To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

[DopeyBadger]

? Weeks to go + HIM Base Mid Volume Cycling + (LIIFT 4 + McMillan Core/Legs)

8/3/20 - M - OFF
8/4/20 - T - 40 min @ Easy + LIIFT4-Shoulders + McMillan Core
8/5/20 - W - Black (60 min; 47 TSS) + McMillan Legs
8/6/20 - R - 45 min @ Comfortable
8/7/20 - F - Pettit (60 min; 39 TSS) + McMillan Legs
8/8/20 - Sa - Perkins-1 (120 min; 76 TSS) + 30 min @ Comfortable
8/9/20 - Su - 60 min @ Comfortable

Total Run Miles - 20.8 miles
Total Run Time - 2:56 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 4:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 162 TSS

Total Strength Time - 1:32 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 8:28 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

I was starting to get the feeling of being back to 100% health. Tuesday's run was the first with absolutely zero issues. Thankfully, the rest of the week followed suit with no issues whatsoever and became the first week since early May with pain free running. So it took about 3 months in total to get everything to resolve during the running. I still feel some slight "heaviness" in the hamstring, but at this point everything is going well.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 7mph to 13mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 71°F + 51°F; FL - 71°F
End: Temp+Dew = 71°F + 52°F; FL - 71°F

40 min easy running at 4.5 miles and 8:58 min/mile pace with HR of 139. That average HR is more like LR pace than easy though.

Wednesday

A more challenging "easy" bike ride, but still easy. Cadence at 92 rpm and everything felt smooth.

Thursday

Continued the train rolling.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 5mph to 6mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 62°F; FL - 79°F
End: Temp+Dew = 78°F + 63°F; FL - 79°F

It was not "easy", but I called it comfortable during the run. Ended up being 45 min at 5.3 miles at 8:35 min/mile with HR of 143. Which again is more like high end LR pace, than it is easy. But still below historical M Tempo HR of 148.

Friday

Another easy bike ride with leg work to follow. Nice, smooth, and easy. I'm finding that the combo of LIIFT4 with McMillan Legs/Core is working well. It's been a while since I've felt my core be as strong as it is. The McMillan Core work really blows me up when it comes to the situps since they have you do them very very slowly. It's about 3 seconds to rise and 3 seconds to fall for a total rep count of 30. So that's like 3 min straight of situps. More "time under tension" concepts. I'd much rather run for 120 min that do those 3 minutes of sit-ups which probably says something on its own.

Saturday

Weekly weigh-in. Admittedly, I didn't take this week as seriously as I could have. I was still counting, but I was definitely more lax in terms of hitting my macro and calorie goals. In the end, I weighed in at 175.9. Down 0.6 pounds from last week. Now down 8.1 pounds in seven weeks. So I'm happy with the progress to date since the goal was 1 pound per week. I'm getting close to where I was during last year's run up to the November HM. I decided to do a rough sketch for training. I'm going to do another week of easy (8/10-8/16), and then resume training with only easy run + harder bike for 5 more weeks after that. So in total, that means 6 more weeks of staying lower on the calorie count. Then for the last 11 weeks the focus will shift to fueling the training with an increase in calories and carbs. Based on how the training goes, my aim is towards a time trial at the beginning of December. Although Sunday's run may have shifted things a bit.

The 120 min bike ride was good. No issues.

Conditions - Humid, Wind 12mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 86°F + 76°F; FL - 96°F
End: Temp+Dew = 86°F + 76°F; FL - 96°F

The evening 30 min run was also good. The T+D had crept back up to 162, but it didn't really effect me all that much. I seemed to have finally started to reach a point of acclimation. It was 3.4 miles in 30 min at 8:52 pace with HR of 138. For comparison to Tuesday, this was 40 points hotter, run faster, and the HR was lower. As they say, things are a changing.

Sunday

Decided just to have fun with this one and take it one step at a time. Not fast, but not easy. Something close to an effort between 20 mile race pace and M Tempo.

Conditions - Humid, Wind 8mph to 13mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 78°F + 72°F; FL - 80°F
End: Temp+Dew = 80°F + 73°F; FL - 80°F

After about 25 min of running, I said, let's take a short break. Then I resumed running, then after another 20 min, I took another short break, and then resumed running for an easy 15 min finish. So it ended up being something like 25 min moderate-break-20 min moderate-break-15 min easy. Pace wise the first 45 min was at a 7:44 min/mile at 146 HR (below historical M Tempo). With a T+D adjustment on the 153, it puts the run around a 7:22 pace for M Tempo-ish effort. But admittedly, I don't have the stamina to actually maintain that for anywhere close to a marathon.

Since we're in the midst of summer with widely variable T+D, it's always hard to get a read on fitness. So one thing I've been doing recently is adjusting all of the paces based on the T+D adjustment chart based on the T+D that occurred. So saying something like, "If my responses were adjustable based on the chart, then what would have been the equal pace to today". A way of kind of standardizing everything to the same T+D of 100. And for the most part everything lines up in the classic "power line of best fit" that I've seen in the past. And as fitness increases, we see a shifting to the left and downwards in the graph (meaning faster at lower HR).



