@Coach Patrick so an update, I had a dehydration headache yesterday (Tuesday) from a poorly executed Monday, so I rested and slept like a baby after drinking H2O all day long.
Silly me did it to myself - I opted to do Master's swimming on Monday eve with a run (easy easy Z1 2 miler) before hand, and did not hydrate properly. I paid for it during swimming and all through the next day.
So I missed Tuesday but did a run/swim on Monday, so basically flipped the days. Looking ahead this week I need some help. There is no way that I can get in a 12 mile RR run on Thursday this week due to both weather and work issues, however I can do it on Sunday this week.
Is it OK if I swap around some days to be more conducive to my current schedule of availability and SAUs? My proposal is to modify like follows:
THIS WEEK
SCHEDULED --> PROPOSED
Wednesday - Bike threshold and run --> Master's Swim plus tempo run
Thursday - long run, 12 miles race rehearsal ---> 45 minute stride run plus OWS skills in the pool with the tri masters
Friday - Pink Mist plus run strides - RR Bike Ride plus brick run
Saturday - RR Bike plus brick run ---> Long swim (1.5h master's workout)
Sunday - ABP Bike ---> 12 mile RR run
For next week and honestly until the race on May 12th I will need to adjust the plan to accommodate my schedule and to keep earning SAUs since I only see my husband Friday nights and then during Saturdays. My proposed schedule is as follows if you agree:
UNTIL MAY 12th
SCHEDULED --> PROPOSED
Monday - Optional Swim Skill (NO CHANGE)
Tuesday - Swim and run (NO CHANGE)
Wednesday - Bike threshold and run (NO CHANGE)
Thursday - Long run ---> Tri master's swim (typically OWS skills focused)
Friday - Pink Mist plus run strides ---> Run strides no swim
Saturday- RR Bike plus brick run ---> Long swim (1.5h master's workout) + brick run
Sunday - ABP Bike ---> Long run, possible bike for recovery spinning
Lap 4 (2 mile - I did 1.5 as that is where I was when I ended up back at the start) goal: 14:21 Actual: 14:14
I Kept on pace (well, I was a little faster than goal pace but I tried hard to stay in within 10 seconds of goal pace), HR in perfect zone - a nice slow progression whereas normally I would be running in the 160's the whole run so huge improvement here - and RPE felt right where it should be.
I think after Gulf Coast I need to do another 5k TT to get my new paces for Ohio because it is was very difficult to stay in the prescribed paces as they felt really slow to me; however I know that it is important to mind the planned paces no matter how good I feel. I will need that HR bandwidth for the expected roaster of a condition the race will be in.
Now I have a run question for you - what is the best way to safely increase my run volume? I realized during the 12 miler that I do not have enough miles on my legs to support this distance without feeling horrible afterwards - no matter how great I felt during.
I am just not hitting the numbers that I need to be during the week to support a long 10-12 mile run safely. I am thinking of adding in some morning miles to bump the volume up safely, and extending out the run times prescribed. Can you help me figure out a weekly target to be hitting right now? Last week I ran 20 miles total - 8 miles during the week (as 2, 3, and 3) then 12 on Sunday - that is crazy and while I could do it I am feeling the effects in my knees and ankles.
My plan for this week is 26 miles in run volume. I am allowing 24 hours between big volume run days - so my last run on Tuesday will be the evening, I will not do another run until the evening on Wednesday. I will split my long run on Thursday into 2 sessions, so I will not do another run until Friday evening. I will take Saturday as a SAU day with my hubby and do a fun ride with him (usually a few hours) and then Sunday I will do my final run of the week, a full 36 hours since my last run. I think that this plus a Normatec session on Saturday and 30 minutes of daily sport-focused yoga will be very helpful in recovery. Does this look ok?
