week in training | 12.21 – 12.27

No swimming this week? We got a couple back to back cold fronts and though I don’t mind hitting the pool in cooler climes I tend to get lazier about driving over, for whatever reason. In exchange, I hit the pavement every single day, not really on purpose, and penciled in my first 50 mile week in quite some time. 50 is a stretch for my body’s tolerance and I don’t really enjoy hitting that ceiling often. This week it was quite alright, though, as I don’t need as much recovery time in the more invigorating environment.

Monday, 12/21: 8 miles, 10:03 pace + 45 minute strength

Relaxed run to start the day and followed immediately with a gym session. I’m enjoy the heavy lift/core split I’ve tried to incorporate into my weekly strength training. I’ve always been satisfied by core work so anticipating that after some challenging work makes time fly by.

Strength:

• 4 x 8 deadlift 90#
• 4 x 12 triceps dip
• 4 x 12 front squat
• 4 x 15 good mornings
• 50 bicycle crunches
• 50 plank shoulder taps
• 5 x 10 pushups
• 50 bodyweight supermans
• 1:00 side plank right
• 1:00 side plank left

Tuesday, 12/22: 21.3 miles, 22.4 mph cycling (57:05) + 6.32 miles, 10:17 pace

Squeezed in a Power-Almost-Hour before a very early shift with 3 rounds of 5 x :30/:20/:10. Reached 39.3 mph on one sprint! Easy after work miles later to up the ole mileage.

Wednesday, 12/23: 9.61 miles, 8:51 pace

As always, I struggled to hype myself up for my speedwork and complained for several text rounds to my mom about the whole affair. I did it, though! This week’s 10k protocol called for 10 x 800 which I banged out really well! I paced between 7:24-7:34 which seems to be a realistic target for my next time trial.

Thursday, 12/24: 30.01 miles, 21.1mph cycling (1:25:31) + 3.68 miles, 9:31 pace brick run

Short shift on tap this day so I squeezed in a brick before the Christmas Eve madness commenced! I’m no proponent of “making up for eating a lot” via exercising but I definitely felt less sluggish having completed a workout once I went on my fooding marathon at our Christmas Eve gathering.

Friday, 12/25 (MERRY CHRISTMAS!): 6.4 miles, 10:09 pace + 40 minute strength

I hoped to catch some of the Christmas light displays on an early trot but most of them were shut off, even though it was still very dark out. Chilly, windy miles followed by a Christmas WOD involving reps of 12, 25, and 20. Kicked my butt! I initially wanted to get a heavy lift in but for some reason the gym was closed up.

Strength: 12/25/20 reps

• Weighted squat
• Plank jack
• Superman
• Plank dumbbell drag
• Reverse lunge (per side)
• Pushup
• Mountain climber
• Side lunge (per side)
• Boat triceps extension
• Plank knee to elbow
• :60 wall sit
• :60 plank

Saturday, 12/26: 14.04 miles, 9:37 pace + 20.61 miles, 20.6 mph cycling (1:00:00)

Long run with 25 minutes at tempo. Splits rang in at 8:10, 7:57, and 7:49. I mostly enjoyed the cold weather except when I trudged against the wind. The effort wasn’t necessarily raised but my hands, despite wearing two pairs of gloves, froze up pretty badly. Took me about 10 minutes to thaw out once I got inside. I can dress pretty effectively for cold and usually don’t need to layer all that much, but I haven’t figured out how to protect my fingers from the strain of lower temperatures.

Sunday, 12/27: 24.45 miles, 24.4 mph cycling (1:00:00) + 3.68 miles, 9:31 pace

Great power hour! The office was so cold in the early hours that I actually toggled the heat for my ride. I programmed 4 x 2, 4 x 1:30, 4 x 1:00, and 4 x :30 intervals with equal recoveries. These HURT but I stayed pretty consistent with my speeds and overall felt strong.

Still in the low 50s once I got off work in the midmorning so I headed out for my seventh day straight of running. Can’t waste the nice conditions! I did 2 minute run/:30 walk and kept an unintentionally fast clip in the run segments. Heart rate only averaged 150, however, so the effort overall was relaxed.

Total running mileage: 51.7

Total cycling mileage: 96.4