That dot way off to the left by itself was Sunday. So Sunday's 7:22 adjusted pace at 146 HR is 40 sec/mile better than 8/2/20's 8:02 pace at 147. Or 6/21's adjusted pace of 8:14 at 146. So things seem to be moving in the right direction. This coincided with a jump in my Garmin VO2max up to 53. That's good and bad. Because as we've seen in the past, I can only continue increasing for about 11-13 weeks before things start to downturn on me. And funny enough this past week (8/9/20) was suppose to be the first week of increasing VO2max aiming towards a 11/8 time trial. So suffice to say, it's something I'm going to be keeping an eye on and whether I need to make adjustments to the plan. I may end up just cutting off some of the training towards the end if I feel I've got the necessary stamina. It remains to be seen.

All in all, a good week. Happy to be back healthy and hoping to keep it that way.

 

[DopeyBadger]

15? Weeks to go + HIM Base Mid Volume Cycling + (LIIFT 4 + McMillan Core/Legs)

8/10/20 - M - OFF
8/11/20 - T - 45 min @ Comfortable + LIIFT4-Chest/Tri + McMillan Core
8/12/20 - W - Slide Mountain-1 (60 min; 50 TSS) + McMillan Legs
8/13/20 - R - 45 min @ Comfortable
8/14/20 - F - Pettit (60 min; 39 TSS) + McMillan Legs
8/15/20 - Sa - Gibbs (120 min; 82 TSS) + 45 min @ Comfortable
8/16/20 - Su - 60 min @ LR w/ FF + LIIFT4-Back/Biceps + McMillan Core

Total Run Miles - 23.0 miles
Total Run Time - 3:15 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 4:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 171 TSS

Total Strength Time - 2:18 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 9:34 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

Conditions - Clear, Wind 3mph to 4mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 58°F; FL - 79°F
End: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 60°F; FL - 79°F

45 min at a comfortable pace. Ended up with 8:53 pace with a 140 HR. So that's around the midpoint of long run effort.

Came home and did LIIFT4 and McMillan Core.

Wednesday

Tried to find a workout that bridged the easy stuff I've been doing with the restart of training next week. So I found an easy version of a Tempo workout. A 3x10 min at 80% FTP. Worked out well and I was able to keep the cadence high at 95 rpm.

Followed that up with some McMillan Legs.

Thursday

Conditions - Clear, Wind 6mph to 9mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 81°F + 64°F; FL - 82°F
End: Temp+Dew = 80°F + 64°F; FL - 82°F

Another comfortable 45 min. Seemingly falling into the same pace nearly every time since resuming running in late July. All huddled around the 8:50s. This was 8:49 with a 142 HR. In a good place right now with these runs and not really any pain to speak of.

Friday

Just an easy cycle with Pettit. Followed that up with some McMillan Legs. Nothing all that noteable.

Saturday

Weighed myself in at 177.8 which is a gain of about 2 pounds from last week. I'm blaming the nuts I ate all week and the pizza I had Friday night. I guess we'll see come next week where I'm at.

Again, I was looking for a workout that would bridge what I've been doing lately but prepare me for the restart of training. So I went with a 120 min ride (Gibbs) at a fairly easy endurance pace. Not as easy as last week, but not as hard as what comes in two weeks. Everything was fine and nothing notable.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 11mph to 15mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 61°F; FL - 76°F
End: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 61°F; FL - 76°F

That evening I went for my run. I decided to go with 45 min instead of 30 min. Just trying again to bridge where I'm at this week with where the training is in two weeks (next week is a down week). Did a comfortable pace again and again ended up with an 8:49 pace with HR of 135. I'm liking where the HR went on this one. Good signs... good signs...

Sunday

It looked like some nice cool weather on Sunday morning so I set my alarm to wake up early. It went off at 5am. I didn't get up. Pushed it to 5:30... then 6:00... then 6:15... I finally got up at 6:45am. The weather was still nice, but not as nice as it could have been. Decided for the first time in a long time to watch my pace a bit more in the moment instead of just letting whatever happens happen. I was aiming for something in the 7:50-8:00 min/mile range. Not quite M Tempo, but also not quite Long Run pace. Sort of that middle grey area.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 3mph to 4mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 58°F + 55°F; FL - 58°F
End: Temp+Dew = 63°F + 58°F; FL - 58°F

The run felt good overall. The first mile was 7:59, then 7:53, then 7:51, then 7:57. I don't have premium Strava, so I don't have GAP data. But I know from the past that those splits would be like 8:04, 7:48, 7:36, 7:40. After the initial loop, I had about 28 min to go. Unlike last week, I didn't feel the urge to take a short break. So instead I just kept powering through. Did a 7:33 and 7:51. As I came to the last 10 min, I decided to go with the standard 3 loop fast finish on the 0.42 mile undulating hill. Finished them off in 3:10, 3:09, and 3:09. So a fairly consistent fast finish. Looking back to Disney 2020, I was hitting the 3:10 region in October of that year. Big difference is today was 7.7 miles vs then was 19-20 miles. But a good 20 seconds off my record of a 2:50 lap after a 15 mile run. So still some progress to be made.

