Exhaustion

Three weeks in and I'm feeling great. But this week has been a little bit of a challenge. A combination of jet lag and seagulls (why the have chosen my parking lot as their early morning feeding ground, I haven't a clue) have interrupted my sleeping pattern and I've not had a decent night's rest in about a week. Despite this, I've kept up with my running and was able to muddle through one 3 and two 4 milers this week. It's been hot and humid and I am tired but I've kept up the motivation to follow through. I signed myself up for a half marathon with Kurt as my running partner in crime and now must follow through. This weekend is a 5 miler and if it's not raining, I may even try to fit in a bike ride with my newly tuned up bike...

Hiatus

Talk about one long hiatus. 3 years since the last post, are you kidding me?! Time goes by life happens and I find myself wanting to throw myself back into training for something again. Must be the Olympics. I watched the men's and women's road race finals and got inspired. Immediately after Alexander Vinokourov sprinted across the finish line, I sprinted downstairs to the basement and pulled out my bike. I took it to the shop for a tune up and can't wait until next week to take it for a spin again. In the meantime, I've been searching for another half and ran across two that I found interesting. Now I just have to round up some support in the form of friends who are willing to accompany me and hit the road. Last week I started tracking my training progress and all I can say is it's hard to be back to where I was when I started all of this, but I can tell I'll adjust nicely into the routine. It's exciting. Today I ran 3 miles and it didn't hurt like it did last week. Progress.

Great workout last night. 4 sets of 6 minutes just below TT pace along with 3 sets of one leg drills. So exhausted, I slept like a baby. One more week and we redo the failure test - I am hoping to see some major improvement from my pitiful 175 watts.

Tiredness

Last week's sessions were greuling and I imagine this week won't be any different. I'm currently fighting off a cold and I just want to go home to sleep it off. Alas, duty calls and I won't be skipping any sessions any time soon. Only a handful of months left before the season starts and I need to be in top form for my debut.

Cardiac Drift

Last night's class, in the words of my coach was "the toughest workout we'll be doing this month." Indeed. We did 2 intervals at 10/10 RPE, one interval at 9/10 and two lengthy intervals at 8/10 with a push of the last 30 seconds at 9/10. It was difficult, especially given the fact that I've been off the saddle for just about 3 weeks now and haven't run in about a month. And I've been stressed. And I've been drinking a lot of coffee and not enough H20.

We tracked our heart rates throughout the session and I noticed something odd - after each interval, my HR would increase a handful of beats before it would drop. So, I ask after class, is it normal that I would see an increase in HR after my interval is finished? No...in fact, I know of only a few athletes that have experienced this on a handful of occasions in their training...it is called cardiac drift, he says to me. I laughed nervously. He continued to give me some information about it and told me not to worry, it was probably due to stress or caffeine. Interesting, I think to myself. I'll have to do some research on this tomorrow. Not too concerned as I am still getting used to all this tracking and monitoring of my body's reaction to consistent exercise...

Today, this is what I found: http://www.serotta.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2499

Good information to keep in mind for next time...

Hiatus

With the holidays now barely visible through the rear view mirror, I can get back on track with training. I missed a couple of classes due to my trip home and I will surely pay dearly for it tomorrow. It has been a stressful couple of weeks and I am more than ready to get back into a regular routine.

Support a Good Cause

Good way to keep track of your outdoor activities and help support a worthy cause in the process...

http://www.plus3network.com/