21 Weeks in

21 weeks into the year and I've already surpassed last year's mileage total (805.83 miles last year, 815.39 and counting this year). On top of that, I hit a new weekly mileage high of 52.09 last week (previous high was 51.23).

I didn't get out on Sunday's long run until after 11 and the summer weather was officially here.  Mid-High 80's with full sun made for a extra long 2 hr long run.  Definitely was feeling the heat, especially at the end as I wrapped up 13.57 miles at 8:41 pace.  I took Monday and Tuesday off to recover as I continue to work on keeping my training loads balanced and under control.

Yearly goal progress:

My yearly progress has been progressing a bit slower lately.  Definitely feeling the mid-year hump... hoping for a boost of extra motivation sooner or later.

GOALS:

1.  1560 (or 2020) miles run:  815.39  for the year (188.83 miles ahead of pace of 1560 and 4.08 miles ahead pace for 2020).

2.  5000 Pull ups: 2025 (16 ahead of pace)… I've really been slacking on these... mostly just need to remember to do them and I'll be fine.  

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  2140 (132 ahead of pace)… I haven't been benching but I did 100 pushups today... two sets of 25 and a 3rd of 50.

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  22:18 hours... didn't bike this week... shame on me. 

5.  Diet:  Hit a new low last week but binged all weekend... mostly feeling good and hope to keep losing weight even if it is at a slow pace.

6.  12500 Steps a day:  Of course

A new low

Not resulting from any particularly focused dietary action by myself, the numbers on the scale have been trending downward the last couple weeks.  I think the weight loss is a culmination of multiple factors:

• I've been balancing my meal timing a bit better 
• I have been controlling my portion size and not eating seconds at dinner
• I haven't been snacking quite as hard when I get home from work 
• I've cut back on the amount sweets and dessert  (i.e. one scoop of ice cream a few times a week vs a bowl every night)
• I haven't hit the vending machines for afternoon candy bars for a long while
• I've been running more miles than ever before and at a faster pace

Most of these factors have been not completely conscious... it seems that a lot of my cravings that used to drive some bad eating habits have subsided for the time.  The good thing about the fact that I'm not strictly dieting is that this should be somewhat sustainable for at least the medium term.  The key for me will be to continue the exercise and not get hurt.  

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Speaking of not getting hurt, I ran an "easy" 7 miles today at 7:35 pace... this is following my 6:53 effort yesterday.  I'm happy that that pace felt relatively easy (though definitely not recovery pace).  I'm happy that my body absorbed 9.3 miles at 6:53 pace and didn't feel totally beat the next day...  this was my 3rd time going sub 7 for a 15K workout and the first two times I was wiped out so I guess my body is adapting to the training (and the weight loss probably doesn't hurt either).

Todays run:

7.07 miles

53:40

7:35 pace

Another Blue Run

I've been tracking my most recent return to endurance sport on an Excel spreadsheet (nerd alert).  I have the spreadsheet color coated based on distance, duration, and pace.

For pace, anything under 8 minute per mile gets color coated yellow, under 7:30 is pink, and under 7:00 is blue...  I haven't gone under 6:30 but hopefully one day I will and it will be gold.  Under 6 would be green (maybe on a 5K race one day?!?).

My first blue run was last August at the Old Settlers day 5K (6:34 pace).  After that, I wound up dipping under 7:00 pace 4 other times last year... 2 times at races and twice during time trails.  The longest distance was 4 miles.

My first blue run this year was in February at a half marathon (6:56 pace).  I ran sub 7 again in March during a 5 mile fartlek workout and once more in April during a hard 15K (I was gassed).

Now it's May and I've done 3 blue runs so far... 6:51 for 15K two Thursdays ago, 6:50 for 7 miles last Friday, and 6:53 for 15K today...  today felt the easiest hurt the least of them all. Sub-7 minute pace is coming more and more naturally...  not easy, but doable.  

Todays run started at a quick but relaxed,7:07 first mile...  This was followed by a 6:58 and 6:57 2nd and 3rd mile... at this point HR was at 150 and I was feeling okay.  At the 3 mile turnaround point I could feel the speed increase and I struggled to hold on for a 6:50 4th mile.  I held for a 6:58 for an uphill 5th mile.  At this point I was starting to hurt more and my running partner was pulling away.  During Mile 6 the gap lengthened and I felt a little defeated until I hit the 6th mile split at 6:44.  I wanted to let up at this point but held on for a 7th mile uphill split of 6:59...

After the last hill, things got easier and I started to feel a good rhythm.  With a bit more push but a bit less pain I finished strong with a 6:43 and 6:46 8th and 9th mile and a 6:37 paced last .32.

Except for that first mile, all other splits were under 7!

Total stats for the run:

9.32 Miles
1:04:10
6:53 pace

Seems like progress!

Always good to see tangible progress!