The Garmin VO2max increased again to 54. That marks 3 straight weeks of gains.



It also puts me in a comparable place to Disney 2020. Although the training load is quite a bit lower since I was doing 15.5 total hrs or 4 hours of running in the week of 8/18/19 (ignore the 2020 dates on Disney). This increase in Garmin VO2max has coincided with the dropping of my training load form to <0. So as predicted there is correlative power in the amount of time I spent between 0 and -10 in form as to whether or not my Garmin VO2max increases. Looking forward, this upcoming down week should push me back out of the negative form zone and thus stall my Garmin VO2max gains either this week or the next. But that's ok with me because I need to delay the peaking a bit to allow my endurance/stamina to catch up a bit.



So as of right now, we're still on track with peaking sometime in mid-November to December. Based on the data to date, I may end up cutting out two weeks of training at the tail end. This would make my max LR 145 min instead of 160 min. It really doesn't change it all that much. We'll see though as I get closer when the peak actually occurs.

We went to the golf driving range after running. Steph and I got invited to a golf birthday party and it's been 7 years since we've played. We needed to check whether we're as terrible as we've always been. Thankfully, nothing has changed. G's been a few times to the driving range and has a lot of fun wacking the balls.

In the evening I did the LIIFT4 + McMillan Core work.

Happy with the week and the progress. Things are feeling good and I'm hoping to keep it up. Next week is a restart of the training plan. I angled it so I would restart on a down week so it would help in the transition back. Alright, so 5 more weeks of easy run/hard bike, and then we change the focus towards hard run/easy bike.

 

[DopeyBadger]

14? Weeks to go + HIM Base Mid Volume Cycling + (LIIFT 4 + McMillan Core/Legs)

8/17/20 - M - OFF
8/18/20 - T - Slide Mountain (60 min; 58 TSS) + McMillan Legs
8/19/20 - W - 35 min @ Comfortable
8/20/20 - R - 40 min @ Comfortable + McMillan Legs
8/21/20 - F - Pettit (60 min; 39 TSS)
8/22/20 - Sa - Pioneer (60 min; 62 TSS) + Brick 20 min @ Fun
8/23/20 - Su - 45 min @ Easy

Total Run Miles - 16.6 miles
Total Run Time - 2:23 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 3:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 159 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:36 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 6:00 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

A nice and easy recovery week before the bulk of training really begins. I went with a slightly harder tempo cycling workout than last week. Nothing of note during the ride.

I did the McMillan Legs workout as I've been doing normally for the last few weeks. I moved to the B workout which increased the rep count by two per exercise. Towards the end of the split squats, my right knee made an audible pop sound. It wasn't painful, but it was loud. Afterwards, my knee was much stiffer and didn't move around as well.

Wednesday

Throughout the day my knee was very stiff and sore. I'm guessing I strained it, but I was barely doing anything new. So it was a bit disturbing.

Thankfully, it had little to no impact on the run itself.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 7mph to 9mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 78°F + 62°F; FL - 78°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 62°F; FL - 78°F

35 min at a nice comfortable pace for a 8:50 min/mile and 138 HR.

Thursday

I was suppose to do a cycling workout in the morning, but I stayed up late on Wednesday night. So when the alarm went off at 4am, I said no thanks. My knee was still not feeling great and so the combo of little sleep and possibly an angry knee caused me to decide to stay in bed.

Towards the end of the work day I was walking out the door and made a sudden turn to the side and my knee popped again. But this time, everything seemed to feel better after that. So maybe a resetting of whatever I did to it on Tuesday.

That evening I did another comfortable run.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 8mph to 15mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 79°F + 63°F; FL - 81°F
End: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 63°F; FL - 81°F

It was 40 min at a 8:40 min/mile with a 141 HR. Everything felt fine with the run.

When I got home I had to decide whether I would attempt the McMillan Leg routine again from last Tuesday. I decided to give it a try to test it out even though my knee still didn't feel 100%. In the end, I had no issues and the knee didn't pop again.

Friday

I was suppose to do a LIIFT4 workout in the morning, but I didn't get much sleep Thursday night either. So I once again opted out. Since it's recovery week, I'm not overly concerned.

That evening I did the standard easy endurance workout Pettit for 60 min. The knee was fine and everything went well. No issues.

