Training Thoughts:
As I end the year with the last race of a sparse racing schedule it is time to look back some, and will probably add to this in the next post. The most important part of the last year is that I have come out of it with my right foot feeling so much better. In general there is no pain even though there are days it is slightly sore but it is so much better. The main thing that started off this healing seems to be upping my riding mileage and tapering off my running miles – even taking a few weeks off running to get things in order. I started the year off with a goal of around 1500 miles running and 4000 riding and after seeing a better way, at least for me, I changed those goals to 1100 miles running and 10,000 riding and it seems to be working well. The one main change, as mentioned below, is that I need to do more speed specific running and riding workouts as well as do a better job of strengthening my hamstrings which seem to be a weakness in me. Not sure yet what this change will be but I will adjust things to deal with this.
Looking ahead is a little hard to do right now as things are still a little up in the air with regards to races and events. Due to this, and because all plans start with a base phase, I will simply finish off the year then take a couple easy weeks when I travel to Idaho and then get back at it. The early months or so will be base as usual and then hopefully by then will have a better idea of what is ahead and then can refine the further months training wise. In the midst of the base phase I will filter in some speed work just to build some muscle memory and also make sure to be more diligent with strengthening work.
As part of working to deal with possible muscle imbalances I need to make sure I do the needed exercises and not just for a short time but more regularly – starting as soon my current hamstring soreness subsides enough that I will not damage it any more than it may already be. My problem is I tend to start off well then get busy and slack off from the exercises and need to avoid this.
Bottom line, and more on this to come, I just need to see that this past year has been a great one and one that I think has made me stronger than I have been in some time. Now is time to build on that and to fine tune some things.
Overview of Last Two Weeks Runs and Rides:
Week of Oct 26 – Nov 1
While normally I should be tapering and getting ready for my 5K on Nov 7th I instead just tried to simply keep my workouts at a fairly easy level. I have to admit the last few weeks have not been what they should have been to taper for a 5K I instead have just figured on finishing off the year with more base miles and some hard work. The area I have struggled with the most is the running speed portion of things as when riding not all speed work for me is about power and not just leg speed. Whereas in running speed while requiting power mostly needs leg turnover.
With this all in mind this week included a hard race on Zwift where I lost the pack early on so soloed the race and kept some good power for the ride. For next year I know the main thing I need to work on for Zwift racing is short term speed/power with short recovery and then repeat as most all Zwift races start off so fast and I am just gassed. Does not help that I have, and have had since young, a mild case of exercise induced asthma so when going so hard to start the race if I am not careful I go into full on wheezing and this was the case and then a gap ensued. If you have not raced on Zwift if you let a gap get more than 5 – 10 seconds you are pretty much done for as that is what happened. But I kept going and caught a few people and finished strong. The rest of the rides for the week were good paced ones but rides where in general I kept my HR at below 130 and as much as possible below 120.
Running wise I did a few longer runs of 7-8 miles at a comfortable pace as well as a hike on Saturday. I can feel that I am getting stronger and faster as 8:00-8:15 pace seems more comfortable but this is far from a fast 5K pace but that will come later. Also, and the best part, is my foot is getting progressively better and that is great news. I was looking at entering a 50K/50 miler but then found the date would not fit my work schedule so need to find another one. With longer runs if they are on trails shows are the issue as my best shoes for longer runs appear to be road ones so not good on more technical trails. Depending on how next year goes may look at doing Tunnel Hill again as never got to do it the last time I entered.
Week of Oct 26 – Nov 1
With a 5K this week I tried to hold back on my workouts this week except for the Zwift race on Tuesday. This week the race was a Team Time Trial - well should have been one if I was be able to hang on for a while at least. Well, as I miss-judged lining up for the start and was a ways back so when our team started and went hard out of the gate I lost contact right away and since I could not hold them up to wait on me I rode the ride as an Individual Time Trial (ITT). I got my best 20 minute power and while not catching any other teams I did not have the slowest time even though I rode it as an individual. As with last week this ride turned into a good power workout. As with last week all the rest of the week’s ride were relaxed paced rides and again worked to keep HR down to under 120 for most of them.
