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

[canglim52]

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

1/4/21 - M - OFF
1/5/21 - T - 30 min Run @ Easy + McMillan Legs
1/6/21 - W - Haku (60 min; 59 TSS)
1/7/21 - R - 30 min Run @ Easy + McMillan Legs
1/8/21 - F - LIIFT4-Arms + Geiger (60 min; 67 TSS) +
1/9/21 - Sa - Pioneer (60 min; 61 TSS) + 30 min Brick @ Long Run
1/10/21 - Su - 45 min @ Easy

Total Run Miles - 15.3 miles
Total Run Time - 2:15 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 3:00 hours
Total Biking TSS - 187 TSS

Total Strength Time - 1:28 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 6:43 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

Another easy run without the left ankle sleeve to see if there is any improvement.

Conditions - ☁ Partly Cloudy, Wind 4mph to 5mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 24°F + 23°F; FL - 19°F
End: Temp+Dew = 24°F + 23°F; FL - 19°F

Took it easy enough this time around. It was 3.3 miles at 9:06 pace with 128 HR. This was a good place to be. Although the ankle still didn't feel like I wanted it to. I questioned whether I should call the PT, but decided not to.

I did McMillan Legs afterwards and this seemed to aggravate the ankle.


Wednesday

A down week for cycling. Haku is 6x20-second all-out efforts at 200% FTP, each separated by about 5 minutes of active recovery at 65% of FTP. This was an easier version of the same workout from the last few weeks. It was completed with no issues.


Thursday

Another 30 min easy day.

Conditions - ☁ Overcast, Wind 8mph to 15mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 27°F + 27°F; FL - 19°F
End: Temp+Dew = 27°F + 27°F; FL - 19°F

Taken super easy again. It was 3.2 miles at 9:14 pace with HR of 126. A good place to be for an easy day.

I did McMillan legs afterwards. The ankle was bothersome still and so I decided I would call the PT the next morning to set an appointment.


Friday

First early morning workout, and boy was it a rude wake up alarm. Ugh, I can't believe I used to get up at 4:30am every morning. Steph and I did the final LIIFT4-Arms workout and followed it up with McMillan Core. Time to circle back around and possibly get some new heavier dumbbells.

That evening was a Sweet Spot workout. Geiger is 3x12-minute efforts spent in the Sweet Spot (88-94% FTP) with brief, 3-minute recoveries between efforts. It felt really good. I can tell I've made some improvements in cycling fitness in the last 4 weeks. Felt really smooth and strong.


Saturday

Brick day! Pioneer is a 45-minute segment between 80-85% FTP nestled inside of an hour-long workout.

Followed that up with 30 min at long run effort.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 6mph to 8mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 27°F + 22°F; FL - 20°F
End: Temp+Dew = 28°F + 23°F; FL - 20°F

Ended up as 3.6 miles at 8:18 pace with Bad HR data (going to assume around 140 bpm). The HR data was between 190-200 which was above my maxHR and not cadence. It sucks because it creates a void for my training load data. I'm still trying to fix it. I edited the .fit file and reuploaded, but Strava won't accept the new HR data. So I've got to figure out a different solution. For now, I'll have to manually type in the training load data into Excel.


Sunday

An easy 45 min run.

Conditions - ☁ Overcast, Wind 5mph to 5mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 23°F + 18°F; FL - 17°F
End: Temp+Dew = 23°F + 18°F; FL - 17°F

5.1 miles at 8:45 pace with HR of 131. Happy with it. The Garmin VO2max remains at 54. That makes it 5 consecutive weeks at 54 now. That's one of the longest stretches of maintaining a single VO2max in the 4 years I've been tracking the dataset. So I think the intentional depression of training load form is doing the trick. The downside is it just doesn't feel good to train in this area. Like I don't get that rush from running because my body isn't excited about the training or something. I know "that feeling" and it doesn't necessarily only come during hard workouts. But I can tell this intentional depression of training load form comes in a different area of training that my body doesn't like to be sustained from a response standpoint. Ankle still bothersome so I'm glad I scheduled an appointment.