On March 26 I ran 9.41 miles at a 7:27 pace... Average HR of 152.

Today, on pretty much the same course, 9.31 miles at 7:05 pace...  Average HR of 152.

Almost all the miles were right around 7:00 pace (+/- 3 sec) except for a 7:16 first mile (warming up)… a 7:20 5th mile (uphill) and a 7:20 7th mile (uphill).

7 minute pace is becoming very doable for me at a hard but not extreme effort.  I felt like I probably could have kept going for a couple more today which is always a positive way to finish a hard run.

Workout summary:

9.31 miles
1:05:55
7:05 pace

20 weeks of 2020

Another 40 mile week complete (40.06).  Looking at a bit of a mileage dip for the month, which is okay, as it will still probably be my 4th highest month ever. 

I've resigned myself to the fact that I won't be racing my goal 5K in August... and if somehow it becomes a possibility, I've at least abandoned the plan run 5K specific training in June and July. 

So, instead I signed up for a mileage challenge in June... need to run 309 km (192 miles) for the month.  This would tie what I ran in April (my highest mileage month).  I'll probably shoot for 200 miles to make it even and try to get a 60 mile week in there as well.  I'll keep the mileage building through July and then reassess...  If it looks like there will be racing in the fall, I'll cut back and do a bit of speed work in August,  race or time trial in September/October... they recover and start building again for 2021.  Eventually I need to break 20 in the 5K again... at this rate it might wind up happening in the middle of a training run.  

2021 is my target year at this point.  Build now... peak in 2021.

Yearly goal progress:

GOALS:

1.  1560 (or 2020) miles run:  764.1  for the year (171.64 miles ahead of pace of 1560 but 3.06 behind pace for 2020... another 40 mile week in the back has me creeping back toward my A+ goal).

2.  5000 Pull ups: 1921 (22 ahead of pace) No pull ups for a while and my vaccine last Monday really screwed things up.  Should be okay to pick it back up this week.  

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  2040 (141 ahead of pace)… I did nothing last week.  Nice to be ahead.  I'll hit it again very soon.

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  22:18 hours... Did a 38 minute workout last Thursday and a 46 minute workout this morning.  Today I kept the resistance lower (11) but upped the cadence (99).  I've been shirking on cadence but today felt good and easier on the muscles, which were tired from yesterdays long run.  

5.  Diet:  Due to social distancing, my kids and wife's dance classes have been on-hold but as things come back on-line we decided to have a family dance class instead.  I wasn't that enthused but decided to consider it x-training (plyometrics and stretching).  Dancing in front of a full mirror definitely opened my eyes that I have more pounds to shed... Not in a hurry to shed them but good to know I have future potential...  still think weight will be a big factor in getting faster.  On the other hand, I don't really feel like training hard and being hungry at the same time so dieting is still on hold.

6.  12500 Steps a day:  Barring something extremely unexpected coming up, I don't think I'm going to miss this one... I'll let you know if I do :)

WORK OUT FRIDAY

I guess biking for 40 minutes and running for 5K yesterday must not be too taxing of a day because I felt pretty good today.   Good enough for a hard run...

I hit the road fast and knocked off the first mile at an 6:56 (progressing from 7:20 to 6:40 as I warmed up).  I held 6:40 for the next mile, pushing on the 2 steep hills.  My legs burned a bit on the hills but I recovered okay and kept pace. Followed up with a second 6:40 mile.  HR averaged 163 over these two miles.

By mile 4 I was starting to hurt.  HR was up to 167/168 and I was breathing hard.  Finished up the mile at 6:46.

For the 5th and 6th mile I consciously let off the throttle a bit to run fast but relaxed.  HR dropped a few beats and I started to feel better.  7:01 and 7:03 for the splits.

Then finished strong with a 6:40 last mile... HR peaked at 171 as I sprinted at the finish.

Wrapped it up with a 1 mile cooldown at 8:30 pace.

Workout:

7.01 miles
0:47:51 duration

6:50 pace

Cooldown:

1.01 miles

0:8:36

8:27 pace

Looking now I feel very positive about this work.  I got in 20+ uninterrupted minutes at 6:40 pace which I'd conjecture is my threshold pace.  I ran at 7:00 pace and it felt relative easy (or at least sustainable). I finished strong.  And I'm not that tired.  It's been a fairly easy week thus far but I'm at 35 miles at 7:35 avg pace and will probably finish with at least 40 at sub 7:45 pace (assuming a 5 mile recovery effort tomorrow).  Plus I put in 01:48:00 hours on the bike.

Building my house of fitness, one brick at a time

Rainy day woes modified my training... with thunder in the forecast and splotches on the radar it didn't make sense to wake up at 3:30 and wind up getting rained out.

