The 20K Track Session
The WARM UP for this session is my favorite part.
Most athletes would be best served by doing the "warm-up" - the aerobic benchmarking - then hit the trails for a relaxed hour of running.
When I did this workout, I'd run a 2:51 marathon (off the bike) ten weeks earlier at Ironman New Zealand. My LT1 numbers were creeping ever closer to LT2... Scott Molina wanted to give my run training more "headroom." Scott was right.
What would I do differently? Test lactate: baseline, LT1, LT1+10bpm and end of every 2nd 800. The La- data would have give pace/HR more context.
If you read to the end then you'll see we were thinking about "the next trip" - Clas and I never got that done.
When YOU get the chance to take the "trip of a lifetime," I hope you take it.
Take your shot.
gRAAM - Trans USA Day Sixty-One
aiken, south carolina
Wasn’t sure how this workout was going to go. I was feeling pretty good for most of yesterday. Had a false start at one school and also had to negotiate with the facilities manager mid-session. Went like this…
FM – Ya’all CAN’T be here!
B (rippin’ it) – Talk to him, I’m running.
G – I’ll be right there, sir.
FM – Eye, got signs everywhere. No Tress-passin’
G – Well, that big sign says open to the public.
FM – Eye, don’t care what that sign says, I put up them other signs yisterday. We be sprayin the grass tamarra!
G – Oh sorry about that. That gate over there was open.
FM – That was the mower man. Told him to leave it open last night.
G – We didn’t want to cause any problems.
FM – You ain’t from ‘round here, are ya?
G – Nope, we’re from Canada.
FM – That’s a long way. Just passin’ through, eh?
G – Yep, riding to Hilton Head tomorrow.
FM – Well, ah guess it’s OK. Just head out that same gate. Ya looked liked ya needed a break anyhow. See ya.
My session went like this..
Concrete Track
Low 80s, moderate to high humidity, light to moderate winds
Two Miles Easy
Two Miles AeT, 3:51/3:55/3:57 -- avgs 141/142/143
Three K AeT+10, 3:46/3:46/3:46 -- avgs 151/152/153
Four Strides
<<<June 2022 NOTE - the warm-up ends here>>>
8x800/200 -- hr is ending
1-4 & 7/8 2:43H (157,161,163, 167 & 163, 167)
5 -- 2:45, 169
6 -- 2:47, 171
Not sure why I popped the HR on 5/6. It was pretty hot, maybe I was dehydrated RI was mid 50s to around a minute on the 200, HR might have got a little under 150 but not all the time
2:44 is 34 min 10K pace, I think. Pretty solid aerobic numbers. Morning weight was 78KG. You know, I am aerobically faster and more powerful than I've ever been. I know that light is useful but it can't be the whole story. Baron thinks that I am lighter than I think I am (not sure what that means, it’s the same scale as last summer).
A little bit about why I like this session so much.
First up, I need at least a mile to warm my legs up. During big IM training, it can take a 30 min spin plus the two miles for me to get rolling. Even though I was shelled a couple of days ago, I was pretty fresh (on my standards) for this session.
The warm-up is 10.6K including the strides (and their RI). It lets me check in on my key metrics of AeT Pace (steady state) and AeT+10 Pace (what I like to call max steady state). It also gives me a big dose of running that is at (or above) IM pace/effort. It does it in a way than supports and enhances my run endurance, cardiac capacity, and leg turnover. Also, if I have an inability to get to LT then that is a clear indicator of a substantial training fatigue.
I’ve been doing this session (in various forms) for over a year – I two years ago, I used to do Yasso 800s at a much faster pace but now feel that protocol is sub-optimal for IM (too fast, not enough volume, too stressful). The numbers above represent my best yet performance for this workout.
While a variation of this workout is useful. When I review most athlete’s training performance vis-à-vis their workout performance, they would simply be best riding more and doing the 10K warm-up section as a week day aerobic test set. Why? Because most folks are running IM so far from their AeT pace that their true limiter lies in steady state bike fitness. So they are simply getting themselves tired for no benefit if they did the main set above.
The track also provides a good opportunity to experiment a bit with cadence and body position – quick light cadence, controlled speed, relaxed speed, long spine, tall balanced athlete.
I’m glad that I have some sea-level data to benchmark against my Boulder numbers.
+++++
Ironspeed
We threw the Baron on the track this morning. I was a little nervous because he’s a real racehorse and you never know what will happen on the track. However, it was a unique chance for us to get some data when he’s heading into a race.
15 min easy
30 min goal IM Pace
15 min goal IM effort
5 min bring it a little over LT
10 min easy
AeT Pace (140) = 3:40 per K, 5:54 per mile
Max Steady State (150) = 3:33 per K, 5:40 per mile
Total session was a Half Marathon run in 1:18:40, 145 avg
+++++
We said good bye to Ben today – like Barry, he found the track session challenging. Muscular fatigue possibly combining with the beginnings of a sore throat made it tough for him to elevate his HR. I’ll let him tell his story but I will give him _respect_ for making it the whole way!
Well done, Amigo.
I’ve extended an invitation to him to come out to Boulder and hang for a bit. Maybe he’ll come out for more action. He reciprocated with an invite to hang at the spacious Casa del Travis during the September Hell Camp.
+++++
After we dropped Ben at the airport. Baron and I headed to the pool. We each had our own lane in a VERY fine 50m pool – Augusta Aquatic Center if you ever get to town. Very nice, $4 for a swim.
LCM with sleeveless wetsuit
400 easy every 4th back
4x100 on 1:30 (1:25 to 1:20)
4x50 on 1:00 (40 to 32)
20x100 on 1:40 (first 10 avg 1:19, second 10 avg 1:17/18 – all three stroke breathing)
450 easy (booted out due to lightning)
No lightning rod on the roof so we were evicted part way through the final 1K steady finale!
+++++
B.D.Gae
Buh-duh-gay! What’s buh-duh-gay? Baron drills gordo across Europe. Even when nuked, I’ve been enjoying this trip. My life might not always be “fun” but it’s certainly rewarding.
At first, we were thinking about Rome to Mockfjärd but that seemed like a long way and I’ve been to Northern Germany in April (wet!).
Next year is Baron’s Zofingen focus year so I was thinking that some climbing might make sense. Also, this trip started getting a bit ‘old’ around eight weeks so, perhaps, that’s a decent length for an extended tour.
So right now, we are considering Gordo’s Latin Extravaganza – start with a swim in the Atlantic (Portugal or Spain) and then rip every major Southern European Mountain Range. Skip the camping and go the pensionne route, perhaps.
I’ve done some riding in the Alpes Maritimes in May before – that would be nice. We could also do Epic France recon and bag most the grand tour climbs (Spain, France, Italy).
Just an idea, for now.
+++++
Final Thoughts
Not much left to go. Hope you’ve enjoyed the ride.
Had a little bit of Krishnamurti run through my head over the last few days. “We can never be deceived if we don’t want anything.” So true, whenever I feel deceived then I try to look to what I was seeking to possess in the situation.
Shaka,
g