Half way there

After falling well short of my bike goal last year I took a step back and modified my goal from 50 hours to 26 hours (1/2 hour a week).  As of today's 36 minute ride, I'm a couple minutes over 13 hours already...  over halfway to my goal.  

After my ride I finished things up with a 4 mile run at 7:43 avg. pace.  I was a bit sluggish off the bike, kicking off with a 8:12 miles, then continually dropped the pace with a 7:55, 7:41, and finally a 7:04 with some surges mixed in.  HR averaged 144 but peaked at 162 during the final mile during my surges.  Easy overall effort that should prime me for tomorrow's workout.

Yesterday I reached a new pushup PR with 80.  Previous max was 70.  Goal is 100.

A bit lost for the moment

I came into 2021 on a tear, hitting my highest mileage week and month ever in January.   Then, I officially decided not to race the 1/2 marathon I was training for and I lost some of my edge.  Turned out to be a wise decision because race conditions wound up being awful and I wound up getting my Covid vaccination scheduled for that day. After that, my treadmill broke and it got absolutely freezing outside for a couple weeks.  I wound up running outside in colder weather than I probably ever have done and I also got a lot more time on the bike then typical.  My biking has gotten more intense with the extra work but my mileage has been down, my long runs haven't been over 10 miles for about a month, and I've only ran a handful of workouts.

So now it's getting warmer and I have a 5K scheduled on March 13th so it's time to regroup and refocus... here's my plan for the next 2 weeks:   track workout on Saturday, Mile repeats next Tuesday, hills next Friday... start easing back... short track session on Tuesday the 9th, strides on Thursday the 11th.  Race on the 13th.  That race will be a good gauge of where I'm at and I can start building from there.

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Quick fitness update:  

Yesterday I rode the bike for 33 minutes and then ran for 4 miles outside at 8:42 pace (35:00 minutes).

Today, I ran on the treadmill for 9 miles at 8:24 pace.  I started off at 7 mph (8:34 pace) for the first 7 miles but picked it up for the last 2 miles.  Nothing exceptional, just a good solid run.

My workout streak is now at 59 days, with no days off yet in 2021.  

Birthday run

It's my 42nd B-day so goddamn it I ran outside and god-damn I was gonna run hard!!! Temp was in the 30s and I though the ground would be clear of snow/ice...  

I took off fast but relaxed, trying to keep things under control for the 1st mile.  I made a point not to look at my watch but in review I was going 6:40 pace.  Mile 2 I maintained 6:40 pace, attacking the hills... the extra effort was starting to take it out of me.  Mile 3 I turned the corner and was suddenly going into the wind...  the road which had mostly been okay was suddenly much more slick.  The snow and ice that had melted yesterday had left enough water to refreeze over night.  It wasn't really in danger of slipping but I was definitely losing traction and push off.  About 1/3 of the way up the road I encountered a skunk on the side of the road.  It turned toward me to face me and arched it's back like a cat!  Could have been worse.  I was about 12 feet away at the closest point and quickly increased that distance as I continued down the road.  I finished up that 3rd mile in 6:55 and at that point was starting to feel toasted.

Rounding the corner, out of the wind, I decided to stop pressing and relax a bit.  It did the trick and I started to feel better... the stretch has a bit of a downhill as well that reduced my efforts just enough to allow me to recover.  Finishing up that 4th mile I wound up hitting my fastest split up to that point at 6:36.  I was surprised because mile 4 definitely felt easier than either mile 2 or mile 3.  

I started ramping up the effort a bit for the last mile but tried to still stay relaxed.  It's amazing how much easier it is to ramp up the effort when you know you only have a mile left.  I buckled down and ran the last mile in 6:16.  

Final Stats:

5.01 miles

33:13

6:37 pace

I ended doubled over with my hands on my knees but quickly recovered my composure and continued on for a 2 mile cooldown to get a total of 7 miles in.

I've ran this 5 mile segment 28 times in the last year according to Strava and this was my fastest per mile pace by 11 seconds.  Based on the weather and the point I'm at in my season I was very pleased.   

This was my first time running under 7 minute average pace (outdoors anyway) since Thanksgiving when I ran the exact same 5.01 miles in 35:00.  I was nervous for the effort but am happy with the results and looking forward to improving upon them as my season progresses.  Hoping for a slightly warmer day with no wind or ice to contend with, so I can put on my Vaporfly's and smash!

About to get a little "spring" back in my step

It's 40 degrees and sunny today... Hallelujah!!!  It's the first above freezing day in several weeks and the snow is melting quickly...

