week in training + ironman vr 3 recap!

Never before have I completed a virtual race. As a general, I don’t find myself motivated to bust out my best guns without spectators, course support, and a time clock to chase – which very much differs from my general running attitude even during quality sessions – but considering the work I’ve put on the bike and curiosity for what running shape I currently possess, I decided to participate in the Ironman Virtual Race. I love how the Ironman Virtual Club has organized these events each weekend to spur people on to compete and enjoy training if such inspiration has lacked with lockdowns and race cancellations.

The VR series is duathlon-style since pools are largely inaccessible. VR3 started with a 1.5km run, 20km bike ride, and ended with a 5k run. Full recap of my performance below! I’m not terribly surprised by the pace discrepancies now versus a few months ago, but such certainly motivates me to train smart and earn my fitness back as these next months of base building play out.

Monday, 4/13: 4.2 miles, 11:06 pace + 30.83 miles, 15.4 mph cycling (120 min)

Completely nasty morning for a run, though my legs were mostly springy despite my lungs and heart protesting against the enslaving humidity. I’m not sure there’ll come a day that I don’t complain about Florida’s oppression.

I worried that my trainer session would end in utter failure, since I seemed to take forever to warm up and felt lackluster during my initial 30 minute spin. Once the intervals started, though, I grabbed a rhythm and held on, ending up with a really fun workout overall! This workout instills cadence and pacing familiarization, which I definitely need on the bike seeing as it’s so new to me as a discipline.

• 10 min warmup
• 20 min build to zone 3
• 4 sets of 10 min: 2 min @ 83-85 RPM, 2 min @ 85-88 RPM, 1 min hard
• 5 min recoveries between sets
• 20 min zone 3
• 10 min cooldown

I signed up for the Ironman VR3 challenge in the afternoon as well! The duathlon-style “race” takes place from April 17-19 and involves a 1.5km run, 20km bike ride, and 5km run. Should be an interesting, and humbling, experience as far as my running prowess goes. I don’t expect to have ANY speed leftover from my previous training cycle, but we will see what happens.

Tuesday, 4/16: 33.77 miles, 15 mph cycling (135 min) + 50 min full-body lift

Easy but long morning ride fueled by my favorite Clif Coffee Series Dark Chocolate Mocha. Seriously, these are SO tasty and heighten my excitement for post-ride coffee. After a couple hours of recovery, I padded back downstairs to the office for a weight workout. I did not want to lift at all, so I threw out my preordained plan and just performed exercises that sounded less offensive. Ended up with a good session despite kicking and screaming through half of it.

Lift:

• 4 x 12 weighted double-pulse front squats, 2 sets normal & 2 sets narrow
• 4 x 15 row to reverse fly
• 15-12-10-8…I don’t know what these were. Row thing to standing chest press? I have no idea
• 4 x 20 lunge pulse/leg
• 4 x 20 back extensions
• 3 x 20 glute situps
• 3 x 15 deadlifts
• 15-18-20-22 glute bridge
• 4 x 20 underhand row
• 4 x 15 banded single-arm pulldowns
• 4 x 30 X toe tap
• 3 x 20 side plank crunches (knee down)
• :90 plank

Wednesday, 4/15: 5.25 miles, 11:19 pace + 23.38 miles, 15.5 mph cycling intervals (110 min)

Felt like Satan’s faucet during the run. I’m a very broken record with regards to my outdoor training, but in mid-April these conditions are obscene. We may have a slight reprieve tomorrow and through the weekend, but I’d imagine it won’t last any productive amount of time.

I am loving Pittor sessions dictated by RPM. My wheel doesn’t calibrate correctly with the trainer so the speed is totally inaccurate, but by organizing workouts via cadence I’m able to hit appropriate efforts. Today’s was similar to Monday, and just as satisfying.

• 10 min easy warmup
• 22 min steady, building effort
• 4 x 8 min alternating 2 min @ 83-85 RPM/2 min 90+ RPM
• 4 min recovery between sets
• 20 min steady effort
• 10 min easy cooldown

Thursday, 4/16: 8.22 miles, 11:16 pace + 55 min full-body strength

Gloomy and quite windy for this week’s long run, but I’ll take 20 mph gusts over high heat indices any day. Most of the session went with the wind, or the airflow was blocked by surrounding buildings, except at my 6.5 mile turnaround by the bay. I got completely smacked in the face! Nonetheless, a quality slow-paced set of miles.

I once again threw out my initial lifting plan and performed moves I simply felt like doing. Sometimes structure benefits me, and other times flexibility is king.

