Sunday, January 31, 2010

January Totals and some reflection

January was a HUGE volume record month for me. Even though I have swam further and biked farther in a month's time, I have NEVER ran as much before.

Swim: 23100 yards
Bike: 314.28 miles
Run: 91.75 miles
41 hours, 40 mins total
2 races, a 5 miler and a half marathon which included a HUGE PR.

For some comparison, for January 2009, I only swam 11050 yards, biked 177 miles, and ran 35.5 miles.

I'd say that I am off to a solid 2010 start!

Am I burning a match too early in the season? I'd so no. Most of these workouts have been zone 2 easy intensity just building a solid base. Other than in the pool, I think I went hard 4 times: 2 time trials on the bike and 2 running races.

One other thing that I am realizing is that my body is capable of making a full recovery within 7 days of a half marathon PR within a full week of training. i.e. I broke my body down to ashes last Sunday, then managed to get another 11.5 hours of base training in while recovering. I am not gloating or bragging, it is a reality that I learned about myself. I was REALLY cautious/worried when I wrote up my training plan for January that I would be able to do 11.5 hours after that race, especially after my recent injury. Usually you would take a rest week after that kind of an effort! Well, I am doing that after my next race. :)

Another thing to note was that most of those biking miles were done on a trainer. The good: keeps me in a controlled state while hitting target wattage to build a base. The bad: its freaking boring on that thing! and I go harder outside and improve quicker on varying terrain. The bad about that? Recovery tends to be longer after an outdoor ride.

I wrote up my February plan this morning and if I follow it, I won't hit the same numbers as this month due to a rest week and a shortened month, but it will still be a good month of solid base building. I feel February will be the last month of indoor riding which will propel me outdoors for March which will mean some SERIOUS long rides to get me ready for New Orleans in April.

How did your January turn out?

5 comments:

  1. looks like ur having an awesome start to the year! keep up the good work!

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  2. Great numbers! Especially considering that fact you had some cold weather thrown in there.

    Glad to hear that you have some rest time set for next month. That is just as important as your high mileage.

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  3. Hi Little Bro,
    Great job for January!! It sure does take a whole week to recover from a half!! Keep smiling:)

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  4. Beat you on the swim ;), but you got me on the bike and run. I am actually finding I would rather be outdoors on the bike even in the cold; it beats the spin bike any day and is way more comfortable. I will be out there on Wednesday, brrrrr.

    I don't even want to talk about recovery.....you are 27, I am 43, 'nuf said.

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