Goal setting for 2021

Now that I mostly achieved my goals for 2020, it's time to start planning for next year...  first a review of 2020 goals:

What went right:

-12500 steps a day.  This one is usually easy, but focusing on keeping my body active every single day has been helpful in keeping me going.  Streaks can be problematic if they result in overtraining, burnout, and fatigue... but streaks can also be motivating and seem to work with my mentality.  This streak works well because it is low impact and attainable but just hard enough that I occasionally find myself in the situation where I'm eeking out steps at the end of the day.  Overall it just keeps me moving more through out the day without wearing me down.

-5000 push ups/bench.  Potentially too easy but I made it.  Probably will build on this one.

-5000 pull ups.   This one seemed just about right.  

-2020 miles.  Started with the goal of 1560 and bumped it up to 2020.  Was surprised to hit this one.

-No junk food January.  This went very well last year and I wound up losing a bit of weight even.  The overall year for weight loss was a bit of a bust but I'm still 20-25lbs lighter than before I started working out.

What went wrong:

-50 hours on the bike.  Stalled out at 38 hours.  Just can't bike every week and run all the miles (at least not yet).  

-10 races...  not my fault but, 2020.  

Goals for 2021:

-12500 steps a day

-5000 pulls ups.  Same goal as last year with the caveat that I'll try to get it in early and get even more if possible

-10,000 push ups.  double last year.  Will be more of a challenge but no reason I can get these done.

-2021 miles.  Why not.  I'll do more if I can (and less if I get hurt) but should be able to match last year.

-26 hours on the bike  (30 minutes a week).  Part of by biking problems were that I was working too hard and not taking real rest days.  30 minutes at low intensity on an off day could be helpful for recovery though.

-52 weight workouts.  Want to start lifting weights at least a bit.  Nothing serious but just some all around toning stuff to compliment my running.

-90 days of no junk food.  I would really like to go into spring at a good racing weight.  No junk food January worked so well that if I can actually watch what I eat for 90 days I might actually make some progress.

-setting racing goals seems frivolous but I'd like to run a marathon this year if it works out (the Peoria marathon or maybe even CIM).  Also would like to run a OCR at some point, break 18 in the 5K, break 40 in the 10K, and break 1:30 in the half marathon.

Treadmill tempo run, going long, and running with the eagles

After hitting my yearly goal on Wednesday I had a lapse in motivation.  Combine that with my 7:17 pace half marathon effort the pervious Sunday I wound up taking an unplanned day off on Thursday.  It was much needed extra recovery and I think it was a good call... yet, come Friday (xmas) I was still not so motivated.  Sometimes a day off is harder to recover from than a workout!

After procrastinating all day I finally got on the treadmill for an afternoon workout, and somehow talked myself into a tempo run with the rationalization that it would get done quicker and be less monotonous than an easy run on the treadmill.

I stretched out with a .5 walk.  Then bumped the pace to 6.8 and started the warm up, slowly increasing to 8.5 over the next 1.5 miles.  I then bumped it to 9.0 mph (6:40 pace) with the plan of doing 3 at 6:40.  After the first mile I was feeling good so I increased to 9.2 mph (6:31 pace).  This was tougher but doable so after the 2nd mile I took it to 9.5 mph (6:18).  Now I was going hard and my heartrate was in the 170s approaching 175.  After the 3rd mile I decided to tack on one more, but dropped the pace back to 9.0 (6:40 pace).  Heartrate dropped a bit to the 169-171 range.  After that I bumped it down to 8 minute miles and got in a 1.5 mile cooldown.  

Total distance: 7 miles

Tempo Distance 4 miles

Total Duration: 50:07

Tempo Duration: 26:09

Total pace: 7:09

Tempo pace: 6:32

Saturday I went out for an easy 7 miles at 8:19 pace.  Just went by feel and HR stayed below 140.  Saw an eagle on the North side of Brimfield and followed it down Illinois street as it casually circled above me.  

