Day 1,098 – 5K Race (19:09, 157 bpm)
Why run a 5K race when training for an ultra? There are several reasons.
First, the crowd makes it easy to get my heart rate up. In training, to get my heart rate over 150 bpm requires me to spend mojo. At the running race, all I need to do is follow the crowd and let my natural competitive instincts do the work.
Second, if my heart rate doesn’t come up, or if my effort feels unusually difficult for the pace, then I know I’m carrying more fatigue than I realized. This 5K was placed in the middle of an unload block prior to an Italian training camp. It gave me a chance to assess my recovery in a manner that wouldn’t put me deeper in the hole.
Finally, even if we run a 5K “easy” it’s not easy pace. We are guaranteed a good dose of Red Zone training. By getting our Red Zone work done in a low-priority race, the pressure is off for the rest of our program, and we can focus on endurance and strength.
I passed the 5K test and headed off to Italy.
Day 1,103 – Back To Italy
Door-to-door, it takes 21-25 hours to get to the Hotel Belvedere in Riccione. I’ve found the lost day is more than made up for by the outstanding training that results from taking my life stress to zero. As a bonus, I get to catch up with my buddy Mark Pietrofesa, who works as a guide.
Providing we don’t go bananas, each time our body does a training camp, we can expect that it will do it a little better. With this trip to Italy, I planned on adding a gran fondo to my bike-focused high-volume training.
Monica usually has a tougher time with jet lag than me. So, my schedule of going big the first two days of arrival worked well for the week she was in Italy. I got a bunch of training done, then, as she was adjusting, spent the rest of the week with her. She left on May 8th, and my training camp resumed.