Saturday

It's been a while since I've done a brick workout (7/14/20), so I was eager to get back to it again. I started off with 60 min at HIM Cycling FTP. A nice solid workout and I was able to keep the cadence at 95 rpm. Afterwards, I threw on my running clothes and I was out the door.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 10mph to 16mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 71°F + 63°F; FL - 72°F
End: Temp+Dew = 73°F + 63°F; FL - 72°F

I decided just to do what felt like a fun pace. Not aiming for easy, but not aiming for something that makes me feel wiped after 20 min of running. Just something where I can grind and have fun with it. The first mile was a 6:59 downhill (GAP is probably 7:04). Then the second mile is turning around and running back up the hill at 7:17 (GAP is probably 7:02). With about 6 minutes left, I decided to attack my undulating hills fast finish course. I was able to complete the first lap in 2:59. Out of my 31 attempts during Disney 2020 training and Spring 2020 training, I only did 2 laps under 3 minutes. Granted, I'm doing this after 14 minutes of fun running and usually I've completed something like 13-22 miles during those other training runs. But a 7:04 min/mile, nonetheless. I can't remember off hand what the GAP correction for the FF lap was. I think it was around 10 seconds. So a 6:54 min/mile. The second lap came in at 2:58. I was really pushing and grinding through that lap. So I was happy with it. Finished the run with a smile on my face and a pain free experience. Been a while since I've had a nice hard run and not immediately regretted doing it. So it felt nice just to go out there and have some fun with it. And to do it at a good pace was a nice bonus.

That evening the family went golfing on the Par 3 (32 par) 9 hole. G has been to the driving range a handful of times, but this was her first real course. She had fun with it and I can only describe her as a gamer. Because she did much better on the real course than the driving range. I shot a 46 which I was pleased with since it's been years since I've played. We're planning to go again in a few weeks, and Steph agreed to play the first 9 at the birthday party.

Sunday

A nice and easy Sunday morning stroll. I decided to catch up on some sleep and slept for 10.5 hours.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 6mph to 8mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 74°F + 67°F; FL - 75°F
End: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 68°F; FL - 75°F

It was 46 min in 9:29 pace with a 134 HR. At one point the neighbor kid came up on his motorized scooter and was passing me. So I picked up the pace for a few moments just to show him I could. Looks like the scooter does around 7:20 pace.

That evening we went swimming. So I skipped the LIIFT4 workout.

So all in all a fairly low training week for me at only 6 hours. But a lack of sleep for the majority of the week was the driving force as well as knowing this was an intentional recovery week before things really start to pick up again. This week I've got 10.5 hours on the schedule. With my first >2 hr cycling ride and >60 min run in a while. The last time I ran for 75 min or more was May 23rd. The last time I ran for 90 min or 120 min or more was March 8th. So suffice to say, it's been a while. But I feel like I'm in a good place in the lead-up to this training block.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Our Associate Bank Ad has finally aired. It's been on TV a few times here in WI. I feel like Mike Wazowski!

 

[DopeyBadger]

13? Weeks to go + HIM Base Mid Volume Cycling + (LIIFT 4 + McMillan Core/Legs)

8/24/20 - M - OFF
8/25/20 - T - Baird-1 (60 min; 68 TSS) + McMillan Legs
8/26/20 - W - 50 min @ Easy w/ Strides
8/27/20 - R - Cumberland (75 min; 78 TSS) + Brick 30 min @ Easy
8/28/20 - F - Glassy (80 min; 81 TSS)
8/29/20 - Sa - Lauretian (135 min; 110 TSS) + 45 min Evening Run @ Easy
8/30/20 - Su - 75 min @ LR w/ FF

Total Run Miles - 23.1 miles
Total Run Time - 3:19 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 5:50 hours
Total Biking TSS - 337 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:48 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 9:58 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

Alright, welcome back to real training again. By the end of the week, I did feel like someone hit me with a sledgehammer. Baird-1 was a VO2max cycling workout. Usually one of my favorites, but I was glad to have shorter interval reps than normal. It was punishing. Kept the cadence high at 97 rpm.

Followed that up with McMillan Legs.

Wednesday

Another easy run. I decided to add in some strides at the end since everything has been feeling good for a while.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 11mph to 22mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 85°F + 71°F; FL - 90°F
End: Temp+Dew = 82°F + 70°F; FL - 90°F

I did the strides in a progressive manner only picking up the pace if the prior one still felt good. I did them in 6:18, 5:51, 5:03, 4:51, 4:49, and 4:34 pace. I liked how they felt and had no discomfort doing them. All in all it was 51 min at 9:14 pace with HR of 136 (when removing the strides).

Thursday

Brick workout! Started with 75 min on the bike at HIM pace, and followed that up with a 30 min run. The bike was challenging, but doable.

Conditions - 🌧 Rain and Humid, Wind 7mph to 15mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 82°F + 73°F; FL - 88°F
End: Temp+Dew = 81°F + 73°F; FL - 88°F

The weather was iffy for the run. Checked the radar before I left and everything was clear for an hour. I stepped outside, finished my stretching and started to run. It started to lightly rain. And then before I was a tenth of a mile away from the house it became a deluge. Challenge accepted. It was sort of refreshing to run in the rain. Until the lightning came. And then I was racing home. Saw another guy out running who was also racing home. Almost like a real race. I told him we needed to do this more often and he agreed. All in all it was 27 min at 8:43 pace with HR of 134.

Friday

Was starting to feel the fatigue from the week building on me. In the past, this was a nice and easy endurance ride for 60 min of a TSS of 39. Today it was 80 min of a TSS 81. So essentially twice the load as before. It was similar to the HIM ride the day before, but had some rest breaks in it. A challenge for sure.

Saturday

A 135 min cycling ride at IM pace in the morning. Been a while since I've ridden this long and this hard at this duration. It wore me out by the end, but I was able to stay consistent with a cadence of 91 rpm.

