Was originally figuring on taking today as a rest day, since Rockhouse was such a tough workout. But then I decided that tomorrow (Monday) is my 'rest' day with Yoga (even though I have tentative plans to run during lunch - but it'll be easy miles), and that you don't build up your matchbook by slacking off. So I picked the Eisen workout, which I figured would be perfect - very short bouts of intensity mixed with generous amounts of recovery.
Had a hard time hitting the target power in a sustained fashion during the sprints. Most of them, I at least hit the numbers and went beyond, but it appears that whatever the sampling rate is for trainerroad didn't catch those moments. However, admittedly about halfway through, I started slacking a bit during the FTP intensity sessions between the anaerobic bouts - the legs were just feeling cooked. I did end up nutting up a bit on the last one - again, figuring I'm not going to build a bigger matchbox without some good hard effort.
So all in all, I'm pretty happy with the workout, considering it was 24 hours after Rockhouse and my legs were still definitely fatigued all day.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
TrainerRoad - Rockhouse - 4/28
I was originally thinking of doing some hill training on Saturday, but it is a bit cool out (albeit sunny), and in the end I opted for the convenience of the trainer in the basement. However, if I was going to skip out on one ass-kick session (hills), I'd have to make it up with another type - so I perused through the TrainerRoad workout list and found one - Rockhouse. Aptly named, too.
It's description starts out saying 'This one's not for the feint of heart' - and then goes through the following formula that some sadistic bastard thought up:
It's description starts out saying 'This one's not for the feint of heart' - and then goes through the following formula that some sadistic bastard thought up:
- Cook your legs with a series of ten anaerobic sprints @ 125% FTP
- 2 x 5 minute intervals right near FTP
- Recook legs with 6 more anaerobic springs @ ~135% FTP Immediately follow with 5 more minutes right near FTP
- 12 minutes @ sweet spot intensity (~90% FTP)
- 12 minutes @ FTP (at this point, two hours into the workout, ass starts to hurt in addition to the legs being sore - so thats fun)
- 18 minutes @ sweet spot
- Four more anaerobic sprints (30s) at the end, just to make sure the legs are well done.
In looking at the workout history for Rockhouse, most people don't finish it - so I knew I had my work cut out for me. In anticipation, I queued up a couple Jason Statham movies on Netflix to watch during the session - nothing like one of his action movies to keep the intensity up.
My god - what a workout. Normally on rides I have the opportunity to stand up for a few moments now and again to stretch the legs out, and can do so while coasting so I don't really lose momentum. Not so on a trainer. Normally on rides I can coast occasionally to give the leg muscles brief periods of rest. Not so on a trainer. In the end, this workout was just about two hours worth of time at threshold or higher heartrate.
Friday, April 27, 2012
TrainerRoad - McAdie - 4/27
The past several sessions, I've been feeling like I finished the workout with something left on the table. Sure, I worked hard and was happy to be done when the clock reached 1:30:00 - but I had a sense I had more to give - I've been able to do several successive days of interval workouts, which tells me that my recovery has been relatively quick. By extrapolation, I could probably give more during the workouts.
Rather than do another power test, I decided to give a shot to upping my FTP value. They (trainerroad) state that if you feel the workouts are getting easier, to up the FTP by 5W and then see how it adjusts. So thats what I did - I upped it to 230 and did todays workout, McAdie. (at least I thought I hit 230 - it has since recorded a value of 231. Whatever.)
This was another over/under workout, but the interval sets were extended to 12 minutes, as compared to the last over/under (Emerson) which came in at 10 minutes.
I don't know whether it was the 12 minutes, or the FTP change, but I definitely felt it. The one minute over-segments were definitely a stresser (made a little easier by upping the cadence, at the cost of HR), and the two minute under-segments barely felt like recovery until the last 20-30 seconds or so.
Rather than do another power test, I decided to give a shot to upping my FTP value. They (trainerroad) state that if you feel the workouts are getting easier, to up the FTP by 5W and then see how it adjusts. So thats what I did - I upped it to 230 and did todays workout, McAdie. (at least I thought I hit 230 - it has since recorded a value of 231. Whatever.)
This was another over/under workout, but the interval sets were extended to 12 minutes, as compared to the last over/under (Emerson) which came in at 10 minutes.
I don't know whether it was the 12 minutes, or the FTP change, but I definitely felt it. The one minute over-segments were definitely a stresser (made a little easier by upping the cadence, at the cost of HR), and the two minute under-segments barely felt like recovery until the last 20-30 seconds or so.
TrainerRoad - Silliman - 4/26
This days workout was another short burst interval type, called Silliman. The trainerroad workout plan describes it thusly:
Compared to other sprint interval workouts (such as Cirque, from earlier this week), the intervals here obviously don't go to as high a power rating, but instead of lasting for 15s, they last for a full minute, and as you can tell, it still drives up the HR. Physically, this workout was more difficult because of that, but mentally it was easier because there were fewer intervals.
Power Intervals? Billats? Call them what you will, but today is all about stressing that aerobic engine.
By working at high percentages of your aerobic capacity (aka VO2max), you'll raise the "tide that lifts all boats" meaning that improvements in your aerobic capacity will improve your power at VO2max, your power at lactate threshold, and your aerobic endurance.
Want to ride your 70.3 bike segment at a faster, subthreshold speed? Do VO2max intervals.
Want a faster 40k TT? Do VO2max intervals.
Want to be a better climber? DO VO2MAX INTERVALS...and do a lot of them.
We'll start high, reach even higher in the second set, and then we'll account for some fatigue in the final set by dropping the requirements slightly. Keep this aerobically-inclined by spinning quickly, no less than 110rpm for each and every minute.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
TrainerRoad - Miter - 4/25
This was a new kind of over/under workout, referred to as a criss-cross over/under. Whereas sprint/intervals are designed to tax your muscles for short bursts, with equally short recovery periods, over/under intervals are done right around your FTP - spend a couple minutes just below, a couple minutes just above, rinse and repeat a couple times to get the desired interval length (somewhere around 10 minutes, it seems). It looks like a criss-cross over/under also operates around FTP, but you perform a brief sprint at 110% FTP (or so), followed by a 'recovery' just a hair under FTP (like, 98% FTP) for a couple minutes before another brief sprint. Then, there is a couple minutes of recovery at about 95% FTP before repeating. That makes up one half of the interval - the other interval is identical, but there is a 1 minute recovery between intervals. In this workout, there were three dual-interval sets.
This one felt pretty good, mostly because it was very similar effort that was sustained - so the legs could settle into somewhat of a groove, and adjust power by altering cadence slightly.
This one felt pretty good, mostly because it was very similar effort that was sustained - so the legs could settle into somewhat of a groove, and adjust power by altering cadence slightly.
