week in training | 1.25 – 1.31

Bigger running mileage week as my cycling eased just a bit for a stepback cycle before training ramps up again. I struggled a lot with our trainer and its poor calibration, so my efforts indoors were pretty mediocre and generally less comfortable than normal and, thus, the total mileage looks much lower than weeks past. Either way, I did manage some decent workouts overall and even got to the pool twice!

If you own a stationary bike trainer, what would you recommend? We’re currently looking at the Tacx and Wahoo smart trainers which don’t require rear tire removal, but I’m curious to see what anyone owns and if another brand should be in consideration!

Monday, 1/25: 10.3 miles, 10:12 pace + 15.7 miles, 15.7 mph cycling (1:00:00)

I had a lot to mull over this morning, so I let my run extend however long it needed to in order for my mind to feel at peace. I kept a steady effort and felt pretty good until I knocked into some upraise in the sidewalk and fell onto the ground. Luckily, I pulled a pretty good roly poly impression and didn’t scrape myself up as bad as last time, but still, pretty irritating.

The big thing I needed to decide upon was whether I was ready to bite the bullet and ride the trail by myself. I had one hour scheduled for today’s bike training, and I figured I should give it another whirl. I hit a lot of headwind and had Pittor in the wrong gear for a lot of the ride, but this one felt so much smoother and more fun than Saturday’s! Most of the miles were 16+ mph, so my average was pretty low compared to what I managed most of the time. I even drank from my hydration pack without much issue! Huge progress and I’m pretty excited to try again soon.

Tuesday, 1/26: 1 hour strength + 2,100 yard swim (40:30)

I’ve completed a few 2,000 yard swims of late but I haven’t ventured anywhere above that. Today, after seeing I only had a minute or so left after completing 2,000, I decided to fit a few more laps in to dive over the hump. After a morning manning the ovens, it felt quite lovely to float about in the water. I averaged 1:56/100 yards and did a medley of 25 yard sprint/25 easy, a few 100 and 200y sets, and a random 400y at the beginning.

Strength:

• 5 min cycling warmup
• 3 x 12 single leg Romanian deadlift
• 4 x 12 hover single arm shoulder press
• 4 x 8 L raise/10 suitcase squat
• 4 x 15 woodchop
• 4 x 10 dumbbell press-out
• 4 x 10 single leg extension
• Cycling cooldown

Wednesday, 1.27: 6.35 miles, 9:27 pace + 25.2 miles, 15.9 mph cycling (1:35:00)

Not nice outside at all, but my legs felt pretty good so I plugged two hard miles into the middle of my hour run. I hit 7:52 and 7:40 for splits and my heartrate shot up to 194! This makes me really wonder what my max really is and how much my current zones might be messed up. I jumped on the bike right after for a 3 x 15 minute zone 3 interval ride that proved quite frustrating with the poor trainer calibration, but I kept my effort pretty steady and the workout went well overall.

Thursday, 1.28: 55 minute strength + 6.94 miles, 10:05 pace

Broke in some new Tempos and took my legs for a trot along the bay after work. The air cleared and cooled down and thus, though windy at points, the weather proved perfect. I haven’t been running with a distance goal much lately, just whatever my body feels like doing, and that’s typically been fewer days of running but longer general distance.

Strength:

• 5 minute cycling warmup
• 3 x 10 bicep curls
• 50 plank jack
• 4 x 15 weighted donkey kick
• 4 x 12 pushup/20 alt shoulder tap
• 40 plank knee to elbow
• 30 alt single leg hop
• 2 x 15/2 x 10 reverse fly
• 4 x 15 triceps pulse
• 20 plank rainbows per side
• bike cooldown

Friday, 1.29: 16.01 miles, 16 mph cycling (1:00:02) + 33.42 miles, 16.7 mph cycling (2:00:00)

Struggled hard during the second ride mostly because my heart rate did not budge for the first 30 minutes, yet my legs felt like stumps. I blame the poor trainer calibration. Eventually I threw some climbs and a slightly harder gear in and managed to get into the correct zone, though my leg power didn’t really match the exhibited heart rate and perceived exertion. Still, I got my miles in during both sessions and I’m glad that I didn’t give up like I wanted to.

Saturday, 1.31: 16.17 miles, 9:54 pace

Didn’t intend for such a long run, but the weather was perfect and I enjoyed the route I chose – which contains many a loop to easily customize total distance – so I figured to keep going until I ran out of energy and didn’t feel like it anymore. I skipped out on an optional hour ride I had in my cycling training plan since my legs were stumps and my stomach was unhappy for awhile once I stopped, but I’d say 16 miles was well enough for a day’s work.

Sunday, 1.31: 16.46 miles, 16.5 mph cycling (1:00:00) + 1,800 yard swim (36:02)

My first 1-minute repeat workout in this training plan, and lord did they feel hard. I’d imagine yesterday’s run contributed to the heaviness with which I dealt during the “on” segments. My heart rate maxed at 179 during the trio of 3 x 1 minute hard/1 minute easy sets.

After work swim, as usual, refreshed my body and mind. I swam 2 x 400/200/100 and finished with 6 x 25 fast/25 easy. Total average was 2:00/100 yards.

Total running mileage: 39.8

Total cycling mileage: 106.8

Total swimming yardage: 3,900