On the running side of things the longest run I did was 7 miles and the rest were at 4+ or less. On Thursday’s run, the last one before the 5K, was an easy run and did the last mile in around 7:00 and felt good. As far as the 5K on Saturday it went well all things considered. I went out with the lead group but probably should have held back some as even though I slowed some I still hit one mile in 6:05 and then came the hamstring cramp/twinge and thus had to slow to control things so I could finish and thus did each of the next two miles around 6:30 each. Not sure how much faster I could have gone without the hamstring issue but in hindsight pretty happy to even do 6:30’s with my hamstring as it was. My time for the race was 20:08 but was a little longer than it has been in the past for this race due to a course change and my time would have been closer to 19:45 for the 5k. I ended up 5th OA and 3rd Male as well as getting 1st for 60-64 age group. While I went into the race wanting to go around 19:00 I realize my training was not quite up to that. I think one other issue is that with all my riding I may have a slight imbalance between my quads and hamstrings and since I have not really done any speed work by going out at probably 5:15 – 5:30 pace I over did it on my hamstring and paid the consequences. Looking back, after being disappointed with my time, I can take from this that there is still hope to get down to 18:00, or so, but to do this will need to do some more specific speed work and this can even include some higher cadence work on the bike which will better translate to the leg speed and strength I need for faster 5K races.
Workouts Oct 26 – Nov 1
- Monday AM: Ride #1 – 10.06 Miles & Ride #2 - 50.19 Miles - Ttl of 60.25 Miles
- Tuesday PM: Ride #1-27.30 Miles & Ride #2-7.03 Miles & Ride #3 (Race) 22.04 Miles-Ttl of 56.37 Miles
- Wednesday AM: Ride #1 28.07 Miles & Ride #2 36.35 Miles - Ttl of 64.42
- Wednesday PM: Run – 8.12 Miles
- Thursday PM: Run – 7.02 Miles
- Friday: Ride #1 3.3 Miles & Ride #2 36.44 Miles - Ttl of 39.74 Miles
- Friday PM: Run 8.13 Miles
- Saturday AM: Run – 4.77 Miles
- Saturday PM: Hike – 1.88 Miles
- Sunday: Rest Day
Weekly Totals Oct 26 – Nov 1
- Running Miles – 29.9 Miles
- Running Time – 5:08:38 Hours
- Riding Miles – 220.8 Miles
- Riding Time – 9:08:44 Hours
- Total Miles – 250.7 Miles
- Total Time – 14:17:22 Hours
October Totals
- Running Miles – 135.7 Miles
- Running Time – 22:50:27 Hours
- Riding Miles – 784.3 Miles
- Riding Time – 33:35:30 Hours
- Total Miles – 920.0 Miles
- Totals Time - 56:25:57 Hours
Workouts Nov 2 – 8
- Monday AM: Ride - 55.06 Miles
- Monday AM Run – 7.03 Miles
- Tuesday AM Run – 4.48 Miles
- Tuesday PM: Ride #1- 30.31. Miles & Ride #2 (Race) 20.14 Miles – Total of 50.54
- Wednesday AM: Run – 3.8 Miles
- Wednesday PM: Ride - 37.92 Miles
- Thursday AM: Run – 3.8 Miles
- Thursday PM: Ride – 30.92 Miles
- Friday AM: Rest Day
- Saturday: Run #1- 3.04 Miles & Run #2 (Race) – 3.15 Miles & Run #3- 4.29 Miles - Ttl of 10.48 Miles
- Sunday: Rest Day
Weekly Totals Nov 2 – 8
- Running Miles – 29.6 Miles
- Running Time – 4:02:45 Hours
- Riding Miles – 174.3 Miles
- Riding Time – 7:15:00 Hours
- Total Miles – 203.9 Miles
- Total Time – 11:17:45 Hours
Diet Notes:
Nothing in particular to report this week as did all the morning workouts fasted and afternoon workouts about 4 hours after eating lunch.
The Week Ahead:
As basically my season is over, except for 3 more Zwift races, I am looking to just finish off the year with some good miles – both running and riding – to complete a great year of base milage. Over the next few weeks I will be doing the best I can to look forward to next year and plan it out the best I can. From that I can work to formulate some sort of plan using the Lydiard Pyramid and further refine how to incorporate running and riding to better equip me for both. As it stands right now I have no running races planned but have two Gravel races I am aiming for – The 45 here in London Kentucky in May and The Steamboat Springs Gravel Race in August. I think there may be a few more local gravel races to look towards but not sure yet. Also, as mentioned above I may aim for the Tunnel Hill 50 or 100 Miler next November. As far as training till the end of the month I will simply be putting in some miles so as to aim for my yearly goal of 10,000 Riding miles with 24 Centuries as well as 1100+ miles running. I realize distance goals may not always be the best but for me I tend to like them and can see the benefits that have come from this year’s miles.
Previous Training Post - Overview #68
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