Weights

Hit the weights this morning. My energy levels are getting better. Felt good to do this workout after two weeks off, well sort of. Right after the weights I hit the bike to loosen up the legs and then got to the run. Legs feel good and they should with all the time sitting idle.

Summary:

Weights: 45 mins

Bike: 10

Run: 30 mins

Avg HR: 145

Back at it

Still feeling pretty crappy but with the sun shining I had to get out today. Got out for a two hour ride. Thought I might be able to tackle Beach Rock but my energy was pretty low so I headed out to 309 and looped back through Granby and home. Good mix of hills and flats. Hoping I'll be full strength soon.

Summary:

Bike: 2 hours

Avg HR: 147

False Start

The hits keep on coming. I've been knocked down the last two days with a pretty serious cold. No workouts yesterday or today. Now I'm getting nervous.

Long Run

Got out for a dreaded long run today after yesterday's long ride. Started in the late afternoon when the wind was whipping. Headed out on the normal route and it took a while to get the legs rolling. They ended up just moving after a while and I just hung on for the ride. It got much better as the time passed but the hills were tough. I'm hoping this weekend's work adds a boost to my fitness level. I kept telling myself it would in the tough parts of the run which got me through. I was kind of in a trance during today's workout.

I was supposed to get in a long swim today but two unexpected and last minute house showings nixed that idea. I'll get it in tomorrow on my off day.

Summary:

Run: 2 hours

Avg HR: 147

Crossing the border

Got out for the big ride today. I was supposed to be down in DC with Matt running the national marathon but I bailed on that way back. Thank god I did because Matt would have made me look silly. The guy put down a 3:22 in his first marathon. Well done. He thoroughly crushed my time from last year. I'll be back next year. Let the shit talking begin.

I took on Sandisfield. The ride takes you up through the hills of Connecticut and into the steeps of the Berkshires. Seemed early to get after this ride but I needed to suffer and clear my head after a ridiculous week. Left late in the am after the temps got in the 40s. The ride was comfortable never too cold, never too warm. The hills were a bitch. I forgot how much it goes up and down. The beast was the same as last year and had me sucking wind big time. No laps on this sucker yet. I still need some more endurance work first. I started feeling beat down 3:45 in to the ride but just put my head down and pushed on but it was tough. Hardest ride yet. Now I'm spent.

Summary:

Time: 4:15 (Sandisfield)

Avg HR: 141

Squat while you run

Got out for a 1.5 hour run this morning. Having missed my weight workout this week I decided to run and squat. I got in 200 squats on the run mixing in 50 every 3 miles or so. I cooked the run but it's mostly because I've had down week. Felt good to get out in the mild temps and really work the legs.

I have to mix in a long swim tonight.

Summary:

Run: 1.5

Avg HR: 146

Improving

Things are starting to look up. The pain is going away and my wife is on the mend. Got on the bike again this morning and in the pool tonight. Need to get out for a long run tomorrow am and then hopefully put in a nice full weekend's work. Would love to take the day off tomorrow after all that's gone down but too much waiting for me at the office.

Summary:

Bike: 1:30

Avg HR: 142

Swim: 45

Not a Good Start

I've had a very bad start to this week. First I have some sort of mystery injury to my rib cage. The pain has me doubled over and sucking Advil like candy. It hurts to breath and talk when the pain comes on. It came on this weekend and doesn't want to go away. After a visit to the doctor and Xrays there's no damage to the ribs so it has to be a strain. So no workout yesterday. I woke up with some pain this morning and I'll just need to push through.

Last night I was in the hospital with my wife until 2:15 am. Her ear got infected after five days of having a sinus infection and she perforated her air drum. Pure pain. So this week basically sucks. I got in just under 1.5 on the bike this morning but pretty much felt like I slept through it. Didn't get much sleep. I'm hoping this pain subsides and things workout better later this week. Long day at work and an evening event. Hopefully back to a better routine on Thursday.

