Training Overview #68 – Here Come Taper Week- Week of Oct 12 thru 25, 2020

Training Thoughts:

I had really wanted to plan out these past 4 weeks and the 2 weeks to come but that just did not happen – as I often say – Life Happens.  I do plan to go back and fill out my schedule with what I would have liked to do so I have a baseline for the next training cycle.  With my goal running race coming up in 2 weeks, a 5K on Nov 7th, the next two weeks will focus on tapering which will mainly focus on being fresh. As I will mention below I may do a century on Zwift this coming Saturday if my schedule allows and while that sounds a little strange for tapering for a 5K for me if I do not ride too hard it does work well.

As I start to look forward to next year where right now I have 3 rides planned, if they will all happen I am unsure.  These rides are two postponed events – 100 Mile Solvang Century in March and 140 Mile Steamboat Springs Gravel Race in August – and one race that should take place but have not entered yet as entry has not opened – The 45 Gravel Race in May.  I do not have any running races scheduled yet as I need to see what will work with my work schedule but would like to at least get in a Marathon/50K and a 5K or two.  I have not decided if I will try and get into the Dirty Kanza 200 again this year as may put it off till next year as figure this year will be hard to get in as most will have deferred from last year (my entry for 2020 was not deferable) – a problem for many events coming up in 2021.  The basic plan is to finish off with the 5K in two weeks then finish off the year with some good rides and runs then take a break the end of December/beginning of January where I have some travel to do.  I hoping things begin to clear up some by the end of the year so as to be able to make some sort of plan.  Right now the two main events, again, will be The 45 Gravel Race in May here in Kentucky and the 140 mile Steamboat Springs Gravel Race in Colorado.  Sadly due to the cancelation and deferral of the Steamboat Springs race I will not be able to do the Kentucky Gravel Championships this year as it will be the same weekend as Steamboat.  Hope to add in a few more events but again need to see how 2021 develops so as to formulate a good plan.  Pretty sure this is the same issue many people have if they do not have a longer list of deferred races already.

Overview of Last Two Weeks Runs and Rides:

Ty heading out from Blue Heron for last 50K

For the first week of this two week overview I basically took it easy to get ready to help pace my friend in the No Business 100.  So on Monday and Wednesday I ran easy.  As far as riding I did my usual easy Monday ride but then did the first race of the Zwift Racing League on Tuesday Evening and it was hard.  As I am a mid-pack Cat B and this group is all B’s I am in many ways pack fodder.  The one good part was I for once got out fast and stayed with the group till the first good climb where I slowly came off.  As the race was 50K and I got dropped at about 10 miles or so I rode the rest of the way out of the top 30 placings – hey but did finish so did pick up a point for my team.  As with most Zwift riding once you are dropped it is basically over as due to how the draft works it is almost impossible to catch back on to a large group and I did not.  I finished, as expected, mid-pack.  I then rode the BMTR mid-week ride the next morning and while tired still hung on and got in a good ride without sacrificing being ready for Saturday’s trail run.

Saturday I paced my good friend, Ty Martin, for miles 69 thru about 87 of his first 100 miler at the No Business 100 and this is not an easy 100 to do for your first 100 miler.  I saw Ty come through to do a short loop from the Blue Heron aid station then after that headed out just as the sun rose.  While we headed out in a different direction than the Yamacraw 50K comes in we did in the end come out on the Yamacraw course for a small part of it.  The hard part with this course is it is very much up and down and with all the leaves there are lots of hidden traps with tree roots and rocks.  I had not run longer than a 14 mile road run so being on my feet for longer than 2 hours was a little bit of an unknown.  That said I was pretty confident with my training as it was very much like I did for the R2R2R a year ago where I did most of my long days out on the bike and less on my feet.  The run went well and while my right foot was sore it was not too bad and felt fine the next day.  Thus not only did I come out of this unscathed the best part was Ty finished the race – a big congrats to him for a great run on a difficult course. Pacing is an interesting endeavor as I had to be careful to make sure I was running a pace Ty wanted and not what felt good to me.  Actually, for most of the run I let Ty lead so my pacing more of that of being one to accompany him and keep him motivated and moving forward. Did make me want to try a 100 miler one day but need to make sure my foot is good and ready so need to plan a 50K and 50 miler first. See below for a view of the run that also has pictures in it.