TrainerRoad - Cirque - 4/24
This days workout was called Cirque - and it was another anaerobic sprint/interval workout. In this case, it was 7 interval sets, varying from 120 to 150% FTP, with intervals within sets varying between 15s and 45s - the longer intervals being those at 120% FTP. Each interval had a 15s rest period in between, and it's amazing how just that 15s really helps clear blood out and re-energize the legs. But as is usual with these workouts, by the time you get to the end (a little before it, actually) - yes, you can do the sprints but your legs are starting to feel the fatigue and they really don't want to continue. So the 15s is just enough to make your legs feel better and to bring the HR down a few beats, but short enough that it really builds throughout the workout.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
TrainerRoad - Emerson - 4/22
I originally thought I'd go for a 5-6 mile run today, but the right foot needs a little more time off. I also tried going to the pool today, but when I got there, every lane was filled. I also figured I'd try for maybe two 90 minute sessions of TrainerRoad, back to back - but after about 20 minutes into the first one, I realized that wasn't going to happen. Although my legs felt fine, they were still fatigued from yesterday. Either way, though - a 90 minute cycling workout with threshold intervals is nothing to whine about.
Todays workout was Emerson - a typical over/under session. Basically, after a warm up, over/unders are a series of intervals where you spend some time(in this case 3 minutes) @ 95% FTP, and then spend some time (in this case 2 minutes) @ 105% FTP. Repeat a couple times per interval, and then a 5 minute rest in between intervals.
It was a pretty good workout as I definitely had to push to finish it - a little harder than I'd have expected, and thus the thinking/realization that my legs are still recovering their glucose stores from yesterday. One thing I did realize, though, is that during the over parts, I was better off spinning at a slightly higher cadence. The power was higher as a result, but I realized on the first over that at a cadence of 90, my legs were feeling it more. So the subsequent overs (and actually just about everything in the interval) I did closer to a 95 cadence. Maybe it's just a factor of how my bike is geared, but it did exemplify a pretty good correlation between RPE and cadence under load - something to keep in mind during hill training and the bike course @ Lake Placid.
Todays workout was Emerson - a typical over/under session. Basically, after a warm up, over/unders are a series of intervals where you spend some time(in this case 3 minutes) @ 95% FTP, and then spend some time (in this case 2 minutes) @ 105% FTP. Repeat a couple times per interval, and then a 5 minute rest in between intervals.
It was a pretty good workout as I definitely had to push to finish it - a little harder than I'd have expected, and thus the thinking/realization that my legs are still recovering their glucose stores from yesterday. One thing I did realize, though, is that during the over parts, I was better off spinning at a slightly higher cadence. The power was higher as a result, but I realized on the first over that at a cadence of 90, my legs were feeling it more. So the subsequent overs (and actually just about everything in the interval) I did closer to a 95 cadence. Maybe it's just a factor of how my bike is geared, but it did exemplify a pretty good correlation between RPE and cadence under load - something to keep in mind during hill training and the bike course @ Lake Placid.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
17.5 miles - 4/21
In my mind, today I wanted to do between 15-20 miles - but I also knew I'd be a little disappointed if I only got 15 in, but I also knew that 20 miles might be a bit much, especially with having done 9 not even 48 hours ago. So all along I had a pretty strong suspicion I'd end up somewhere around 17 miles - which sounded just about right. My biggest concern was my right ankle - it's given me no issues in the past week, and I wanted to keep it that way. I popped an advil before heading out - I generally don't like doing that, but I've done it the past few runs as I've gone from ~6, to ~9 and now ~17 miles just to make sure. I figure at this point, I'm probably safe up to about 10 miles, and since it'll be next weekend before I do a run of that distance - I think today was likely the last time it'll happen for this particular circumstance.
Today I really paid attention to HR to try and keep it under control. With the temps getting warmer, it meant going a bit slower than I've gotten used to for long runs, but I decided I'd be ok with that as long as I maintained a pace that kept my legs feeling good, and that allowed my form to be retained throughout the entire run by not being as fatigue-inducing. I also brought some electrolyte capsules with me - a first time doing so. Last summer I was bringing gatorade with me on long runs - but since I've switched over to homemade energy gel (which, BTW, my latest batch is much more like plain ole chocolate syrup than a gel. Oops), I have to pay more attention to electrolytes. Although I do add some sodium and potassium to the gel, it's certainly not enough to replenish what is lost on a warm day.
I started out with the intention of running the whole thing through - but after 6 miles, with the HR starting to climb near 160 due to elevation, I decided to stop and walk for a bit. It was just enough time to get a good amount of energy gel down, wash it down with plenty of water, pop a couple salt capsules, and rotate bottles in my fuel belt. All told, about 0.15 miles - about 3.5 minutes. It was a little on the long side (don't want to tighten up), but manageable. In the end, however, it only cost me about 1 minute for that lap vs other laps - so I was ok with that differential. Within a few minutes, I felt pretty revitalized.
That seemed to be the theme throughout this run. It was the best I felt, consistently, for a long run that I can remember. There were times during climbs that the HR got up into the 160's, but I slowed down, and on the back side sped up, gaining whatever speed the terrain would allow. I spent a lot of time making sure to think about relaxing the legs and lower body, as well as maintaining upper body posture. For the most part, HR was kept within a band that I am happy with, and HR drift towards the end wasn't too extreme (was definitely spending more time near 160 at that point, though - but the last few miles were also more hilly). Really, the only thing that started feeling worn out was my feet - the legs felt fatigued, but still relatively strong. And I was pretty happy that even towards the end, form and posture were still pretty good and there was no real slouching or laboring over.
I did briefly consider going longer - but I was running out of water, and didn't want to push things in that way. Plus, I knew that there would be little benefit this time of going any further, and it would only increase chance of injury. A 20 miler will have to wait another 2-3 weeks.
Today I really paid attention to HR to try and keep it under control. With the temps getting warmer, it meant going a bit slower than I've gotten used to for long runs, but I decided I'd be ok with that as long as I maintained a pace that kept my legs feeling good, and that allowed my form to be retained throughout the entire run by not being as fatigue-inducing. I also brought some electrolyte capsules with me - a first time doing so. Last summer I was bringing gatorade with me on long runs - but since I've switched over to homemade energy gel (which, BTW, my latest batch is much more like plain ole chocolate syrup than a gel. Oops), I have to pay more attention to electrolytes. Although I do add some sodium and potassium to the gel, it's certainly not enough to replenish what is lost on a warm day.
I started out with the intention of running the whole thing through - but after 6 miles, with the HR starting to climb near 160 due to elevation, I decided to stop and walk for a bit. It was just enough time to get a good amount of energy gel down, wash it down with plenty of water, pop a couple salt capsules, and rotate bottles in my fuel belt. All told, about 0.15 miles - about 3.5 minutes. It was a little on the long side (don't want to tighten up), but manageable. In the end, however, it only cost me about 1 minute for that lap vs other laps - so I was ok with that differential. Within a few minutes, I felt pretty revitalized.
