile I’m not sure of exact numbers regarding paces, and the steambath of Florida definitely sways me to the slower side, but I hit my targets either way.

• 2 mile warmup with surges + glute activation
• 4 x 800m @ 7:44, 7:42, 7:39, 7:37/400m jog recoveries
• 2.25 mile cooldown

The pool finally hit a fully comfortable temperature after sitting at 80 degrees my past few visits. Perhaps the heater needed to warm up after the long closure!

• 400yd pull (4:12)
• 800yd freestyle with every fourth lap faster (16:32)
• 4 x 100yd fast (1:55, 1:55, 1:51, 1:54)
• 200 yd breaststroke (2:17)
• 200yd cooldown

Friday, 5/29: 5.09 miles, 11:03 pace + 45 minutes strength

I swapped what would’ve been Sunday’s run for today, seeing that I had a morning free and the weather cooled off a bit following last night’s rainstorms. Kept the effort very light though was still surprised at 11:xx miles – guess my legs needed to chill after a couple intense lower-body days.

Strength: Each exercise 3x through

• 15 TRX pushups
• 15 TRX low rows
• 20 swings
• 20 overhead dumbbell side bends
• 15 Renegade rows/side
• 15 side plank hip dips/side
• 10 explosive single-leg jumps
• 20 standing torso circles with dumbbell
• 20 dumbell figure-8s/15 hike and pulls
• 20 plank knee to elbow
• :90 elbow plank

Saturday, 5/30: 14.11 miles, 10:30 pace

Though not the all-the-angels-sing long run of last week, this still went pretty dang well! Humid morning punctuated by a lack of breeze, so I felt I ran in my own soup the whole time. My body, though, responded quite well to the run and I wasn’t overly sore or fatigued the rest of the day!

I figured out that more solid fuel doesn’t sit well with me during normal training runs, considering I allow very little time before I embark – I wake up early enough as it is and want to get going well before sunrise to minimize my time in the heat. This leaves only 30-45 minutes before departure, sometimes 60 if I’m lucky. Hence, more concentrated sports nutrition products, like bars or stroopwafels, and juices or liquid nourishment may be better options with which to experiment.

Before: 1/2 cinnamon raisin bagel with honey + Nuun Prime Orange with Caffeine

During: 1 Honey Stringer Kiwi Strawberry gel (pretty good!) + ~ 40 oz water. Should’ve had another gel around mile 9-10 and the final few miles likely would’ve felt better!

After: Protein shake with Sprouts vegan chocolate protein, banana & chilled coffee + 2 eggs on English muffin with avocado and fruit

Sunday, 5/31: 21.23 miles, 15.4 mph cycling (82 minutes) + 35 minute core strength

A tumultuous day at work threw me out of any stability I had upon waking. I walked into the shop to some very strange secondhand happenings (as well as an awful close the night before, but I digress) and throughout the morning read much about the protests in Temple Terrace and elsewhere that shook me deeply. My heart hurts for those people. I had a few great conversations at work with a couple coworkers, but otherwise could not shimmy out of the mood into which I fell. Not to mention someone making a very insensitive comment that fully triggered my angry descent.

After leaving the shop, I came home and immediately gave Pittor some attention. I turned the ambient light on in the office/gym, switched my phone to the Garmin tracker to watch J’s mountain bike adventure, and pedaled for over 20 miles to release some of that tension. 6 x 5 minute tempo intervals, with 2 minutes recovery, enough to build my heart rate but not enough to wear me out overmuch.

Straight after I hit the mat for a good lift, not too heavy but beneficial for balance and stability. I’ve loved these types of sessions lately and am fully okay with incorporating them 3 or so times per week.

Strength: 3 rounds each

• 20 alternating straight-leg toe taps/20 leg drops
• 15 plank-to-pushup (some call this commando)
• 15 side plank sweep-throughs per side/5 pushups
• 15 side bends per side
• 15 single leg dumbbell passes per side
• 10 overhead lunges (slow and controlled to work on form)
• 10 explosive jump lunges

Total running mileage: 38.1 miles

Total cycling mileage: 55.57 miles

Total swimming yardage: 3,800y