For the second week I had a busy one with company coming and needing to squeeze in what runs and rides I was going to do.  Thus I got in a good paced but relaxed 50+ miler on Monday and Tuesday.  On Monday afternoon it was raining but still about 65F so went for. 10.25 miler and ran a good pace as I averaged 8:04 with miles 3-10 under 8:00/mile and my HR mostly averaged under 134 for all the miles so a good run. I also did a relaxed run Tuesday afternoon before my drive to pick up family.  I had planned to do the BMTR Mid-Week Wednesday ride but as had to pick up family at the airport at 11PM and then 2 hour drive home I just could not get up that early for the ride and also as I am dealing with a sinus cold felt better to sleep.  I thus did an afternoon easy run on Wednesday and got back to riding on Thursday with another good paced but relaxed ride, over three different rides in the morning.  Finished up the week riding with an easy 1.5 hours on Friday afternoon and finished the week with a nice hike with the family at Mammoth Caves.

All in all a good week with some hard efforts and a good amount of MAF paced HR rides and runs.  Even on many of the easy rides I did intersperse some sprints just to get in the speed/power work.  Due to all that has been going on and now dealing sinus issues I sort have been training by how I feel and seems to be going OK and feel I still shod be able to run a good 5K – should the race still be on Nov 7th

Saturday’s Pacing Run at the No Business 100:

Workouts Oct 12 – 18
- Monday AM: Ride #1 – 3.75 Miles  & Ride #2 - 30.18 Miles   -  Ttl of  33.93
- Monday PM: Run – 6.46 Miles  
- Tuesday PM: Ride #1 - 11.03 Miles  &  Ride #2 - 9.11 Miles  & Ride #3 - 33.09 Miles  - Ttl of  53.23
- Wednesday AM: Ride #1 - 21.06 Miles  &  Ride #2 - 33.23 Miles  -  Ttl of 54.29
- Wednesday PM: Run – 8.11 Miles  
- Thursday: Rest Day
- Friday: Rest Day 
- Saturday AM: Run – 18.01 Miles 
- Sunday: Rest Day

Weekly Totals Oct 12 – 18
- Running Miles – 32.6 Miles  
- Running Time – 6:47:16 Hours
- Riding Miles – 141.4 Miles
- Riding Time – 5:49:39 Hours
- Total Miles – 174.0 Miles
- Total Time – 12:36:55 Hours

Workouts Oct 19 – 25
- Monday AM: Ride #1 - 6.19 Miles  & Ride #2 - 45.13 Miles  -  Ttl of 51.32
- Monday PM: Run – 10.26 Miles
- Tuesday AM: Ride – 51.06 Miles
- Tuesday PM: Run – 9.17 Miles
- Wednesday PM: Run – 6.79 Miles
- Thursday AM: Ride #1 - 3.77 Miles  & Ride #2 - 25.59 Miles  & Ride #3 - 40.09 Miles - Ttl of 69.45
- Friday PM:  Ride – 37.35 Miles
- Saturday: Rest Day 
- Sunday PM: Hike – 2.5 Miles

Weekly Totals Oct 18 – Oct 25:
- Running Miles – 28.7 Miles  
- Running Time – 4:41:40 Hours
- Riding Miles – 209.2 Miles
- Riding Time – 8:37:14 Hours
- Total Miles – 235.4 Miles
- Total Time – 13:18:54 Hours

Diet Notes:
All my morning Runs/Rides are done fasted except for a cup of coffee with some SFuels Life and Heavy Cream and afternoon workouts are done about 4+ hours after lunch. Nothing really to share this week as most rides were done with no extra fueling.  For the 18 miles of trail during pacing I took my Orange Mud 2L pack with SFuels Train but did not drink as much as planned but felt great and tool in very few calories over the 5 hours on the trail.  I did take a few things at the aid stations I would not take if racing but as was just cruising did have part of a quesadilla and a couple pancakes but that was about it.

The Week Ahead:
With my 5k in 2 weeks I will be doing some sort of taper that will include 2 races on Tuesdays and depending on schedule may do a 100 miler on Zwift this coming Saturday, one week from race day, but want to see how my sinuses are doing. From there will rest up the week of the race to make sure the legs are fresh.  For me the whole tapering things is hard to get right as I have tried doing very little and that does not work for shorter races but have not really done one since I added in more riding so will see how that goes.  I think the Zwift race the Tuesday before the 5K on Saturday leaves enough time to rest up.  We shall see – and just hoping the race takes place as never know what rules will be put in place at the last minute.

Previous Training Post -  Overview #67

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