Monday - Yoga and recovery Tuesday - AM: easy 5k recovery + recovery yoga PM: Tempo run and Master's Swim (6-7 miles total) Wednesday - AM: recovery Yoga PM: Bike threshold and brick run (3 miles) Thursday - AM: Long run part 1 PM: Long run part 2 + Chiro adjustment and Master's swim (9-10 miles) Friday - AM: Swim RR PM: Bike fit tweak + Run strides (2 miles) Saturday - SAU Fun ride day with Mike (we typically do ~ 3 hours of urban riding for fun) + 60 minutes of Normatec at the Troy Cryo Lounge (an awesome recovery spa with Cryo chambers, Oxygen bar, an IR sauna, and Normatec boots) Sunday - Bike + 60 minute race pace brick (6 miles)
I hope that you had a great time at Camp! Onwards!
@Coach Patrick I hope that you had a great time in Spain!
So I incorporated a 3 mile easy paced run yesterday morning, and then did the tempo run last night before master's swimming. The master's set was strength and endurance (we did 100's, 50's, drills, and a 1200 endurance set) so it fit perfectly with the plan. I feel really good today, I think adding in easy effort recovery runs is the way to go to continue to build that durability without increasing my injury risk as long as I allow adequate rest between these higher volume days, correct?
JLK - if it’s any solace, your body was working up a storm. I am happy you are back; let’s try to be on the right side of that next time (it’s not easy).
I like the swim consistency piece; just remember to swim your own speed most of the time. We don’t want you pushed every session!
@Coach Patrick I entered taper a week early due to work and a family funeral that ended up stealing a few additional days from me. I did my 1.2 mile TT this morning and while it is artificially fast (I was in a 22yd pool - why they even make a 22y pool is beyond me), I was very happy to see that I negative split the entire swim. I did 50 laps (the one good thing is that 100 lengths= 2200yd so math was really easy) lapping my Garmin every 10 laps.
Every 440 yards was faster than the last just by my focus on catch and pull and swim mechanics. I tried to not push off from the wall as the pool was already short. You can see my SWOLF score decreased as well lap 2 - lap 5. I was especially focused on the EVF, soft hands, and strong pull engaging my LATS and not my shoulders.
I am going to set up a debrief call with you for after the race, where we can set expectations and goals for my next block of training, another 70.3 relay in July.
Have a great weekend - see you on the flip side of Gulf Coast!
Perfect! Be sure to say hi to Maurice as he is down there racing as well. I pronounce you ready and can’t wait to hear all about it on our call. Do you thing is making sure you keep your core body temperature down so you can handle the nutrition. Don’t hesitate to pour water over yourself on the bike or early on the run if it proves to be hot. Good luck!
@Coach Patrick OH MY GOSH I cannot wait for our call later this week!
The knowledge I have gained from you has been a literal life saver in my race execution. I have so much gratitude for EN and the support of me and helping me shape the athlete I am becoming.
The short story - 40 minute 70.3 Relay PR on hellish conditions. Hubby's bike was longer by 30 minutes... so that 40 minute PR was ALL ME on the swim and the run. It was wacky crazy hot and I was able to mitigate the heat and.. drum roll... NEGATIVE SPLIT THE RUN in a huge way. I finished looking and feeling better than I started. How does that happen? EXECUTION!
Back into training after taking the weeks of transition - I feel AMAZING! Humbled, but very in a good way.
So since I did my first week - here are my 3 unquantifiable things, those things that went well:
1 - I actually paid attention to my HR on runs and what do you know? It is working. :-) I am feeling so much stronger and am actually paying attention to my efforts and heeding the zones I need to be in.
2 - My run is improving by leaps and bounds and I am feeling so much better with each run. I am motivated to get out there now, not fearful.
3 - I am enjoying spending time on the bike with my husband! I do my workout on Saturday morning, then ride bikes for fun with him in the evening (very low HR efforts). We ride together on Sundays and I ride my ride, he rides his, but on a 6 mile loop so we see each other a lot.
ok @coach Patrick let's talk about moving some training around! :-D
I went ahead and moved the days I needed to in FS already - my gosh that is AWESOME! I love being able to make comments on my WO's as well as provide information like how I felt, any conditions that I want to make note of, etc. I am a data nerd and this FS is da bomb. I added a "travel day" option for workouts as well so you can see when I am travelling.