Sunday, I headed of for a long run of 15 miles.  Took off by the same easy feel as Saturday with slightly more effort.  Kept the HR in the low 140s and averaged ~8:10 pace for the first 10 miles.  My left groin and hips were a bit fatigued and stiff but mostly I felt okay.  At the 10 mile mark I turned into the 13 mph wind and my pace dropped to ~8:30 for the next couple miles.  The wind was a nuisance but it wasn't too cold and it didn't bother me that much especially since I slowed down the pace so wasn't really using any additional effort... my main complaint was that it was hard to hear my earbuds with the wind so loud.  I even changed my course to run into the wind for a bit longer instead of turning so I could get it over with... then I saw an another eagle way North of Brimfield which I would have missed if I took my planned route.  As I got back into town I picked up the pace and finished strong with a 8:08 mile and a 7:36 mile for the final.

Total Distance:  15.01 miles

Total Duration: 2:02:56

Avg Pace: 8:11

After taking today off I have 3 more running days planned for 2020 and should get over 200 miles for the months.  I'm hopefully training for the fly with the eagles half marathon.  I'm not sure if I'm actually signed up or am on a wait list... also not sure if the race is actually going to happen.  Seeing eagles the last 2 days seems like a good sign (if I believed in that shit).  If the race does happen I should be prepared...  Last year I ran it and it was a breakthrough experience.  This year I'm in way better shape with 7 weeks to go and should be killing it by the time the race is expected to happen.

Race or no race I'm going to be in a good place at the start of 2021 with hopes of killer workouts and improvements come spring.

Mission Accomplished

Did not feel particularly enthused this morning.  Legs were fatigued more than normal.  Sunday's fast paced long run really took it out of me... it was a great workout but definitely not something I should be doing too often at least not at this point.

Regardless, I had a mission to accomplish.  Today I was the day I would finally reach my mileage goal for the year.

I started out with a mile walk on the treadmill to loosen up.  It seemed to do the trick as my legs started feeling a bit better.

Then 5.25 miles in 42:20 (8:04 avg. pace)… started out slow and ramped up to 7:47 pace for the last 3 miles.  HR stayed mostly low, getting up to the mid 140s by the end but averaging 136 BPM.

And as of that run I am officially at 2020.33 miles for the year.  2020 for 2020!  Plus 5000 pushups and 5000 pull ups... nothing left but 8 more days of 12500 steps to meet all my goals.  

Starting to plan my goals for 2021.  Should be similar to 2020 but some modest increases.  The main thing I really need to focus on is losing the last few pounds.

 

Another contender for run of the year

Sunday, I decided to bust out a hard half marathon... I'd say it's in contention for run of the year.  Probably not really but definitely a top 10.

I ran easyish on Friday and Saturday to get myself rested up for a Sunday long run workout.  

I dropped a Gatorade off on at around the halfway point on my course in preparation.  It was 28 degrees with a 9 MPH wind.  I wore my Gore-Tex jacket and tights... turned out perfect, not too hot but not too cold and blocked the wind on the hard stretches.  I wore my Saucony Endorphin Speeds which are quickly becoming a favorite.  Warmed up a bit with some treadmill walking and then took off.

As I started my run I made a decision to not look at my watch for the first bit.  I just ran fast but easy by feel.  At around the 4 mile mark I peaked at my watch finally and saw I was averaging 7:27 pace, and things were feeling pretty easy.  By the 6 mile mark I took another peak and saw that my pace was getting faster.  At this point I decided to skip the Gatorade and go for a Strava half-marathon PR (with no stopped time for drinking)… I didn't really feel like I needed it anyway.  I got to the 8 mile mark feeling pretty good but then turned and was suddenly heading uphill into the wind.  

At this point I was starting to get tired and could feel the fatigue a bit.  The wind definitely made the effort feel harder but I powered through and didn't slow down.  I figured I should at least hold on until the 10 mile mark and then access where I was at.

At 9.5 I turned out of the wind and suddenly things felt easier.  I hit the 10 mile mark averaging 7:19 pace.  At this point I was thinking I could run 8 minute pace for the rest of the run and still average under 7:30 pace.  I let myself relax a bit from 10 - 10.5 but I don't think I actually slowed down.  Then I turned back into the wind for another high effort mile.  From here I was pushing it in, trying to sustain the effort but not going too much faster.  I wasn't breathing exceptionally hard but I could feel some niggles in my groin a bit.  I didn't feel like I was doing any damage but it was like my body warning me not to over do it.