That evening I completed the double with a 45 min run.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 15mph to 20mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 74°F + 55°F; FL - 74°F
End: Temp+Dew = 73°F + 56°F; FL - 74°F

45 min at 8:45 pace with a HR of 136.

I wrapped up the run and we drove to the golf driving range to get in some practice. So all in all about 4 hours of activity today.

Sunday

The weather was forecasted to be beautiful in the morning. So I got up early and headed out for a nice cool run.

Conditions - Clear, Wind 2mph to 3mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 50°F + 46°F; FL - 50°F
End: Temp+Dew = 55°F + 51°F; FL - 50°F

Only a T+D of 106, which was glorious. I was hoping for a nice bump in speed, but it didn't come. I could tell almost right from the start of the stretches, my legs were tired. So this one was going to be a grind.

I got through the first 8 miles in around 8:00 min/mile pace. The second 4 miles felt better than the first 4 miles. And even though the second half was slightly faster, the HR was slightly lower. Then I rounded out the workout with a 3 lap fast finish. Did them in 3:12, 3:09, and 3:03. Felt good to suffer a bit.

The Garmin VO2max remained at 54. Which looking back at the data makes sense. While the pace was a bit slower today (7:58 min/mile at 139 HR), the HR was lower than the previous LRs. So when I T+D adjust them all and plot them, they all fall within the same power line of best fit.

The fatigue also makes sense. From a total training load standpoint, this is the highest form I've carried (-20) since December 2019. So it's just re-reminding what my body what actual endurance training feels like. It'll catch up and re-remember in due time.

I finished off Sunday by goofing around with G since Steph was at work all day. We've subscribed to the Kiwi Co Eurkea Box. It's meant for 16+, but we do them together as a science/engineering project. This weekend we built a perpetual calendar. A fun 2 hour experience. Afterwards, I had my fantasy football draft. So I decided to skip the LIIFT4 workout.

Finished the week tired, but ready to attack the next one.

 

[DopeyBadger]

12? Weeks to go + HIM Base Mid Volume Cycling + (LIIFT 4 + McMillan Core/Legs)

8/31/20 - M - OFF
9/1/20 - T - LIIFT-Shoulders + McMillan Core + Mills (60 min; 77 TSS) + McMillan Legs
9/2/20 - W - 55 min @ Easy w/ Strides
9/3/20 - R - Looking Glass (80 min; 81 TSS) + Evening 50 min @ Easy
9/4/20 - F - Tray Mountain (90 min; 103 TSS)
9/5/20 - Sa - Phoenix (90 min; 95 TSS) + 25 min Brick Run @ Fun
9/6/20 - Su - LIIFT4-Chest/Tri + McMillan Core + 80 min @ LR

Total Run Miles - 24.8 miles
Total Run Time - 3:32 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 5:20 hours
Total Biking TSS - 356 TSS

Total Strength Time - 2:04 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 10:56 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday
Gigi's first day of 1st Grade, so I decided to take the day off from work. I helped get her all set up in her home school room for virtual school. We put an iPad stand on the wall and connected it to a TV. So now she can see everything larger and doesn't have to mess around with the device to get herself on it. She's all set and ready to go. As was expected, the first day was an adventure for all of the 1st graders. But things improved throughout the week.





So I took advantage of the day off and loaded up the day with workouts. I started off in the morning with LIIFT4 Shoulders and McMillan Core. Then that evening, I did the cycling workout Mills (3 sets of 3x2 min at VO2max pacing). It was super challenging, but doable. Cadence ended up at 97 rpm. After the cycling workout I moved to the end of Week 3/4 of McMillan Legs. I'm finding that my knees really don't like McMillan Legs after a cycling workout.

Wednesday

Time for an easy run with some strides!

Conditions - ☀ Clear, Wind 10mph to 17mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 77°F + 55°F; FL - 77°F
End: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 57°F; FL - 77°F

Was feeling good after 4 easy miles and then entered the strides. Did them in a progressive manner again at 6:11, 5:11, 4:46, 4:37, 4:25, and 4:40. I had a crowd of neighbors watching towards the end so I may have given a little extra effort to put on a show. That last interval topped out at a 4:15 min/mile. Which marks the fastest my Garmin has ever recorded my running pace legitimately. In all it was 5.9 miles in 55 min at 9:31 pace with HR of 136.

Thursday

Early morning. Up at 3:45am to get the cycling workout in before work. Not an easy workout for so early in the morning. It was 3x20 min at 75-90% FTP which is around HIM to slightly above HIM pace. I was definitely feeling it throughout, but was able to manage a 92 rpm cadence.

That evening was an easy run.

Conditions - ☀ Clear, Wind 16mph to 28mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 70°F + 51°F; FL - 70°F
End: Temp+Dew = 68°F + 51°F; FL - 70°F

I was really tired. So I tried to take the run extra easy and set to no effort pace. Ended up at 5 miles in 50 min at 9:58 pace with HR of 128.

