Training Volume--Monthly Look

Another look at training volumes this year.  This post looks by month and compares to 2024:

My Swim, through May, is the biggest casualty to my focus on 29,029 (also struggled with shoulder problems for the first three months).  Through May my Swim volume is down 42% vs. 2024:

My Bike, especially after February has also taken a hit and is down 7% from 2024:

My Run/Walk/Hike/Climb has been my main focus in 2025 as I prepare for my 29,029/Everesting event.  Through May I was up 50%:

PT/Weights have been pretty similar and I'm down 1% through May:

With all the emphasis on climbing/trekking and how long that takes, its not surprising that my total Training Time is up 12% through May:

VAST 4/5 Update

On 6/4 and 6/11 I did two more Vertical Ascent Speed Tests (VAST) down at Mary's Rock in Shenandoah.  I continued to make good progress improving another 6.5% or so in each VAST 4 and 5.  Overall, I've improved my Ascent Speed by 35% since my first VAST 1 in early March:

The last chart is interesting.  It plots my Calories/Heart Rate (bpm).  In a sense, how much work/power can I generate for a given Cardiovascular load.  Note my increasing capacity to generate power relative to my CV stress--I interpret this as my leg strength catching up to my already strong CV fitness.

It's also interesting to see that plateauing around 6-6.5 which implies this is approaching my threshold power (at this point in time).  It's also interesting to note that I got faster at the same work and CV load which also implies that I'm getting more efficient in where I place my feet and how I scramble up the climbs.

Anyways--the above is very encouraging.  Will it be enough?  Who knows?

8/1 we find out!

Training Volume Update

In this post I update my Training Volume metrics.  The Charts below are all Trailing 4-month averages.

First, the Swim.  My swim took a big hit with the walk across England and the last two weeks of Climbing work down in Shenandoah.  My volume this year is way off with my focus on 29,029. My hope is to now get into my summer open-water swim volume ramp:

My Bike volume has been pretty consistent but also took a similar hit to my Swim volume.  The big issue is with the quality of my bike training.  I'm certainly in relatively poor high-end bike riding shape:

My run/Walk/Climb volume has been my main focus and with England and the last two weeks down in Shenandoah continues to be quite high relative to the last few years:

My PT/Weights/Stretching time is now entering the summer time frame where it typically falls off:

My total training time remains quite high although off the unsustainable peak from earlier in the year:

In my next post I'll update on my Vertical Ascent Speed Tests over the last couple of weeks.....

5k Running Races Post Knee Replacement

OK, back in the saddle getting ready for my 29,029/Everesting event August 1-2.  Will bring you up to speed with several posts this week.

This first post looks at my 5k Road Race time progression since my Total Knee Replacement.  This has NOT been a focus of mine as I've decided to deemphasize running with my new knee.  I haven't run the math but my guess is that I averaged less than one run/week since the surgery and probably closer to one run every other week.

Given this lack of run-training focus, my times in races probably mostly reflect my general fitness as well as the improving functionality of my new knee as I recovered from the surgery and engaged in pretty extensive PT.

I've run 4 races since my late November 2022 surgery.  I've run the Stone Harbor "Turtle Trot" each of the last three Memorial Weekends as well as the Ivy Scholarship Race in April of last year.  Here is how my times have progressed:

So you can see I have improved with each race in spite of my lack of run specific training.  It's fun (and different) to have something I'm getting better at as I near 70!  I've managed to cut almost 6 minutes off my 5k time and this is about a 17% improvement.

Given all the climbing speed work and testing I've been doing I'm guessing that if I race again this year that I'll see continued progress.

Onwards and upwards!