That seemed to be the theme throughout this run. It was the best I felt, consistently, for a long run that I can remember. There were times during climbs that the HR got up into the 160's, but I slowed down, and on the back side sped up, gaining whatever speed the terrain would allow. I spent a lot of time making sure to think about relaxing the legs and lower body, as well as maintaining upper body posture. For the most part, HR was kept within a band that I am happy with, and HR drift towards the end wasn't too extreme (was definitely spending more time near 160 at that point, though - but the last few miles were also more hilly). Really, the only thing that started feeling worn out was my feet - the legs felt fatigued, but still relatively strong. And I was pretty happy that even towards the end, form and posture were still pretty good and there was no real slouching or laboring over.
I did briefly consider going longer - but I was running out of water, and didn't want to push things in that way. Plus, I knew that there would be little benefit this time of going any further, and it would only increase chance of injury. A 20 miler will have to wait another 2-3 weeks.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
9 miles easy - 4/19
Earlier in the week I had figured on running today, but after yesterday bike workout, I wasn't sure how it would pan out for today. Regardless, if I did anything, it would be relatively easy miles, because I would really like to do somewhere in the 17-20 range on Saturday. I've struggled over the past few months in getting in solid long runs, and the last long run I did was Stu's 30k, almost 6 weeks ago now. So with a long run on Saturday, and with it counting as a quality run, Friday would be a running rest day and I didn't want to do anything too strenuous today.
That didn't mean I wasn't itching to do something, though. As I was getting dressed, I briefly toyed with the idea of a 8-10 mile threshold run - but I reminded myself that it was that kind of attitude that got me in trouble with my IT band a few years ago. So for right now, after an interval session on Tuesday, that'd be it for the speedwork this week. Instead, I'd do an easy 6, bringing my total for the week up to about 18 so far, and if I did 17-20 on Saturday, I'd be between 35-40 miles for the week - which I'd be happy about. If I felt good, I'd tack on another mile for 7.
As I got to the 3.5 mile mark, I realized I was feeling pretty good - the HR was staying in check, legs felt pretty energized, weather was nice and cool, so I thought 'eh, lets make it 8'. So as I passed the turn point of the loop to make it a 7 mile run (right around the 4.5 mile mark), I thought 'ok, now I'm kinda committed for another 3.5'. Unfortunately, it took me another mile or so to mentally piece together this loop, and realize that I was actually headed for closer to 9-10. Oops!
However, I still felt pretty good, so I took it as an opportunity to toy around with some form stuff. I had some moments and stretches where I felt like things fell into place - feet planted in the right place, minimal muscle usage, adequate forward lean, proper cadence, and engaged lower core. But as with all technical stuff, that's a lot to keep going for an extended period of time in the beginning, so I mostly focused on foot placement, with forward lean and cadence coming in second. I started realizing that if I pay attention to cadence too much, I put more energy and muscle exertion into keeping up 180 instead of a more natural (right now) feeling 175 or so - so it dawned on me that perhaps I'm not quite ready for 180 yet. Besides, 175 is pretty damn close, and even Chi Running stuff says that taller people may be closer to 170-172 for their natural cadence as opposed to 180.
At the end, it clocked in just a tad under 9 miles, and a HR of 149 - which is just about perfect. Once I got home, just as a precautionary measure for prep on Saturday, I did the ice bath thing for about 15 minutes.
That didn't mean I wasn't itching to do something, though. As I was getting dressed, I briefly toyed with the idea of a 8-10 mile threshold run - but I reminded myself that it was that kind of attitude that got me in trouble with my IT band a few years ago. So for right now, after an interval session on Tuesday, that'd be it for the speedwork this week. Instead, I'd do an easy 6, bringing my total for the week up to about 18 so far, and if I did 17-20 on Saturday, I'd be between 35-40 miles for the week - which I'd be happy about. If I felt good, I'd tack on another mile for 7.
As I got to the 3.5 mile mark, I realized I was feeling pretty good - the HR was staying in check, legs felt pretty energized, weather was nice and cool, so I thought 'eh, lets make it 8'. So as I passed the turn point of the loop to make it a 7 mile run (right around the 4.5 mile mark), I thought 'ok, now I'm kinda committed for another 3.5'. Unfortunately, it took me another mile or so to mentally piece together this loop, and realize that I was actually headed for closer to 9-10. Oops!
However, I still felt pretty good, so I took it as an opportunity to toy around with some form stuff. I had some moments and stretches where I felt like things fell into place - feet planted in the right place, minimal muscle usage, adequate forward lean, proper cadence, and engaged lower core. But as with all technical stuff, that's a lot to keep going for an extended period of time in the beginning, so I mostly focused on foot placement, with forward lean and cadence coming in second. I started realizing that if I pay attention to cadence too much, I put more energy and muscle exertion into keeping up 180 instead of a more natural (right now) feeling 175 or so - so it dawned on me that perhaps I'm not quite ready for 180 yet. Besides, 175 is pretty damn close, and even Chi Running stuff says that taller people may be closer to 170-172 for their natural cadence as opposed to 180.
At the end, it clocked in just a tad under 9 miles, and a HR of 149 - which is just about perfect. Once I got home, just as a precautionary measure for prep on Saturday, I did the ice bath thing for about 15 minutes.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
TrainerRoad - Thor - 4/18
This ended up being a surprise workout. I met up with a friend after work and was anticipating not being able to get a workout in today - and after the intervals yesterday, I figured that was for the best. However I got back home around 8:30 and realized I could still squeeze in a quick workout. I went back and forth a bit on what type of workout to do following an interval workout yesterday - part of me wanted to do something on the lighter side, but part of me wanted to do intervals. I ended up deciding that since I've been doing bike intervals and recovering from them rather well, that I could probably get away with it, as long as tomorrows run was going to be at an easy pace (intended anyway), and then leave the option open for Friday being a rest or cross train day in prep for another quality run workout on Saturday.
Looking on the trainer road schedule, Thor was the next workout. Basically eight sets of 3 x 12s sprints @ 200% FTP, followed by 4 minutes @ 105% FTP, with three minutes rest in between sets. The full workout is 90 minutes, but I opted to cut it short after 6 sets (about 70 minutes) because it was getting to be quiet time in the house, and I watch TV while doing trainer workouts to help pass the time and stay distracted. Plus, as I said - it was a bonus workout, and the goal of training isn't to win workouts.
It's a decently tough workout - the sprints are interesting because they are over quickly (and I did them at higher cadence of ~130 or so, to minimize time lost due to switching gears), but by the time they end, the HR hasn't really gone up that much. However, it is rising, so as the recovery time goes by, the HR climbs to a peak and then recedes. The four minutes @ 105% FTP aren't too bad at first, but they start to be a bit of a drag after a handful of sets. I feel as though I could have finished the entire workout without too much of a problem, but would have been glad its over, and would not have wanted it any more difficult.