Friday

I had an early morning LIIFT session, but I decided to skip it. I needed the extra sleep for the hard weekend coming up.

The evening cycling workout was a beast. It was 3x20 min at 90% FTP (sweet spot training). So a lot like the day before's workout, but harder. I maintained a cadence of 96.

Saturday

Brick day! Started off with the cycling workout. It was a 90 min workout with 75 min at HIM pace. I managed to keep the cadence high at 95 rpm.

I got done with the ride and felt quite fatigued. But it was time to practice the end of a race.

Conditions - ☀ Clear, Wind 8mph to 13mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 56°F + 51°F; FL - 56°F
End: Temp+Dew = 58°F + 52°F; FL - 56°F

I laced up the shoes, headed out the door, and attacked the run as best I could. The splits were 7:01, 6:57, and 7:22. Then I did a FF lap at 2:58 (6:59 pace). GAP wise I'm thinking those laps were around 7:06, 6:52, 7:05. All in all a successful run, but boy was I sucking wind towards the end. In all it was 3.7 miles in 26 min at 7:08 pace with HR of 147.

Sunday

It was raining pretty good in the morning, so I swapped my morning and evening workouts. I did the LIIFT4-Chest/Tri + McMillan Core in the morning. Man that Stage 1C video of McMillan Core is a beast. Everything is longer and harder. Next week I finally move on to a new McMillan Core and new McMillan Legs routine. Here's hoping they're not nearly as brutal!

My legs were feeling decent in the afternoon for the long run. So I decided to do LR pace instead of easy pace.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 19mph to 34mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 76°F + 67°F; FL - 77°F
End: Temp+Dew = 78°F + 69°F; FL - 77°F

It was fairly windy, but thankfully the headwind was mostly downhill and tailwind mostly uphill. So it kind of cancelled out. I was pretty surprised by the first split.



Things felt really smooth and easy through the first seven miles. A lot of cloud like running. It was around mile 7-8 when the sun peaked out and I could tell I was running a nutritional deficiency of some sort. So the effort remained but the pace slowed. Decided not to do a fast finish at the end and just keep cruising. In the end it was 10.3 miles in 80 min at 7:48 pace with HR of 145. The effort felt like LR through the majority of the run, but the HR says otherwise.

Garmin VO2max bumped up again, so we're back on the move. Up to 55 now.



As designed, my running training load is right where I designed it to be.



This week's run's in red when adjusted for T+D:



So everything is lining up as intended.

Next week is the last bike week and then the focus turns to hard running workouts. Feeling like I'm in a good place and ready to see what the next few weeks hold for me.

 

[SheHulk]

Billy I just wanted to share that when I ran my mock 10k race on Monday, I was a little disappointed with my time of 1:01:30 or something like that. Then I thought, What about adjusting for T+D? and I went to the chart you made me for T+D adjustment for paces. Wouldn't you know, turns out I ran almost *exactly* (like maybe a second/mile off) my predicted pace for a 10k given the adjustments you calculated? Just more evidence of your genius I'd prefer to beat expectations but still

 

[DopeyBadger]

Billy I just wanted to share that when I ran my mock 10k race on Monday, I was a little disappointed with my time of 1:01:30 or something like that. Then I thought, What about adjusting for T+D? and I went to the chart you made me for T+D adjustment for paces. Wouldn't you know, turns out I ran almost *exactly* (like maybe a second/mile off) my predicted pace for a 10k given the adjustments you calculated? Just more evidence of your genius I'd prefer to beat expectations but still

We don't get to choose the weather on race day. Some days it's in our favor and some days it isn't. And not all PRs are created equal (from a weather or course design standpoint). But it definitely bestows confidence when you can do the T+D correction and be right where we thought you would be. Looking at the plan, I'd say you're right where we want you to be. Now things are going to start to pick up in difficulty for the last 11 week home stretch. This is when the gains are going to be made. And if you decide not to run the marathon at the end, then try a 10k or HM time trial instead. I've got a feeling you should see some progress off that time due to this second half.

 

[DopeyBadger]

11? Weeks to go + HIM Base Mid Volume Cycling + (LIIFT 4 + McMillan Core/Legs)

9/7/20 - M - OFF
9/8/20 - T - Dade-1 (60 min; 80 TSS) + McMillan Legs
9/9/20 - W - 60 min @ Easy w/ Strides
9/10/20 - R - Phoenix (90 min; 95 TSS) + 30 min Brick Run @ Easy
9/11/20 - F - Spruce Knob (90 min; 93 TSS)
9/12/20 - Sa - Ochoco (150 min; 119 TSS) + 45 min Evening Run @ Easy
9/13/20 - Su - 96 min @ LR w/ FF + 9 holes of Golf

Total Run Miles - 27.9 miles
Total Run Time - 3:53 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 6:30 hours
Total Biking TSS - 388 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:24 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 10:47 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

Dade -1 is three sets of 3x2-minute VO2max repeats at 120% FTP. 2 minutes of recovery fall between intervals and 6 minutes of easy spinning separate each set. These were really high level VO2max repeats and were really tough to hang on to. I ended up with a cadence of 99 rpm.