Lift:

• 4 x 15 curl to press
• :60 wall sit
• 3 x 30 weighted alternating step-ups with knee lift
• :60 wall sit
• 4 x 20 chest flies to leg drops
• :60 wall sit
• 3 x 15 prayer pulse to retraction
• :60 wall sit
• 15-18-20 kneeling one-arm press to 6-8-10 front raise
• :60 wall sit
• 3 x 20 weighted eccentric calf raises
• 4 x 20 behind the back triceps lift (?) to skullcrusher
• 4 x 15 sumo squat to upright row
• :90 each plank/boat/bridge

Friday, 4/17: 4.52 miles, 10:58 pace + 24.77 miles, 15.2 mph cycling (95 minutes)

I wanted to keep running this morning, my body felt energized by the lower temperatures! Capped it at my target distance, though, and was happy to see a couple 10:4x miles wedged in the session with a 159 BPM heart rate average. Amazes me how humidity stresses the systems so much compared to drier, cooler days.

Bike ride was uneventful though I 100% wanted it to be over about 10 minutes in. My body felt decent but my mind checked out very early. 80 minutes zone 2-3 with about 8 2-minute pickups around tomorrow’s goal “race pace” – more like race cadence and effort, since my bike speed is way off on the trainer.

Saturday, 4/18 – Ironman VR3! 1.5K run/20K bike/5K run – 1:23:01

What fun this was! I definitely found myself in a competitive mindset upon waking. I followed the typically race-day pattern I would if this were a proper event. Woke up at 5 a.m. for a 6:45 start, ate half a bagel with peanut butter and drank a mug of black coffee, foam rolled, gathered my water bottles, and got dressed for departure around 6 a.m.

I started with a short warmup out to the spot marking the beginning of my 1.5km (~.96 miles) run, then hit my watch and was off. My cadence was remarkably high, around 190 average, and I followed a reasonable yet pretty hard effort for my current fitness. 8:29 was around my half marathon pace back in February, but I must consider that a) it was 40 degrees colder then, and b) I haven’t put any oomph in my running since returning last month. Considering circumstances, I was okay with this split.

As quick as I could, I transitioned into my bike shorts and usual cycling shoes and started spinning. I really think the bike may be a strong suit of mine without really knowing how fast I go on the trainer. I started out at a steady effort and increased 5km in to a hard but stable cadence. Dropped the hammer in the final 5km and panted my way to 20k in 45:45, an average of 16.3 mph – which probably equates to around 19-20mph outside.

Trying to get the legs to run after a stint on the bike is no joke. I wobbled for about a quarter mile before I finally reigned in my stride, and finished mile one at a 9:37 split. I picked it up but didn’t allow myself to turn into the Flash at my turnaround, and mile two clocked in at 9:18. Encouraged by a visual of the finish line, I ignored my ever-increasing breath and encouraged my legs to turnover as best they could for the last stretch – my watch beeped at 8:54. An 8! At least then I knew I paced well and didn’t gas myself with a 9:3x pace. I completed the session atop the homebound bridge with a gorgeous view of the cityscape and the harbor – 28:49 split. Enjoyed that lens before walk-jogging to my front door. J was setting up his bike but soon presented me with my “medal” before he himself headed out on his VR3 mission. He just barely beat a huge deluge. I’m glad his bib was preserved, where mine near completely melted due to proximity to my sweaty self. I can still mostly read it, though, and refuse to throw it out. I worked hard on those guys!

Overall, I really enjoyed myself and at least know where my fitness stands at present. 8:5x was what I hope(d) my marathon pace would be, and now with one mile under my belt I only have to train to complete 25.2 more at or under that mark. Least I have until November to do so!

Sunday, 4/19: 45 miles, 15 mph cycling (180 min)

I contemplated my willingness to ride 3 hours to complete a longer session this weekend, and made a deal that I would do between 2 and 3 depending on when I woke and how I felt. Well, cue Karbach stubbornness. This ride didn’t feel great, with some backaches and stomach tenderness resulting from a pint of nondairy ice cream and resulting IN the back discomfort and a lack of proper in-ride fueling. But I did it, respectably. I performed three sets of 5 x 1 min push/2 min recovery scattered after blocks of 30 min steady pedaling.

Before: Nuun Ginger Lemonade with Caffeine dissolved in water

During: 1 Clif Caramel Macchiato Bar, 1 bottle plain water and 1 bottle with two tabs of Nuun Orange.

Total Running Mileage: 26.25

Total Cycling Mileage: 170.15