This coming week is a jump back into a higher volume and the last 4 week block of prep leading into the real training. On tap is 4 cycle workouts of 5:50 hrs, 4 runs of 3:20 hrs, but no early morning workouts. The PT is on Wednesday, so we'll see what her diagnosis is.

Good luck on Wednesday!

 

[TeeterTots]

So excited for your new pup!!!

 

[TeeterTots]

So excited for your new pup!!!

Roxy doodle is excited too!!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Well the good news is the PT is confident it is not broken. Although even if it were, we probably wouldn't make many changes to the plan moving forward. She believes it is all a root issue from extreme hypomobility in the ankle (huh where does that sound familiar when it comes to my hamstrings). Based on her assessment my left top ankle bone is pushed forward do to swelling that took place at some time in the past. So she worked on pressing it back into place. Additionally, she says I'm putting undue stress on secondary parts of my ankle because during the course of running the primary places aren't putting in the work it should be. We tried two ankle mobility tests and I failed miserably.

First, sit in a chair with your foot fully on the ground. Without lifting your other four toes, lift your big toe. On my right foot you can see it try, but be unable to do so. On my left foot, you can't even see anything try to move.

Second, get down on your knees. Raise one leg so the foot is flat on the ground and up against the wall (so like a lunge). Place both your toe and knee on the wall. Now readjust your foot while keeping the heel on the ground and see how much distance you can create between the wall and your big toe when your knee is still touching. On my right foot, I can get the knee and toe to touch, but have zero distance capability. On my left foot, I can't get my knee to touch the wall and heel to stay down at all.

Additionally, she saw two other issues. I have little to no hair growth on the top of my foot. She believes (along with some redness) that this is a sign that I'm tying my shoes too tight or need to change the lace pattern. Secondly, she believes the ankle braces are probably causing more harm than good at this point because they're increasing the ankle hypomobility. So she wants me to play around with different lacing patterns and to stop wearing the ankle brace on both feet moving forward. Since the volume is low right now, she thinks it's a good time to test out alternatives.

So I've got exercises to help these issues with the hope we see some progress. The pain is secondary to these likely root cause issues. Second appointment in 2 weeks. No more box jumps, cycling can remain the same, and don't do more than 20 miles per week for the next two weeks. I was scheduled for 24 and 22, so only have to shave a little off. As always, glad I went to the PT because from the sounds of it these aren't things that would have improved as time continued to wear on.

 

[avondale]

Well the good news is the PT is confident it is not broken. Although even if it were, we probably wouldn't make many changes to the plan moving forward. She believes it is all a root issue from extreme hypomobility in the ankle (huh where does that sound familiar when it comes to my hamstrings). Based on her assessment my left top ankle bone is pushed forward do to swelling that took place at some time in the past. So she worked on pressing it back into place. Additionally, she says I'm putting undue stress on secondary parts of my ankle because during the course of running the primary places aren't putting in the work it should be. We tried two ankle mobility tests and I failed miserably.

First, sit in a chair with your foot fully on the ground. Without lifting your other four toes, lift your big toe. On my right foot you can see it try, but be unable to do so. On my left foot, you can't even see anything try to move.

Second, get down on your knees. Raise one leg so the foot is flat on the ground and up against the wall (so like a lunge). Place both your toe and knee on the wall. Now readjust your foot while keeping the heel on the ground and see how much distance you can create between the wall and your big toe when your knee is still touching. On my right foot, I can get the knee and toe to touch, but have zero distance capability. On my left foot, I can't get my knee to touch the wall and heel to stay down at all.

Additionally, she saw two other issues. I have little to no hair growth on the top of my foot. She believes (along with some redness) that this is a sign that I'm tying my shoes too tight or need to change the lace pattern. Secondly, she believes the ankle braces are probably causing more harm than good at this point because they're increasing the ankle hypomobility. So she wants me to play around with different lacing patterns and to stop wearing the ankle brace on both feet moving forward. Since the volume is low right now, she thinks it's a good time to test out alternatives.