Afterwards, I did the new McMillan Legs routine (Week 5/6). I really liked it. It was comprised of six different exercises that felt like they were progressions from previous workouts. Hip airplanes, Wall drill triples, Drop squat, FFE reverse lunges, Step downs - eccentric, and side plank with thread the needle.

Wednesday

A nice and easy run day with some strides.

Conditions - 🌧 Light Rain, Wind 12mph to 23mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 52°F + 46°F; FL - 52°F
End: Temp+Dew = 52°F + 46°F; FL - 52°F

Super windy and a nice steady rain throughout. But like G said when I got home, the only way to get better is to deal with challenging circumstances. Right you are kid. All in all it was 6.6 miles in 60 min (9:08 min/mile pace) with HR of 127. The strides were slower because I couldn't get a good grip with the Next %. So they ended up at 6:34, 6:16, 5:55, 5:20, 5:06, 4:51, and 5:10.

As a side note, I've been really pleased with the longevity of these Next % shoes. While they're $250 initial cost is a bit staggering, they've lasted me about 800 miles. They don't feel as fresh as the day I bought them. But they certainly don't feel like they need to be replaced. Compare that to my Kinvaras which only last about 150 miles, or my Rides which usually last 250-350 miles, I'm quite pleased at the cost per mile I'm getting from the Next %.

Thursday

Brick Day! It was a 90 min ride at HIM pace and then a 30 min easy run. The cycling was a true grind, but I was happy to be able to hold a 94 rpm throughout even at 80-85% FTP.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 6mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 55°F + 49°F; FL - 55°F
End: Temp+Dew = 55°F + 49°F; FL - 55°F

The brick run was nothing remarkable. I decided to take it nice and easy. So it was 3.5 miles in 30 min at 8:48 pace with a 131 HR.

Friday

A high end HIM paced cycling ride. Spruce Knob is 2x30-minute intervals at 85% FTP with a 6-minute recovery between each. I was happy to be able to maintain a 95 rpm throughout. Steph was eager to eat dinner, so I skipped the McMillan Legs afterwards.

Saturday

Slept for almost 11 hours and it was glorious.

Longest ride of the training plan at 150 min. I think I only stopped twice briefly, but otherwise felt good throughout. Honestly, I'm not sure how I used to ride 4-6 hrs on this thing. I must have had some next level determination last year. About 2 hrs is enough for me. So a 150 min ride really seems to drag on. But I was still able to manage a 94 rpm throughout. It was around this time last year that my long ride cadence really started to drop. Looks like the matching date last year was an 87 cadence with the end of the ride in the low 80s.

After finishing the ride, I really tried to stuff my face as much as possible. Because I didn't have a ton of time between finishing this and then starting the run that evening. I always find it hard to eat enough in-between these Saturday rides and evening runs.

Conditions - ☁ Overcast, Wind 10mph to 15mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 69°F + 67°F; FL - 70°F
End: Temp+Dew = 69°F + 67°F; FL - 70°F

I felt like a bloated rolling ball during this run. But I got through it. All in all it was 5.3 miles in 45 min (8:35 pace) with HR of 134.

Sunday

Hooray, long run day! Decided to bump it up to 100 minutes. Been since March since I've run so far. But things have been progressing well from a health standpoint and a fitness standpoint. Since this was the first run over 90 minutes, it meant it was time to start fueling again. So I did a spoon of PB about an hour before I started. Then I had the SIS Beta at 15 min prior (the stand-in for Maurten 320 since SIS Beta is much cheaper cost wise, but the quality isn't nearly as good as Maurten).

Conditions - ☀ Clear, Wind 8mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 55°F + 55°F; FL - 55°F
End: Temp+Dew = 58°F + 57°F; FL - 55°F

I started off the first mile like a rocket coming in at 7:41 pace. So I said to myself, alright that's how it's going to be today. If you feel like you can do that pace now, then I want you to hold it throughout.



GAP wise we're looking at something like: 7:45, 7:51, 7:29, 7:24, 7:43, 7:41, 7:28, 7:47, 7:45, 7:38, 7:45 + fast finish

I had two swigs of concentrated Tailwind at 45 min and an Egel at 60 min. I had the remainder of my Tailwind at 75 min. The fast finish laps were 3:04, 3:07, and 3:01. That three lap average (3:04) is better than any other run over 90 min with a fast finish of more than 1 lap.

All in all it was 12.5 miles in 96 min at 7:43 pace with a HR of 142. The HR is a tad high for long run, but still lower than historical marathon HR of 148.

My Garmin VO2max increase is still right on target trend with last year. I've moved up to 56.



That's despite this year my long run being 96 min (vs 150 min at this same time last year), doing 4 hrs this year instead of 5 hrs of running, cycling for 6.5 hrs instead of 10 hrs, having a long ride of 2.5 hrs instead of 4.75 hrs, and total training time of 11 hrs instead of 17.5 hrs. So I'm doing far less but getting the same response from my Garmin VO2max. The key similarity between this time and the last is that my training load form value is staying between 0 and -10 consistently from a running training standpoint. Now whether my Garmin VO2max value will translate into equal endurance performance is debatable, but I'm willing to give that a chance on the off chance training less can yield similar benefits when designed with a very specific training load system in place.

