56 Days to Go (Happy Birthday! Best present is the end of Daniels Recovery!)
Date - Day - Scheduled Workouts (Intervals within desired pace)
4/16/18 - M - OFF
4/17/18 - T - MCR Stage 2A + 10 miles @ EB (8:33 min/mile)
4/18/18 - W - FTP Test
4/19/18 - R - MCR Stage 2A + 7 miles @ EA (9:11 min/mile)
4/20/18 - F - 7 miles @ EB (8:33 min/mile)
4/21/18 - Sat - 12 miles @ LR (7:25 min/mile) *11/11 intervals hit
4/22/18 - Sun - FTP Builder W6D3
Running duration = 5:44 hours
Running mileage = 43.2 miles
Indoor Virtual Biking duration = 1:50 hours
Indoor Virtual Biking mileage = 40.3 miles
Total (training) duration = 7:35 hours
Total (training) mileage = 83.5 miles
Number of running SOS intervals within pace = 11/11 (100%)
*I'm posting this a day early to stay ahead. I've got a new training plan post to write!
Monday
Took some time off from work so that I could go to G's audition. Was happy to see her in action and apparently she crushed it, because later in the week we found out she got the job!
Tuesday
Time to move on to McMillan Stage 2! Should I be excited or scared???
Front Plank with leg movements - 10 reps per leg
Side Plank with leg movements - 10 reps per leg
Scissor Kick - 2 x 10 reps w/ 10 sec rest
Metronome - 15 reps
Back Extension - 2 x 10 reps
Modified Jane Fonda - 30 reps per leg
Good Mornings - 10 reps
I'm not going to mince words. I can do Front Plank with leg movements (lifting the leg off the ground). However Side Planks with leg movements, that's a WHOLE LOTTA NOPE! Holy cow, how is that even possible??? I could do maybe 1-3 reps in the time the person in the video can slowly do 10 reps. I just can't seem to life my leg off the ground. Scissor kicks are easy. Metronome is old hat at this time. Back extension without an exercise ball is probably a lot less useful. Modified Jane Fondas are really useful. McMillan believes they are a critical runner's core workout. Mostly for strengthening hips. I can certainly feel it. Good Mornings are simply a bowing type maneuver when standing. Feels like stretching out the hamstrings.
Originally, the afternoon was scheduled as a 4 mile run with a bike. But Wednesday was going to be 5-8 inches of snow. My goal is to continue to increase my running in my last week of Daniels recovery. So losing my 7 miler on Wed would be devastating to continuing to make progress. So I balanced the (4 run+bike) + (7 run) into a 10 miler run on Tuesday and moving the FTP Test from Thursday to Wednesday (because I won't be able to run). So 10 miler it is. I chose 10 miles (instead of 11 miles (4+7)) because 10 should fall under 90 min and still keep it relatively easy.
In total, it was 10 miles at a very consistent 8:02 min/mile. The HR was 138 which is close to where I want that EB pace to be. I'm probably only off by about 15 sec/mile now from where I want to be.
Wednesday
Tons of snow as predicted. Glad I switched up the schedule.
FTP (Functional Threshold Power) Test #2. I had initially done a FTP test back at the beginning of the Daniels recovery cycle. I got a value of 299 watts. I figured since the recovery cycle is almost over and the plan is to move to 5 days run and 1 day bike, then I needed another assessment to make sure I was training at an appropriate wattage. Again though, it's not the raw value that matters, but that the workouts are based on %FTP. With that being said, it's quite obvious now that my setup isn't reading right. I did notice this morning (Sunday) that my tires were a little low so that's going to influence the numbers. But, I got a FTP of 466 which is not possible (WAY too high). The tires likely play a role in that. The biggest problem is that at my weight, that means my watt/kg is near super human. Zwift flagged it for an issue with the setup. Since I can't really change much (other than inflate the tires more), then I decided to change my weight in game. This way my watts/kg isn't outrageous and I can still follow my achieved FTP value. Definitely felt like a solid effort as my HR got up to 150. I was sweating up a storm and definitely fatigued at the end.
Thursday
McMillan Stage 2 again! Definitely scared of the side planks!
Front Plank with leg movements - 10 reps per leg
Side Plank with leg movements - 10 reps per leg
Scissor Kick - 2 x 10 reps w/ 10 sec rest
Metronome - 15 reps
Back Extension - 2 x 10 reps
Modified Jane Fonda - 30 reps per leg
Good Mornings - 10 reps
Mostly achieved. Just the side planks were not working for me.
In total, 7 miles at 8:21 min/mile and 137 HR.
Friday
Another 7 mile easy day. Pace of 8:00 with a HR of 140. The HR is a touch high. Still must be a little extra fatigued cardiovascularly from the FTP test.
Saturday
I had a lot scheduled for the day for home stuff (gotta get ready for the market). So I was up early and out the door to get my 12 miler done. Longest run since Dopey at just under 90 minutes. Still hoping that new LR pace will be sustainable for a longer duration. Didn't bust out the pace from the moment the run started (so victory over last week). The last 11 miles were relatively consistent even with the constant undulating hills at 7:23, 7:23, 7:22, 7:32, 7:23, 7:28, 7:22, 7:28, 7:25, 7:23 and 7:30. I rounded the corner after mile 3.5 and wasn't sure I was going to make it. Felt like I needed a breather. But I decided to forge ahead and was able to make it to mile 7 before taking a few seconds of rest. Then rounded the corner of mile 11 and took an additional breather. Definitely making good progress with this pace. The HR was a touch high at 145, but reasonable. Overall the pace average was 7:25 (with goal of 7:25) and 11/11 intervals were hit within the +/- 10 second LR window.
Spent the rest of the day doing house duties and I was beat by the day's end.
Sunday
Got up early so I could watch the GOAT race the London Marathon. Kipchoge did not disappoint and once again brought home the title. 11 marathons and 10 wins. An impressive record.
I had a hard time making a choice on this run. The 12 miler was a touch harder than originally scheduled. But I wanted to keep the running train going. It was originally scheduled at 7 miles run + bike. So I decided to keep the run as is, and then just cut the bike in half.
The 7 mile run went really well. Not quite where I want to be after 6 weeks of recovery. But really really close and moving in the right direction. 7 miles in 8:21 pace with a HR of 133. That puts me about 5 seconds off the pace I want to be at (EA 8:16) for a near matching HR (133 vs 132). With the actual training starting Tuesday, I'm confident things will start returning back to form.
Unfortunately G's been sick all day. Slept almost 14-16 hours. Hoping she can make a turnaround in time for Tuesday.