Big Week 17/First Race of 2024/Two Season Goals Done!

 OK gang--several items to get to for this week's recap!

First off, yet another big week of training, in fact my biggest of the year.  At least in terms of swimming yards, bike miles, and total training time.  Also, my PT/Strength/Flexibility time in the gym this week was the 2nd biggest of the first 17 weeks of this year:

Swim: 10,000 yards

Bike: 260 miles

Walk/Run: 23.9 miles

PT/Strength/Flexibility: 5:50

Total Training Time: 31:31

Probably not what I should be doing when the last day of the week is my first race of the season but, what can I say, I just went with what felt right!

Today I entered the Ivy 5k here in Wilmington, which is a very low key 5k run.  77 runners in it (I was the oldest guy in the race) and I finished 5th OA and 1st (out of 4) in the 60-69 YO Age Group.  Perhaps more importantly, I was able to run 28:53 (9:16/mile) so I'd say that my season goals of building back better (post knee replacement) and breaking 30 minutes in a 5k have been achieved!  In fact, as I previously posted, I actually broke 30 minutes at 5k 2X this week, as my temp run on Monday was also sub-30 (the last time I broke 30min in an open 5k race was back in 2011).  Certainly my best performance in the "steel knee era"!  Further, this is the first time I ran twice in one week this year and my 6.2 miles of running this week, is a high point in terms of actual running distance in a week so far in 2024.

I had a lot of fun but really didn't run a very smart race.  I looked around at the start and thought, well, you never know, I might have a shot here so when the gun went I decided to run with the leaders for a while and see what happened.  What happened is I went out out a 6:45/mile pace and about 30-45 seconds into the race could clearly see that at least 3 people were decidedly stronger than I, so I dialed it back to my pre-race opening mile plan of about 9:20 (29 minute 5k pace).

Unfortunately, I jacked my HR up to the mid 150s by about 90 seconds into the race (which is Z4ish for me) and I spent the whole rest of the race living on the edge and just trying to hold it together--not the most pleasant way to run a 5K!  After the turnaround on this out and back, I had 4-5 episodes of almost puking and tried to just keep the intensity down enough to not let that happen.  My splits were: 

Mile 1: 9:12; Mile 2: 9:15; Mile 3: 9:25...last 0.2 miles @ 8:45/mile.  My HR averaged 153 for the whole shebang....

So, super encouraged by this!  Feeling like I'm at a place, fitness-wise, where I can handle lots of low-intensity training and as I now begin to convert to higher intensity/lower volume (I also did 2 interval Zwift sessions this week so starting to begin the ramp on my bike). I could get relatively (compared to pre-surgery) fast, So that's an old, but now new thing and kinda fun.  I know I can continue to go faster run-wise and definitely think it may be possible to go sub 9-minutes/mile on a 5k at some point this year.

Next up is most likely the DE Sprint Triathlon State Championship on 5/19.  I might try to sneak another low-key 5k race in before but if not, today was a very good day adventure-wise and is a big boost of confidence in front of the first Triathlon of the season!

Onwards and upwards!!!

Weeks 14-16

 This post is to get you caught up with the last three weeks of training (and some tempo run time trials).  Sorry for not posting the last 20 days or so as we had a major family trip out to Indy to see the Eclipse (involved driving to Cleveland and then Indy and back) and up to Boston to help Jen find a new place to live for her coming Fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital.

Swim: W14--7,000 yds.  W15: 4,500 yds.  W16: 6,500 yds.

Bike: W14: 243 miles. W15: 224 miles.  W16: 235 miles.

Walk/Run: W14: 20.3 miles. W15: 22.7 miles.  W15: 25.5 miles

PT/Weights: W14: 4:50.  W15: 4:15.  W16: 4:40.

Total Training Time (hh:mm): W14: 27:48.  W15: 26:19.  W16: 28:30

As for my tempo runs, as you might recall in March I started to do some Z2/low Z3 intervals (1/2-3/4 mile repeats).  On April 7th, in Indy, the day before the eclipse (and our 40th wedding anniversary) I ran with Marshall and Anders for my first 3-mile "tempo" run of the year, where I did 29:44 (9:54/mile) at an average HR of 142 (the top of my Z2 is around 144/145.  This was quite a breakthrough for me as both of my 5ks last year were over 34 minutes (still in recovery mode from the knee replacement) and my goal this year is to break 30 minutes for a 5k (in both a running race and a triathlon).

On 4/13 I ran 29:30 for 3 miles (9:49/mile) but my HR spiked to an average of 153.  For my 3rd tempo run  I slowed down to 30:45 (10:13/mile) at an average HR of 136.

Today, I ran 5k in 29:30 (9:31/mile) at an average HR of 139bpm!  This is already well beyond what I thought was possible when I began this year.  While the 1st run with Marshall and Anders was driven by the vastly improved running biomechanics that I have as a result of the knee replacement and the extensive PT work I've done, with this latest run I'm beginning to see both the impact of actual run faster training as well as my improvement potential as I begin to ramp up my running.

