Training log - Week ending 8/20/2017

This week was 50 miles of running, 38 "miles" of pool-running and 2000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

(note: this is a repaste - at some point this week this entry vanished from my blog.  I'm not sure why.  Fortunately it was in my browser cache, so I was able to fix the issue fairly easily, by cutting, pasting, and re-posting.  I'm pretty annoyed, through.)

Week 3 of the hard 6 is done.  The star this week was my first "25x400" workout - it's 25 repeats of 400m each at 10K pace with a "floating recovery" (not a jog) of 100m between each (targeting around 30 seconds for the 100m recovery). 

Physically, it's an extended lactate threshold workout - you alternate 400m above LT and 100m below it.  Mentally, it's a head game - since you never truly take a break - you just downshift/upshift again and again and again.  While trying not to think about how far you still have to go (just like the marathon).

I was fairly happy with how the workout went.  It was quite humid, with the track wrapped in a warm fog, when we started the workout  I started the workout cautiously, willing to pull the plug if I ever felt like I was in a hole.  But I didn't start struggling until the last few repeats, and by then I was close to done.

Anyone who wants to geek about the workout can check my Garmin entry or training log report, and note how the recoveries got a bit longer as the workout progressed, and dipped at the end, when things got hard.  Having done this workout several times, I feel that the recoveries might just be the hardest part of the workout - it's just so easy to ease off the gas a bit too much.

It is absolutely hilarious where the mind goes during that workout.  Towards the end, when I had just a few 400s left, I struggled with the fact that I had two more 400s left in 94 seconds each (plus a final 400 hammered).  Having that much left was unbearable.   However, an 800 in 3:08, followed by a hard 400, sounded much more reasonable.  So I reframed the workout that way.

As we all know - tough runs often result in lousy, emotional math.

***

It was still quite humid for Saturday's second go at the 4-3-2-1 workout, though not as thick as Wednesday.  Respecting the conditions, we backed off the pace for the workout, though we ended up holding a faster pace than I had first predicted- only slightly slower than what we held two weeks ago.  Despite the humidity, this edition of the 4-3-2-1 took much less out of me than the previous did.  A good sign.

When doing MP work, I usually pay attention to a) my perceived effort, b) my pace, and c) my heart race.  I like to use all three as limiters to make sure I'm not overcooking the workout. 
During Saturday's run I was a bit concerned at how high my heart rate got at times - completely out of sync with my perceived effort. 

I worried, and then I shelved my concerns.  While I often like to use heart rate as a limiter for MP workouts, my coach has told me before that in extreme humidity or cold, heart rate can be distorted, and isn't the best metric (this view is shared by Jack Daniels, among others).  I've definitely noted this in extreme cold, when my heart rate barely budges during intervals and tempos.

Here, my perceived effort was definitely not matching my heart rate - the effort felt much easier than the heart rate indicated, and my pace seemed objectively reasonable.  I wouldn't have had the same concern I was overdoing things if I wasn't wearing a heart rate monitor.  So I decided that, in these conditions (humidity, heat, caffeinated gel that wasn't agreeing with me), heart rate was a flawed metric.  How good I felt post-workout and the day after seems to support that view.

(tl;dr version - for the n'th time, don't get hung up in the metrics and the overthinking.)

Dailies 

Monday: In the morning, foam-rolling, yoga, and 7 "miles" pool-running; 4 "miles" pool-running  at night.

Tuesday: 10.5 miles very easy (9:16) plus drills and strides, and then upper body weights and core.  2 "miles" pool-running and foam rolling at night.

Wednesday: 12.5 miles, including a workout of 25x400m - first 24 repeats averaged 1:34, with 100m recoveries averaging 32 seconds; last repeat in 85.     Followed with injury prevention work and 1250 yards of recovery swimming.  Sports massage at night.

Thursday: In the morning, foam-rolling, yoga, and 8 "miles" pool-running.  4 "miles" pool-running and foam rolling at night

Friday: 10.5 miles very easy (9:26), followed by upper body weights and core.  3 "miles" pool-running and foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 17 miles, including a workout of 4, 3, 2, and 1 miles at marathon pace, with ~1 mile easy in between (we took a bit longer after the 4 and 3 mile splits to top off our water bottles). Splits were:
4 mile in 27:54 (7:02/7:01/6:55/6:56 - average pace 6:58)
3 mile in 20:49 (6:56/6:58/6:55 - average pace 6:56)
2 mile in 13:52 (6:59/6:53 - average pace 6:56)
1 mile in 6:43
Followed with injury prevention work and 750 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling in afternoon.

Sunday:  10 "miles" pool-running and foam rolling mid-day.