Things started to turn this weekend and I did get outside on Sunday.  It was in the upper 20s but 14 MPH wind that still made it suck balls.  I got through it by running about 10 x100 step surges starting with mile 5.  That wound up taking about 30 seconds off my pace as I went from 8:20 miles to 7:50s.  I finished up with 10 miles at 8:02 pace in 1:20:39.  I really be getting longer runs in as my last 3 "long" runs have only been 10 miles, but the cold winds and icy roads have really cramped my style... I'm healthy though and ready to get back to the grind as the weather turns.

Also, I signed up for a 5K on March 13th.  I've been debating it but finally decided to pull the trigger.  Not sure how fast I am at this point but I guess we'll see.

2021 GOALS PROGRESS UPDATE:

More Mondays, more updates

1. 10,000 pushups:  2537/on pace for 17471... 10, 12,12,12, 16 at 155lbs on the bench today.  I'm finally starting to see some progress on the bench.  Think consistency has something to with it.  Might be time to pump up the weight a bit.

2. 7500 pulls ups:  1577/on pace for 10860...  9 sets of 12 on Saturday made up for some previous slacking.  

3. 26 Hours on the Bike: I'm almost at 12 hours now and it's only February.  Easy 36 minutes today (12 miles) marked my easiest day in a while.   

4. 2021 miles:  344.32... 50 miles ahead of pace.  44 miles last week and slowly building back to 50.

Recovery Brick

Decided to start off today on the bike to recover from yesterdays workout.  Just felt like biking.  Wound up doing 36 minutes and burned 11.36 calories per minute in the process.   I've ridden the bike 10 times now in February and it's gotten a lot easier.  I've been varying effort between level "11" and level "12" every minute and that's allowed me to increase intensity while still keeping the effort easy.  

It's funny because last year I got increasingly less motivated to bike as the year progressed.  Also, biking seemed to get harder and harder... the less I did it the less the muscles were adapted for it I guess.  Now that I've been biking more frequently it's getting easier and easier... not sure how long this will last but I wouldn't mind doing a bit more cross-training throughout the year as long as it supplements my running, rather than limits it.  I could see doing some doubles once or twice a week with a 30 minute bike after work.

After the bike session I went up and ran a few miles on the treadmill at 6.8 mph (8:49 pace).  I meant to do 2 miles and ended up doing 3.5 (30:47).  This was super easy with my HR in the 120s.  Very encouraging how easy my easy work is becoming.  

I'm on some streaks now... 9 days in a row of exceeding 1 hour in my workouts.   53 days in a row of exercising without a day off.    

Did 70 straight pushups today as well.  30 warmup pushups, then 70 straight.  I thought this was a record but looking back I did 70 on January 20th.  This time felt easier though, plus I had a day off last time I did it and this time was my 3rd day in a row doing pushups... the goal of course is 100.

 

Workout Day

First workout since January 28, when my 5 mile tempo ending with .25 at 6 min pace ended up breaking my treadmill.

Today, 3 X 1 mile at 6:15 pace (9.6 mph) with .25 recovery intervals at 6.7 mph.  A few notes:

• When I first bumped it up to 6:15 pace, my cadence was the initial responder and I was moving along in the upper 190s... eventually, as I adapted I started running with more power as the cadence feel to the low to mid 180s.  
• The .25 recoveries seemed about perfect.  Just enough so that when I got to the end of the recovery interval I was ready to go again.
• 6:15 pace hurt but not too bad.  My HR was in the low 160s according to my wrist HR... I haven't been wearing my chest strap but maybe it's time to try it again.
• My HR recovered very quickly during my .25 miles as well
  
• I focused hard on running tall with good form.
• After the workout I cooled down for another couple miles at 8:00 pace.  8:00 pace felt easy and my cadence stayed in the upper 170s.  I bumped up the incline to 2.0 for a 1/2 miles just to vary the stride a bit and this seemed to keep my form good and cadence higher without too much effort.  Just seemed that my running efficiency was greatly improved coming off the faster intervals… I think that's why your supposed to do strides... I never do them but maybe I should start

It was a very manageable workout but I definitely feel it afterwards both in body fatigue as well as some mental fog...  Mile repeats seem to be a workout that's well suited to the treadmill so I should probably include these more often.

After several weeks of mostly easy work it's nice to push myself again.  If I'm going to run a 5K in 23 days I'm gonna need to step up my game.

The end is near

Reviewing the weather forecast and it looks like there may be a light starting to shine at the end of the tunnel.  29 degrees on Saturday and 39 on Sunday!  It's a mutha'-fuckin' heat wave!  Can't come soon enough as I'm grasping onto my motivation by the skin of my teeth.

