Tuesday: I got up extra early so I could squeeze an extra ten minutes on The Soloist. I felt great this morning which is always a little surprising at that hour. According to the cycling plan that I am reading I think I am still riding to hard on some of these base training days. The training plan that I am using says that on easy days that I need to stay in the 120s with HR which seems way to easy for me. I may invest in a better monitor because I am committed to riding with a training schedule based around HR. In the afternoon I headed over the Thatcher Hill for a workout that I have been planning. I want to rebuild some dynamic muscles and focus on form. I think this combination will pay off three-fold in the long run. Improved form, improved speed, and improved late race running economy. This workouts original intent was to bound the entire 800 hill but I found that when the grade lessened that bounding was pointless. The workout shifted to bound, run, bound run, dictated by the natural features of the hill. I did five of these and I could really feel it in my legs. My hamstrings were really involved during the bounding which was a odd sensation. When I would go back into a run I almost felt like I was getting off the bike in T2 so I see this as another advantage. Tough day but a good day. Easy miles tomorrow. (1 hr. 40 min.)
Wednesday: I got up again at 4:45 to fit in some extra time on The Soloist. I was very mindful of yesterday and kept my heart rate between 125 and 135. My legs were pretty tired this morning so I know that yesterday was a success. In the afternoon I really struggled warming up after my ride home in the rain. I finally got out the door and did an easy five around the Thatcher Hill loop. I have a weird pain in my right hip that I will need to keep an eye on. (1 hr. 10 min.)
Thursday: I woke up early for another forty minute ride on The Soloist. During the middle of the ride I did a long simulated climb while keeping my heart rate under 150. I have been spinning for nearly a month now so grinding a big gear felt a little weird. In the afternoon Eko and I took a huge walk which ate into a big chunk of my run time. On top of that it was my night to make dinner. I still got out for a run and essentially ran for twenty-minutes as fast as I could. Strange I know but an effective use of my lack of time. (1 hr.)
Friday: Up early for forty minutes on The Soloist. I rode pretty easily with the intent of riding hard tomorrow for the first time of the base building period. In the afternoon yet again I was a little time crunched so I could only manage seven miles. (1 hr. 25 min.)
Saturday: Ran a hilly ten miler with Najem from the house this morning. This is the first time that I have run over ten since the summer. We finished off the run on the trails outback and finished the run in the backyard. I think it is pretty tough to beat that feeling! (1 hr. 7 min.) I really wanted to do a 40k TT this morning but with the traffic I figured that I would end up getting hit. After the run and a trip to the dump I was a little under the gun to make it Greg and Jen's wedding so I only managed thirty minutes hard. Five minute warm-up, ten minutes at lactate threshold (167-170 bpm), ten minutes past LT (170-180 bpm), five minute cool-down. My quads were tight in the aftermath but I felt really strong while going hard. I was out of the saddle on the hardest gear so I really felt like I was climbing nearly all out. Solid day, fun wedding! (1 hr. 37 min.)
Sunday: Najem and I met up with Matty P. and Goupil back in Rindge this morning for an "easy" sixteen miler. It was 34 degrees at the start of the run so I wore a thin hat and gloves with a long sleeve and capri tights. I love running on cool fall mornings! I thought there was a actual run planned but we ended up just doing a series of three out and backs to get an hour and forty-five minutes in. First three was just over twenty flat, next three was eighteen flat, you get the point. I don't remember the last time I ran this far and I must say I was pretty excited. I forgot how much fun it can be running with a few friends for a couple of hours. Following the run Pete and I headed down to the house and I made a massive and delicious breakfast! (1 hr. 45 min.)
Total: 8 hours 43 minutes.
The day off was a bummer but I really needed to get that trail done. Having instant access to the trails is going to make a huge difference in where I will run, especially this winter. I felt great most of the days this week. The hard run on Saturday and the long run on Sunday were highlights. I would love to get to ten hours this week and hopefully noting major will spring up and take away a day. I am going to up my morning rides to forty-five minutes this week.
Cheers,
Mark
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