Thankfully, next week is a down week. I'll gladly accept that. This will bring an end to the hard cycling phase of the training. Starting the week of 9/21, I'm moving to five run days per week and a focus on hard running for the tail end of training.

Forgot to add that I skipped the LIIFT4 workout on Sunday evening because we went 9 hole golfing instead.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I forgot something else that happened this week. G and I have been anticipating the release of the new Xbox Series X. So we broke out my old Nintendo DS. I promised to play the Wedding planner game if she played my math game. On the math game you can take a test to determine your brain age. One of the three activities you sometimes get during this test is a number memorization grid. 25 numbers (1-25) in a 5x5 grid. You get 2 min to memorize and then you must enter each number into their placement. If you guess wrong on a place you can’t reguess. You get 2 min to fill in the grid. I got 22 right (my record is 24). My final brain age was 22 (best possible is 20). G did the test and also got the memorization grid. I taught her how to memorize by creating a story. She ended up getting 10 right and her final brain age was 72. So after we picked Steph up from work we told her she had to do the test too. Steph was all ready to smoke us. She finished the grid with 9 right. G did not let her live that down, but also said she would be humble and say at least you tried your best mom. Steph’s brain age was 69. She ended up retaking it the next day and got a 52. Looks like she might want to brush up on her math game skills. Proud of G and her math skills and humbleness.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I also bought Steph this:

https://shopbybravo.com/products/i-...ce-crewneck-sweatshirt?variant=32365213155403

 

[garneska]

Interesting you got 800 miles on the Next% shoes. I thought the mileage was supposed to be pretty low. I talked to my PT about if i needed racing shoes, two different ones said no. Keep wearing my Mizunos. So no racing shoes means more PT

 

[DopeyBadger]

Interesting you got 800 miles on the Next% shoes. I thought the mileage was supposed to be pretty low.

I think if you base it on prime performance, then yes. I think that window is quite small, something maybe under 100 miles. But the shoe has held up quite well. The sole definitely shows some wear, but as far as how my body feels in them they're still pretty good.

I talked to my PT about if i needed racing shoes, two different ones said no. Keep wearing my Mizunos. So no racing shoes means more PT

On what basis was the question framed? Is it a "keeping going with what's working" or a "there's no difference between shoes to justify racing shoes"?

 

[garneska]

i do think it was the first part. Since i have history of injuries, keep on using what is working. They also thought my shoes was pretty good, ie not super heavy. Being that I was not having issues they thought it was best to not change up what i was doing. Of course in COVID times and no racing, now may be a better opportunity to explore other shoes. Up till now i had pretty focused goals so I think they did not want to mess with that.

 

[DopeyBadger]

i do think it was the first part. Since i have history of injuries, keep on using what is working. They also thought my shoes was pretty good, ie not super heavy. Being that I was not having issues they thought it was best to not change up what i was doing. Of course in COVID times and no racing, now may be a better opportunity to explore other shoes. Up till now i had pretty focused goals so I think they did not want to mess with that.

If you can get your hands on them, then I think it's worth giving the Next % a try. I really feel I can tell the most difference at the fastest end of my pace spectrum. The runs in the 5:00-6:30 min/mile range. Now whether that's the pace or the effort needed to tell that difference, I couldn't tell you. I will say though they are a tall shoe. So I'm not sure how my ankles would be fairing without my ankle sleeves on. I feel like I always have to be more cognizant of the angles of the road in the Next % than in other shoes.

 

[garneska]

Interesting tall shoes, like Hoka's? I tried a pair of Hoka's on once, i felt very tall.

Might be a good opportunity to explore some options. Previous to this probably not such a good idea, but now is probably a good time. Lot's of time to figure it out.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Interesting tall shoes, like Hoka's? I tried a pair of Hoka's on once, i felt very tall.

Yea, something like 35-36 mm vs traditional shoes in the 20s.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Just to add an anecdote, I used the 4%'s during my virtual marathon running at easy pace figuring they helped me during my last 2 races. I was probably under trained especially given the week I couldn't run and lost significant muscle, but I could feel my right foot was in significant pain less than halfway through the virtual. I powered through, but my legs and foot were hurting a lot the last 6 miles and my foot still hurts to walk on. If I'm lucky enough to requalify for Boston, I'll have to re-evaluate the time I put into training. I think my foot wasn't used to pounding the pavement for so long and I probably should have worn my regular shoes, not my race day shoes.

TL;DR: I think next% are better for faster paced runs than a long paced run or slower.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I think next% are better for faster paced runs than a long paced run or slower.

I would agree that they're better for faster paced stuff. Although, I have been using them on all my long runs because they seem to beat me up less. I even use them for slow runs if I'm doing strides at the end. I'd say 75% of my weekly mileage these days are in the Next%.

 

[garneska]

Thanks for the insight @dis_or_dat. congrats on finishing. I was not sure how your air quality was. Are you getting the finisher’s jacket? I was not going to but now am reconsidering.