So I've got exercises to help these issues with the hope we see some progress. The pain is secondary to these likely root cause issues. Second appointment in 2 weeks. No more box jumps, cycling can remain the same, and don't do more than 20 miles per week for the next two weeks. I was scheduled for 24 and 22, so only have to shave a little off. As always, glad I went to the PT because from the sounds of it these aren't things that would have improved as time continued to wear on.

"no hair growth"? on the top of your foot? Who knew that would be a sign of anything. It does really sound like she knows her running stuff. I want to try your ankle tests, once I no longer have a sleeping cat on my lap.

 

[DopeyBadger]

"no hair growth"? on the top of your foot? Who knew that would be a sign of anything. It does really sound like she knows her running stuff. I want to try your ankle tests, once I no longer have a sleeping cat on my lap.

Technically, I don't have any hair growth on my ankle either. No hair until around where my calf starts. The ankle is at least because of my Hanes socks.

 

[dis_or_dat]

After reading about your ankle issues, I was worried about hypomobility and the ankle brace possibly exacerbating your condition, but am loathe to give out medical advice, which is why I recommended seeing a PT. Glad to see she was able to diagnose the problems. I think the exercises will help tremendously, but will take a while.

re: cambered streets. I used to run in the middle of the street to avoid the extreme camber on the sides, but only on sections when I could see very far ahead for cars. Now it seems I've gotten used to the camber, especially running so slow nowadays - but I also run on the same side of the street back (altho I should be running against traffic both ways). Anyways, with the streets emptier it's something to consider ... but be safe!

Is the lack of hair growth generally under where you wear the ankle brace where it rubs against your shoe?

 

[DopeyBadger]

After reading about your ankle issues, I was worried about hypomobility and the ankle brace possibly exacerbating your condition, but am loathe to give out medical advice, which is why I recommended seeing a PT. Glad to see she was able to diagnose the problems. I think the exercises will help tremendously, but will take a while.

Here's hoping I'm on the right path. The potential (and maybe it's minimal) is a return to upper ankle tendonitis. After my ankle injury in 2018, I tried to stop rotating my ankle in daily life because it was led to "cracking" like knuckles. And I had thought was a partial lead into the tendonitis. But it sure seems like the combo of the brace and lack of rotating my ankle had swung too far the other direction. Have to find a happy balance.

re: cambered streets. I used to run in the middle of the street to avoid the extreme camber on the sides, but only on sections when I could see very far ahead for cars. Now it seems I've gotten used to the camber, especially running so slow nowadays - but I also run on the same side of the street back (altho I should be running against traffic both ways). Anyways, with the streets emptier it's something to consider ... but be safe!

Yea, the winter always makes it harder because of snow on the roads. Less choices when it comes to where to run on the road. Lately I've been running more on the sidewalks and asphalt bike path. They're less cambered and since I'm doing slower paces it isn't as inhibitive coming up on angled sidewalk crossings. But when I do run in the road, I run similar to what you suggest. Middle when possible, and both with/against traffic when safe.

Is the lack of hair growth generally under where you wear the ankle brace where it rubs against your shoe?

Well the upper ankle hair loss has been that way since long before I started running. I can't say if I've noticed a difference pre-ankle brace vs post. The brace covered about half of my foot and to me it doesn't appear to be a difference between the part that was and wasn't covered (like there is a delineation where my Hanes sock ends which drives home how it's the reason for no upper ankle hair).

 

[SheHulk]

Well the upper ankle hair loss has been that way since long before I started running. I can't say if I've noticed a difference pre-ankle brace vs post. The brace covered about half of my foot and to me it doesn't appear to be a difference between the part that was and wasn't covered (like there is a delineation where my Hanes sock ends which drives home how it's the reason for no upper ankle hair).

I know lots of men who have this, runners or not. I'm gonna go with the socks as the cause.