Summary:

Bike: 1.5

Avg HR: 138

Long Brick

Another long Sunday. Headed out to Beach Rock again today and followed it up with a frozen toed run. Note to self: buy toe warmers. Got out early in the am when it was still pretty damn cold and just waited for the temps to rise. Saw about six deer and something very very large crashing through the vast woodlands. That got the HR up a bit. With all the hills you warm up quick but busting down the backsides of the hills freezes you up again real quick. Had a couple ice cream headaches. Last week I did this ride in 3:18 today I knocked off five minutes and I'm chalking that up to getting out early in the am when I'm all hopped up on caffeine. I also experimented with doing the climbs in a harder gear to really work the legs which added more burn.

The run was as usual, painful. Stiff legs and frozen toes force short strides for at least 10 and then I loosened up. Nice to get this workout done before noon and have freedom for the rest of the day.

Summary:

Bike: 3:13

Avg HR: 140

Run: 30 minutes

Avg HR: 144

Long Run

Another two hour Saturday run. This time it wasn't straight up and down a hill for two hours. Got out on my regular route and knew it was going to be long one. The legs were stiff and achy. Loosened up eventually, but I stopped a twice to stretch out the Band. It's acting up again and that's a sure sign I need some new kicks. Extended the run a bit just to warm the legs down. Tomorrow's another long day on the bike. Got my swim in last night so I'm free for the day.

Summary:

Run: 2:10

Avg HR: 143

Brick

Got in a 45/45 brick this morning. Got some tough love for 45 and then jumped on the treadmill for another 45. Legs were a bit achy on the run. I think it's time for a new pair of running shoes. Last weekend's pounding and tomorrow's two hour run should pretty much destroy them. They've certainly got miles on them. Sneaking in a swim at lunch or after work and then this day is in the books.

Summary:

Bike: 45 minutes

Avg HR: 148

Run: 45 minutes

Avg HR: 146

Late Night Run

Let the dog out early this morning and almost got blown back into the house so I opted for a swim in the am. Worked late and then got out for a dark late night run when I got home. Less wind but still cold. I was literally dragging myself around today but when I got out for the run I woke up for some reason. I thought it was going to be brutal but it wasn't bad at all. HR was in the 150s for most of the run.

Summary:

Swim: 45

Run: 1 hour

Avg HR: 150

Bike

Got on the bike for 90 mins this morning. Took a long time to get loose and the HR was really low despite the fact that I was working pretty hard, but not overdoing it. Legs aren't too sore after the weights yesterday but I'm certainly worn down some.

Got in a nice long swim last night and will do the same this evening. Need to start paying closer attention to the swim and maybe sneak a couple extras in if I have time over the next month or so.

Summary:

Bike: 90 mins

Avg HR: 138

Weights

Got back to it this morning. Upped the weight some from previous weeks and really worked hard. Crippling hard. This is never a pleasant day. My run following the weights was good. Maybe I'm starting to get the benefit of all the hills and biking this past weekend. Need to grab a swim after work and then get some much needed sleep. Continuing to race the clock.

Summary:

Weights: 30 mins

Bike: 10 mins

Run: 30 mins

Avg HR: 143

Fried Legs

Today there was a brick consisting of a 3 hour ride and 30 minute run sitting on my plan. Great weather for a long day. I got out a little after noon and headed out to 309. I was thinking about doing half of Beach Rock and then turning back, but after I reached the reservoir in about 1:10 I decided to do the entire route. I haven't been on this route since last October and not much has changed. The climbs are still big, it's still errie quiet, hardly any cars, but there's just more frost heaves to be mindful of when cooking down the back side of the climbs.

The route usually takes me about 3:15, or it did last year, and this year I was right on the same pace the whole ride. And my HR was not in the stratosphere. It was in the high 140s on the climbs and below 130 on the downhills. Got back to the house in 3 hours and 18 minutes. Feels good to knock out this challenging of a ride so early in the year.

Transitioning to the run was dreadful. It took 15 minutes for my feet to thaw out and my legs felt like wooden stump posts, especially after yesterday's workout. Now I'm off to devour some Advil and my fridge.