Looking on the trainer road schedule, Thor was the next workout. Basically eight sets of 3 x 12s sprints @ 200% FTP, followed by 4 minutes @ 105% FTP, with three minutes rest in between sets. The full workout is 90 minutes, but I opted to cut it short after 6 sets (about 70 minutes) because it was getting to be quiet time in the house, and I watch TV while doing trainer workouts to help pass the time and stay distracted. Plus, as I said - it was a bonus workout, and the goal of training isn't to win workouts.
It's a decently tough workout - the sprints are interesting because they are over quickly (and I did them at higher cadence of ~130 or so, to minimize time lost due to switching gears), but by the time they end, the HR hasn't really gone up that much. However, it is rising, so as the recovery time goes by, the HR climbs to a peak and then recedes. The four minutes @ 105% FTP aren't too bad at first, but they start to be a bit of a drag after a handful of sets. I feel as though I could have finished the entire workout without too much of a problem, but would have been glad its over, and would not have wanted it any more difficult.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
7 x 1/4 mile intervals - 4/17
It's about time I started adding some speedwork into my runs. Actually, it was several weeks ago that I intended to do so, but got somewhat distracted with the idea of building up to 40 miles per week first - but then the ankle injury kinda eliminated that goal for now. So now I'm back to whatever miles I can handle to stay healthy, and doing quality workouts within those bounds.
The last time I had done real interval workouts was a couple years ago, when I was starting out of the gate with 1 mile repeats. The resulting IT band issues made me realize that perhaps that was a bit too much to chew all at once, as I had done multiple 1/4 mile interval workouts the year before (2008) without issue - so I figured that for now, perhaps that's how I should start.
In looking up my VDOT number (based on the Half of the Hamptons), the 1/4 mile distances should be at 1:38 each, or at a 6:32 min/mile pace. I originally toyed with the idea of going to a track for this, but I realized it would be ~three miles for warmup to get there, then whatever miles of speedwork, and then ~three miles to get back home, for a likely total of at least eight miles - maybe more. My concern was that it might be a bit much starting out - so instead I just did my typical six mile loop, and figured on two miles warm up, and then at least two miles of intervals (so at least four intervals), and then two miles of cooldown - with the cooldown subject to change based on how I felt. Plus, the 1:38 per 1/4 mile was based on performance on a flat course in mid-February, and with things starting to get warm outside, I really didn't know what to expect.
I made sure to take the warmup easy - I often feel as though I do go easy, only to find a sub 8:30 pace during the first couple miles. Normally hasn't been a huge problem, but today I made sure to keep it slow. At the two mile mark, I took off on the first interval, and quickly realized that since it had been so long doing intervals, I didn't really have a good sense of pacing. I saw the pace drop below 6 min/miles, said 'oops', and slowed up a bit. By the end of the interval, the HR was pushing around 180 - which seemed just about perfect, and the time was spot on at 1:38. I then took a quarter mile at a slow and easy pace to get the HR down, then rinse and repeat. I was pleasantly surprised at the consistency of the interval times - all between 1:31 (during a slight downhill) and 1:49 (during an incline) - but it could be better. Each time the HR got to the 180 range, and aside from one of the recovery periods taking place during an uphill, the HR got back down to the 150 range. So all in all, I'm really pleased with the results for it being the first interval workout in a couple years.
Form-wise, there were a couple things that stood out. One was that I further confirmed my tendency to reach out with my legs during faster running. This is something I was suspicious of after video analysis following two races in February/March - but today I toyed around a little bit with keeping my legs underneath me a bit more, and felt a difference. So I have something to work on there. The other thing is that my leg motion feels a little scattered. I may be an effect of overusing muscles, so the ones used for stability and keeping everything moving forward end up slacking a bit. This is something else to work on, but I think it'll partially fall into place on its own if I get better about keeping my feet underneath me.
Even though it was on the shorter side in terms of distance, I took an ice bath afterwards. With it being the first interval workout in a while, and my recent laziness of taking recovery ice baths after workouts and feeling the effects over the next couple days, I needed to start getting back into the habit.
The last time I had done real interval workouts was a couple years ago, when I was starting out of the gate with 1 mile repeats. The resulting IT band issues made me realize that perhaps that was a bit too much to chew all at once, as I had done multiple 1/4 mile interval workouts the year before (2008) without issue - so I figured that for now, perhaps that's how I should start.
In looking up my VDOT number (based on the Half of the Hamptons), the 1/4 mile distances should be at 1:38 each, or at a 6:32 min/mile pace. I originally toyed with the idea of going to a track for this, but I realized it would be ~three miles for warmup to get there, then whatever miles of speedwork, and then ~three miles to get back home, for a likely total of at least eight miles - maybe more. My concern was that it might be a bit much starting out - so instead I just did my typical six mile loop, and figured on two miles warm up, and then at least two miles of intervals (so at least four intervals), and then two miles of cooldown - with the cooldown subject to change based on how I felt. Plus, the 1:38 per 1/4 mile was based on performance on a flat course in mid-February, and with things starting to get warm outside, I really didn't know what to expect.
I made sure to take the warmup easy - I often feel as though I do go easy, only to find a sub 8:30 pace during the first couple miles. Normally hasn't been a huge problem, but today I made sure to keep it slow. At the two mile mark, I took off on the first interval, and quickly realized that since it had been so long doing intervals, I didn't really have a good sense of pacing. I saw the pace drop below 6 min/miles, said 'oops', and slowed up a bit. By the end of the interval, the HR was pushing around 180 - which seemed just about perfect, and the time was spot on at 1:38. I then took a quarter mile at a slow and easy pace to get the HR down, then rinse and repeat. I was pleasantly surprised at the consistency of the interval times - all between 1:31 (during a slight downhill) and 1:49 (during an incline) - but it could be better. Each time the HR got to the 180 range, and aside from one of the recovery periods taking place during an uphill, the HR got back down to the 150 range. So all in all, I'm really pleased with the results for it being the first interval workout in a couple years.
Form-wise, there were a couple things that stood out. One was that I further confirmed my tendency to reach out with my legs during faster running. This is something I was suspicious of after video analysis following two races in February/March - but today I toyed around a little bit with keeping my legs underneath me a bit more, and felt a difference. So I have something to work on there. The other thing is that my leg motion feels a little scattered. I may be an effect of overusing muscles, so the ones used for stability and keeping everything moving forward end up slacking a bit. This is something else to work on, but I think it'll partially fall into place on its own if I get better about keeping my feet underneath me.
Even though it was on the shorter side in terms of distance, I took an ice bath afterwards. With it being the first interval workout in a while, and my recent laziness of taking recovery ice baths after workouts and feeling the effects over the next couple days, I needed to start getting back into the habit.