Hope you are on your way to finding that "happy medium" of motility. I think about my ankle movements constantly while I run, since my injury last year. It sounds eerily similar to yours.

 

[DopeyBadger]

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

1/11/21 - M - OFF
1/12/21 - T - Baird-1 (60 min; 68 TSS)
1/13/21 - W - 46 min Run @ Easy + McMillan Legs
1/14/21 - R - Cumberland (75 min; 78 TSS) + 30 min Run @ Easy
1/15/21 - F - Glassy (80 min; 81 TSS)
1/16/21 - Sa - Townsend-1 (90 min; 55 TSS) + 30 min Evening Run @ Easy
1/17/21 - Su - 60 min @ Long Run + LIIFT4-Chest/Tri

Total Run Miles - 19.2 miles
Total Run Time - 2:46 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 5:05 hours
Total Biking TSS - 282 TSS

Total Strength Time - 0:52 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 8:43 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

A new subset of workouts for cycling. VO2max time. Baird -1 is 3 sets of 5x1-minute intervals at 120% FTP where recoveries between intervals are 2 minutes long and recoveries between sets of intervals are 3 minutes long. Liked how this one felt, albeit the intervals were short enough that they barely made it tough.


Wednesday

Had my PT appointment in the morning and got some good advice on how to move forward.

Easy run in the evening. No ankle braces and re-laced my shoes to take some pressure off the top of my foot.

Conditions - Overcast, Wind 7mph to 16mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 34°F + 31°F; FL - 28°F
End: Temp+Dew = 34°F + 30°F; FL - 28°F

The ankle felt decent. Not 100%, but figures it'll take time. All in it was 5 miles in 46 min at 9:07 pace with 128 HR.

Afterwards, I did the McMillan Legs workout.

The post workout ankle moves were a bit rough and actually felt worse than the run itself.


Thursday

Brick day. Cumberland is a 60-minute sustained segment between 80-85% FTP nestled inside of a 75-minute long workout. The effort level was HIM pace. The effort was tough, but I was able to hold on.

Conditions - 🌨 Snow, Wind 12mph to 27mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 31°F; FL - 24°F
End: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 31°F; FL - 24°F

It was snowing outside and I was wearing shorts. It was truly peaceful. The ankle felt alright. It was 3.2 miles in 30 min at 9:26 pace with HR of 128. The ankle PT stretches were a bit rough again. Specifically, the ABC workout where you spell the alphabet with your ankle.


Friday

A sweetspot cycling workout. Glassy is 4x15-minute intervals between 75-90% FTP with 2-minute recoveries between them. Another rough one, but survivable.


Saturday

Woke up and decided that my body wasn't ready for the 135 min cycling ride. So I throttled it down to 90 min. It was nice and easy. At the start I questioned whether I should have done the longer version, but towards the last 15 min, it was clear I made the right choice.

Conditions - Overcast, Wind 9mph to 19mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 29°F; FL - 24°F
End: Temp+Dew = 31°F + 29°F; FL - 24°F

An evening run. 30 min at 3.4 miles at 8:49 pace with HR of 133. The ankle felt decent during the run. But the post-run ankle workout was rough. I was definitely limping post ankle work.


Sunday

When I woke up the ankle was still sore, so I postponed the run into the evening.

Conditions - 🌨 Light Snow, Wind 7mph to 12mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 29°F + 25°F; FL - 22°F
End: Temp+Dew = 27°F + 24°F; FL - 22°F

It was 60 min at easy/long run pace. The ankle actually felt pretty good from the start. Not 100%, but certainly a lot better than it did the night before. So I just settled into a nice easy/long run pace.



The pace felt good, but as the run progressed it felt better and better. My legs started to feel like their old self again, and I could tell my Garmin VO2max was going to be a point higher after this run. As you can see from the GAP, this was a progression style run with the HR effort in the marathon tempo area. Happy with how it felt overall. The ankle felt good. All in all it was 7.6 miles in 60 min at 7:56 pace with HR of 142 (high end long run). The Garmin VO2max did raise to 55. This is 2-3 weeks earlier than intended. So I'm dropping the run training load to try and stagnate the gains next week.

