week in training

Early mornings, later lunches, and higher mileage – all depictions of this week’s training. I love starting my day with exercise even if that means setting a ridiculous alarm and thrumming through the motions half away – I always seem to get a good burst of energy and a happier mood from morning movement. I hit my highest mileage EVER and am continually pleased with how my body is responding to this heightened load.

Monday, 6/22: 55 minute lower body strength + 6.2 miles, 10:11 pace

Early bird Monday to nail a home strength session in our downstairs office-gym. Felt really great to get moving before a work shift but I later could not have managed without a big nap (which I got, happily!)

All day I could not think of a good reason to brave the day’s heat for an outdoor run. I’m no stranger to summer training but today I felt off – perhaps because I was subjected to the hottest parts of the building at work (ovens and window) and would’ve started overexerted and underhydrated. So I opted for a gentle rolling hills session on the treadmill that ended up so rejuvenating. I set the treadmill to its easiest hill program, which ranged 0-3% grade, and kept my pace light, focusing on maintaining a manageable effort going uphill and letting lose a bit more at the 0-0.5 grades. I swapped more or less within the 10:43 and 9:31 range.

Strength: Each exercise 3x through

• 12 single leg deadlift with knee drive
• 10 reverse lunge to curtsy lunge
• 12 goblet squat with banded hip flexion/10 explosive banded hip flexions (superset)
• 8 single-leg jumps to pistol squat (OOF these are hard)
• 15 goblet chair calf raises
• 15 dumbbell hikes
• 15 dumbbell swings
• 20 plank toe taps/20 plank jacks from forearms
• 2 x 20 banded clamshells (ran out of time so only did two sets)

Tuesday, 6/23: 20.14 miles, 16 mph cycling (1:15:19) + 6.25 miles, 9:37 pace + 1,800 yard swim (40 minutes)

Look, a mini triathlon! My run switched into a progression once I glanced down by mistake and noticed a 9:14 mile, so I quickened my turnover to try and hit sub-9 for my final mile. None of the workout felt too strenuous and I didn’t get into my threshold paces – mile 6 clocked in at 8:56 – and I had a ton of fun prancing down the sidewalk after a hard ride!

Somewhat spontaneously I threw on my swimsuit once I ate breakfast and headed to the pool for a peaceful swim. Only a couple of fellow lap swimmers occupied the lanes and I got in a solid session of 1,600 yards in one go with 4 x 100 kick. A friend suggested I bring the kickboard to break up longer sessions and work on the power in my legs, which is definitely a weakness for me when I fatigue. The splits were amusing – 3:00, 2:53, 2:45, and 2:47 – but the other four 300 yard intervals dropped significantly as the workout went on: 6:25, 6:13, 6:03, 5:58. Tossed in a 200 yard freestyle at 3:57 and called it a win thereafter!

Wednesday, 6/24: 10.04 miles, 10:14 pace + 1,700 yard swim (34:27)

Upon seeing the 5 am temperature reading – 82, with a real feel of 89 and a 77 dew point – I tossed out any notion of speedwork and opted for a “run as far and as slow as you want” mentality. Turns out, the decision to go full aerobic was more than correct. I immediately found a rhythm despite my phone slipping CONSTANTLY out of my shorts pocket (never had that problem before!) and picked up the final two miles at 9:59 and 9:37 splits. So ironic how some really good runs happen when the weather is almost unbearable.

When I got to the pool after my run, around 7 am, the lifeguard told me the sprinklers were on fanning the water because the temp was 89! Crazy. I tried out a new pair of Aquasphere lenses, junior sized, and they were an absolute dream. No leaking, minimal fogging, comfortable as far as goggles. go. No more losing contacts! Workout breakdown follows:

• 400 steady @ 8:33, no rest, then –
• 800 yards as 200 steady (4:09), 100 fast (1:57), 100 steady (2:10), 100 fast (1:55), 200 steady (4:14), 100 fast (1:56). Rest about 20 seconds before –
• 6 x 50 yard sprint (:51-:52) with 10-15 second rest between reps
• 200 easy cooldown

Thursday, 6/25: 16.47 miles, 16.1 mph cycling (60 minutes) + 1 hour strength training + 3.12 miles, 10:13 pace

Pre-work and post-work split with the 5K run being exactly what I needed to detox my emotions. I’ve been struggling a lot mentally with the state of affairs in Florida, what with the COVID spikes and the lack of change in operation around the state, and today after work I really needed some alone time to process my thoughts and, ultimately, zen out. I manually adjusted either speed, incline, or both every .25 miles, ranging from a 0.5-4% uptick and 5.6-6.2 mph to keep my effort light.

Cycling:

• 20 minute warmup with 2 x 2 minute builds to 90+ RPM
• 2 x 10 minute tempo efforts, both averaging 16.8 mph. 5 min recoveries after each
• 10 minute cooldown

Strength: Each exercise 3x through

• 8 single-arm clean
• 10 triceps pulses
• 10 TRX pistol squats
• 15 TRX rows
• 10 lateral thrusts (I don’t know what to call what I did. Kind of a half windmill with a heavy weight?)
• 18 goodmornings/18 chair calf raises
• 18 banded lat pulldowns/18 reverse flies
• 20 leg drops with hip lift
• 30 deadbugs
• 20 bicycle crunches
• 30 alternating plank leg raises

Friday, 6/26: 6.21 miles, 9:25 pace + 1,800 yard swim (37:52)

I set my alarm for a super early time this morning, but my body begged for the extra sleep, so I allowed myself a cozy hour of rest before getting ready for work. Aaaand, of course, a giant roach said hello from the kitchen floor. We didn’t manage to catch it either so, as I type, it’s lurking somewhere.

Decided on a little speedwork I skipped earlier in the week, since I felt good rhythmically during my warmup. I descended speeds every .25 miles for 2 miles, then ran 5K at marathon effort over 0.5-3% inclines. My splits came to 8:52, 8:48, and 8:56, with the final bit at 8:34. This felt way harder than those paces usually do, but I figure the hills and the lack of draft on the treadmill contributed to the heightened effort level. I cooled down for a mile to reach 10K total.

After lunch I flew over to the pool for a quick set before the kids took over the realm. I finished with 1,200 yards straight with some kick and breaststroke sets, took a quick rest, then did another 400 and 200 to cool down. Clocked in at a 2:06 average for the whole shebang!

Saturday, 6/28: 16.06 miles, 10:36 pace

Holy bejeezus was it hot this morning. I was mostly okay before sunrise, but once that giant blob entered the picture I seriously began to suffer. The final 10K proved quite a challenge and I stopped a couple times more than I usually would to regroup and gather some confidence to finish off the session. I probably overheated to some extent but was really happy with the end result and pace either way.

Sunday 6/29: 25.1 miles, 15.9 mph cycling (1:34:30)

Reacquainted with some climbing in a midmorning Pittor tour. I rode a steady 5 miles before jumping into 15 miles varying length hills, 1-2 miles at a time, at a gear higher than my outdoor riding setting. By the final 5 miles I was working really hard and couldn’t keep my prior cadences, but I finished strong with a 16 mph split before letting the wheels fall off for a 5 mile cooldown. Fairly respectable for a “mountainous” trainer ride!

Total running mileage: 47.9

Total cycling mileage: 61.7

Total swimming yardage: 5,300