Today's run was 23 sec/mile faster at a lower HR than just 2 weeks ago.  Also, as you can see above, I'm coming off a 28+ hour training week and today had a heavy leg weight workout and a 2,000 yd swim and a 2-hour bike BEFORE the run.....

I've decided to race  a run 5k this Sunday and to hit my goal in an official race (however, I must admit I'm thinking I need to push for 28 something).....onwards and upwards!!!!

Q1 daily workout time: frequency distribution

 Thought it would be interesting to put together the daily workout time frequency distribution for the 91 days of Q1--not surprisingly, it looks like a Bell curve:

The mean, mode and median are all pretty similar:

Mean: 4:02

Median: 4:00

Mode: 4:00-4:29

Further, about 75% of my daily workout time falls between 3-5 hours.  My shortest daily training was 1:18 on January 14th (a pre-dawn 5.2-mile (15 below) walk in Minnesota before flying to Philadelphia.  My longest was 6:04 on March 3rd, which was not that unusual of a day except I rode 48 miles that day and walked 5.8 miles.....

Week 13/March/Q1-2024

 The highlight of week 13 was trip down to Shenandoah National Park and a couple days of hiking.  This led to a bunch of relatively slow "walking" as we navigated the terrain and all the vertical (plus backpack weight).  As a consequence, week 13 had the highest total training time of any of my weeks this year so far:

Swim: 4,500 yards

Bike: 203 miles

Walk/Run: 26 miles

Weights/PT/Stretch: 5:00

Total Training Time: 31:14

Here is a look back at the first quarter of 2024:

Swim

My principal objective with my swimming is to ramp my volume enough that by the time open water swimming starts (around Memorial Day) I want to be comfortable with 10,000+ yards/week.  MY biggest week to date was 9,000 yards (week 10) and have been steadily increasing the monthly and average daily volume as well as increasing the frequency of my swimming workouts.  I'm well on track to being ready for open water swimming in May:

Bike

My approach to the bike during the first three months has been to put a bunch of steady Z1/Z2 miles in without a lot of concern about either intensity or the length of my long rides.  Most of my rides are around 30 miles or so and are indoors on my trainer.  My volume has generally been flat over the first three months as I've put my bike training into basic, easy base/foundation setting mode. In April, I plan to migrate some of my rides outside, add some intensity, and begin to push a longer ride (50+ miles) every 7-10 days or so.  

Walk/Run

I'm very pleased with the progress here, especially given my total knee replacement on 11/30/22.  I've been slowly ramping the frequency of my walk/runs, my average length of these efforts, my total walk/run volume, and in March, beginning to run more and to migrate upwards to high Z2/low Z3 intervals.

PT/Stretch/Weights

I've put a lot of effort into this component of my fitness since last October.  As I've begun to add SBR volume/training time I've found that my time in this category has begun to modestly decline.  My expectations are for this to continue in April/May and then to fall off pretty dramatically as summer arrives in June....

Total Training Time

I started the year hitting significant average training time each day, right from the get-go.  I expected that I might have to back off a bit but for the most part, my body seems to be comfortably absorb what is a historically high amount of weekly training.  My monthly, weekly, and daily training time averages have been slowly increasing and in march exceeded 4 hours/day for the first time.  I have yet to miss a day of training this year (not recommended).  I would expect my training volume to level off and perhaps decline as I add more intensity across the SBR disciplines and begin to ratchet back my PT/strength training.

Overall, I feel strong and I'm continuing to be quite motivated to keep on, keeping on....onwards and upwards!

Week 12/Further Review and Progress on Aerobic Threshold Intervals/New Max HR test

Week 12 was mostly BAU but I did take a "mostly rest day" on Saturday this week:

Swim: 7,500 yards

Bike: 221 miles

Run/Walk: 22.5 miles

PT/Weights: 5:45

Total Training Time: 27:42

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Yesterday (3/24) I completed my 5th AeT run interval session.  This time I increased my work/rest ratio from 1:1 to 3:1 by going to a 0.25-mile walk followed by a 0.75-mile run (trying to keep below my AeT, which turns out to be 145bpm--see below) and repeating three times.  I also found a flaw in my report on session 4 below but I was able to reconstruct my average HR/pace for the work sessions.

In session 4, I did 4X (0.5-mile walk/0.5-mile run).  Here are the corrected 4 run splits:

Session 4 (0.5-mile repeats)

1: 10:08@132bpm

2: 10:42@139 bpm

3: 10:52@ 136bpm

4. 9:58@ 136bpm

Based on this updated data and my new max HR test (see below), I concluded I could probably go faster and go longer for Session 5.  In session 5 I did 3X (0.25-mile walk/0.75-mile run):

Session 5 (0.75-mile repeats)

1: 9:20@ 127bpm

2: 9:51@ 138bpm

3: 11:08@ 144bpm

I think what the data from session 5 is telling me is:

--  I continue to get faster at my AeT (or below).  The first two intervals were my fastest and the fact that I was doing 3/4 mile repeats indicates that I'm getting better at buffering lactic acid at my AeT.