When I woke up at 5:30 it actually was raining so I decided to do a Heart Rate mode workout on the stationary bike.  In HR mode the bike automatically adjusts resistance to keep the HR at a steady rate based on age (in my case 126 BPM +/- 2).  The workout is 38 minutes with a 3 minute warmup... 30 minutes of HR control and then 5 minute cooldown.  I've been doing this workout periodically to benchmark my aerobic fitness, although I haven't done it for a while because 1) I've been running much more and when I do bike I want to get at least an hour in and 2) I don't love having to keep my hands on the HR grip the whole time.

Today I rode for 38 minutes and burned 410 calories (10.7895 cal/min)… Last time I did the workout was December 21, 2019 when I burnt 384 calories (10.1053 cal/min)… looking back roughly a year (5/16/2020) I did this workout and burnt 344 calories (9.0526 cal/min).  Pretty good gains over a one year period.

After the bike I still had some time, so I put on my running shoes and headed straight out for a 5K.

3.11 miles
23:04
7:25 Avg pace
151 Avg HR

Hit the first two miles at 7:42, 7:40, and the last mile at 7:04.  Felt somewhat fatigued coming off the bike but overall it was a pretty easy day

Running free and feeling great

Yesterday I felt like crap and struggled my whole run.

Today I felt great.  Not sure if it was the side effects of the pneumonia shot wearing off, the 10 degrees of warmer temperature, the fact that I woke up at 5:30 instead of 3:30, or other unidentified variables...

I headed out the door for an easy run:  Totally ran by feel and hit the first five miles in 8:00, 8:05, 7:52, 7:53, & 7:48 with my HR in the 142 range...  things got a little dicey on mile 6 as I picked up the pace to 7:09, while tightening my sphincter ending with a quick pit stop at my office's storm cellar/bathroom to take care of some business.  The 7:38 for the final mile home.

My body felt great and my legs were moving easily.  Even my vaccination arm isn't quite as sore (although I couldn't do a pain free pull yet).  

Hit a relatively low number on the scale today too... probably within the margin of error of my standard weight but always good to see the number dropping...  If I listen to BMI I need to be down to 152.  This could be theoretically possible one day if I ever cut down to a temporarily but unsustainable race weight...  For now, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and see where things wind up.

Week 19 in review... down but not out

Week 19 was supposed to be a planned down week.  It was, as I only ran 29.88 miles last week (which would have been my 10th highest week of miles if it was 2019)… On the other hand I ran 6:51 pace for 9.3 miles on Thursday (with the last 4.34 miles at 6:38 pace) which kicked my butt... but I capped  off  the week with a "long run"of only 8 miles on Sunday, my first time under 10 since my marathon taper, so I should be pretty well rested relative to what I've been doing.  I just need to keep giving myself affirmation because it's easy for doubts to creep in... I'm happy with my progress so far but constantly worried I could be plateauing or even backsliding.  

The impending doom of Covid 19 is definitely weighing on me.  Some mid term race goals that have been motivating me for the last year seem destined for cancellation and the future of racing right now seems unknown.  I'm worried I'm peaking right now and will wind up burning out or getting hurt before I ever get a chance to execute.  My looonnnggg term goal right now is a marathon in Fall of 2021... would really like to think that I'd have a good chance to BQ by then with consistent training and a bit more weight loss...  Actually, I am getting excited thinking about that so my motivation isn't entirely dead :)… Just not sure what I should be doing;  building base and mileage for the next year?!?

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In other training notes, I ran an uninspiring 8 miles today at 7:32 pace.  I was happy when it was over but I struggled the whole time.  I had a pneumonia vaccination yesterday and my arm really hurts... I think that it was a contributing factor to how I was feeling overall but who knows.  

7:32 pace for 8 miles isn't bad so I shouldn't be too hard on myself... it was just that the run sucked and I wanted to quit and climb back into bed pretty much the whole time... I've got an easy day tomorrow and we'll see if I can pull off something a bit better on Thursday.

Yearly goal progress:

GOALS:

1.  1560 (or 2020) miles run:  725.93  for the year (159.04 miles ahead of pace of 1560 but 8.11 behind pace for 2020... my down week put me behind again for the 2020 pace... However, it's better to negative split mileage goals)

2.  5000 Pull ups: 1921 (104 ahead of pace) I had a huge day last Tuesday and haven't done any since... not I have vaccine arm so might be another day or two before I can do more.

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  2040 (223 ahead of pace)… Unlike last week I hit 3 sets of 10 reps at 175 on Monday.  

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  20:54 hours... Hit my longest session of the year on Monday, 1hr 10 min at a 11.6+ Cal/Min effort.  

5.  Diet: At my yearly checkup the doctor commented that I lost 15 lbs in the last year.  The weight hasn't been dropping off lately but nice to hear confirmation from a second source that I have been steadily losing weight.  Probably close to 30 lbs lost over 2 years.

6.  12500 Steps a day:  694 days and counting...