The "Island of Misfit Toys" Training Thread
I was talking to EN member Mike Hedman the other day who is training for his first 100 mile ultramarathon in August and he made a funny correlation to “Island of Misfit Toys” and those EN members who are not currently training for IM or HIM races. Then as I was reading posts last night I realized I had no regular place to land every week and post my training stuff like those who are in the IM Groups. I like to post what I am doing. To me, it is part of what I think is cool about EN. So I figured I would post this and see if anyone would jump onboard.
So, if you aren’t in any official "Groups" (or you are and want to post, cool) and want to post your training for anything you are doing (Sprints, Olys, Ultra’s, Du’s, Adventure racing or whatever), feel free to post here. If there is interest we can continue anew each Monday.
With that said, I will start. 
Just rejoined EN last week after ~ 4 months off of any training. Went out and had a nice ride with Tom Glynn this morning. Rolling course with a bit of wind as a storm is due to hit today. This was my first FT type ride since January. Tom had to stop briefly and take a call so I jumped and tried to leave him in the dust (in my dreams). I did everything I could to keep him from catching me. For that :12 or so my AVG PWR was 222. Then we did a :10 minute interval and I tried to hold 235 watts. I did it, but barely. So I am going to use 235 and my general FTP until I am ready to do an actual FTP test. Was a good ride for me. Data below based on 235 FTP. If I am close to .9 IF next ride I will bump the FTP to 240. I definitely worked for that .874.
Duration: 1:25:05
Work: 962 kJ
TSS: 108.3 (intensity factor 0.874)
Norm Power: 205
VI: 1.09
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 25.002 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 463 188 watts
Cadence: 30 166 93 rpm
Speed: 2.2 36.2 17.8 mph
Pace 1:39 26:49 3:23 min/mi
Crank Torque: 0 580 172 lb-in
Who's next?
Comments
Thanks for starting this John. I'm in a short course year. A lot going on. Lost my job in January and am gearing up to take some classes this summer. In the meantime I've been enjoying myself and actually training a lot. I spent most of March and April riding outside a lot! I'm now more balanced trying to get my run fitness back. I'm basing my training on the OS but with more volume. Focus is sprint and Oly distances. I just signed up for a race July 17th and have another on August 8th. I'm also planning a half mary in early September.
Today I set out to do 3x1(4') @TP and wilted in the heat. I hit one at 6:30 and then ran in easy. Total of 5 miles in 37 minutes. I have masters tonight. Intervals and a brick tomorrow morning.
I haven't tested my FTP since January (Ha!). I know I've made gains. WKO 28 day power distribution is telling me it's in the 250 range. I'm planning on going up to Michigan one of these weekends to do a proper test outside.
IMWI 2011 is my focus.
Monday - swim
Tuesday - bike + run (if I get around too it)
Wednesday - run
Thursday - bike
Friday - swim
Saturday - bike + run
Sunday - run
Today I did 4 x 4x30/30 @ ~315 watts. I'm going to do 2 weeks or so of the VO2 work, and then I'm going to test. My new goal is to hit 300 watts (or as close as I can) right before the showdown at Hoot Lake (aka local race near my lake place where I'm hoping to go top 2 in AG, top 10 overall).
Good idea to start the thread. I agree that it would be nice to have a landing place. Maybe we can start an actual "Group".
John, as always, thanks for the imaginative ideas you come up with; you are the party starter!
Checking in. Swam 3300 LCM at masters last night. Felt great except for some leg cramps midway through the main set. They subsided enough for me to finish though.
Went out for what was supposed to be a 40 mile ride today and flatted 15 miles out. As soon as I put the new tube in I noticed that the stem was very short. I have no idea why I had it. I'm thinking it was old. I checked all my other spares when I got home and it was an oddball. Anyway, I couldn't get the CO2 to work with it and had to call fellow EN'er RobertT for a rescue. He and his wife, Annette, drove out to pick me up. Ate and took a nap when I got home instead of running. I've got time to make it up this week.
The beautiful thing about being a misfit toy is that it's no big deal what I do! That being said, depending on the weather, I'll do my ride and run tomorrow. If it's raining, I'll do my long run. I'm up to 75 minutes and working towards 90! I'll probably ride Friday-Monday and run a few more times! May go to masters tonight since I can't tomorrow on my regular night.
Training for our camps and for the Everest Challenge, 29k of gain over two days, end of September. Just finding cool, epic rides on the weekends to supplement tues climbing intervals and hard/short wed/thurs rides.
Glad to see there is some interest in this thread.
@Kitima - VERY glad to meet you. Not enough time to bond cuz you guys were on a mission. Hope the ToC experience was good for you.
@Bill - Glad to hear from you Brotha! Sounds like some serious riding.
@Et al - Glad to have you onboard.
As for me . . . .
My goals this year are pretty minimal. A summer Oly and the Big Kahuna 70.3 in Santa Cruz, CA in September. All races are "just for fun." Though I will push a bit and focus on EN Execution at BK.
My goal until the HIM training for BK begins the week after 4th of July is to build TSS. I am pseudo following the HIM Plan, but not sticking to the training completely. This is the first week after months of downtime (that was great for me mentally and physically) and I am shooting for 500 TSS. If I get it all running, mostly biking or swimming, I don't care. I just want to be free to do what I feel like. Then each of the next 5 or so weeks I will increase the TSS by 20. Then when HIM training starts I will be at or above 600 TSS and have some momentum.
Was supposed to swim today but the remodel of our downstairs bathroom has begun and when they opened the walls we found structure beams where the canned lights were supposed to go. DOH! So I was busy on the phone trying to make some on-the-fly changes. Did squeak out a :30 run this afternoon. Legs felt heavy and I felt fat.
That beacuse they are and I am. But got the work done.
Later.
