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.