March in review: In like a lamb and out like a dumpster fire

What a month. I don't even know where to begin. The beginning of March seems like a year ago.

I started March negotiating a major life change. I slowly built up my long runs from 7 miles on the 1st to 11 miles on the 29th, faithfully going out every Sunday. Daylight Saving Time gave me an extra hour for running in the sunlight after work. I voted.

COVID-19 threw a huge monkey wrench in my training and life, as it did for everyone, but I tried to make the most of my extra time at home with extra training, lots of walking the dogs, and almost every single meal cooked at home. In addition to consistently rebuilding my run, I also added in some dryland swimming drills a few times, did more yoga than I have in years, and tried an online barre class to replace my canceled in-person classes.

It feels kind of ridiculous to be reviewing my training during this time when people are literally dying, but assuming I get out of this in one piece, I'll be happy to have these reviews to look back on.

A good variety of training this month.

March was:

Bike: 13 times, all on the trainer, for 268 fake trainer miles in about 17.5 hours. This was consistent riding three days per week, two 1-hour rides during the week and a 2-hour ride on Saturdays. Even though I'm not training for anything specific, I do enjoy (mostly) a longer and slower weekend ride for maintenance.

I will say that my bike has been stagnant for a while. Over the last year or so, I notice that rides start getting a bit easier, I re-test my FTP, and I end up with a higher power target. I haven't done an FTP test in a while and rides haven't felt easy in a while. I'm not sure if this is because I'm making progress on the run and I can only do one thing at a time, or if I'm just in a plateau, or if I need to shake it up, or what. Honestly, it's not my biggest concern at the moment, and I probably will keep on this routine for a while yet.

Some really good run mileage last month.

Run: 13 times, all on the road, for 86.75 miles in a bit less than 15 hours. This was easily the best discipline of the month. Except for one week when I only ran twice, I kept a steady three-times-weekly schedule and slowly built up my long runs. I also started working in speed work for one run per week.

It is not a coincidence that I have increased my running mileage at the same time I am adding more PT and weights. Everything feels pretty good, knock on wood, and I know it's because of the supplemental stuff that goes along with running. Strong glutes, strong quads, strong hips, strong runs.

I haven't broken 90 miles for a month in a long time (I was one mile off in December) and I had to go WAY back to find the last time I broke 100 — October of 2017. I'm hopeful there is another 100-mile month in my future. Maybe that will be something good to come out of this stay-at-home order.

PT: 9 times, all homework sessions, for about 5.25 hours. 2-3 times per week is by far the most PT I have done in a while and there is no question it is helping my running. I'd like to say I can feel my glutes getting stronger.

Weights: 4 times — 2 barre classes, 1 video, and 1 heavy/body session — for about 4.5 hours total. Not great, but decent. I'll take it. Plus, I have been working on my pullups and chinups. My back is getting ripped!

Yoga: 6 times, 4 self-guided and 2 trying out a new-to-me app, for about 1.5 hours. Again, this is by far the most yoga I have done in a while and there is no question it is helping my overall fitness. Plus, it helps me relax a tiny bit before bed.

Swim/Dryland: 3 times of 15 minutes each for 45 minutes total. I found some videos online, dug out some old stretch bands, and made it work as best as I could.

Total: 48 sessions in about 44.5 hours. This was my highest-volume month in at least a year.

The COVID pandemic is only going to get worse, and I'm scared. I'm lucky that I can do almost all of my workouts at home or alone on the roads, that I'm in good health, that I still have a paying job, that I have my dogs and husband to watch over me should something happen.

In the great scheme of things, it's only training. But I am going to keep training as long as I can. It's a little bit of sanity for me, and being in good shape can't hurt if I do get sick.

Please stay healthy, stay safe, and stay home when you can.