April 19-25 Week in review: Every week is exactly the same

Apologies to my boy Trent.

Last week was definitely one where I felt like I was living in a Groundhog Day loop. I know there are worse things than doing the same workouts week after week, so I'm trying to keep things in perspective. Boring is not bad right now.

I did have a couple of, I don't know I would call it excitement, but irregularities last week that helped shake things up. I did an FTP test and "failed," but I feel OK about it because I know my cycling is in a much better place than it was months or a year ago. I took Thursday and Friday off, and used some of the extra time to run on a trail by my old office. I'm doing a virtual half marathon in the next couple of weeks, so my longest run last week was 8 miles.

Boring is good, boring builds bases, hopefully boring will help me do well at races. =)

Nothing exciting to see here.

Last week was:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 75 fake miles in about 4:39. Indoor riding is still feeling good. I am hoping to get my roadie outside sometime in the next month or so.

PT/Pre-hab: Six times, three mobility and three running PT, for 3:45. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 23.25 miles in about 3:42. This was an easy run, a medium run, and a peppy run. Except for slightly reduced volume, nothing out of the ordinary here.

Weights: Three times including one core session, one video, and one heavy/body session for about 2:50.

Yoga: Three times, all via the Down Dog app, for 45 minutes total.

Total: 19 sessions for about 15:42. It might not have been full of excitement, but it was a good week volume-wise.

Plans for this week include a slight running taper and trying to do my virtual half over the weekend. I have a range of days to complete it, so I'm going to try to go on a day that's not too hot and when I don't feel too bad.

Other than that, it will be a boring week once again, hopefully in a good way. I hope all of you are having boring weeks in a good way as well.

I "failed" an FTP test today, but that's OK

Still a lot of hard work.

I "failed" an FTP test today, but can you really fail an FTP test?

I've been putting off re-testing my max power for a while and decided today was the day. I hung on as long as I could but my recommended new power was two watts lower than my current power. I declined the new number.

My current FTP is as high as it's ever been and I knew that, even though I've been working hard, I might not get any additional power this time around. And I feel totally OK with. I'll keep working hard and test again in a week or so.

More important than power for me right now is consistency, and I've been riding four times per week almost robotically for months. Sooner or later, that will pay off.

I hope you're having a great training week!

Week in review April 12-18: Hills and long runs

Not a shabby week at all.

I may have gone a smidge too hard on the runs last week. I snuck out of work early on Friday and drove to a hillier ("hillier" for southeast Michigan means 235 feet of elevation vs. 47 feet of elevation) route, and I went for 10.5 miles on Sunday. My legs were definitely feeling it by Sunday afternoon.

But, it was OK. After an easy weekend last week following my second COVID shot, I didn't think it was anything I couldn't handle. I was able to keep a decent pace for both my speed run and my long run, my knee behaved, and I had good weather. It was all I could hope for.

Trainer riding wasn't anything special last week. It was a rough week and I decided to push my planned FTP test back a week. Everything else went fine; I did all my usual weights, PT, and yoga. Boring, but it gets the job done.

Overall, it was:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 75 fake trainer miles in about 4:39.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 26 miles in about 4:05. This was an easy run moved to Tuesday to take advantage of good weather, a few hilly repeats at a FAST-for-me pace (anything that begins with a 7 is fast for me these days), and a 10.5-miler on Sunday. I probably should have spread out the speed and long runs a bit more, but eh. I got them done and am no worse for the wear.

PT/Pre-hab: Six times, three mobility and three running PT, for about 3:45.

Weights: Three times: one core, one barre app, and one heavy body; for about 2:45. I'm still going with the core Mondays. They're still hard but I'm feeling stronger.

Yoga: Three times, all via the Down Dog app, for 45 minutes total.

Total: 19 sessions in a hair less than 16 hours.

Nineteen sessions in about 15-16 hours seems to be my sweet spot for a good week. I'm still not swimming, and I'm back to work full time, but this seems to be working for me, for now. I'm going to stick with it.

