The Week That Was

Thursday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Saturday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (zone 1)

Wednesday night's Stroke and Stride event (third of the series of three) went safely and well.

Congratulations to Cayman resident Jasper Mikkelsen on earning a Kona slot at Ironman Louisville on Sunday!

As for my week - social activities, Stroke and Stride volunteering, and longer-than-usual office hours had me quite tired. Friday's run was good, but on Saturday my resting heart rate was elevated and on that run my heart rate was overly variable so I shut it down.

The Week That Was

Tuesday: 0.67hr. treadmill run (zone 3, max. 170)
Thursday: 0.75hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. zone 2, 0.25hr. zone 3 max. 170)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (1.0hr. lower half zone 2, 0.5hr. zone 3 max.170)
Sunday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (1.5hr. lower half zone 2, 0.5hr. upper half zone 2)

Still desensitizing to heart rates approaching 170....

Wednesday night's Stroke and Stride event (second of the series of three) went safely and well.

Jenny and I went scuba diving on Saturday - another good experience with Divers Down. As I haven't been diving since April 2007 I scheduled mine as a proper refresher dive. I went through the standard skills review on the first dive of the afternoon (at Royal Palms Ledge - just up the beach and a bit out in the water from my condo). The second dive was the Wreck of the Balboa. Accessing the Wreck of the Balboa site requires the permission of the Port Authority - we were allowed in part because there were no cruise ships in port. I suppose that's one reason it's a popular night dive site - because it's a good site to which you're unlikely to be granted access during the day!

The Week That Was

Monday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Tuesday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (zone 3, max. 170)
Thursday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (zone 3, max. 170)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (1.5hr. lower half zone 2)
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1)
Sunday: 1.75hr. treadmill run (1.5hr. lower half zone 2, 0.25hr. upper half zone 2)

Thursday's one hour session showed that my lactate threshold is significantly over 170, so the increase in my upper training heart rate was warranted.

Wednesday night's Stroke and Stride event went safely and well. A few flurries of organizational stress, of course, but we put it all together. The next two iterations should go more smoothly now that we've worked through a couple of kinks (weather permitting).

The Week That Was

Tuesday: 1.0hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (upper half zone 2)
Friday: 0.75hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Sunday: 1.1hr. treadmill run (Hadd benchmark test)

Recovery week and benchmark test.

Benchmark test (90 seconds rest between segments):
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 140 (me: 1.500 miles in 14:37)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 150 (me: 1.502 miles in 13:37)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 160 (me: 1.501 miles in 12:43)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 170 (me: 1.501 miles in 11:34)
o run 1.5 miles at heart rate 180 (me: 1.501 miles in 10:33)

Started unfed and uncaffeinated. Executed test better than the previous attempt; no snags. Significant improvement over last test at all heart rates.

For the next mesocycle I'm moving my upper training heart rate up 5bpm to 170 (toward the top of my zone 3). Per Hadd, that's suitable based upon my 1.5hr. run in upper zone 2. Per Joe Friel, time in zone 3 is suitable during Base 2. I might also let my standard training expand from lower half zone 2 to zone 2.

I'll be volunteering at our Stroke and Stride race series (.pdf event flyer link) over the next three Wednesday evenings (weather permitting). That will mess with my workout schedule.

The Week That Was

Tuesday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Wednesday: 1.0hr. run (top zone 2)
Friday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. lower half zone 2; 1.5hr. top zone 2)
Saturday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 1 with 0.5hr zone 2/zone 3 and other periods of varying incline)
Sunday: 1.6hr. treadmill run (0.5hr. zone 1; 0.5hr. lower half zone 2; 0.6hr. upper half zone 2)

Friday's run tells me that I may move my upper training heart rate up by 5bpm to 170, which will put it at mid-zone 3.

Saturday I started with a dry-run of the Hadd benchmark test (stopping at heart rate 170) and then dropped back to zone 1 running with some time of varying inclines and declines.

Sunday I was looking for 2.0hrs., with some hope for 2.25hrs. Instead I discovered that it is time to start consuming salt tablets. Didn't run myself to the point of cramping but I could feel my right calf muscle tightening (likely encouraged by Saturday's light hill simulations).

Overall, a good week. Seem to have worked my way close to consonance amongst my training week, aerobic running fitness, and soft tissues.

The coming week: recovery week and Hadd benchmark test.