I finished up strong with a kick at the end:

13.12 mile

1:35:35

7:17 pace

Mile 1: 7:35

Mile 2: 7:24

Mile 3: 7:25

Mile 4: 7:27

Mile 5: 7:17

Mile 6: 7:14

Mile 7: 7:07

Mile 8: 7:14

Mile 9: 7:18

Mile 10: 7:10

Mile 11: 7:13

Mile 12: 7:13

Mile 13: 7:04

Last .12: 6:29 pace

Super consistent pacing, starting out fast but not too fast, easing into the run, and finishing strong without ever really slowing down.  

_____________________________________________________

I finished up my pull up goal for the year today and am currently at 5006 pull ups, and 5121 bench/pushups.  

Mileage is at 2008.83 so 11.17 miles to go.  With 10 days left that means I could either run 1.117 miles a day for the rest of the year or run my normal routine and hit my goal on Wednesday.  

I work out

Woke up a bit early today (before my alarm) and got on the treadmill before 6AM.  I had planned to have a bit of a workout.  Initially I toyed with 2 X 2 miles at 6:40 pace.  Since I always play things by ear I switched it up a bit as I worked out.  

Warmed up for 2 miles starting at 6.8 mph and bumping up to 8.6 mph by the end of the 2nd mile.

Then bumped the pace up to 9 mph (6:40 pace) at 1% incline.  It was a good effort but not too hard.  HR was in the 160-165 range.  Planned on doing 2 miles but at the end of the 2nd decided to do 3 straight miles instead for a 20 minute tempo.  By the end of the 3rd mile I was feeling it.  Dropped the pace to 8.0 mph  (7:30 pace) and ran another 2 miles.  HR dropped a tad but held in the 158-160 range.  

I continued slowing the pace for the 8th mile going from 7:30 down to 8:30 pace by the last bit.

The workout was harder than I've done for a while but also different then some of my sustained hard efforts.  I did a lot of long sustained efforts in the 7 min/mile range but the one thing I've lacked is the faster paced 'tempo' runs.  

I've always had the intent to do more real tempo runs.  Maybe 2021 will be the year.  Writing now, I'm kind of excited about this idea because I think I could see some pretty significant fitness gains with some faster paced mileage.

Feeling better Wednesday

I got a good night sleep last night... finally.  Got the kids to bed relatively early and got myself into bed not too long after 9.

I planned to do 5 on the treadmill today but wound up doing 6 over 49:08 at a 8:11 pace.  Started out at 6.8 MPH and bumped it up to eventually running 7.6.  Average HR was 134 for the run.  Stride felt normal and the run was just easy.

Maybe yesterday's run recalibrated me to the treadmill or maybe sleep and slightly reduced mileage over the last couple days is helping me recover from my fatigue.

Also, I busted out 2 sets of 50 pushups today which put me over the edge...  I'm now at 5021 pushups/bench for the year.  did the first 50 nice and slow and really felt it in my core.  

One goal done... 3 more to go.  Still need 81 more pull ups and 42.8 more miles.  

Keeping things in perspective

I did not want to get onto the treadmill today.  I was not feeling it.  Is it because I'm fatigued or was running Saturday and Sunday on the road enough to get me off my treadmill game?

The first couple miles were rough and it got better but never felt great.  I got myself up to 7:30 pace and dipped down to 7:24 pace for the last couple miles.  Partly to get a bit of effort in and partly to get the run done quicker.  I got my HR up in the high 150s, low 160s by the end and held it there for 15-20 minutes. 

In the end, I finished with 6.5 miles in 51:19; 7:53 pace.  

So what can be said... an uninspired treadmill run which was lacking in noteworthiness in regards to distance, pace, or effort.

On the other hand… despite being uninspired, I still got it done.  Today's run put me at 103 miles for the month, making it my 14th straight month over 100 miles.  Consistency might not be glamourous but that diminish it's worth.  

It's cold.  It's winter.  It sucks.  But I own my own treadmill.  It's been working great.  and I've been getting it done.  By spring, I should have another 500+ miles under my belt and then we'll see what I can do with it.

Week 50 in Review

2020 is almost over and I'm closing in on my goals.  It's been a long year but at the same time it's gone by quickly.  I've been very consistent but with no races do not have much to show for it... my assumption is that I'm ready to rock it out once racing starts again but we'll see.  I don't know if I'm ever going to be one of those guys who race all the time but it would be nice to have something to gauge my efforts every couple months at least.