Still, I'm now on 49 days in a row of straight exercise.  Last five days have been over an hour of work.  Most of my workouts have been easy-medium intensity and have been going quite well for the most part.  My biggest issue has been finding the motivation to get started.  I usually talk myself into just doing a 1/2 hour and once I get going I start to feel good and wind up extending the workout more and more.

My treadmill seems to be working better than ever now.  It seemed a bit squeaky after I put the new roller in but that's calmed down after a few uses... I think it might have just been the belt lubricant.

I ran 9 treadmill miles on Saturday om 1:15:16 (8:21 pace), which got me to 30 on the week.   After I finished my run I drove to the health department and got my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine!  I'm so happy about that, I've been waiting for 11 months!  The vaccine went okay.  I went shopping afterwards and then drove home.  By the time I got home I was really tired.  I napped for a couple hours.  When I woke up, my shoulder was really sore... by night time it was extremely sore to the point that I had issues finding a comfortable position to sleep.   It was feeling better by the morning but I still felt a little off during my run.  About 7 miles in I started snapping out of it a bit and I actually think the run might have done me some good.  Wound up doing 10 miles in 1:18:16 (7:49 pace).

Today I rode the bike for an hour+.  Again I didn't feel good starting off but once I got 1/2 hour in I just kept going and going and next thing I knew I was at an hour.  

I had a breakthrough performance on the bench press too.  I haven't been pushing myself, just doing 5 sets at 155 on Mondays.  Normally I've had issues getting 5 sets of 10, but today I started with a set of 10, and then 3 sets of 12 and finally a set of 14.  I didn't do any pushups on Saturday or Sunday because of my shot so maybe I was just in a good state of rest.

2021 GOALS PROGRESS UPDATE:

Another Monday, another update

1. 10,000 pushups:  2254/on pace for 17885

2. 7500 pulls ups:  1318/on pace for 10458...  took the weekend off and only did 12 today.  Got to hit these hard tomorrow

3. 26 Hours on the Bike: With another hour on the bike I'm now at 10:41:00 which is way ahead of schedule.  I've been enjoying the bike lately.  I think that fact that most of my running has been easy means I'm not ever getting that fatigued so it's not a big deal to go an hour on the bike on my off day.  This can be cut back to a 1/2 hour as planned if my body needs it.

4. 2021 miles:  300.02... 45 miles ahead of pace now.  Now that my treadmill is back in service the miles are adding up again.  Back to doing 8-10 miles on the treadmill each time out.  So far my knee issue that was bothering me seems to have calmed down.  

Thursday/Friday hour of power

I felt much better on the treadmill Thursday then Wednesday... much, much better.  I started out at 7 mph and after 1st mile found myself zoning out.  Heart rate was about 10 BPM lower than yesterday as well.  

I bumped the speed up by .1 for the first 4 miles, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3... then on mile 5 said fuck it and bumped up to 7:30 pace for mile 5, 6, 7... HR stayed below 150 BPM and it still felt relatively easy.  Slowed back down to 7.0 for the last mile to cool down. 

Got in 8.01 miles in 1:04:03 (7:59.9 pace).  

Friday, I got another 1+ hour in.  8 miles in 1:07:07 (8:23 pace).  Kept it slower but did 5 X .25 miles at 5% grade to get a bit of easy hill work in.  

I'll need 9 tomorrow to get 30 on the week.  

Back in business

The replacement front roller for my treadmill came last night!  It was missing a lock ring but I was able to swap it out from my old one.  Took about 1 1/2 hours to get the new roller in, the drive belt back on, the rear roller installed and adjusted, and reinstallation of all the guards.  Miraculously, I managed to not damage or lose any parts or tools in the process.  

After getting it all back together I was tentative.  I started it up and walked a couple miles to get my 12500 steps in.   So far so good.

This morning it was time for the real test.  After walking for about 10 minutes as a warm up, I bumped it up to 7 mph for my first run on the new roller.  Everything was operating just fine... except for me!  I always struggle to get back on a treadmill after running outside... usually starts out with me running way up in front by the hand grips before I eventually settle in.  After 2.5 miles I decided to bump up the pace to 8 minute miles so I could get the damn run done.  Wound up getting in 5 miles total in 41:08 (8:13 pace).  

Out for delivery

The replacement front roller for my treadmill is out for delivery!  With temperatures in the single digits and below for the next 2 weeks, its not a moment to soon.   I hope to god it's the part I need!

In the meantime I've been maintaining fitness by biking.  8 out of 9 days on the bike in February including another hour on the bike today.  The biking has become noticeably easier after having a bit of consistency.  