Afterwards, I did a LIIFT4 Chest/Tri workout. Upping the weight, keeping the form, and feeling good about it.

Still aiming towards Milwaukee Marathon on 4/10. Silver Circle just announced a new 4 lap marathon with approved permits for 5/1. The downside is the weather moves from ideal to good between those dates. So I guess I'll wait and see. Not a ton of spots in the Silver Circle marathon though, so we'll see.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Purely anecdotally, there's a tendency to treat a badly sprained ankle gingerly with hopes to not reinjure it. But keeping the ankle flexible (ie good range of motion) and building strength is what prevents injuries. Writing the "ABCs" is a great simple way to increase range of motion.

Well the upper ankle hair loss has been that way since long before I started running. I can't say if I've noticed a difference pre-ankle brace vs post. The brace covered about half of my foot and to me it doesn't appear to be a difference between the part that was and wasn't covered (like there is a delineation where my Hanes sock ends which drives home how it's the reason for no upper ankle hair).

Ah, that makes me think of 2 possible reasons for the lack of hair growth - but since you're young and healthy it makes me think you may just have alopecia in that area. But I'm not one to give medical opinions, always consult your physician!

I hope you're able to run your marathon; would love to see all your effort come to fruition!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Purely anecdotally, there's a tendency to treat a badly sprained ankle gingerly with hopes to not reinjure it. But keeping the ankle flexible (ie good range of motion) and building strength is what prevents injuries. Writing the "ABCs" is a great simple way to increase range of motion.

Echos what the PT said. I probably should also restart up some of my ankle tendonitis workouts to try and ward off any potential issues there as well.

Ah, that makes me think of 2 possible reasons for the lack of hair growth - but since you're young and healthy it makes me think you may just have alopecia in that area. But I'm not one to give medical opinions, always consult your physician!

Seems reasonable. I can't remember when the hair loss started. It's a long time ago though.

I hope you're able to run your marathon; would love to see all your effort come to fruition!

Thanks, me too! Although there's been a change on this. Suffice to say I'm shifting to the May 1st Silver circle marathon instead of Milwaukee. I'll detail in a bit.

 

[bovie]

Just dipping in to say that the pup is adorable. Congrats!

I also have had good luck with writing the alphabet with my ankle to stave off the stiffness. I hope you get to feeling better.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Changing the goal race from Milwaukee to Non-Cancelled (Silver Circle) Marathon

So with the announcement of the silver circle marathon (NC) occurring on 5/1, I felt like I had to make a choice on whether I'd run Milwaukee or NC. Primarily my concern was putting myself into a position late in training like I did in winter with trying to extend the training plan towards a future race. As the data has shown, I do best when the ramp up is about 11-13 weeks at most. These two marathons are separated by 3 weeks. So if I aim the peak at Milwaukee, it puts me just on the outskirts of what the data suggests if I have to late pivot and aim towards NC. So I decided to sit down and go through the pros/cons of each, as well as sit down with Steph on her thoughts.

My first concern from a racing standpoint was the temperature. So I went back to the data to determine a potential window for best racing weather for me.





This isn't the first time I've shown this dataset, but it's relevant in determining this window. I calculated the difference between my Garmin VO2max and my race VDOT to determine my VDOT delta. In a crude way this is a way to say, how well did I race relative to where my fitness was estimated to be? So whether my fitness was a 3:30 marathon or a 3:05 marathon, the delta of VDOT value could be equal. The attempt was to see where I was seeing influence on race results based on weather that was different. The presumption is that the Garmin VO2max data is being accumulated in similar training conditions as I would see in the upcoming race. But it's possible that training in 80s and racing in 80s will be different than training in 130s and racing in 130s. And this plotted graph does suggest that. The purple dots are Dopey 2018, and there are obviously extenuating circumstances to explain why those dots trail the way they do. The red dot near those purples is the Madison 2019 HM (my PR of 1:28). The green dot is Lakefront 2017 (my PR of 3:14). The two overlapping yellow/red dots just above 100 are my 5k time trials from 2017 (my 5k PR for a solo time trial). So all four of my PRs are at a T+D of 103 or less. So I would say that my best conversions occur at 100 or less and when I'm in the 130s is when I start to see a further deviation from fitness to race result. I would say my ideal zone is probably T+D of 60-80 and good zone is 80-100, but there isn't a ton of data between 80-100. So then I looked at the two marathons.