Week 50 wound up being a 50 mile week.... my first one since Week 35.  I can feel it in my hips and my level of fatigue.  I was hoping that ramping back up to 50 would be easier this time around (and in some ways it definitely was) but I'm still tired...  a 60 mile week seems like it would be a stretch.  I'm sure I could do it but it would kick my ass... of course that's the same way I felt when I first hit 40 miles and when I first hit 50.  I'll plan to hover in the high 40 low 50 mileage for the next couple months and then ramp up to 60 in the spring.  Probably will just pull the bandage off and do it once it's time and I'm sure it'll be fine.

I ran 8 miles on Saturday at 8:26 pace.  Longest Saturday run for a while.  I was tired for all of Sundays run and wound up running just 12 at a 8:05 pace...  I ran the first 2 miles at just under 8:00, then slowed down to 8:22 before slowly picking it back up to the low 8's and finishing with a 7:40 last mile.  HR was in the low 140s the whole time and I was never straining but my legs were tired and just didn't really have the pep to want to go faster.  My plan is an easy week this week leading into a hard effort for my long run next Sunday.

On the positive side (I guess?!?), I have been getting outside in the cold.  I still hate it but I'm getting it done and with some recently purchased winter gear it hasn't been that bad (even if it's not my favorite thing).  

YEARLY GOAL UPDATE:

17 days left in 2020.

1.  2020 (or 1560) miles run:  1964.7 miles to date... 55.3 miles to go

2.  5000 Pull ups: 4866 (98 ahead of pace)… Only 134 left.  Should have them done by the end of the week,

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  4871 (103 ahead pace)… Only 129 left.  Could have this done in a day if I wanted!

4.  12500 Steps a day:  906 straight days

Approaching the end of the year, my list has been paired down by a few items.  My bike goal of 50 hours I abandoned.  My diet goal was just not very well defined.  My racing goal was derailed by Covid… I did break 20 in the 5K (in a virtual race) and 18 minutes in a 3 milers (real race), and set a half marathon PR.

Going into 2021 I plan to learn from what worked and what didn't in my goals and see if I can continue to build on my achievements.

Early morning 8

Woke up at 3 AM to get in an outdoor run today.  Waking up that early to run is not easy but it just about guarantees me a good workout.  Today was no exception.

Met up with the guys at 4:20 and with a plan to run 8 with the intent of going ~7:40 pace for the first bit and then picking it up at the end.  Jeff was up for that plan so we went out together.  Started out okay with the first mile at 7:49 pace.  Things were feeling pretty good so we picked it up a bit and ran the 2nd mile in 7:18... faster than planned but not out of control, especially since mile 2 in downhill and always pretty fast.

Mile 3 is where it started getting interesting.  I don't know what it is exactly, but Jeff is an exceptional downhill runner.  Whenever, we reach a downhill he will take off on me and open up a 20 foot gap.  I usually, just let him go, but I'm not sure I'd be able to keep up if I wanted to even at a full sprint?!?  The course we run on has rolling hills so I usually wind up closing the gap on the uphill sections, generally pulling even with him at the top.  These downhill surges wind up juicing up the pace and next thing I know we had rattled off a 7:05 third mile.

Things eased up a bit for mile 4 as Jeff's downhill surges became slightly less pronounced.  I was still feeling pretty relaxed and not pushing overly hard.  Finished up mile 4 in 7:12.  

Mile 5 is uphill and I pulled ahead of Jeff.  I normally struggle on mile 5 but it didn't feel to bad today.  I ran it in 7:24 pace, which Strava equates to a 7:10 due to the hill.  I continued cruising through mile 6, still feeling good...  I ditched my headband and gloves (socks) at this point as I was sweating in the 30 degree weather.  I thought I had lost Jeff at this point but as I reached the end of mile 6 I heard him coming up behind me, as I finished the mile in 7:11.  Mile 7 starts uphill, but with 2 miles left I started to push a bit and ran another 7:10 mile.  