I did sign up for a virtual 5K/half marathon combo to be done within the next 2-3 weeks. I've never actually raced an open half marathon (I've done seven marathons, one half at the end of a 70.3, one pacing my husband, and one as part of a 30-mile, 4-race weekend), but I am feeling pretty good about my runs lately that I think I could do well even virtually. If nothing else, it'll be a nice distraction as I support a local race business.

Hope you all are staying safe and maybe getting in those virtual races.

You don't have to outrun the bear

I was going through old pictures recently and reflecting on all the sports and activities I've done over the years. I've never had any real talent at any sport, but I made up for it with stubbornness. I showed up every day and worked hard, and eventually through brute force I improved, whether it was tennis in high school or swimming as an adult.

It made me think, Maybe that's why I love triathlon so much. Unless you're a pro, you don't really have to be GOOD at swim, bike, and run. You just have to work harder than the person behind you.

And that reminded me of the old joke: You don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the other guy outrunning the bear.

Maybe there's a profound thought in there somewhere.

Week in review April 5-11: Slightly lighter volume because I GOT MY SECOND COVID VACCINE

Not even complaining. Still a good week.

The week started off pretty normally. I got in my usual bike rides and my Wednesday easy run. I had high hopes to get up early Friday and squeeze in my run before work, but it didn't happen. But I don't care, because more importantly, I got my second COVID vaccine on Friday.

I ended up skipping my Friday run and PT for the vaccine, but felt fine enough on Saturday to do an easy, long trainer ride. I probably could have done a weights workout, but I decided to err on the side of caution and skip that, too. By the time Sunday came around, I felt even better and did a 10-mile run to celebrate. I ended the weekend strong with my usual PT and yoga.

One unusual thing about this past week is that all three times I did yoga, I did it earlier in the evening rather than right before bed. I don't know if it's better or worse, just different. Sometimes I'm sweaty and gross and want a shower and a chance to cool down. Sometimes I just want to knock it out before I eat dinner or whatever. I think the more important thing is that I'm getting it done, right?

Anyway, last week was:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 75 fake trainer miles in about 4:41.

Run: Twice, both on the road, for 17.75 miles in about 2:53. My 10-miler felt pretty good until the last 1.5, when my knee let me know it was ready to be done. It wasn't so bad I had to quit, but definitely something to pay attention to for next time. It feels fine today.

PT/Pre-hab: Five times, three mobility and two PT, for about 2:45.

Weights: Twice, one Monday core and one video, for about 1:20.

Yoga: Three times, all Down Dog app, for 45 minutes. Even though I only ran twice last week, I did one extra yoga session the day after my vaccine to make sure I was getting enough gentle movement.

Total: 16 sessions for about 12:24. I will take it!

Michigan is getting walloped by the virus right now and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I just hope we can get vaccines in arms fast enough to make a difference. I will be staying home for at least the next two weeks and masked up until we're through this mess. Please be careful and stay safe out there.

Week in review March 29-April 4: Some interesting runs and boring everything else

Not a bad week at all!

I keep saying: I want boring right now. Boring is good. And last week was another boring week, training wise.

It was my usual bike trainer rides, PT, weights, and yoga, and everything was unremarkable. The only thing that was a bit out of the ordinary last week was my running. It was 70 degrees on Tuesday and I was at 92 miles and change for the month, so I moved my mid-week medium day and enjoyed a wonderful zip around the neighborhood in shorts and a tank top.

I had Friday off work and needed an eight-vial blood draw in the morning, so I didn't want to overdo it on a speed run later. I settled on 3 x one-mile descending, repeat once, 1 mile cooldown. My sixth mile beeped over at 8:04 which is amazing for me, especially this time of year. I was in a crabby mood Sunday and wanted to get out for a long run, so I waited until it hit the 60s in the afternoon and did 10 down by the river. As the saying goes, you're only one run away from a good mood. Some just take 10 miles to put you in that good mood. 

