Training update from over the weekend

This weekend’s training sessions went very well. I can start to tell I am getting more comfortable getting my heart rate up in my Zones 3 and 4. 

I was going to do my long run on Saturday and follow it up with a road ride to help the legs recover. I did it the opposite though.  I rode with a group ride Saturday morning. Under an odd cloud cover and some sprinkles. The out and back round trip 33 mile course I had ridden numerous times before.  It has a good climb in it. I rode it harder than I have before, feeling very strong and able to keep up with more riders than in the past. Set some new PR’s on Strava segments. Nutrition and hydration were spot on. Felt energized the entire time. 

Sunrise at the top of Goldmine! 

Followed it up Sunday with a 6.5 mile trail run. The miles taking place on the course I am running on in November. Once again the cooler morning temperatures helped. I set some PR’s on a few segments here too, but also did a fair amount of walking getting used to the terrain. There is one steep hill, a good 500 foot climb, I was able to get in twice before I was finished for the day.  Hydration was good, but I could have eaten a little more to keep my pace up I believe. 

Not sure what the next three-day Labor Day weekend will have in store. 

I would like to get a good eight or nine mile run under my belt, and I think I am up for it. 

Training is going well and as expected, but I still need to work on getting more training in. 

My lungs and breathing have never felt better

Not as much training as I planned this week, but had some key workouts completed. Trying to keep my power up while running, using the Stryd, power pod on my foot to measure just that.  

Synched with my Suunto Spartan, I can set a target heart rate or power output during a workout. 

I had a slower recover run last Monday, but still felt good afterwards. 

Thursday night, I set up my watch to keep me in my Zone 4 during a two mile run. I wanted to see first off what my power output in that zone is, and also hoped that keeping my heart rate there for the two miles would not have me totally gasping for a breath. 

It worked. I started off taking a little bit to get my heart rate up and then into my Zone 4.  An early downhill jaunt was not the trick, but quickly I had to work harder climbing up out a the area I was just in. Locked into my Zone 4 and just kept plugging away. On the more level ground I had some good speed and was still able to stay in the zone. The course was a one mile loop, I was doing twice. Of course my heart rate was going to go down a little on the descend, but I pushed hard and ran downhill faster to keep it up. Hitting the uphill I had to look down at my watch a few times because it kept warning me to slow down. I had my heart rate into Zone 5.  Pulled back a little on the speed but never fell out of my Zone 4.  Finished one of my fastest back to back miles in 10 minutes each.  I typically average a 12 minute mile as of late with a lot focus on the long steady distance, so not to go all out and blow up fast. 

I am very excited about my accomplishment and my lungs and breathing have never felt better. 

Looking back, could have I pushed myself to be faster, maybe so, but I wanted to stick in the Zone 4 and see where that would put me. 

Looking forward to a good weekend of cycling and running, hoping to get some trail miles in on Sunday. 

Solid Weekend of Training

A great solid weekend of training.  I am getting more fit, getting my heart-rate in my Zone 3 for long periods of time and feeling more comfortable. It’s a little bit of a stretch to get it into my Zone 4 and keep it there, but I am working on it. 

My weekend workouts are my longer ones keeping my shorter cardio workouts and weight sessions during the week. 

Last weekend I was able to get a seven mile run in on Saturday. It was very hot and muggy early in the day, but got it done. Followed it up Sunday with a 34 mile road ride with some good climbing. A 3.5 mile hill climb to be in fact. Bouncing back from the workouts is getting easier. 

I worked this weekend on fueling a little better than last week. Hydration played a key roll in Sunday’s ride. 

To help me stay on top of my hydration game and keeping cool, I really relied on heavily the use of my Spruzza Mist system. The hill climb had me going around 8 MPH so a lot of the cooling air effect wasn't kicking in. The added misting I did, spraying both my chest, opening up my jersey in the front, and misting both sides of my head and ears really kept me from over heating. I knew early on in the ride, I was going to be using it a lot with the hot sun rising as fast as it was without cloud cover. 