Over the last 10 years on that date in that location at the time the race is to be held, Milwaukee is ideal 60% of the time, good 20% of the time, and less than good 20% of the time. Whereas, NC is never ideal, is good 70% of the time, and less than good 30% of the time. So Milwaukee is better weather, but by how much is questionable given the lack of racing data between 80-100.

Elevation wise, Milwaukee is 766 feet gain and NC is estimated at 40-60 ft per lap (the out is mostly a gentle incline and the back is mostly a gentle decline). So with a 4 lap course, we're looking at maybe 240-300 feet of elevation at the most. So comparatively much flater. That's about 30 ft per mile vs 11.5 ft per mile. In all, I'd say the Milwaukee course would cost me about 3-4 sec/mile (or 80-105 seconds over the course of the race) and NC about 4-5 sec per lap (or about 16-20 seconds over the course of the race). So the difference is about a minute to minute and a half between these two courses.

So outside of the course and weather, the other main concern is COVID safety. And this is where Steph comes in. She doesn't feel safe having me go to the marathon alone because my history isn't great with post-marathon health. So she wants to be present in case I would need help coming home. We decided we'll leave G at home though with the new pup and either the MIL or her sister. So from her POV, she much prefers the NC marathon because of less people. We also agreed we just plain trust Silver Circle the company over Milwaukee. The Milwaukee company doesn't have a great track record over the years (two short courses, how they handled the cancellation, exactly zero information on how they plan to hold the 2021 event with safety protocols and the such). At this point we have zero info on how aid stations will happen or anything of that nature. Honestly, I think the odds of Milwaukee even happening are low. Whereas Silver Circle has held many races since September without known issues. They have robust measures in place to keep everyone as safe as can be expected. So Steph was definitely in favor of NC.

The race is a four loop course. There are no aid stations at NC, but there is a drop bag place in the middle of the out/back. Although I'm trying to find a place about 0.5 mile from the turnaround that Steph can stake out at and we can do exchanges there. The loop part doesn't really bother me since it's not unlike what I do now. The loop is 3.275 miles out and 3.275 miles back. I normally do a 3.4 mile loop with a small 0.8 mi drinking loop added on. So, it's really quite similar.

So I went ahead and signed up for the race. It was only $35, and you can't really argue with that for a marathon.

Training wise, I'm looking at about 14.5 weeks. So I needed to push the ramp up start from 2/8 to 3/1. I extended this by adding in a few weeks here at the start where the run volume stays pretty much the same (around 2.5-2.75 hrs). Cycling wise, I added in some more weeks that had been cutoff from the HIM cycling portion of the plan to accomodate the number of weeks I had before. Pushing off also gives me the added benefit of not rushing into harder training while I'm trying to allow the ankle to heal. So I'm hopeful that this is the right move. At the end of the day, the ultimate goal for 2021 is simply to run a healthy marathon.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Just dipping in to say that the pup is adorable. Congrats!

I also have had good luck with writing the alphabet with my ankle to stave off the stiffness. I hope you get to feeling better.

Thanks! That's good to hear. Yesterday was the first time I did the alphabet without pain (albeit it came post-cycling and not post-running). But I remain hopeful.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Curious, did your PT tell you to do the alphabet specifically after exercise? Or can you do it anytime like while at the desk/computer?

 

[DopeyBadger]

Curious, did your PT tell you to do the alphabet specifically after exercise? Or can you do it anytime like while at the desk/computer?