Going into the final mile I was starting to feel fatigued, as this was my first harder than normal sustained effort since mid September.  At this point I was averaging 7:18 pace for the run.  Part of me wanted to just keep it under 7:20, so I started playing the game where I figured out how much I could slow up and still reach that goal.  Another part of me wanted to bring it down under 7:15 pace to rival a "break though" effort back in February.  With .25 to go I was still at 7:17 pace so I picked it up to about 6:20 pace, pretty much sprinting by the end.  Ran the last mile in 6:51 overall.

8.02 miles

58:08

7:14.9 pace

Just barely pulled it off.  Looking back to February, I had actually ran that effort at sub 7:13 pace so I was just slightly off.  However, I was wearing Vaporflys for the first time and it was a harder overall effort, plus no 7:49 first mile... one of these days I'm gonna have to try a Vaporfly training run to see what happens.

Snuck in 5

Was just about to get on the treadmill at 5:55 this morning... then my daughter woke up from her 12 hour "nap", so instead I tutored her in math for 50 minutes.  Still got on the treadmill at 6:55 and snuck in 5 miles before work.

5 miles

39:08

7:49 pace

Thought I'd just get in 4 but didn't want to stop.  Pushed the pace faster than I would have if I'd started at 5:55 but still kept the effort relatively easy overall.

Hope to do something more like a workout tomorrow.

Another 9 miles

ANOTHER 9 MILES

Cranked out another 9 on the treadmill today at relatively easy pace.  Started at 7 mph then bumped it up to 7.1 and then 7.2.  Held at 7.2 until about 6.5 miles and then bumped it up to 7.5 (8 min pace).  Ran 8 min pace for the rest of the run.

The first 5 or so miles were a bit of a struggle...  don't get me wrong, they were easy enough, but I just didn't quite feel comfortable.  By the end I was in the groove and could have kept going.  This was the second run in a row where the longer (and faster) I went, the easier it got.  I could have gone for 10 but I was running short on time and had to get to work.

TREADMILL RAMBLINGS

Overall, I've been getting more comfortable on the treadmill in general, while still getting outside on the weekends when the sun is up.  Seems like a good balance. It's always hard to transition to the treadmill in the winter, and also hard to transition back to the road in the spring.  Just a fight against inertia once you get accustomed to something... 

Being that this is year two of consistent training, I've found it a bit easier to transition... I know what to expect and have some data to reference  as well.

I pretty much ran on the treadmill from November 2019-March 2020.  I had a couple treadmill runs right at the end of October and by April I was just about exclusively on the road with just a couple treadmill runs sprinkled in...  Did not do any running on the treadmill what so ever from May-September.

Looks like I started a bit earlier this year with 7 treadmill runs in October.  I think this was a combination of the fact that I travelled to a tropical climate in October 2019, plus I run more mileage now so it's difficult to fit it in outside if I have to wait for the sun to come up.

WINTER 2019

Nov 2019      9/19 runs on the treadmill 47%

Dec 2019     14/21 67%

Jan 2020      19/24 79%

Feb 2020     14/19 74%

Mar 2020      8/25  32%  (I recall getting on the road in early March and then daylight savings screwing me back onto the treadmill)

TOTAL:  66/110 (60%)

WINTER 2020

Oct 2020     7/17   41%

Nov 2020    9/25   36%

So far, I've started utilizing the treadmill earlier this year, but have gotten outside more.  I didn't use to run on Saturdays so I should definitely see more road time this year if it doesn't get to icy (or cold) on the weekends.

FITTER AND FITTER

So after, 13+ miles on Sunday and 9 today Garmin says my reduced training load is causing me to peak.  Not sure about that... really, I'm just getting back to where I was over the summer from mostly easy miles, base training, and consistent long runs.  Hopefully, I'm actually have a bit more to go before I'm actually peaking.  Good positive reinforcement for me.  

Continued Improvement

I ran 47.78 miles last week.  Didn't really seem that special but it was also my 13th highest mileage week ever and it didn't feel particularly tough and I'm not particularly fatigued.  Just a confidence building nod to my bodies adaptation to mileage.