So I am travelling without Bike the week of June 25th and the week of August 20th.
For June 25th - Travel to Ashville, NC -
Fly on Monday - only swim if time allows else travel day
Tuesday - Thursday in the plant, can run these days may try to get out early and get in a swim in the local open pool - but not sure I can swing that.
Friday - fly home to Detroit, travel day no workout.
Saturday - resume training as normal.
For August 20th - Travel to Hanover Germany
Fly August 19th PM arrive August 20th AM - travel day means recovery day. I am planning on doing a 5k OWS race on the 19th as this is outstanding practice for IMFL and gets me time in my wetsuit that I normally will not get.
I can run a little while I am in town but my days will be rather packed. Will come back on the 22nd
Resume training on the 23rd
So basically travel days are no workout days, and when I am out and about I can get in some good runs.
Those adaptations are perfect. Remember, our goal and traveling is just to keep you consistent and make sure that you don’t get sick. In your case, I believe you have set yourself up for success.
I am glad to hear that you are enjoying the final search. I agree, it’s very easy to manage the workout structure and stay on track. Personally, I really like that workout email notifications every day!
So - I had a medical set back pop up last week - I guess week 1 of "resume to training" is better than IM week! I had a skin cancer scare that turned out to be nothing to worry about so I get to save my face from disfiguration and have upped my sunscreen game big time.
After the Derm news I booked it to my Primary Care dr to get a "check the box, purely a formality" all clear for IM training. I walked in expecting a standing ovation for all of my hard work and my weight loss... only to be told I am benched due to an abnormally high and worrisome BP - I was 179/123.... I was on a literal brink of either heart attack or stroke. The worst part - I felt FINE - no symptoms, my HR was normal, no headache no anything, and had I not been at the Dr I would have been out on my long run!!!
So, emergency intervention was performed with 2 shots to get my BP down immediately (left there with a 159/108), and I went home with 2 Rx's for additional BP Meds. Saturday rolls around I am back in to the doctor for a follow up and BOOM - 118/72. Normal.
I was cleared to resume training (YAY!) and now I carry a BP machine with me to monitor before and after training sessions to see if we can mine any additional data as to why I had such a close call.
So I am travelling this week and will aim to be consistent in getting in some runs, the pool will not be an option due to the thunderstorms we are experiencing down here now - and then when I am back this weekend I plan on getting back on plan.
I dropped off my tri bike to the LBS for a Di2 upgrade, so when I get back hopefully she will be ready and I can put her to good use!
Yikes! Good for you to stay on top of your general health. I hope everyone reading this thread is paying attention. Hopefully this is a temporary thing and a few nice weeks to get back in the swing of things will have you be right again. Please let me know what else I can do in terms of adjusting workouts etc. to be helpful.
Thank you @Coach Patrick it was scary but a good lesson. Just because you feel fine, does not mean you are fine.
My BP has continued to stabilize and I have returned to some modified training.
My plan is that I am going to take the next week as more time vs. effort just to keep an eye on things, then I plan on ramping up the effort cautiously over the following week, and as long as there are no BP blips I should be back up to full EN non-triaged workouts in 2 weeks.
I think that’s a perfect plan. Remember you’re having this incident at the same time all of North America decided to turn up the thermostat. There are lots of mitigating factors it could be exacerbating the situation. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
I would like to take you up on your offer to help navigate workouts for the next month or so of training, as that gives me assistance in knowing how to ramp up intensity safely.
I'm starting to feel behind in my fitness and after speaking to my doctor he wants me to ramp up intensity slowly and not to go right back to full intensity right away. I am good with that as I am not ready with this lacking of a cardio base, however now I'm kind of starting to worry about IMFL.
We are about 17 weeks out from race day - I can swim miles at a time, I can run at least 13 miles - and I can bike at least 50 miles comfortably at an easy (VERY EASY) pace these days so I am not at ground zero per se, but I am not where I would like to be (which is a place not based on reality so I need to let go of "what could have been" and adjust my expectations based on "what it currently is")
Part of me says "Hey, if I just follow the plan from here on out and at least get in the time even if not at the Rx'd intensities, I'll be fine to finish FL."