Monday, April 16, 2012
6 miles easy ankle tester - 4/15/12
I woke with my legs still feeling fatigued, which was a little bit of a surprise since neither the bike nor run yesterday were at a very high level effort. However I neglected to take a full ice bath afterwards, and later in the day my legs were feeling fatigued, so I started thinking I might have to get back on the ice bath bandwagon. I thought a good nights sleep would take care of it, but apparently not.
In my head, I originally thought it might be time to start introducing some intervals into my training - but with the legs feeling tired, that probably wasn't the best idea. So, instead this was just an easy six miler with the primary goal to see how the ankle felt. I admit to having cheated a tad, as I popped an Advil a bit before the run - but my reasoning was that if it could help prevent damage, then I'd at least have a temporary solution to be able to get in my miles and training without making things worse while the last tiny little imperceptible bit of inflammation healed. I normally don't like taking anything like an NSAID for a run - but once in a while I think it can make sense and be helpful. Besides, I knew the following day I'd have as a running rest day, and I'd be going to Yoga as well - and that always helps.
Everything started out pretty well on this run, but it was apparent rather quickly that my HR was showing I wasn't recovered yet. It seemed fairly spiky - the smallest little incline would drive it up, and I felt like I had a hard time keeping it below 155. So in the end, the pace was a bit slow for the HR - but I'm sure the heat had something to do with it as well, even though I went when it was cloudy and had cooled off a bit from the mid-day high temps.
Form-wise I primarily paid attention to upper body posture and adequate hip rotation. I felt like I had a bit of a harder time relaxing the legs - it may have been residual fatigue that made it difficult, but I did what I could. A good sign was that a couple times I felt like I was able to return to form and posture relatively quickly after losing concentration on it for a period of time.
The other good sign was that the ankle felt perfectly fine.
In my head, I originally thought it might be time to start introducing some intervals into my training - but with the legs feeling tired, that probably wasn't the best idea. So, instead this was just an easy six miler with the primary goal to see how the ankle felt. I admit to having cheated a tad, as I popped an Advil a bit before the run - but my reasoning was that if it could help prevent damage, then I'd at least have a temporary solution to be able to get in my miles and training without making things worse while the last tiny little imperceptible bit of inflammation healed. I normally don't like taking anything like an NSAID for a run - but once in a while I think it can make sense and be helpful. Besides, I knew the following day I'd have as a running rest day, and I'd be going to Yoga as well - and that always helps.
Everything started out pretty well on this run, but it was apparent rather quickly that my HR was showing I wasn't recovered yet. It seemed fairly spiky - the smallest little incline would drive it up, and I felt like I had a hard time keeping it below 155. So in the end, the pace was a bit slow for the HR - but I'm sure the heat had something to do with it as well, even though I went when it was cloudy and had cooled off a bit from the mid-day high temps.
Form-wise I primarily paid attention to upper body posture and adequate hip rotation. I felt like I had a bit of a harder time relaxing the legs - it may have been residual fatigue that made it difficult, but I did what I could. A good sign was that a couple times I felt like I was able to return to form and posture relatively quickly after losing concentration on it for a period of time.
The other good sign was that the ankle felt perfectly fine.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Wachusett Loop & 4.8 mile brick run - 4/14
As I mentioned in my last post, this past week I was travelling for work, so workouts were limited. So running, so cycling - just a couple sessions of leg & core workouts for some sort of maintenance.
Today's weather was perfect for a bike ride, so I put the road tire on and did the Wachusett loop again. Last time I did this loop was a few weeks ago - I had a heavier outer layer on, and brought only 48 oz of water and 2 GU's with me. I also had a flat at mile 7 that I had to stop to ultimately swap tubes, then I stopped at mile 17 to repair the original tube, then had to stop at about mile 38 or so to get gatorade because I was bonking a bit. This time, I didn't need the outer layer, brought a sufficient supply of my newly made chocolate flavor homemade gu, Nuun tabs for electrolytes, and 48 oz of water. It went much better.
First of all, I tried to be smarter about riding the bike - trying to maintain more even power throughout the ride by trying to keep the HR from spiking too high in certain circumstances, like up hills. While the HR graph doesn't necessarily show it being effective (the avg HR for this ride was 146, whereas a few weeks ago it was 142), it's hard to say for sure, because the other ride included more stop-and-go. The other reason is that while the average HR may have been higher today, I do feel as though I let up on the hills a bit more than I would normally, and in return was able to get going again at the crest more easily.
Another thing was that I was much better about energy management, simply because I had more available. In retrospect, I probably should have brought more, because I ran out towards the end (I actually had more, but the fuel belt gel flask is terrible, so I couldn't get at it). I was also better about electrolyte replenishment with the Nuun tab.
The end result of all this was an average speed of 16.8 mph today vs 15.6 mph a few weeks ago - a nice improvement.
I also found that I think I'm pretty close to a really good mixture of fueling that works well for me for long rides - a combination of gel for primary fuel, plain old water to be taken with the gel, and the nuun tabs in something like every other water bottle for electrolyte replenishment. The gel is a nice, dense energy medium, the plain water can be had most anywhere (I even bring iodine with me if I need to get it from a stream or other water source), and getting electrolytes from the tabs is nice and easy. Sure, sports drinks kinda combine all those roles into one product, but then I am drinking the same thing for hours on end - not to mention the disastrous effects on teeth with constantly exposing them to sugar and the resulting acidic environment that eats away at enamel and creates plaque-galore.
After the ride, I set off on a relatively short run. The primary thing I was wondering was how the ankle would hold up after a week off, and feeling good enough that I actually have had to try to make it feel sore. Results are mixed - the good news is that I barely felt anything after 4.8 miles. The bad news is that the word 'barely' is not 'nothing'. So, immediately after I got home, I soaked my foot in a bucket of cold water for a good 15 minutes, and as of a few hours later, it feels no different than it did prior to going for the run. Tomorrow I'll look to do another 5-6ish mile run and see what happens. If history is any guide, this is one of those things that'll linger for longer than it should in a minor capacity, but a major enough one to prevent me from trying anything like a 15 miler (which I'm itching to do, but I know better than to try one right now).
Today's weather was perfect for a bike ride, so I put the road tire on and did the Wachusett loop again. Last time I did this loop was a few weeks ago - I had a heavier outer layer on, and brought only 48 oz of water and 2 GU's with me. I also had a flat at mile 7 that I had to stop to ultimately swap tubes, then I stopped at mile 17 to repair the original tube, then had to stop at about mile 38 or so to get gatorade because I was bonking a bit. This time, I didn't need the outer layer, brought a sufficient supply of my newly made chocolate flavor homemade gu, Nuun tabs for electrolytes, and 48 oz of water. It went much better.