Overall, my body felt fine for all my running mileage. My knee has been mostly OK, and my right hamstring has been a bit twinge-y here and there, but neither usually last long after I concentrate on good form and landing softly. I know all the yoga and PT is helping.

By the numbers, last week was:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer while watching Making a Murderer, for 75 fake trainer miles in about 4:38. This feels like a good target for me right now.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 26 miles in about 4:06. This was a medium, a speed, and a long run.

PT/Pre-hab: Six times, three mobility and three running PT, for about 3:45. I'm putting in a LOT of time on this but I feel like it's paying off. Doing the three shorter mobility days and taking one day off during the week helps keep in manageable.

Weights: Three times: one core, one barre app, and one heavy/body routine; for about 2:45. This was my first round of heavy in a couple of weeks and I definitely felt it the next day.

Yoga: Three Down Dog sessions for 45 minutes total.

Total: 19 sessions in almost exactly 16 hours.

I don't know yet how this week will shake out. I'm due for my second vaccine on Friday, so Saturday will be up in the air. If I can get in some gentle movement, great. If I need to spend the day in bed, also great. I will do whatever it takes to be boring now so we can get back to our normal lives later.

Stay healthy and safe out there!

A monster March full of lucky 13s

A pretty good spread of workouts last month.

March was my best month volume-wise in a long time. If there's one good thing to come out of these boring months in lockdown, it's the consistent workouts. I have nothing else to do, right?

Lucky number 13 kept coming up as I was adding up my March numbers. I logged 13 runs, 13 each of running PT and mobility work, 13 weights sessions, and 13 yoga sessions. The only thing that didn't include a 13 was my bike, and even that was 18 sessions for 338 trainer miles, so there were still 1s and 3s involved. I think it's close enough. =D

I also hit 100 miles running for the month in March. I ran three times per week every week, in a pretty tight range of 20.5-25 miles each week. There were a few longer-than-usual runs in here — I did a 17K for St. Patrick's Day — and I started adding speedwork back in. But the meat and potatoes was just getting out there three times per week. I got lucky with some decent running weather this month and I wanted to take advantage of it.

Boring is good right now. March was:

That bike volume is consistently trending up.

Bike: 18 times on the bike for a total of 338 fake trainer miles in about 21:09. My goal was to hit at least 75 fake miles per week in four sessions. I noticed that I was able to hit 17 miles, up from 16, in my hour-ish weekday rides more consistently. I realize that trainer miles aren't real miles, but it's nice to see this metric improve consistently. It makes me feel like I'm doing something right.

PT/Pre-hab: 13 each PT and mobility for 26 sessions in about 16:15. This is nothing but making a priority to get this done, week in and week out.

It felt good to hit 100 miles last month.

Run: 13 runs for 100.25 miles in about 16:09. I don't think it's a coincidence that I've been consistent with my PT and I hit 100 miles for the month again. I'm signed up for a virtual 5K and half-marathon combo to be done sometime early in May, and I'm hoping that this consistent work will pay off in a month.

Weights: 13 sessions of 5 core, 3 videos, 3 barre app, and 2 heavy/body sessions for about 10:30. I slacked off a little bit at the end of the month, skipping my heavy session the day after my first COVID vaccine and when I ran out of time on the next Saturday (although I did do a video). I have been super consistent with Monday core and my mid-week, easier session, though.

Yoga: 13 sessions, one on each run day, for 3:15. I have "forced" myself to do yoga on every run day, and the Down Dog app is keeping me honest. It's hard to tell if it's actually helping, but it's definitely not hurting anything. Plus, the quiet time focusing on breathing is marginally helping my insomnia.

Total: A whopping 83 sessions in about 64 hours, 18 minutes, easily my biggest-volume month in a long, long time.

Michigan's COVID numbers are terrible right now but I am optimistic that things will have calmed down in time for late spring/early summer race season. Hopefully the worst of winter is behind us and I can get into the pool and take my bike out on the roads before too long. Until we're ready to go, I'll be at home, consistently and boring-ly training.