week in training | 10.26 – 11.1

10k training pushes forth with two solid speedy sessions that really lifted my running spirits. We had some nicer weather over the weekend so I swapped out my long run with my specific workout and am quite glad I did, even though the tempo miles during the former shocked me with their efficacy. Sometimes heat is a real burden and other times my body doesn’t seem to care. So odd.

I don’t really have a set date for a 10k time trial, all I know is I prefer to make my attempt when its not 80 degrees. That may mean I’ll be sitting on my thumbs until December, but it is what it is.

Monday, 10/26: 30.01 miles, 17.5 mph cycling (1:42:50) + 4.38 miles, 9:08 pace brick run

I switched my planned workouts for the week about five times before settling on a brick to start off the fresh seven-day hurricane. 35 minutes at threshold (both splits 16:38.3, or 18 mph average!) and 4 x .75 mile hard efforts with 1 mile recoveries. I was really upset and overwhelmed that morning so my run wound up way faster than I planned, with a satisfying set of negative splits: 9:24, 9:21, 9:11, and 8:47, with an 8:34 pace for the final .38 miles.

Tuesday, 10/27: 50.05 miles, 17.1 mph cycling (2:55:15) + 45 minute strength

I’ve noticed my lower back gets quite cranky during sessions longer than 90 minutes. A good footnote for future strength routines. I rode one hour at a low tempo range (17.3-17.4 mph on the trainer), then after a good 30 minute recovery spun 5 x 2 minutes uphill hard/2 minutes easy before a cooldown. I got off the bike once to refill my water and munched on a blueberry Nature’s Bakery Fig Bar. Nothing unusual there!

Strength: 4 rounds EMOM

• 10 clean and press
• 8 pushup to side plank raise
• 10 squat to good morning
• 16 single leg jumps
• 20 press-ups
• 20 pop squats
• 16 hip thrusts
• 24 cross mountain climbers to shoulder tap
• Rest

3 x 15 Superman (to help allay that low back issue I discussed earlier), 3 x 30 sprinter crunch, and 3 x 15 side plank hip dip to polish off the session.

Wednesday, 10/28: 14.03 miles, 9:37 pace + 1,700 yard swim (31:42)

I switched my long run to today as opposed to Saturday since I wanted to do my 10k specific speed session on a day with nicer weather. This run shocked me, however, as runs often do! It was miserable outside, 77 with a 75 dew point, so as with any workout in this weather I gave myself the grace of an hour to figure out whether I wanted to push into a tempo realm or not. Turns out, my body ignored the heat and responded to stimulus! My easy miles were appropriately slow – 10:07-10:49 split range – and my tempo splits blew me out of the water. 8:37, 8:20, 8:10, and a final 7:51, certainly faster than “tempo” but it felt much more comfortable than I would’ve ever thought which means my training may be paying off quite a bit. I finished with 4 easy miles to hit 135 minutes total.

Swim was relatively simple: 2 x 300 (5:36, 5:39), 2 x 200 (3:44 for both), 5 x 100 (1:49-1:50), 200 (3:47), good enough for a 1:51/100 yard average.

Thursday, 10/29: 7.48 miles, 10:42 pace + 1 hour strength + 1,500 yard swim (29:00)

Early morning is the best time to use the weight room at our apartment gym since it is dead empty until about 8 or 9. I enjoyed a heavy lift after a recovery run (148 bpm average, and it was gross outside!) and once I finished breakfast popped over to the pool for a quick session of pull/swim 200s. I rounded out the swim at 1:56/100 yards.

Strength:

• 5 x 10 front squat
• 5 x 8 deadlift
• 3 x 20 pistol squat, alternating
• 4 x 10 single arm row
• 5 x 6 explosive weighted jump squats
• Accessory work: 3 x 20 standing hip flexions, 4 x 20 plank knee to elbow, 4 x 20 jackknife, 4 x 20 plank hip swivels, 2:00 elbow plank

Friday, 10/30: 18.45 miles, 18.5 mph cycling (1:00:00) + 25.06 miles, 17.4 mph cycling (1:26:22)

Strong morning Power Hour before work featured 4 x (5 x :30 on/:30 off, 1 x 1:30, 5 min recovery) with the short intervals averaging 24-25 mph and top speeds around 26-27. I hit my highest speed during one of the longer intervals at 28.4 mph. Cool! In the afternoon I rode a 40 minute tempo set during which my legs did not cooperate. Splits of 16:50 and 16:47 are definitely not my best, but I did what I could. Climbed a couple of big gear miles to finish off.

Saturday, 10/31: 10.31 miles, 8:56 pace + 3.45 miles, 10:09 pace

What a surprise! Temperatures fell over 10 degrees overnight, the dew point sat at around 58, and I felt unstoppable. 2 x 2 miles and 2 x 1 mile for my 10k pace work today, splits of 7:57, 7:50, 7:54, 7:52, 7:55, and 7:48. The final three miles were against a headwind and largely went just as well as the first three, which makes me wonder if 7:50-7:52 is a realistic goal for a time trial. I think so! Wrapped up with easy miles before lunch to finish training for the day.

Sunday, 11/1: 17.88 miles, 17.9 mph cycling (1:00:00) + 3.97 miles, 10:05 pace

30 mph on a sprint! I’ve been vaguely hoping I’d one day soon hit a 3x during an interval and today I finally did so, even if just for one second. The workout prescribed was as follows: 10 min warmup, 8 min 6/10 effort, :15 max sprint, 3 min recovery; 6 min 7/10, :30 9/10, 3 min recovery; 4 min 8/10, :45 8/10, 3 min recovery; 2 min 9/10, 1 min 7/10, 3 min recovery; 1 min max, 8 min 6/10, cooldown to finish. Run after work was a 2 min on/:30 walk protocol in the heat that went rather uninterestingly, but well.

Total running mileage: 43.6

Total cycling mileage: 141.5

Total swimming yardage: 3,200