--  I lack some elements of endurance given the dramatic fall-off in interval 3.  I felt good during the interval but I just couldn't bring my HR down even with the much slower pace.  This really isn't a surprise as my cumulative running distance this year is around 12/13 miles, with 5 coming just in this week.

I was contemplating doing 4 intervals to push up to 3 miles of interval work but after the 3rd interval recognized I was done as far as AeT intervals go for this session.

Then, and this may not have been the smartest thing to do, I decided after walking for 0.5-miles that I would do a max HR test by running a 1/2-mile run with the first part being at or near Z4 and then really push, especially over the last 100-200 yards to see how high I could get my HR.

I ended up doing the 1/2-mile test in 4:16 or about at a 8:33/mile pace.  My average HR lept up to 165bpm and I managed to peak out at a max HR of 179bpm, which I gather is unusual for a 66-yo, but hey if I'm anything, its unusual!

Anyways based on this new max HR, I now have my 5 training zones at:

Z1: 98-116bpm

Z2: 117-144

Z3: 145-157

Z4: 158-167

Z5: 168+

Onwards and upwards!

Week 11/Once a Runner...maybe again?

 Stayed on the path (in week 11) that I've been pursuing so far in 2024:

Swim: 6,000 yards

Bike: 236 miles

Walk/Run: 27.5 miles

PT (weights/stretching): 3:10

Total training time: 27:37

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The biggest news is the progress I've made as I've begun to pretend I'm a runner again ("Once a Runner"--best running book of all time!).  Specifically, I've begun doing 2 (in practice)-3 (goal) AeT threshold interval workouts/week.  By AeT, I mean Aerobic Threshold or "High Aerobic" workouts.  Typically, in a 5 level intensity structure, this means high Zone 2.

I've put in hours and hours of work in Zone 1--Low Aerobic.  I have a big endurance base now and am very fat adapted at that low intensity level.  I can go all day walking at 16-17 min/mile.  Now I'm trying to transition towards running again and see what my body can do post knee replacement.  I've concurrently built up the strength in my left leg and increased my range of motion in the new knee such that its very comparable to my natural, right knee.

So High Zone 2 means I need to try to keep my HR below 140bpm or so--this is about 80% of my max HR of 175.  So in practice, when I run my intervals, as I see my HR start to reach 140, I slow down.  Over time, I'm hoping to see my pace and the distance I can hold it both increase at this limit.  I'm basically trying to get better at keeping my lactic acid under control as I start to get faster.

I've now completed 4 of these workouts.  The first one was kinda a disaster as I couldn't keep my HR down but I've seen some relatively quick adaptations.  Below is how my 3rd and 4th sessions (these were 4 X (walk 0.5 miles/run 0.5 miles)) went:

The pace is my per mile speed for the 1/2-mile run intervals.  The average HR is for both the walk 1/2-mile and the run 1/2-mile in each interval.  Max is how high my HR got during the run.  I plan to set my Garmin to do 0.5-mile intervals so I can isolate my average HR while I'm running.

Obviously, this data is very encouraging (and also reenforces just how slow my running is right now).  I'm not sure if I really believe the 4th interval (yesterday).  It says I was running 1:30/mile faster at a considerably lower HR.  In reality, I don't think there was that much progress, but clearly I'm running faster at the same or lower HR--just what this training is supposed to cause!  Also, subjectively, I felt better/faster with each of the 4 intervals yesterday and could have definitely added at least one more.  So I'm both getting faster at threshold and beginning to build a little bit more muscular endurance.

Onwards and Upwards!

10 WEEKS IN!

 Hard to believe we are almost 20% of the way through 2024!  

Last week was unusual as Judy and I spent it in Turks and Caicos and then Naples, Florida enjoying a nice vacation.  Training wise, this led to some nice outdoor swimming, both in a pool and in open water--a real nice change of pace and this led to a 9,000 yard Swim week--my highest of the year.  I was able to string 8 swim days in a row and 11 out of 12.  Not long sessions yet, but the frequency is really helping With my technique and my 100 times are now starting to drop into the low 1:50s on my longer swim sets.  Not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but heading in the right direction.

My bike volume was low as I eased back a bit during this past week--214.5 miles, the second lowest week this year.  My run/walk was also similarly cur back a bit and came in at 23 miles.

The biggest change last week was no gym time and consequently no PT/weights for week 10.  

Here is a summary of how the first 10 weeks have unfolded:

The table above is conditionally formatted and the larger weeks in each column are shaded towards green and smaller weeks shaded towards red.

I started introducing some high Z2/lowZ3 running into what has predominately been walking as I begin to explore how far I can evolve my run with my new knee--more on that next week!