another reset

I walked into work yesterday feeling VERY victorious after my successful 10K performance on Sunday.

I also walked into work VERY sore :) man oh man I am sure you know the feeling: your quads ache when you move slightly while seated in a chair!

The 10K run was also the end of one training cycle and now this morning I began the next training cycle which is an 11 week build up to the NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon on January 24th (if they hold the race on the same weekend as last year).

This is also my formal bid to FINALLY go sub 2 hours in a half marathon. No excuses this time! I can already see a storm dumping a foot of snow in Central Park that morning. haha!

Finally, I'd like to share how NOT to do a recovery workout. DO NOT sprint up hills on your bike for 18 miles the day after a 10K PR. So it was 70 degrees yesterday and probably the last nicest day of the year so we took advantage of the weather and headed out for a lunch time ride. We had a tail wind on the way out. Well that got our speed perspective out of whack to only going fast and on the way back it was hillier so we started hammering it up every hill we hit.

I got to the top of every hill wanting to die....but alas I hit another hill and then another hill and each time just hammered up it. stupid stupid stupid!!!

And as for my 3 mile run this morning?: 10 min mile pace!!! haha!.....seriously, my legs would go NO faster.

new 5k/10k personal records!

I had a good day today in my running shoes by setting new 5K and 10K personal records during a 10K race. 22:56 5K split, 47:22 total for a 7:38 pace.

I did a totally random race out in Lindenhurst, NY on Long Island for the Hope for the Warriors run. I did the race merely as a motivational race to keep some sort of goal ahead of me so that I don't completely go flat during this off season. I was quite surprised at the turnout and support. It was a well run closed course race. I HIGHLY recommend this race.

My mile splits came out as:
7:17
7:24
7:26
7:31
7:56
7:40
7:10 (last .2 miles)

My 5K split was 22:56....my first EVER sub 23 min 5K. I actually felt good at the half way point and had this been a 5K, I woulda gone even harder. Things started to not go so well (as you can see in my splits) from this point onwards. Between mile 4 and 5 I was hurting pretty bad and was wanting the race to end already. Fortunately between 5 and the end, the terrain changed (we went up a bridge and down an off ramp) so that little bit of different terrain broke that last 1.2 miles up and it "felt" shorter. The final 200 yards were excruciating with the anticipation of finishing.

I used my heart rate monitor and I was in the high zone 4 for most of the race....so definately way up there in threshold. I even stayed in zone 5 for 6:19 of the race.

I haven't gone this hard since the end of August. Good to know that my legs still have some speed left in them from this past season!

biking

So this indoor power training program is just the motivation that I need get the biking volume back up. This morning I headed outdoors for a 24 miler to round out 3 bike sessions for the week.

The leaves are mostly down so riding through the countryside of Greenwich, CT was pretty cool today:

week 1, Q2 session

I completed the week 1, Q2 session this morning. Looks like this:


WU:
10' @ 125 watts
5 x (20" @ 215 watts / 40" @ 125 watts)
Main Set:
5 x (1' @ 180 watts / 1' @ 125 watts)
15' @ 150 watts
CD:
5' @ 120 watts

Averaged 144 watts.

This was another "get reaquainted" with the trainer session. Sorta looking forward to the harder sessions....just sorta. haha!

winter cycling power plan

I started a 10 week winter cycling power plan this morning. The goal of this is to improve your threshold power. A coach over @ beginnertriathlete.com is using his own program which looks really good and is made specifically for those with a power meter. He also has a HRM/RPE plan as well.

So today was workout #1. It looked like this via power (unfortunately my HRM didnt work):

And transcribed into human language, I did this:
Warm up:
10' @ 120 watts
5' (@ 15" @ 214 watts / 45" @ 120 watts)
Main Set:
10 x 30" @ 200 watts / 30" @ 120 watts
15' @ 150 watts
Cool down:
5' @ 120 watts

I'd say this workout was medium intensity. It felt strange spinning my legs fast on the trainer again and I believe this workout was meant to reacclimate yourself back on the trainer.

This is just the beginning, and its gonna get HARD starting next week when we do our first 20 min test.

rockin' lunchtime run

50 degrees, sunny, and a slight breeze. Perfect 4.27 miles. Good run and I feel ready for Sunday's 10K.

back on bike, super 7 miler, NYC marathon!

Biked 26 miles yesterday EASY.....like 1:55:00 easy. haha!!!

Then this morning I knocked out a super solid 7 miles in 1:00:54. My legs felt so good. I took the easy way and did 2 x 3.5 mile loops. Mentally, I just couldn't do a 7 mile loop. Plus, I negative split it. 30:43 for the first loop. 30:11 for the 2nd. And I could have kept going. Ah, it feels good to have some running form back again.

Finally I hopped onto the train and saw the NYC Marathon. This is to make sure that I am in fact AM going to run this thing next year. We first went to the finish @ central park and parked ourselves 600 meters from the finish. Saw Ryan Hall and Paula Radcliff win 4th. Absolutely amazing to see these elite runners come in so fast!

Then we headed up to 116th and 1st (mile 19) and saw the masses of people stream through. We found a good spot by the open door @ a bar called Orbit and had a nice brunch and mimosas as we watched the pace of thousands of people slowly slow. I went out and watched by the barriers a few times and studied the faces of everyone. They ranged from pure agony to just having a good time.

I hope I remember this spot next year and I wonder how I will feel. I honestly have NO IDEA how I am going to do. I guess it all depends on if I meet my goal of upping my run volume up enough over the course of next season. I think this next year is gonna fly by!