week in training | 1.4 – 1.10

What a drain of a week. If you read my Joys post on Sunday, you’ll glean my emotional state during this first full seven days of 2021. Of course I didn’t really expect last year to entirely wash away with the calendar turn, but neither did I expect the tumult worsen. Thus, I was extra thankful for my training as a distraction. I almost hit 200 miles on the bike! The century plan is challenging my endurance and patience and giving me so much purpose in my cycling, not to mention encouraging me to rest whenever I can because 6.5 hours in the saddle over three days is no joke! I can’t imagine how people spend an equal amount of time in the bike in a single session.

How was your training this week?

Monday, 1.4: 56.02 miles, 18.7 mph cycling (3:00:00) + 4.48 miles, 10:03 pace

I credit the bourbon drink I enjoyed Sunday night for this quality ride! Okay, maybe not, but whatever I did seemed to have worked. Zone 2 effort for three hours that only got tricky in the final hour, which isn’t very surprising. After some rest I enjoyed the beautiful midday sunshine with an easy 45 minutes. Quite zonked after all that!

Tuesday, 1.5: 1 hour strength + 36.92 miles, 18.5 mph cycling (2:00:00)

Tried a bit different of a strength approach this morning and I quite liked it! I performed 6 rounds of 5 minutes cycling at an easy effort/5 minutes strength. The first three rounds of lifting were upper body based and the final three core work. Good way to get the work in without boredom! In the midday I had my two hour ride to accomplish according to my training plan and it was certainly not my favorite. My back really started to bother me early on, my trainer kept misbehaving, and my legs were gimpy presumably from yesterday’s long ride. Nonetheless, I completed my ride at the appropriate zone 2 effort!

Strength: 6 rounds

• 3 x (5 min cycling, followed by 5 minutes of 12 shoulder press, 10 biceps curl, 15 pushups, 12 upright rows, 12 push press, 10 overhead triceps extension)
• 3 x (5 min cycling, followed by 50 bicycle crunches, 20 shoot throughs, 20 side plank hip dips per side, 20 plank knee to elbow, 20 hover toe taps, 15 weighted leg drops)

Wednesday, 1.6: 9.13 miles, 8:46 pace + 28.32 miles, 18.9 mph cycling (1:30:00)

Back to back tough workouts and my legs are utterly toasted. Morning started with mile repeats on the trail: 5 x 1 mile at goal 10K pace. I barely scraped the upper end of my goal range but honestly I am totally fine with a slick getaway. Splits were 7:33, 7:30, 7:34, 7:33, and 7:32 (my range is 7:25-7:35). This doesn’t really mean I don’t have the fitness for a 7:25 pace 10k, considering how heavy my training week has been.

Straight after I got on Pittor for a 10 mile tempo ride at 14:44 and 14:39. My heartrate was through the roof, much higher than zone 3, but I attribute that to my run session. I ate a big bite of a homemade muffin for fuel and focused the remainder of the day on drinking plenty of water.

Thursday, 1.7: 7.23 miles, 10:22 pace + 45 minute strength

I woke up quite chilled for some reason and it took me a long time to get out the door. Once I did, however, I felt good and finished the whole 75 minutes I intended. Followed up with my once per week heavier lift and I’m quite glad I got it out of the way first thing. I probably would have skipped it had I waited.

Strength:

• 4 x 12 back squat
• 4 x 12 bench press
• 4 x 10 barbell side lunge
• 4 x 10 front raise
• 4 x 15 dumbbell swings
• 2 x 20 standing hip extensions per side
• 2 x 20 leg extensions per side
• 30 lateral hops

Friday, 1.8: 30.06 miles, 19 mph cycling (1:35:00) + 3.49 miles, 10:02 pace

Didn’t sleep well at all in the night after being woken up on three different occasions by various noises. 3 x 10 minute tempo intervals that rendered a much higher heartrate than they should’ve but overall nothing felt too strenuous: 20.2, 20.5, and 20.6 average speeds. I later enjoyed a short, easy run before chowing down on a big hunk of homemade rye bread and butter – the best! I’ll need to make another loaf before I post a recipe since this one vanished alarmingly fast.

Saturday, 1.9: 13.33 miles, 9:23 pace + 18.46 miles, 18.5 mph cycling (1:00:00)

My typical Saturday tempo run felt unappealing, so I spontaneously programmed a fartlet/tempo combo workout into my long run and I really enjoyed it! I ran 2 sets of 5 x 1 minute hard/1 minute easy followed immediately by 1 mile at tempo pace and a 400m recovery before the second set. I clocked from 6:54-7:05 in the 1 minute intervals and my tempo miles were 8:10 and 8:09. The headwind on the return home was pretty rough -I dislike running in cold wind the most out of any weather condition.

Sunday, 1.10: 20.06 miles, 20.1 mph cycling (1:00:00) + 2,000 yard swim (39:43)

4 x 2 minute zone 5 intervals on the bike. Not sure whether my sizeable intake the previous night or the cocktail gave me extra energy, or perhaps how cold the room was, but this set felt great! I averaged 26.7, 27.7, 27.4, and 27.6 mph for the work reps. After work I braved the chilly midmorning for a do-what-you-want swim, which averaged 1:59/100 yards. Despite the slow overall pace my stroke seemed smooth, controlled, and comfortable. I guess my body really wanted that swim.

Total running mileage: 37.7 miles

Total cycling mileage: 189.8 miles

Total swimming yardage: 2,000 yards