First of all, I tried to be smarter about riding the bike - trying to maintain more even power throughout the ride by trying to keep the HR from spiking too high in certain circumstances, like up hills. While the HR graph doesn't necessarily show it being effective (the avg HR for this ride was 146, whereas a few weeks ago it was 142), it's hard to say for sure, because the other ride included more stop-and-go. The other reason is that while the average HR may have been higher today, I do feel as though I let up on the hills a bit more than I would normally, and in return was able to get going again at the crest more easily.
Another thing was that I was much better about energy management, simply because I had more available. In retrospect, I probably should have brought more, because I ran out towards the end (I actually had more, but the fuel belt gel flask is terrible, so I couldn't get at it). I was also better about electrolyte replenishment with the Nuun tab.
The end result of all this was an average speed of 16.8 mph today vs 15.6 mph a few weeks ago - a nice improvement.
I also found that I think I'm pretty close to a really good mixture of fueling that works well for me for long rides - a combination of gel for primary fuel, plain old water to be taken with the gel, and the nuun tabs in something like every other water bottle for electrolyte replenishment. The gel is a nice, dense energy medium, the plain water can be had most anywhere (I even bring iodine with me if I need to get it from a stream or other water source), and getting electrolytes from the tabs is nice and easy. Sure, sports drinks kinda combine all those roles into one product, but then I am drinking the same thing for hours on end - not to mention the disastrous effects on teeth with constantly exposing them to sugar and the resulting acidic environment that eats away at enamel and creates plaque-galore.
After the ride, I set off on a relatively short run. The primary thing I was wondering was how the ankle would hold up after a week off, and feeling good enough that I actually have had to try to make it feel sore. Results are mixed - the good news is that I barely felt anything after 4.8 miles. The bad news is that the word 'barely' is not 'nothing'. So, immediately after I got home, I soaked my foot in a bucket of cold water for a good 15 minutes, and as of a few hours later, it feels no different than it did prior to going for the run. Tomorrow I'll look to do another 5-6ish mile run and see what happens. If history is any guide, this is one of those things that'll linger for longer than it should in a minor capacity, but a major enough one to prevent me from trying anything like a 15 miler (which I'm itching to do, but I know better than to try one right now).
TR - Spanish Needle & Runstreak Day 32 - 4/7/12
A week late on this - sorry about that (whoever you are).
Anyway, on Saturday I did the TrainerRoad Spanish Needle workout, which is six sets of 15 x 15s sprints @ 150% FTP, with 15s of rest @ 50% FTP. Just look at the link, you'll see what I mean :)
The idea is to make the intervals very intense, but very short, and with short recovery in between. Of course such short intervals means that time it takes to ramp up is significant, so matching the desired FTP is difficult because it's very easy to overshoot, or slightly undershoot - and with little time to make corrections before the interval is done. But whatever.. I was really impressed by a couple things: (1) It kept the HR nice and high, in the 140's and 150's and (2) the timing of the 15s rest intervals was just about perfect, as I'd just start to feel like the muscles were getting over their exertion and within a couple seconds, the next interval was up. So it made for a solid workout - especially the last couple sets of intervals.
Earlier in the day, I took off on a run to test out the ankle - it had been feeling pretty good with only a real tiny spot of inflammation left. Things started out pretty well, but after a couple miles, I could tell the inflammation was building and wasn't going to go away. A little over 3 miles into the run, I decided to turn around and bring it home. The last couple miles were tough because the pain was rather distracting (not to mention annoying, having been dealing with this the past couple weeks) - my only hope was that I didn't reset myself back a week.
The other effect was that I decided to screw the whole runstreak thing - maybe this wasn't the best of times to attempt it. I still managed over 30 days straight, which is an accomplishment - but I was too anxious to get healed up and getting frustrated over losing training time on this. So, with the following week being a week of travel for work, I decided it was just as well. I had done a lot of bike work this first week of April as a substitution for running, but that would only be effective for so long - it was time to get this sorted out.
Anyway, on Saturday I did the TrainerRoad Spanish Needle workout, which is six sets of 15 x 15s sprints @ 150% FTP, with 15s of rest @ 50% FTP. Just look at the link, you'll see what I mean :)
The idea is to make the intervals very intense, but very short, and with short recovery in between. Of course such short intervals means that time it takes to ramp up is significant, so matching the desired FTP is difficult because it's very easy to overshoot, or slightly undershoot - and with little time to make corrections before the interval is done. But whatever.. I was really impressed by a couple things: (1) It kept the HR nice and high, in the 140's and 150's and (2) the timing of the 15s rest intervals was just about perfect, as I'd just start to feel like the muscles were getting over their exertion and within a couple seconds, the next interval was up. So it made for a solid workout - especially the last couple sets of intervals.
Earlier in the day, I took off on a run to test out the ankle - it had been feeling pretty good with only a real tiny spot of inflammation left. Things started out pretty well, but after a couple miles, I could tell the inflammation was building and wasn't going to go away. A little over 3 miles into the run, I decided to turn around and bring it home. The last couple miles were tough because the pain was rather distracting (not to mention annoying, having been dealing with this the past couple weeks) - my only hope was that I didn't reset myself back a week.
The other effect was that I decided to screw the whole runstreak thing - maybe this wasn't the best of times to attempt it. I still managed over 30 days straight, which is an accomplishment - but I was too anxious to get healed up and getting frustrated over losing training time on this. So, with the following week being a week of travel for work, I decided it was just as well. I had done a lot of bike work this first week of April as a substitution for running, but that would only be effective for so long - it was time to get this sorted out.
Friday, April 6, 2012
TR - Pickering & Runstreak day 31 - 4/6
Today I wanted to do a decent amount of time at or above FTP. Most previous interval workouts were at slightly below, or slightly above, FTP for short bursts of time - so I figured some solid minutes @ FTP would be interesting. However, I didn't want to go too aggressive - so I looked at the Advanced Build I plan (what I've been following this past week) and decided upon a workout called Pickering.
This workout was 1 x 20 minute session @ FTP, with a few brief 30s long rests at 90% FTP. Then, after a few minutes rest after the primary interval, there were 5 x 4 minute intervals at FTP. So in the end, just about 40 minutes @ FTP. I realized about 20 minutes in that this was an hour long workout, when I sort of expected it to be 90 - but ended up deciding I was ok with it. While other workouts may have been longer, and had bursts at higher intensity, this was likely going to be one of the higher nominal power workouts. Turns out, that was correct - but according to my career page on trainerroad, it was lower on the intensity factor and training stress score - so in a way it could actually be considered a 'recovery' workout. That is the interesting thing about metrics - while the average overall power was higher, its shorter duration resulted in a lower training stress score (ie, amount of fitness gained) as compared to yesterdays workout, for example.
Also, this workout was my first experimenting with a new formula of homemade energy gu - this time including maltodextrin and cocoa powder for a different flavor. The result was pretty promising, but I may tweak things just a bit once I crunch numbers a bit and get some better info in terms of caloric load and fructose/glucose percentages.
