4 Hours

It’s funny, if you take a four hour workout and put it on a weekend, it really doesn’t seem so bad.  Say from 9AM to 1PM – you’re done around lunch time, and you have the remainder of the day to do as you please.

But, if you move that same workout to a weekday, it somehow seems much worse. Read: It’s level of suck is high.

Of course, while many a different organizations had the day off in the US today…I did not.  Though I had hoped to get stuff done early and get a good start on the workout before it got too dark and cold, that didn’t work out either.

So it was 5:16PM before my first pedal rotation was complete.  I then had another 1 hr and 32 minutes left on the bike.  Oh, and that bike?  It was indoors.  On a trainer.

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(Yes, my workouts are pinned to the wall, and I use a picture frame to hold up gel bottles, and I use a plastic measuring cup to hold remotes/etc off my aero bars, it works REALLY well)

The first 45 minutes were spent with the usual assortment of stuff (warm-up, focus on complete stroke, one pedal stuff, high cadence, etc…), and then the fun began with the second 45 minutes being a single solid block of Z3 fun.  Or 267w to be exact.  Just simply set the wattage and forget.

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Except I couldn’t forget, because I still had to peddle.  Though it is interesting in that you can see a very slight slip of cadence over the course of those last 45 minutes.  From around 95ish to around 88-89ish.

Once I was done, I had a nice 2 minute ‘easy’ segment on the bike before moving onto my next activity.  Kinda feels like running around the playground during a field day at school.

Running.

Normally Monday is simply my long run day.  I’d go out, knock out 2hr 30minutes @ Z2 (usually around 20 miles) and be done with it.  Life was simple.

Except not this week (or two weeks ago for that matter).  This time I had just finished a little bike ride before I embarked on the long run.

Further, instead of being just a big block of Z2, I had 50 minutes each @ Z2, Z3, Z4A.  Running Z2 is enjoyable.  Running Z4A after already having run 13-14 miles…is not.

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So off I went into the setting sun.  For those keeping track, it’s now 6:56PM, which includes a relatively brief T1.

I ran.

And then I ran some more.

I ran to a different state. (around 7:30PM)

And then I ran back to my state. (around 8:15PM)

I ran past my house (that sucked, I’m not going to do that again). (around 8:40PM)

And then I kept on running. (around a long time)

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The only problem was I couldn’t get up into the higher zones.  Not sure why.  My legs just wouldn’t go there.  They were stuck @ Z2 at a fairly constant pace.  And my run cadence was fairly constant too.  Too bad I just couldn’t get up there on the HR’s.  Perhaps the colder temps had something to do with it, or perhaps it just wasn’t my night.

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And finally, I stopped running (around 9:30PM).

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So, to put this in perspective, I created this little table:

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And with that, I’m now in search of sleep.

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15 Comments

  1. Oh the joys of night running.
    Would be sweet if I could ever say I ran to another state and then ran back passing my house and then kept running……Now, that would be one long Ultra run.

  2. That’s dedication.

  3. Definitely dedication! Hope you had ice-cream or a cupcake once you DID finally get dinner…

  4. love the post! awesome before and after pictures and the table was spot on! way to stick it out.

  5. Love the bike setup – I think I need to get a little better organized for indoor biking – it’s going to be a LONG WET winter here (and I’m a wimp).

    I too love the table, it pretty much sums it up – however, who wants to be ‘normal’? :)

    Unfortunately my table looks like: 5:00 – 7:30: commute home
    THEN I start my ‘less then normal’ activities :)

  6. I hate long runs at night, so major props to you on that.

    LOVE the chart– I can’t do things like that or I get all wound up about the length of my runs!

    I hope you refueled with something awesome.

  7. Nat

    I wish I had have of your drive! Great job! Question for you, I know you have had some issues with water bottle carriers for behind the seat on your bike. What kind do you think works best? I am in the market for a new one!

  8. Running into PG county at night, eh? Now THAT is dedication!

  9. I don’t think I’ve noticed this before … but you have a VERY large television.

    Way to head out into the urban jungle at night! That can be scarier than the real jungle in a lot of ways.

  10. Well, I, for one, am amazed you are still putting in that type of volume during what I thought was your off season (didn’t see any races left on your 2009 calendar). Are you training for an upcoming race or is this just maintenance training you’re doing?

  11. god i love the chart. and no, you are not normal. i am looking fwd to hearing about your secret race soon.

  12. Loved the chart!
    Will make one for my 4h30′ trainer rides+transition long runs!
    Keep publishing nice stuff, If you do not mind add yourself as a follower of mine if you can translate my blog, and have fun!
    See you, Marcos

  13. chart is off the err..chart. brilliant!

  14. Hey, but the Normal Person is probably overweight or obese and you are one rockin’ hard body triathlete!!!

    There is a lot to be said for ass on the bike and ass on the run.

  15. Let’s hear it for our favorite not-normal person! Hip, hip, hooray! The chart cracked me the hell up.