The instructions only state that it should be once per day. In conversations in the past, she typically suggested that I do the activities listed after my workouts unless otherwise stated. Like there were some bridge exercises I was doing pre-running to prime the muscles. But she didn't specify, and is something I can ask next week at the follow-up given my experience thus far.

 

[DopeyBadger]

New dog pics! Still don’t know which one yet.

 

[DopeyBadger]

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

1/18/21 - M - OFF
1/19/21 - T - Mills (60 min; 77 TSS)
1/20/21 - W - 46 min Run @ Easy + McMillan Legs
1/21/21 - R - Looking Glass (80 min; 82 TSS) + 30 min Brick Run @ Easy
1/22/21 - F - LIIFT4-Back/Biceps + McMillan Core + Tray Mountain (90 min; 103 TSS)
1/23/21 - Sa - Phoenix (90 min; 95 TSS) + 30 min Brick Run @ Easy
1/24/21 - Su - 60 min @ Long Run

Total Run Miles - 17.5 miles
Total Run Time - 2:32 hours
Total Run TSS - x TSS

Total Biking Time - 5:20 hours
Total Biking TSS - 357 TSS

Total Strength Time - 1:07 hours
Total Strength TSS - x TSS

Total Training Time - 9:00 hours
Total TSS - x TSS

Tuesday

Mentally I was starting to make the switch from the Milwaukee M to the Non-Cancelled M.

Mills consists of 3 sets of 3x2-minute VO2max repeats each starting at 120% FTP and finishing at 110% FTP. 3-minute recoveries fall between intervals and 6-minute recoveries separate the sets. This is a high-end power VO2max workout at a lesser duration. I was able to maintain form throughout and kept the cadence high at 97 rpm.

I was suppose to do McMillan legs this evening, but if memory serves me correctly I didn't because we had a parent/teacher meeting.


Wednesday

An easy 30 min run with snow on the ground.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 21mph to 36mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 26°F + 22°F; FL - 11°F
End: Temp+Dew = 26°F + 23°F; FL - 11°F

I think this was the run that sometimes I felt overdressed and sometimes underdressed depending on which way the wind was blowing. In all it was 30 min, 3.26 mi, 9:26 pace and 125 HR. Definitely a good easy day HR. I can't remember specifics on the ankle this week. I know it's been better than before. Some days I don't really have any issues, and some days it's been like it was pre-PT. But I think it's trending in the right direction.

Afterwards I did the McMillan Legs I had missed from Tuesday.


Thursday

Technically not a brick day, but I made it a brick. Since the start of adding in cycling to my workout routine, the hardest day has always been the Thursday doubles. The hard cycling in the morning and then the run in the evening. My body just does not appreciate a 3:45-4:00 am wake-up for a hard cycle activity. So I usually make note of how the quality of the hard cycle is lacking. This time around I'm going to try and switch up the timing and put the cycling in the evening instead. Which means I've got to wake up early to run. The downside is it takes me about 15 min from wake to start of ride for cycling, but about 40 min from wake to start of run. There's just a whole lot more extra stretching and pre-run routine than there is for cycling. So that's a time suck in the morning. So until the workout combo crests over 120 min (sometime in March), I'm probably just going to smash the cycle and run together into a brick despite it being the traditional tempo cycle + run brick.

Looking Glass is 3x20-minute intervals between 75-90% FTP with 3-minute recoveries between them. This is a high-end HIM tempo pace with some brief breaks mixed in. The workout was hard but doable.

Afterwards, I did a 30 min run.

Conditions - Mostly Cloudy, Wind 17mph to 33mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 29°F + 24°F; FL - 17°F
End: Temp+Dew = 28°F + 22°F; FL - 17°F

In all it was 30 min, 3.3 miles, 9:08 pace and HR of 132. Just a touch outside of where I'm trying to keep my easy days. I'd prefer to see them in the 130 or less area.


Friday

Early morning wake up at 4:30am to get some LIIFT4 in for the week. Steph got up as well and we tackled a back/biceps workout. Then afterwards we stepped up to the next video of McMillan Core.