Also, have been struggling to get my 12500 daily steps in.  Lots of pacing around in the basement👎… Still meeting my goals though and still no days off in 2021 so far.  

I am really sick of this winter and all this base training.  I know base training doesn't have to be slow and easy but there's only so much I can do on the bike and even the treadmill... even a hard tempo run on the treadmill seems hard to quantify in terms of what it would mean on the road.

A new low

36.15 miles last week... my lowest weekly mileage total since the beginning of November...  This included a 10 mile run on Saturday (which wound up being my weekend "long" run)…  I did not run on Sunday, so next week's mileage may wind up even worse!

But that's not the new low I was referring to in my title.  I was talking about the temperature.  Saturday's 10 miler was 9 degrees out (feels like -2).  Amazingly it did not feel that bad as I've figured out how to properly dress.  The sun even came out for a bit making it somewhat pleasant.  I started out with the intent of running 5 miles.  The first few miles were dreadful as I loped along at a 8:40-8:50 pace, but after a couple miles I started warming up and by the 4th mile I was running into the sun feeling kind of good.  I even pulled my balaclava down for a bit to take in fresh air.  Once I got my 5 in, I decided to do a 10K and then 7 miles (1 hour) and eventually kept going until I got in 10.  Pace was in the 8:15 range for the last 5 miles with the final mile at 8:00 flat.  I saw a couple women running in Brimfield and cheered them on... glad to see I'm not the only crazy bastard out there.

Since my treadmill broke, I've worked in 7 sub-freezing outdoor runs now, mostly sneaking them in after work before sunset.  Not much to be said about the mileage or pace, but I'm getting it in the best I can.

Also, supplementing with quite a bit of cross training on the bike.  7 out of 8 days on the bike in February; 5 hours and 18 minutes so far... my biking muscles are adapting now so it's feeling more natural.    

I did a HR control fitness test on the bike today.  Wound up matching my PR of 410 calories, exactly.  What are the odds of that.  I guess my heart is equally fit to what it was last May.  That's positive because I was really fit back in May.

I'm feeling pretty fit right now too, but more of a base fitness... like a month or two of sharpening workouts away from domination.

I've been getting in miles and have been consistent but don't have a lot to hang my hat on recently.  My last sub 7 pace run was 5 miles on Thanksgiving and that was run on more pain and guts then fitness.

I have my 7:17 pace half marathon on December 20th. my 7:06 pace 9.5 miler on January 14th.    My 7:24 pace 15 miles on Jan 24th... giving these a look over I get the impression that they are all comparable solid efforts but not spectacular...  I also have some decent treadmill workouts sprinkled in but those are hard to evaluate.

I'm rambling a bit, but all this to say, I plan on ripping 5 fast miles off, as soon as I have a good day (40 degrees with some sun?!? to much to ask) to do it.

2021 GOALS PROGRESS UPDATE:

Another Monday, another update

1. 10,000 pushups:  2004/on pace for 18755... I'm feeling more solid in my upper body and core

2. 7500 pulls ups:  1168/on pace for 10931...  I did 20 straight pull ups yesterday, 20 straight chin-ups today... it starting to be a thing.  Hopeful it's going to be a thing.

3. 26 Hours on the Bike:  I've been biking every Monday and at this point, just about every other day as well.  I'm at 8.65 hours for the year, which means I'm already near the end of April based on my target. 

4. 2021 miles:  260.01... 44 miles ahead of pace now.  I'm losing some steam on this one.  After a record January I'm struggling to squeeze runs in during the few windows of daylight I have.  I'm just going to keep telling myself that the cross training, mileage drop, running in the cold, and treadmill break are all good for me.  The cold running toughens me up.  The cross-training is keeping my fit while letting my legs recover a bit.  I had a bit of a knee thing happening on the treadmill which seems to be resolved now.  I'm getting some muscles strengthened, I'm getting accustomed to 2 a days.  Am I in the heart of training now or am I in my offseason building a base?...   

My dieting was bust last week.  too much sugar.  too much junk food.  super bowl to top it all off.  All in all I didn't do terrible, but I didn't really lose any weight either.  This week I'm doubling back down...  Want to see a 163 by my Birthday. 

In transit

Replacement part for my treadmill is in transit.  Meanwhile I've been doing my best to maintain and advance my fitness. 

