Training Overview #14 – Week of Sept 9 thru 15, 2019 - A Step Backwards or at Best a Step Sideways

Overview:

Started the week and all was well till about mile 5 of a 6 miler.  My left foot was a little sore but for sure getting better however at 5 miles my left calf tightened up considerably and became very sore.  I walked a little and then started to run only to have it tighten up more.  So this went on all the way back.  The frustrating part was I had no indication of an issue with my left leg and then this happens.  I realize this could all stem from a subconscious adjust of my running due to my right foot but did not see this calf issue coming.  Knowing I was not running again till Wednesday I figured I would just see how it was then.

I rode a good ride Tuesday, with a couple 6mile tempo sections, and while had a couple calf cramps it was not the same as during the previous, probably from not hydrating enough during the day.  As my calf was not sore after the ride and was not so bad during the day Wednesday I figured I would giving running a go.  I ran a flat dirt path on Wednesday and on starting out for sure could feel I had a calf but had hope that it would loosen up.  Got to about a mile and had a little more soreness and by 2 miles, my planned turn around, I started having to walk some.  This led to a walk and run back to the car.  All this led me to realize I just need to rest up the calf so will be taking a week off from running to do so.  The issue is I do not feel it when I walk so hard to tell, till I run, if it is better but figure a week will not hurt and can only help.

I rode again on Thursday with one tempo section and no calf issues.  After a rest day on Friday I went for along ride Saturday, repeat of ride I did in week #1 of my overviews with some added miles.  The ride was not overly hilly but most of the climbing is at the end.  The goal was to ride 120 miles and in doing this make it a ride to work on fat adaption so would use limited nutrition, see Diet Notes below section for more on this, and work to keep my HR under 132.  The ride started out at about 68F and in general is down hill for the first 45 miles and by the time I got to the beach there was a good amount of  beach fog that kept temps down.  However, as I headed back inland the haze quickly dissipated and the heat elevated so that by the time I was done it was close to 100F.

Did pretty well keeping my HR below 132 but as I do not usually have people to ride with on heading down to the beach caught on with a couple guys so pace lined some hitting an average HR of 136 for one 5 mile section but other than that kept under 130.  On the way back inland, which is basically along gradual uphill till you hit some actual hills, I caught on with a few guys and averaged a 135 HR for 10 miles but again other than that kept it under 130.  The hard part with this ride today was that not only was most the elevation at the end today had the added fun of high temperatures.  Basically I only drank less than a bottle of water for the first 55 miles and then had about 7 of them for the next 65 miles.  Did not want to stop much but had to a little more than I wanted just to make sure I had water.  Overall a good ride and getting in another long one can only help, if my leg gets healed up, for Octobers R2R2R and longer rides later on.

On Sunday I decided to go for a walk, I do not walk much, and it felt good to keep legs moving without affecting my calf.  I need to just walk more as I usually try and run easy on rest days but with the issue with my calf waling is the best thing for it.

Relive 'Long Toasty Ride - 99F When Done'

Diet Notes:
As mentioned above my goal for this weeks long ride was to rely on fat for energy and in doing so took in limited calories and very limited carbs.  I do not suggest this for someone just starting out working on fat adaption but I do think this type of workout not only gets your system used to using fat it also gives me confidence in my ability to use on board resources for energy.   Also, need to keep in mind a large part of this was to keep my HR at a place I am confident is where my body can get the work done using fat.  Thus in a situation like a race I would take in more calories and carbs but that was not the goal for today.

For this ride I took in a total of  650 calories with 12 grams of carbs.  For what I actually took in see below as well as to what I had before the ride as I did not preload with UCAN as I often do as it was not part of my plan.  Also, my pre-ride meal for the night before was the following: Ribeye Steak, Loaded Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli and a side salad – not what most take in the night before a long event.

Pre-Ride:

• Modified Bullet  Proof Coffee  (MBPC) – Coffee, Butter, Coconut Oil, Collagen, Raw Egg, Heavy Cream and Chocolate Primal Fuel
• 1 Small cup of Oatmeal

Ride Fueling;

• 4 Bottles of SFuels-Train ((https://www.sfuelsgolonger.com/train) – 2 scoops in each (Total of 380 Calories W/ 4 grams of Carbs)
• 4-5 bottles of plain water
• 1 F-Bomb Nut Butter (210 Calories W/ 4Grams of Carbs)
• 1 – Collagen Water- (60 Calories W/ 4 grams of Carbs) - not on the original plan but on the ride there was an event where they were giving them away free so could not pass it up - https://www.vitalproteins.com/products/collagen-water-strawberry-lemon
• Total of 650  Calories and 12 grams of carbs

Overview of Weeks Runs and Rides:

• Monday: Run – 6.0 Miles  
• Tuesday:  Ride – 36.5 Miles
• Wednesday: Run – 4.0 Miles 
• Thursday:  Ride – 29.45 Miles  
• Friday: Rest Day
• Saturday:  Ride – 120.6 Miles 
• Sunday:  Walk – 2.1 Miles 

Totals:

• Running Miles –  12.1   Miles
• Riding Miles – 186.5  Miles
• Total Time –  13:16  Hours

Conclusions and the Week Ahead:
Once again not the week I wanted but the one I got.  That said it was a good week in that I got in a good amount of biking miles with another long ride that will payoff in the future.  Now just need to work though this calf issue and at the same time get my foot right.  For the coming week I will not be running till Thursday but will walk a couple days before then.  Also will work to get in three rides but the Saturday ride will be shorter as will meet up with a group to ride.  Was going to do a long run Saturday but will put it off till next week since I do not think it is wise to run long only a few days after getting back to running.  No mileage goals for this week but just want to work to move forward and get healthy.


As always if you have questions let me know in the comments below.


Last Week's Overview #13