I started this week with another awesome long run.  Weather was in the low 30s heading out the door but there was hardly any wind and the sun was out, plus I bought a couple long sleeves running shirts and some more tights so I actually have the proper gear for once.  Unlike last week, I didn't plan to have a particularly fast long run... just figured I'd go out easy.  First 6 miles were 8:00, 7:52, 8:05, 8:09, 8:04, 8:07... just running by feel and it felt easy.  HR was in the low 140s.  Up until that point, everything felt okay but not great; just so so.  But after I loosened up a bit I started feeling better and better.  I pushed up the effort just a hair and ran 7:56 and 7:58 for mile 7 and 8.  Then 7:45 for mile 9 and 10.  HR was up to 148 by mile 9 but dropped back to 146 for mile 10.

After mile 10, something kind of strange happened.  Maybe runners high?  Maybe it was when I switched from podcasts to music?  Don't know but I kind of hit the flow state.  I ran mile 11 in 7:25 and my average HR dropped down to 144.  Mile 12 I started to really push and ran it in 7:07 with an average HR of 146.  Then mile 13 I really pushed and ran 6:50, with an average HR of 150.  I just kept running faster and faster and my heartrate barely moved and I was barely breathing hard at all.  I probably could have kept going except my legs were getting tired... now I kind of wish I'd pushed it to 14 or 15 miles.  In the end I wound up running:

13.13 miles

1:41:51

7:45 pace

Avg HR: 144

I'm sort of training for a half marathon in February, although I'm pretty certain it's not going to actually happen.  still good to have something to focus on for a training block, real or not.  Either way, I should be going into 2021 looking good.

Yearly Goal Update 

24 days left in 2020

1.  2020 miles run:  1915.41 miles to date.  Need 104.59 more for the year.  That comes out to 4.36 miles a day which is totally doable, as long as I don't get hurt.

2.  5000 Pull ups: 4714  (42 ahead of pace)… I've been killing the pull ups lately and I can notice the difference... I just feel stronger and more solid.  Shoulder joints are taking it better, my grip is improving... 286 more to go over 24 days is 12 a day for the rest of the year.  

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  4651 (21 behind pace)… Almost back on pace.  I whipped out 70 straight pushups this morning.  It's funny because I never felt like I was improving on these as much as I should.  Saturday for instance I did 40 and I was feeling it by the end and then suddenly I whipped out 70 this morning...  New obvious goal now is to be able to do 100 straight.  

4.  12500 Steps a day:  899 days straight

Final stretch of 2020

It's been a strange ride but I'm starting to feel good again...  not sure if I was sick, or if my fitness just peaked and was bound to decline, or if the drop in mileage really had such a significant impact.  All, I know is that for most of October through November, my running just didn't quite feel "right".  My pace was slower, my efforts were higher, my heartrates were elevated and even my easy runs never really felt comfortable.

• On Thanksgiving, I went for a hard 5 miler...  It was a benchmark run to match the 5 miles I ran on Thanksgiving 2019.  I wound up running 5 miles in 35:00 flat (actually just under 7 min miles per my watch).  I went out for the first mile in 6:30, then 6:58, 7:20. 7:29, and 6:44.  I pretty much died after the 6:30. My legs just didn't want to go so fast, but I was able to pick it up the last mile.  Allegedly my Avg HR was 152 which isn't even that high but I didn't feel like I could have gone much faster either.  The previous year I ran at 7:25 pace with an average HR of 159 so it was a good improvement... The run didn't feel good, in fact I felt like crap actually.  I sprinted at the end and wound up doubled over with my hands on my knees.  My neighbor was outside smoking a cigarette and she was seriously concerned if I was okay.  She asked a couple times if she needed to call someone...  she must think I'm crazy now... it sucked but it was also the first time I ran under 7 min pace since mid September, and I was happy to eek it out, even if it required a massive sprint finish.

• Skip ahead a couple days to Sunday, and I found myself out on a 13.5 mile long run, my longest run since August 23rd.  I went out easy but hit 8:08 pace and was consistent for the first 5 miles at 8:06. 8:03, 8:02, 8:04.  Mile 6, I hit a rhythm and went 7:53, 7:46,  7:52, 7:53 for mile 6, 7, 8, 9.  Then picked it up a bit more and went 7:32, 7:29, 7:31, 7:31 for the last 4 miles with 7:05 pace for the last .5.  Averaged a 146 HR for the run and felt pretty darn good.

• Ran 7 easy miles on the treadmill on Tuesday.  6 really easy miles at 8:25 pace on the treadmill with an average HR of 129 Wednesday.  Wednesday I felt really good about because my HR finally stayed low on an easy run...  Just nice for things to feel right again.  