Finally, to continue the run streak I did a quick mile. I haven't had any advil for over 24 hours, and didn't feel anything from the tendon. The only evidence of any sort of inflammation remaining is some very light tenderness if I push on it. I think I may be ready to give it a shot for 5-6 miles or so tomorrow. Who knows, if everything feels good at that distance, I may head out for another loop to bring the total to 10-12.
This workout was 1 x 20 minute session @ FTP, with a few brief 30s long rests at 90% FTP. Then, after a few minutes rest after the primary interval, there were 5 x 4 minute intervals at FTP. So in the end, just about 40 minutes @ FTP. I realized about 20 minutes in that this was an hour long workout, when I sort of expected it to be 90 - but ended up deciding I was ok with it. While other workouts may have been longer, and had bursts at higher intensity, this was likely going to be one of the higher nominal power workouts. Turns out, that was correct - but according to my career page on trainerroad, it was lower on the intensity factor and training stress score - so in a way it could actually be considered a 'recovery' workout. That is the interesting thing about metrics - while the average overall power was higher, its shorter duration resulted in a lower training stress score (ie, amount of fitness gained) as compared to yesterdays workout, for example.
Also, this workout was my first experimenting with a new formula of homemade energy gu - this time including maltodextrin and cocoa powder for a different flavor. The result was pretty promising, but I may tweak things just a bit once I crunch numbers a bit and get some better info in terms of caloric load and fructose/glucose percentages.
Finally, to continue the run streak I did a quick mile. I haven't had any advil for over 24 hours, and didn't feel anything from the tendon. The only evidence of any sort of inflammation remaining is some very light tenderness if I push on it. I think I may be ready to give it a shot for 5-6 miles or so tomorrow. Who knows, if everything feels good at that distance, I may head out for another loop to bring the total to 10-12.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
TR - Colosseum & Runstreak day 30 - 4/5/12
Brief update -
Wanted to do a non-interval trainer workout, and picked on called Colosseum because it was 90 minutes long, and varied between 50 to 80% FTP. Ten minutes in, I realized it wasn't going to be all that strenuous, and I figured 'eh, thats ok, I did two interval workouts the past two days, I'll be doing another 2-3 before Sunday, maybe a lower intensity rest workout is a good idea'. Then I started not liking the idea of spending 90 minutes on a trainer and not getting a solid workout, especially when I will be out of town next week anyway - I can rest then. So after the 20 minute mark, I went up to about 88% FTP (sweet spot) for the remainder.
After the trainer workout, just a quick mile - ankle tendon is being very slow to heal this last little tiny bit. At least it's transition experience.
Wanted to do a non-interval trainer workout, and picked on called Colosseum because it was 90 minutes long, and varied between 50 to 80% FTP. Ten minutes in, I realized it wasn't going to be all that strenuous, and I figured 'eh, thats ok, I did two interval workouts the past two days, I'll be doing another 2-3 before Sunday, maybe a lower intensity rest workout is a good idea'. Then I started not liking the idea of spending 90 minutes on a trainer and not getting a solid workout, especially when I will be out of town next week anyway - I can rest then. So after the 20 minute mark, I went up to about 88% FTP (sweet spot) for the remainder.
After the trainer workout, just a quick mile - ankle tendon is being very slow to heal this last little tiny bit. At least it's transition experience.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Runstreak day 29 & TR Taylor - 4/412
Last night I was looking at the plans for TrainerRoad, and started noticing some patterns in how the plans were laid out. In looking at the descriptions, it appeared there were a few major types of workouts that were being hit upon each week - one endurance workout that maintains between 50-80% FTP, and ranges from 1 to 3 hours; one threshold type workout of multi-minute long intervals which may or may not be intended for out of saddle; one threshold builder, like an over/under workout where a 8-10 minute interval is spent with a minute or two just over FTP, followed by a minute or two just under FTP, and repeated until the primary interval is done; and one anaerobic/sprint based workout, where the intervals are very short, but well over FTP.
Having never done the latter yet, I decided to give it a shot, and I picked one called Taylor as the first one to go with because the intervals were relatively short @ 30s. So, it was basically three sets of 20 sprints - 30 seconds at 120% FTP (270W), followed by 30 seconds at 40% FTP. The first challenge was finding gear ratio's I could swap between that would allow me to hit the target powers, but with minimal shifting. With only 30 seconds, I wanted to minimize the chance that I'd lose precious seconds fiddling with finding the right gear. Fortunately the workout had a couple warm up intervals, which I completely overshot because in my head I was thinking I'd have to go big chainring, small sprocket and mash gears. Once I saw the power rocket up past 350, I knew I overdid it, and adjusted accordingly.
All in all it was an interesting style of workout. Each overarching interval set was unrelenting in that the sprints just kept coming, but no individual interval was too awful strenuous. Towards the end of each large interval set, the mini sprints did get tougher, but it was a comfortable tougher. While the goal may have been to hit anaerobic activity - I'm not entirely sure it did because my legs didn't feel cooked. However, that may be exactly the point - work them just enough to go through their oxygen supplies in 20 seconds, leaving only 10 seconds for anaerobic activity, which is not too taxing overall. I'm sure these types of workouts will get harder later, in looking at some of the future ones, they involve things like 180% FTP sprints immediately followed by a couple minutes > FTP. Yikes!
For running, it was just another 1.5 miles to keep the runstreak going. Ankle felt pretty good all day (no advil last night, only one this morning and one at lunch) - but I did start feeling it a bit after about a mile during the run. So I think any idea of testing it out with 4-5 miles tomorrow is out. Frustrating having it be 95% healed, but just not quite there yet.
Having never done the latter yet, I decided to give it a shot, and I picked one called Taylor as the first one to go with because the intervals were relatively short @ 30s. So, it was basically three sets of 20 sprints - 30 seconds at 120% FTP (270W), followed by 30 seconds at 40% FTP. The first challenge was finding gear ratio's I could swap between that would allow me to hit the target powers, but with minimal shifting. With only 30 seconds, I wanted to minimize the chance that I'd lose precious seconds fiddling with finding the right gear. Fortunately the workout had a couple warm up intervals, which I completely overshot because in my head I was thinking I'd have to go big chainring, small sprocket and mash gears. Once I saw the power rocket up past 350, I knew I overdid it, and adjusted accordingly.
All in all it was an interesting style of workout. Each overarching interval set was unrelenting in that the sprints just kept coming, but no individual interval was too awful strenuous. Towards the end of each large interval set, the mini sprints did get tougher, but it was a comfortable tougher. While the goal may have been to hit anaerobic activity - I'm not entirely sure it did because my legs didn't feel cooked. However, that may be exactly the point - work them just enough to go through their oxygen supplies in 20 seconds, leaving only 10 seconds for anaerobic activity, which is not too taxing overall. I'm sure these types of workouts will get harder later, in looking at some of the future ones, they involve things like 180% FTP sprints immediately followed by a couple minutes > FTP. Yikes!
