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.
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