Mr. Cuddles.
From what I heard of the other TOC campers you are the cabose with square wheels
First "real" open water swim of the season today for me. Supposed to be just 35' or so for me but went a bit longer. Longer than I wanted.
We do a regular out and back. Today water was cold. Shock the face, forehead freeze cold. Took 28' to go out and then when we turned to come back it started raining. Then the wind started blowing. It was a head wind. Then the lake got choppy with small white caps in our faces. You would lift your head up and you would get pelted with rain drops. At one point we all stayed very close together for safety. Was kinda epic for 20' or so. Then the wind died down. The rain let up and the lake calmed down. It was almost serene the last 5' of the swim.
What took 28' to go out took 44' to get back.
Overall, great swim! I am worked. Time for lunch!
I rode 40 miles ABP at .855 IF and then ran 3 miles nice and easy. 175 TSS for the day. Gearing up for long run tomorrow morning and maybe a swim tomorrow afternoon. Thinking about doing a T-1000.
One more week of recovery after the American Zofingen and then back to it. I think the rest of my season is going to consist of the Tour of the Catskills and the Niagara Falls Marathon. May throw a few Sprint DU's into the mix as well.
Pete
I had a great long run this morning. I was injured in the fall and winter am just getting my volume back up after focusing on the bike in the early spring. Ran 10 miles at 7:50 average pace. I hit the last 3 miles in 21 minutes! It was 65 and sunny this morning with almost no humidity. Perfect weather!
Good work, Matt! I don't remember - are those paces your previous paces? Slower? Faster? I know you are a good runner.
I got out and did my first 60' run today. Struggled a bit. Still working out the kinks in my legs. They just aren't used to it yet. But did it. I have been here before, but to my recollection not from this low of a fitness level.
Up to 277 TSS so far this week. Will ride tomorrow and run Sunday to get to 500 TSS for the week. Do-able.
compliments of steve Perkins. 3:50 and 235 TSS. Doing a group ride from boulder tomorrow with steve.
Good work yourself, John! It's so hard coming back with the running.
I'm a little slower than last year but not by a whole lot. I'm just starting to focus on the running in a more structured way. I'm hoping to PR a half mary in September.
I'm in too! IMSG was so long ago and summer hasn't started yet. A while ago I signed up for Death Ride (here) with 15,000 ft of climbing, it should be a fun day of riding. Also just signed up for a fall marathon (here). I haven't run a stand alone marathon in very long time, so we'll see!
Time to start training again
tom
Great long ride this morning with some local roadies. First ride where I was able to hang with the front. Total of 60 miles. Just checked my PMC and my bike TSB was -4, which is higher than it's been for a while. I'm planning on a 90 minute ride and a short run tomorrow - hopefully at a hard effort.
I'm at 592 TSS for the week so far. I'm at 2999 for the month. Been hitting masters 2x a week too.
Duration: 1:57:01 (1:57:42)
Work: 1379 kJ
TSS: 167.3 (intensity factor 0.929)
Norm Power: 204
VI: 1.03
Pw:HR: -208.28%
Pa:HR: -233.14%
Distance: 35.555 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 585 197 watts
Heart Rate: 24 155 128 bpm
Cadence: 29 166 80 rpm
Speed: 2.2 38.3 18.3 mph
Pace 1:34 26:49 3:16 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 329 87 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 803 215 lb-in
Trained hard this weekend. There's a park nearby that has lots of terrain, so I've been doing "intervals" there. Intervals in ultra running are a bit different than in the real world. My lap takes me up and over a good sized hill, around 400 ft up, then 600 ft down the other side and back. So it ends up around 1000ft in 4.5 miles. Last week I did two laps in 49 and 46 min, but this week I did 46 and 45. Warm up and cool down rounded it out to 2 hours total. Yesterday I went to the same park but ran more single tracks and rolling hills...but finished with the same 600 ft climb up that painful fire trail. Total again, 2 hours.
Today I'm standing down. I've got a persistent problem with one of my toes that hasn't given me any trouble for a while, until this weekend. So rather than trying to squeeze in another two hour joy-fest, I'll let it settle some.
Thanks John, here on our special island I don't feel so "Independent" (I hope y'all get the reference)!
Mike
This weekend was almost a complete "rest" for me. All of my wife's family came in for a burial service for her mother. She passed away in February, but several family members and friends couldn't make the funeral, so they all came for the service on Saturday. We brought back a bunch of stuff from her mom's house, so no room in the car to take up my bike. To top it off, I slipped on the rocks by shore and tore about a quarter size hole through the derma and down to the flesh on the ball of my right foot. It's healing up nicely, but it made running tough. I did manage to get in one short 3ish mile run on it Sunday afternoon. If I knew how to take a picture with my wife's iPhone, I'd post it...looks pretty gross, but doesn't really hurt that much.
I'm in week 12 of the OS. You might recall that as the 2nd to last week of the VO2 max/IP block. So...I did 5 x (2x1:00/1:00) @ ~305/200. I do them on a commuter bike path that only crosses a couple of roads. The first 2 were easy, the middle 2 were harder, and the last one was a struggle. I'm biking before work, and sunrise is ~5:30, so not alot of time for the "remainder @ 855", but I think I got in ~10:00 there. That's a great way to start the day! Tomorrow is 4x200, 2x1000 @ Z5. I've got my sites set (again!) on a sub 20:00 5K, so hoping these intervals help me pick up a bit of speed.
Bill, sorry to hear about your foot. If this is your first ultra, or haven't spent much time on trails, you might want to struggle through my Trail Running wiki post: endurancenation.us.dnnmax.com/Resou...fault.aspx
In this week's training thread: endurancenation.us.dnnmax.com/Commu...fault.aspx I'm going to post up about this morning's funky intervals!
Mike