For running, it was just another 1.5 miles to keep the runstreak going. Ankle felt pretty good all day (no advil last night, only one this morning and one at lunch) - but I did start feeling it a bit after about a mile during the run. So I think any idea of testing it out with 4-5 miles tomorrow is out. Frustrating having it be 95% healed, but just not quite there yet.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Runstreak days 27 & 28, TR Centennial - 4/3/12
Yesterday (Monday, 4/2) was my typical Monday yoga session, as well as continuing the run streak to 27 days. I limited the run itself to a mile - the minimum to keep the streak going. The good news is that as of the time of the run (around 6:40pm), it had been > 6 hours since I took a couple Advil, and the ankle felt pretty good - not perfect, but better than it had been. So that was good news.
Yoga was the great workout as usual - it really has become as critical to my fitness as any other workout because it just 'resets' everything, and touches upon so many things that need strength training attention to stay healthy and uninjured.
Today, I was looking at TrainerRoad workout plans, trying to figure out how to approach the rest of the time until Lake Placid. Many of the programs are in the range of 9 weeks long, and their focus varies from base building (low intensity, sweet spot workouts) to advanced (higher intensity, long intervals). In the back of my mind, I was thinking 'oh, I got like 20 weeks or something left', so I was thinking I could knock out probably two plans and then have a couple weeks taper. So then I looked at the calendar, and my heart skipped a beat - as of Sunday, there were only 16 weeks left. Sixteen! So my mind raced for a second, thinking through everything - I wanted to get through the second base building, I need to get intervals in, I need to get threshold in, I need to get outdoor workouts in (with at least two in the 90-100 mile range to figure out fueling, plus some intense hill workouts), I needed to taper. Oi! How was I going to get all that in in 16 weeks!
So after a few moments, I settled down a bit and decided - ok, lets focus on the priorities. I've got my base at this point - it is what it is. So I need to start doing some fairly high intensity intervals - say, 5-6 weeks worth. Then, maybe 5-6 weeks worth of stretching the intervals out and lowering intensity (more towards threshold), which leaves a couple weeks worth for long rides when the opportunities present themselves, as well as hill workouts.
With all that in mind, I decided I should probably make the weekday workouts 90 minutes in length - there was no reason I wasn't doing so previously, aside from the fact that the workouts were only 60 minutes before.
So today I picked Centennial - one of the first ones in the advanced build program. I picked it because it was intervals of 6-8 minutes in length @ FTP, plus at the time I didn't realize that weekday workouts in the advanced build are 90 minutes in length - I thought it was only weekend ones that were. This time I also had gatorade instead of just water. While the intervals were challenging, it did seem noticeably easier with the extra fuel from the gatorade, so I think I'll be doing that from now on.
After that workout, I headed out for a 1.5 mile brick run. Went very well, barely a peep at all from the ankle, so I think in another couple days it'll be ready for a 5 mile test to see where things stand. It also felt really, really nice to run again on an ankle that wasn't complaining every time I planted my foot down.
Yoga was the great workout as usual - it really has become as critical to my fitness as any other workout because it just 'resets' everything, and touches upon so many things that need strength training attention to stay healthy and uninjured.
Today, I was looking at TrainerRoad workout plans, trying to figure out how to approach the rest of the time until Lake Placid. Many of the programs are in the range of 9 weeks long, and their focus varies from base building (low intensity, sweet spot workouts) to advanced (higher intensity, long intervals). In the back of my mind, I was thinking 'oh, I got like 20 weeks or something left', so I was thinking I could knock out probably two plans and then have a couple weeks taper. So then I looked at the calendar, and my heart skipped a beat - as of Sunday, there were only 16 weeks left. Sixteen! So my mind raced for a second, thinking through everything - I wanted to get through the second base building, I need to get intervals in, I need to get threshold in, I need to get outdoor workouts in (with at least two in the 90-100 mile range to figure out fueling, plus some intense hill workouts), I needed to taper. Oi! How was I going to get all that in in 16 weeks!
So after a few moments, I settled down a bit and decided - ok, lets focus on the priorities. I've got my base at this point - it is what it is. So I need to start doing some fairly high intensity intervals - say, 5-6 weeks worth. Then, maybe 5-6 weeks worth of stretching the intervals out and lowering intensity (more towards threshold), which leaves a couple weeks worth for long rides when the opportunities present themselves, as well as hill workouts.
With all that in mind, I decided I should probably make the weekday workouts 90 minutes in length - there was no reason I wasn't doing so previously, aside from the fact that the workouts were only 60 minutes before.
So today I picked Centennial - one of the first ones in the advanced build program. I picked it because it was intervals of 6-8 minutes in length @ FTP, plus at the time I didn't realize that weekday workouts in the advanced build are 90 minutes in length - I thought it was only weekend ones that were. This time I also had gatorade instead of just water. While the intervals were challenging, it did seem noticeably easier with the extra fuel from the gatorade, so I think I'll be doing that from now on.
After that workout, I headed out for a 1.5 mile brick run. Went very well, barely a peep at all from the ankle, so I think in another couple days it'll be ready for a 5 mile test to see where things stand. It also felt really, really nice to run again on an ankle that wasn't complaining every time I planted my foot down.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
TR - Palisade & runstreak day 26 - 4/1
Today's cycling workout was Palisade. With starting the workouts in the intermediate base of the TrainerRoad program, I'm definitely finding that they involve more threshold intervals than the ones from the initial base building. Whereas the initial base building was mostly going in what is referred to as 'sweet spot' - the intervals for the past couple workouts have been right at, or slightly higher than, FTP.
This workout was interesting because it was intervals within intervals - there were segments just below FTP, followed by segments right above FTP. While the segments below FTP were kind of like a break, it was fleeting and still required significant effort.
After the cycling workout, I headed out for a short 1 mile run to keep the streak going as well as to get some practice with transition. I looked into it a bit, and it appears to be the posterior tibialis tendon - which makes sense because both things mentioned that it does (provide arch support and control pronation) are where it has tended to get annoyed. So my hope is that with this week seeing a large decrease in planned mileage, it'll go a long way to getting it back to 100% quickly.
This workout was interesting because it was intervals within intervals - there were segments just below FTP, followed by segments right above FTP. While the segments below FTP were kind of like a break, it was fleeting and still required significant effort.
After the cycling workout, I headed out for a short 1 mile run to keep the streak going as well as to get some practice with transition. I looked into it a bit, and it appears to be the posterior tibialis tendon - which makes sense because both things mentioned that it does (provide arch support and control pronation) are where it has tended to get annoyed. So my hope is that with this week seeing a large decrease in planned mileage, it'll go a long way to getting it back to 100% quickly.
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