Summary:

Bike: 3:18 (Beach Rock)

Avg HR: 141

Run: 32 mins

Avg HR: 143

Singular Focus

Sometimes we are so focused on our goals and plans we don't realize the ridiculous training we are doing until someone outside the bubble points it out. Today was one of those days. My plan called for me to run up and down a steep hill for two hours and count the summits. The place I was supposed to do it was still covered in snow so I chose another one of my favorite steep hills. I didn't think this was going to be easy and it was the workout that stuck out when I first got my plan from Max back in December. I drove to the bottom of the road parked the car and left two bottles of water on the hood.

Started out good. The road starts with a pretty gradual grade and then goes up really quickly. It's brutal. After four trips one guy came out of his house to get his mail and told me I was nuts. On the next trip up he asked me what I was training for. Up and down I went knocking out 12 summits in one hour. Up hill actually felt much better than going down after a while. By the 15th summit I was really starting to feel it in my calves and reaching the spot just below the crest felt like I was trying to get over the Hillary Step on Everest. My pace was starting to slow and I was hitting 173-176 on the ups and recovering at around 142 on the downhills.

I reached the 19 mark with about 15 minutes to go and got focused on knocking out 21. The 20th was a bitch and another guy getting his mail asked me what number I was at and proceeded to tell me I was, "one crazy mother f'er". 21 was a burner and reaching the summit I let out a huge sigh of relief. On my way back down the first friendly neighbor came running out with a water bottle and chatted me up about IM and how nuts I was since he said he can't even walk up the damn hill.

Most amazing to me was how I had a singular focus of knocking out as many summits as possible. I didn't even realize I was running for two straight hours. It became a game and even though it was painful it was actually kind of a fun.

Summary:

Time: 2 hours

Avg HR: 164

Summits: 21

Click here for route and elevation profile

Exhausted

Ok so my legs are feeling worked over. Got in my 90 minute ride this morning. Last night did my 45 ride 45 after I slept through my alarm in the am. I peeled myself out of bed this morning and climbed on the bike. First half hour was tough but I finally hit my stride at the 30 minute mark. The half marathon last weekend, long run on Wednesday, swims, travel and long bike is catching up to me.

And, tomorrow I have to run up and down a steep ass hill for two hours and count my summits. Fun times. Then it's a 3 hour ride on Sunday. At least it will be warm. Temps are supposed to be in the 60s both days. Ok, I'm crying on the inside.

Summary:

Bike: 90 minutes

Avg HR: 142

Hot Run

Seeing as though I'm in sunny Florida I thought I'd get in a nice hour long run outside. After my morning meeting I hit the road and wandered along. Florida is not very runner-friendly. After crossing a few major roads, I ended up finding an endless golf course to cruise around. The 75 degree heat really had got the HR up and the sweat rolling. I probably should've brought along water, but that wasn't an option. Got back to the hotel in a little over an hour after getting lost for a while. Refreshing run in warm temps but I'm not ready for that kind of heat yet. Back to the ice chest tonight.

Summary:

Run: 75 minutes

Avg HR: 147

Weights

Back to the weights today. I recovered really quickly from the half mary. I upped my weight again slightly this week. The last set nearly destroyed me. Transitioned to a quick bike and then a 30 minute run. Legs wanted to go faster but I kept the HR hovering around 145-150. It's off to warmer weather this afternoon where I'll be able to get in a nice run tomorrow morning in 60 temps, hopefully.

Summary:

Weights: 40

Bike: 15

Run: 30 mins

Avg HR: 143

Recovery

Legs are sore but not as bad as I thought they might be after yesterday's half marathon. I spun on the bike for an hour and then got in a nice long swim. The swim was awesome and really soothed the legs. I pretty much felt like I could've swam all day but I decided to stop after an hour. Hoping my fitness is on track with where I need to be at this point in the year. I know it's still early and I feel good and much stronger than last year at this time. Looking forward to get outside on the bike in the coming weeks and really building some endurance. Never thought I'd say I look forward to four hour rides but after this winter I certainly am.

Summary:

Ride: 1 hour

Avg HR: 140

Swim: 1 hour