I've ridden my stationary bike 3 days in a row now in the mornings plus yesterday I ran 5 miles after work.  5 miles is about all I can fit in during the brief window before sunset.  It was cold yesterday, 27 degrees (feels like 19), but not as cold as it's going to be... the cold doesn't particularly bother me but it's not exactly pleasant either.  I feel like my effort is a lot higher when running in the cold as collaborated by my heart rate and I can never really find an "easy" pace, because nothing ever feels comfortable.  A half mile stretch of road between the 2 mile marker and 2.5 mile marker was still covered with snow and ice.  It didn't really slow me down much and I'm getting more accustomed and less fragile about braving the elements.  I'm gonna try to make it through this week at least.  This weekend we're looking at snow with a high of 16 on Saturday and a high of 4 on Sunday so that will be the ultimate test... maybe... or maybe I'll just hit the bike and skip the cold.

Just hoping my treadmill part comes on Monday and that it fixes my issues! 

Treadmill down!

Last Friday morning, after 124 runs, my treadmill decided to act up.  Not terrible for a 500 dollar used heath club treadmill but I had been hoping for more.

I spent that morning diagnosing the issue (a squealing noise) and narrowed it down what I'm pretty confident is a failing bearing on the front roller.  Not wanting to invoke any further damage I have put the treadmill out of commission while I wait on a 125 dollar used front roller to come that I bought on eBay. 

Until then I had to toughen up and run outside...  starting with Friday after work.  5 miles at 7:29 pace.  

Running 7:29 pace on the day after a hard workout wasn't typical but it was cold and I wanted to get the run in before it got dark so I went harder... I was actually more like 7:38 pace through mile 4 and then finished with a 6:56 last mile to get the average pace under 7:30.

Saturday I got out and ran 6.26 at 8:20 pace.  It wasn't too cold... high of 34 degrees but there was a 14 mph wind.  My gore tex jacket takes care of most of that but it still sucks on the stretching running straight into the wind.

Sunday, I headed out on the recently plowed snowy roads around Brimfield.  31 degrees that day with 14 mph winds, snow flurries, and slushy, icy, half plowed roads.  My heart rate was in the mid 140's which was high based on the fact that I was running 8:30 pace.  The snow/sleet/slush/ice on the roads made me tentative with each step and if felt more like a trail run in some ways. I planned to get in at least 10 and then decided I better get in at least 1:30 and then figured I'd go a bit extra to get in 11.  Final stats:  11.02 miles, 1:33:26, 8:28 pace.

I am not a fan of winter, but at the end of the day, these runs weren't actually that bad.  I'll be happy to get back on my treadmill ASAP but in the meantime I will embrace the opportunity to keep building fitness and toughness. 

January is in the books and I've set a new all time record for mileage in a month.  234.88 miles (at 8:06 average pace).  This was 23.64 miles over my previous record of 211.24.

Between the extra running, the weight loss, the biking, plus the pushups and pull ups I'm starting to feel like I reaching the next level of fitness.  I'm hungry for warmer weather and some strong outdoor efforts.  I've only had one blue run  (run averages sub-7) since September, which was 5 excruciating miles on Thanksgiving.  I wouldn't' mind trying another fast 5 sometime soon... just need the weather to cooperate.  Nothing in the 10 forecast looks promising but maybe by my birthday?

2021 GOALS PROGRESS UPDATE:

AND.... since it's Monday, its time for another goals update

1. 10,000 pushups:  1405 on the year which puts me on pace for 16025 for the year.  Sprinkling in some bench at 155 on Mondays, but mostly pushups.  Goal right now is to work up to 100 in a row.  I can hit 60 pretty easy at this point... another target for my birthday?

2. 7500 pulls ups:  940 on the year which puts me on pace for 10725 for the year.  10,000 on the year would be pretty cool but I'm not going to get ahead of myself.  I've really been hitting these hard lately, working in sets just about every day.  Currently I'm doing sets of 16.  Would be nice to get these up to sets of 20.  I could likely do 20 right now already but I want 20 to feel easy.

3. 26 Hours on the Bike:  5 biking Mondays in a row plus a Tuesday.  No days off in 2021 so far.  With the extra workout plus some extra time, I'm about 3 workouts ahead of pace.  Kind of nice to be getting some X-training in.

4. 2021 miles:  234.88 miles, 58 miles ahead of pace.

I lost a bit of steam on my diet last week, but feel like I picked it back up over the weekend and have a renewed sense of purpose.  This morning I stepped on the scale at 165.6.  Reviewing my data from last year, I'm quickly approaching my lightest point...  It would be nice to see something under 160 by the end of the month, and then consistently in the 15X range by mid-late March... I have some lofty ideas of what 155 lb pace is gonna be vs 175 lb pace.  Time will tell if A: I actually get my weight down to 155 and B: I actually run the pace I think I could (Sub 62 15K in training or 6:39 avg pace).