It’s amazing what either a new pair of shoes can do or not running in “zero-drop” shoes.  I can’t tell because the shoes I have been running in the past year are really broken down, or the “zero-drop” shoes they were made my legs sore. After wearing and testing out a new set of kicks on Saturday’s seven mile run, I recovered very fast and didn’t feel it the next day. 

I should have done this a long time ago, but just kept putting it off. 

Training is going well and I am very happy where I am at this point in the game. 

Building up energy

I was out yesterday morning and got my early morning workout in. A quick 12 mile ride, consisting of two loops. Nothing fast, but I tried to keep my cadence and speed up. Took me over just 22 minutes a lap, which I have been able to do previously in just under 19 minutes. I need to work on getting that down faster as I build my fitness up. 

Later that day I needed to get in a run. I planned on a three mile run, just to get the heart-rate up and the legs moving. I felt fine the first two miles and then just hit a wall. Energy was totally zapped. I may have not eaten as much as I should have after the morning workout, but I kept moving. 

I had to talk a walk break for a minute, but then just took the pace down a little. My hydration must have been down a little too, as I woke up this morning with a headache. 

Looking to do a long run this weekend and a longer bike ride the next day to shake out the legs good.

More training focused and feeling good

Getting comfortable being uncomfortable, it's all good

If you monitor my social media at Twitter or Instagram (@timhakr), I guess it makes it official. I signed up for the 14 mile Xterra trail run at San Tan Regional park this November. 

I have been training for this over the past few months getting my lungs and legs in shape. Officially signing up for it makes me accountable for my training now. 

This past weekend I was able to get my longest (LSD- long steady distance) run in so far. It was a little cooler than normal due to the monsoon storm the night before. The storm also made it muggy.  I was able to get the 6.25 miles in.  

Standing water cutting off access to some trails, due to the monsoon storms 

This is normally a smoother incline, yet water has cut a big divot in it. 

I turned around the next day and did a cross training workout of mountain bike riding of 16.42 miles. The monsoon rains this year have really affected the trails out here. The mountain bike trail/hiking trails in Usery Regional park were either washed out or the rains and winds have changed them a lot. A few trails were not accessible due to standing water. 

This week started adding a little bit of strength training into the mix and other drills. 

I have a few mental goals I am aiming for and I will touch on those in future posts, so follow along. 

BOOM! Nothing makes training more important......

BOOM!  Nothing makes training more important than signing up for a race. It gets real and will get even more real as the day draws closer. 

I have a ways to go to get where I want to be before race day. 

Week update on training

My training run partner the past two weeks. She does a great job keeping my company. 

I was able to get a little over a 4.5 mile training run in Saturday in the heat and all.  Kept hydrated and brought my daughter along on her bike.  She is such a superstar for riding along side me at my pace.  We have a fun time talking about things we see while out, like the roosters we traveled by in a neighborhood. I brought a bluetooth speaker I have and put it on her handlebars. I had the music playing, synched with my smartphone. I had the phone with me.  It worked out great, the music wasn’t too loud, but was nice to listen too and keep us motivated. It worked out to be kind of a leash. If my daughter rode off too far from me the signal would start to cut out and she knew she had to slow down or come back may way. She would pedal off ahead and stop at street corners and wait, or wait in the shade.  I had my OrangMud HydraQuiver, so I carried the water for both of us in that. So enough about that and on to the training. 

The training run went as planned. I got my run in on Saturday then turn around Sunday early morning and got a 16.5 mile road bike ride in. The ride included a 1000 foot climb over 3.5 miles. Great way to get the heart-rate to climb. 

Looking to do this bike loop next week in both directions. So I have that on my calendar.  I need to still work on getting my legs stronger both running and riding in Zone 4. 

I need to replace the tube in my training roller bikes tires. I often use this bike on the road too for quick morning  workouts. 

The training ended with this morning with 2 mile recovery run to try and work out some lactic acid in my legs. 

Here is a to a great week and getting it done.