That evening was another high-end HIM tempo or sweet spot cycle ride. This one was unrelenting. Tray Mountain is 3x20-minute intervals at 90% FTP with 5-minute recoveries between intervals. I did make it all 60 min through without any extra breaks. I've done this workout twice before (Aug 2019 and Sep 2020) and both other times I needed to take at least one break


Saturday

Traditional brick day. Unlike last week where I needed to drop my endurance ride down to a shorter duration at lower intensity, I was feeling alright on this Saturday. So making some progress in the tolerance to the training. Phoenix is 90 minutes of continuous riding where you'll spend 75 minutes between 80-85% FTP. This was a HIM effort ride. I didn't quite make it through the whole thing without an extra break. Took one with 15 min to go in the workout.

Afterwards, I suited up and headed out for a 30 min easy run.

Conditions - Partly Cloudy, Wind 7mph to 14mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 16°F + 4°F; FL - 6°F
End: Temp+Dew = 17°F + 5°F; FL - 6°F

Cold day. Despite being 25 sec/mile faster my HR was 2 bpm lower than Thursday. Just goes to show some of that day to day variation based on how you're feeling. I was feeling alright on this one, although towards the end I could tell I was underfueled for the 2 hour workout. I had 6.5 hrs of deep sleep and slept in, so I was pushing past afternoon before I had breakfast post-workout. Despite that, it was a successful run.

This three-day combo of cycling was the hardest three consecutive days since September 2020, and before that September 2019. So it's been a while since I've had a tough cycling combo like this. I've got one more this coming week, and then after that the Friday workouts revert back to an easy endurance ride. Based on how my legs were feeling the last two weekends, we'll see if I end up doing the plan as scheduled or if I scale it back a bit. There's definitely some hints of warning signs that my body isn't liking this peak of the cycling training.

I spent a little too much time seated eating breakfast/lunch as my left knee tightened up a bit. It had a sharp pain, and was probably not too happy with the lack of movement during eating. So I iced it, and then contemplated moving the Sunday run to the evening. Steph had to leave for work at 9am, so I either had to do the run early morning, or after she got home from work. It was going to snow overnight as well, so that was going to play a role in the decision as well.


Sunday

Woke up and the knee felt fine. No issues. It had snowed 2-3 inches and since it was not all that sunny yet and the plows were still working it meant a snow on the ground run. Although a little more than a dusting, some slippery spots, and some spots with full snow not yet plowed/cleared.

Conditions - Overcast, Wind 7mph to 18mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 25°F + 23°F; FL - 17°F
End: Temp+Dew = 26°F + 23°F; FL - 17°F

A decent run. I had to work for this one in some spots because of the deepness or slipperiness of the road. But it was manageable.



A bit of a progressional run. That mid 0.07 miles was when I was running through unplowed snow. The legs started to open up a bit towards the end. All in all it was 7.4 miles in 61 min at 8:16 pace with HR of 140. Everything is right about where I would expect it to be. The Garmin VO2max remains at 55. Just to show the consistency, I've had 4 runs at 8:16, 8:17, 8:18, and 8:15 pace from 12/6 to 1/24. All 4 of those runs had a HR of 140. So it's just more evidence that I'm maintaining this level of fitness which is what I'm aiming to try and do based on previous peaking data. The Garmin VO2max of 55 in my hands at a delta of -6 (roughly my best conversion factor) puts me around a 3:14 marathon when fully trained (which I'm not currently). It also puts the easy pace around a 8:53 (which I've been living around) and LR around a 8:04 (which is a bit faster than this last run).

Still keeping the run training easy for another 5 weeks. I've got my followup appointment on Wednesday with the PT. I might start adding in some strides next week if things continue to progress well with the ankle. Although I'm cautious on that because I'd like to keep seeing good progress and don't need to prolong this anymore than it already has.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I’ve been meaning to ask (and I think I know the answer) if you also do the hiit/cardio portion of the liift4 workouts, or just the lifting since it seems like you’re already doing cardio on those days.