• Today I woke up extra early and got a 10 miler in on the treadmill.  I started at 6.8 mph and bumped it up by .1 mph every .25 miles until I maxed out a 9.1 mph (6:35 pace).  I held 9.1 for about a mile and then eased back down.  It was some tough threshold work but totally doable.  I thought I'd be wiped out after that but wound up getting through the day fine.

Yearly Goal Update

28 days left in 2020.

1.  2020 (or 1560) miles run:  1891 miles to date.  Need 129 more for the year.

2.  5000 Pull ups: 4629 (11 ahead of pace)… I've averaged 31 pull ups a day for the last 18 days to catch up.  

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  4491 (126 behind pace)… Starting to catch up on this one too.  I haven't done any benching for a while... all push-ups.  

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  37:39 hours... I'm going to fail on this... no way around it.  Oh well.

5.  12500 Steps a day:  Still haven't broken this streak... 895 days and counting. 

40 mile week, finding my stride, and getting back on track

I ran my first 40 mile week since August last week and am already 20 miles into this week.  My loosely formulated plan to cut back a bit and then start base building again seems to be working out.

Peaking and the subsequent drop in fitness has been mentally hard for me to handle.  A couple months ago I was ripping 7 minute miles and now I'm closer to 8... and it's not like I ever stopped training, but dropping from 200+ miles a month to 100+ miles is quite a difference so I guess I just need to have faith that the process is working.

2 weeks ago on Sunday I ran 11.03 miles at 8:32 pace with a 148 avg HR. A few days ago on Sunday I ran 12.50 miles at 8:09 pace with 146 avg HR...  neither run was anything special when taken individually, but the comparative jump in fitness in just 2 weeks is encouraging.

I've ripped out 331 pull ups over the last 9 days and am quickly closing the gap on my goal pace.  

Today I dropped 7.5 miles on the treadmill at 8:30 pace.  I think that's the bread and butter type of run I need to be hitting as I build my base up.  I've been probably running a bit too fast for a lot of my runs, chasing the fitness I recently had.  

One day, I need to be more disciplined about my blogging/documentation for future Ethan's sake... For now I'll just ramble through it, much like my training :)

Yearly Goal Update

With 42 days left in 2020, its time to take a look at how I'm stacking up on my yearly goals.

1.  2020 (or 1560) miles run:  1801.93 to date (which is almost 1000 more than last year).    I've already met my original goal of 1560 miles i.e. 30 miles a week and am currently 13.73 miles ahead of pace for 2020 by the end of the year.

2.  5000 Pull ups: 4238 (188 behind pace)… I really fell off for a while between travelling and a motivation dip.   I think the rest was needed though and now I'm playing catchup.  Can still whip out sets of 15 pulls ups without much issue so I shouldn't have a problem catching back up if I can stick with it for the next week or two.

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  4151 (275 behind pace)… Even more behind on these but it's really easy to whip out 100 pushups in a day so I'm not worried about this at all.  Need to get back to benching at some point.  

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  37:39 hours... I'm pretty much giving up on this one.  At the beginning of the year I had planned to do more cross training but as my running mileage and goal increased, the biking took a hit.  I also figured I'd get hurt at some point which would lead to more biking.  That never materialized so I guess I could spin it that being under my biking goal is a good thing... when it really comes down to it, I prefer running so I'm not too concerned.

5.  12500 Steps a day:  Still haven't broken this streak... 881 days and counting.  Lately, the count has been a lot closer to 12500 then I'd prefer but with Covid  I'm pretty much stuck at my desk all day and with the weather getting cold. I'm outside a lot less.  Hopefully I can keep squeaking by until the end of the year.

OFF SEASON

Looks like I last posted about 2 months ago.  Don't worry, I'm still here.  I have just been having a bit of an off season.  After peaking in August thru mid September, my motivations starting waning.  My mileage dropped quite  a bit and I took some days off here and there and even a few days off in a row.  Never really quit running though.  Through it I started traveling for work again which messed with my consistency and then I got sick (not Covid), which eventually went into my lungs and totally slowed me down.  For a week or two I was jog/walking and out of breath.  Eventually I took some Prednisone and everything cleared back up.

