week in training | 7.27 – 8.2

50+ more miles in both the cycling and running banks this week! I love seeing how varied my running paces are depending on the day: I hit anywhere from low 8s to low 11s. Pace variation is crucial for healthy running, as different systems and muscle fibers are trained depending on the work you provide. Slow, easy miles offer aerobic conditioning while faster tempo paces teach the body to flush lactic acid more effectively and thus delay fatigue and allow for faster speeds for longer durations. I’ve leaned strongly towards tempo and threshold work on Tuesdays rather than super speedy sets as I mull over racing the virtual Big Sur Marathon in September.

Monday, 7/27: 20.02 miles, 16 mph cycling (1:14:41) + 7.43 miles, 10:06 pace

I DEFINITELY forgot to turn the AC down because by mile 5 I was soaked thoroughly in sweat and my effort level was tremendously high compared to usual. I don’t have a fan in the bedroom (it’s elsewhere in the house, not sure where) so that coupled with the elevated ambient temperature fatigued me very quickly. My legs still feel some lingering heaviness from my longer weekend workouts so that probably contributed as well.

My afternoon run felt much better. I kept the inclines pretty modest (.5-3.5% over the course of the workout) and switched anywhere from a 10:21-9:50 pace depending on the grade. Great way to unwind after work and my legs felt pretty peppy, which was a good sign after the morning ride.

Tuesday, 7/28: 45 minute lower body strength + 7.32 miles, 8:53 pace

Quick before work office gym session and a tempo run once I got home. This is two weeks in a row that my stomach nearly got the best of me on my hard weekly run, and I am quite sure it’s due to dehydration from being at work and not drinking enough during my shift. I do try to sneak away and sip as much as possible, but the intense continual movement disallows me to do so often enough to replenish my stores before my midday sweatfest. Otherwise, the run really felt great and I think my effort was very appropriate for my desired mission! I warmed up for one mile (10:01), then ran one mile at marathon pace (8:46), three miles at tempo (8:20, 8:13, 8:12), and one mile at marathon (8:37) before a little over a mile cooldown at 10:00 pace. My legs were shot by the end and I wound up napping for two hours after I had my recovery shake and lunch.

Strength: 3 rounds of each exercise

• 15 reverse lunge/15 single leg deadlift per side
• 20 stability ball bridge
• 10 curtsy lunge press
• 10 TRX pistol squat to calf raise
• 15 side plank lateral leg raise
• 15 hover bird dog/15 side plank pass through
• 15 stability ball leg drops

Wednesday, 7/29: 9.24 miles, 11:05 pace + 2,000 yard swim (41:47)

Though I admittedly flipped a bit when I saw paces in the 11s last week, I felt much more even about it today. Yesterday I ran five hard miles nearly three minutes per mile quicker, and today my body required ample recovery from that plus my booty-pelting strength sesh. The morning was decent, 76 with a 74 dew point and a slight breeze to keep me from choking. I felt happy to just prance along without a care in the world.

Swim felt excellent and I went longer than I intended to. Perhaps forgetting my towel and wearing my shorts inside out brought me some good luck. I started out with 300 yards and then just kept going at the effort I found towards the end of that set, no stops, and averaged 2:05/100 yards. Typically that’s how my swims go – start, and then see what kind of day it is in the water and form a workout from there.

Thursday, 7/30: 20.01 miles, 16.2 mph cycling (1:14:00) + 6.16 miles, 9:53 pace + 1,700 yard swim (34:16)

Had enough time to get the full length of my planned brick in, probably helped by a last minute urge to throw some surges into the run! I remembered the AC today on Pittor and felt much more comfortable than Monday. Straight off the bike I headed outside: 2 miles easy, 1 mile with 5 x surge, 1 mile easy, 1 mile with 5 x surge, 1 mile easy. I didn’t meticulously keep track of my times or paces for the surges but I’d imagine they were :15-:30 in length, and the paces fell in the low 7s mostly with a couple in the 6s.

A great swim topped off the day’s training. My work shift was short so I left without too much energy drain and hit some pretty impressive splits (for me). Started out with 400 yards (8:01), then 100 breast (1:54), 200 free (4:01), 100 breast (1:53), 200 free (4:00), then 8 x 400 breathing every 2/4/6/8/8/6/4/2 strokes (:58-1:01 each rep), and polished it off with a 300 yard cooldown before they cordoned off the lane for open swim. Total average pace was 2:01/100 yards.

Friday, 7/31: 16.4 miles, 16.4 mph cycling (1 hour) + 4 miles, 10:16 pace

Greeted Pittor at 3 am for a quick and dirty set of interval efforts: 4 x :30 full gas and 4 x 2:30…3/4 gas. The short intervals clocked at 20.2, 19.4, 20.1, and 19.8 mph with max speeds up to 21.4! Took 2:30 rest in between each interval, then got onto the second set of 4 x 2:30 which took a lot of mental focus to complete: 17.5, 17.5, 17.6, and 17.7 were the splits, very pleasing. After work I gave myself as much grace as I needed during the treadmill run and kept it quite easy with some inclines, 0.5-4% grade. I felt good so I dipped my toes into the upper 9s with a continual low heart rate. Averaged 154 bpm which is super for me!

Saturday, 8/1: 17.09 miles, 10:17 pace

81 degrees yet this run felt fantastic after mile four! I wore my Tempos instead of the aging Bostons and I think the freshness plus the 2 oz loss of weight gave my step a bit more pizzazz than normal. I drank about 60 oz of water with two refills containing a tablet of Nuun, and I felt focused and relaxed and hydrated throughout the run. Post-run brunch consisted of vegan biscuits and gravy, a dish I hadn’t enjoyed in ages but felt appropriate after a nearly 3 hour road effort.

Sunday, 8/2: 65 minute strength + 1,700 yard swim (35:17)

I formed a workout in part with my new 12# dumbbells and realized I could probably use some 15#ers as well. Still created a great session to energize me before work and capped off the training week with a bunch of 300s in the pool averaging 2:05/100 yards. I held a stronger pace early but got a bit flustered by the guy with whom I shared a lane. He was a perfectly fine swim partner and a very proficient swimmer, but being a larger dude he riled up a lot of water and created something of a current in the lane. This I think distracted me and threw me off my rhythm a bit! Either way, got my yards in before the rain and with not too much trouble overall.

Strength: 3 sets of each exercise

• 16 hover lunge press-out and twist (8 per side)
• 15 single arm cleans/20 band lat pulldowns
• 20 single leg bicep curls (10 per side)/15 hip dips
• 15 single leg rows/12 hip hinges
• 15 stability ball skullcrushers/15 band lateral leg lifts
• 12 single leg jumps
• 15 donkey kicks/10 pushups
• 15 plank rainbows/20 stability ball deadbugs
• 15 reverse flies/15 banded face pulls

Total running mileage: 51.2 miles

Total cycling mileage: 56.5 miles

Total swimming yardage: 5,400 yards