Exiting August I had run 13 weeks of 40 to 50+ miles.  Entering September I ran 33, 21, 32, 22, 31, 23, 30, 27, 14... The last 2 weeks I've started picking it back up again, running 35 and then 37.  

I was amazed at how fast I got "out of shape".  Going out running suddenly felt tough again and my heart rate was back up near 150 for paces and efforts that had been in the 130s a couple months ago. 

Yesterday, I finally had a breakthrough run of sorts.  11.6 miles on the treadmill in 1:30:05.

I started at 7 MPH for the first mile, then bumped it up by .2 for each mile.  

Mile 1:  7  (8:34)

Mile 2: 7.2 (8:20)

Mile 3: 7.4 (8:06)

Mile 4: 7.6 (7:54)

Mile 5: 7.8 (7:42)

Mile 6: 8.0 (7:30)

Mile 7: 8.2 (7:19)

Mile 8: 8.4 (7:09)

Mile 9: 8.6 (6:59)

Mile 10: 8.0 (7:30)

Mile 11 and 11.5: 7 (8:34)

Getting under 7 for the 9th mile was a real effort... My HR approached 170 by the end but it didn't really "hurt" at least not in a bad way.  It felt smooth and natural.  

At this point offseason is over and I'm ready to start building my base back.  I hope to be able to run a half marathon in February but I have my doubts on if it will actually occur.  Without a tangible goal, I'll just keep training and building and hoping I can stay healthy so that when the time finally comes when I can use my fitness I will be ready.

Harder than expected Tuesday

My early morning group run this morning was my first run since Saturday.  I didn't really know what to expect coming into it but just wanted to put forward a solid effort.

Ran the first mile in a pretty standard 7:30 and then pretty much took off after that.  The guy I was running with had his Vaporflys on and was ready for business... We hit the 2nd mile in 7:05.  I still felt good... nice and easy at this point.  Then he started pushing the pace on the uphills during mile 3 and we ran a 6:49.  Picking up speed but I figured I'd just cruise on mile 4.  Jeff had other ideas and started pushing the pace after the turnaround I went along for the ride.  He flew down the next hill and then turned to me and said pull me up this next hill so I pushed it up the hill.  At the top of the next hill was the 4 mile mark which we hit at 6:41.  Jeff suddenly stopped running and told me he was done and to go ahead.  

I had 4 miles more to go and was already pushed harder then I planned but I decided I might as well maintain effort and just go with it. I hammered mile 5 for what was probably a mile 5 PR of 6:51 (Strava GAP called it a 6:39).  I then hammered the last 3 miles at 6:47, 6:43, 6:42.  I didn't have much left by the last mile but was able to hold pace.  

Final Stats:

8.06 miles

55:32

7:53 pace 

A few other notes:

    -This was my 4th fastest run (of 8 miles or longer for the year)

    -I ran my 2nd fastest 10K ever according to Strava of 41:58 (6:45 pace)

    -I wore my Nike Air Pegasus 2's which are a great shoe.  Probably my favorite (not counting the Vaporflys)

Week 37 in review

Had a super light week last week, running only 21.50 miles over 3 runs for the whole week.  Then took Sunday completely off for our annual company golf outing.  I did get 4 rides in on the bike plus another ride today so I haven't been letting my fitness slip.  Just figured it was time for some scheduled recovery from training after a hard summer.   If I hit in the low 100s for mileage in September plus some extra biking it should be about perfect.

Yearly goal progress:

GOALS:

1.  2020 (or 1560) miles run:  1517.67 for the year (93.74 miles ahead of 2020 pace and 42.33 more miles to go to hit 1560).  

2.  5000 Pull ups: 3553  (28 ahead of pace) 

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  3511 (14 behind of pace)

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  31:21 hours... after almost 5 hours on the bike over the last week I've started to play a bit of catch up.   After doing it for several days it feels easier.  I think its hard to only do it once a week while still maintaining the specific muscle groups needed.  I still think there's a place for biking as x-training in my schedule but not sure how to really fit it in.  Will have to keep playing with it as I progress.

5.  12500 Steps a day:  818 days in a row now!

6. Diet... not this week.  I have really slid backwards on my sugar consumption.  Ice cream and cookies are not my friends :(