I didn't realize how far behind in bike fitness I was and now with these health issues and the recent travel for work it's taken me off my bike and now that I'm starting to ride again I am getting a wake up call that I am not the same cyclist I was. Every ride I look in disbelief that I am so slow but then I do that reality check and say to myself "Jenn - you are stronger than you were yesterday, and tomorrow you will be stronger than you are today."
It has been so long since I have been consistently active that my body has forgotten what it was like when I first started, so I am in this weird place of "this is not how my body should feel" but my body of today should absolutely feel like this. I just need to keep telling myself that this is not a repeat of 2012 - this is the now of 2018.
I went into IMFL in 2012 off of 3 years of solid 70.3 training and was in peak shape... here I am 4 years after my last real race and 50-60lbs heavier than I toed the line in 2012. I HAVE to take all of that into consideration.
You can probably tell I am on a ledge here, lol. I could use some help to step away from the ledge and back on solid, butt kicking, ground.
We are just under 4 months out, so I think that's enough time as long as i'm hella - HELLA - consistent, right?
I'm re-adjusting my expectations for IMFL to see it as more of a starting point in building a stronger and healthier Jennifer, with the goal being to finish happy and healthy. 2018 is my year to rebuild and get back into the swing of things, to get back into the lifestyle aspect of it all. I have to remind myself that we are rebuilding, not starting over.
@Coach Patrick as an update to my email a few days ago, here is how I have been taking the workouts this week:
Monday I did a really easy and short skill swim just to get the feel of the water after a weekend of riding - my arms hurt!
Tuesday I had a bike team meeting to go over IMFL for the new racers, so I took that as my rest /recovery day
Wednesday I nixed the FTP test and did the Tour de OZ Stage 3 riding a little afterwards to hit an hour. I pushed a little bit on some areas and the hills, but kept my HR in a reasonable area - sub 155 for the most part and monitored my BPO afterwards, and it was only slightly elevated in the 130's /80. YES!
Thursday (today) morning I hopped on the bike again and did an hour of recovery around London on Zwift, taking advantage of the sprint sections really pushing high watts for those 0.1 mile stretches, but the rest of time taking is uber easy - low low watts and low low HR. No abnormalities to BP or HR.
Tonight I am going to do an OWS with a friend as I have that HIM in 2 weeks - oops! and then a little short run if I feel ok.
Friday I am going to do a little run to get back on my legs being mindful of my HR.
Saturday I have a 40 mile tour - One Hellova Ride, which I will take at a comfortable effort and be mindful of HR given terrain (hilly) and then will use Sunday as a recovery run day.
So basically it is all about TIME on my legs, arms, and in the saddle this week - not focusing on numbers aside from HR.
Next week is
Swim speed/Run strides on Monday,
Run FTP on Tuesday,
Bike FTP run on Wednesday,
Run long on Thursday,
bike recovery / swim speed on Friday,
long bike, second run Saturday,
ABP bike on Sunday.
I propose to continue with "focus on time not effort" on the bike rides and swims for the next week, adding in some OWSing as I have the race in a few weeks, and to do my runs slightly modified from Rx'd - basically where they require time in Z3 maybe splitting up the Z3 time into smaller chunks jut like you have us do when we need to triage a workout that is going south.
So for instance the Run FTP wko is designed as:
-Level 1: 2 x 1/2 mile (2'), 1 x 1 mile (4') @ Zone 3 (160 - 166 bpm). Remainder of time @ Zone 2 (149 - 159 bpm)
I would modify it as
-Level 1: 4 x 1/4mile (2'), 2 x 1/2 mile (4') @ Zone 3 (160 - 166 bpm). Remainder of time @ Zone 2 (149 - 159 bpm)
Or should I even go a little more cautious and do it all in 1/4 mile chunks? Or only do the first 2 x 1/4 miles at z3 and the rest at z2?
Looking forward to hearing back! Have a great weekend!
Another week down and I am still plugging along, so far so good! I am just sort of taking a cautious but purposeful approach to my sessions.
I have been updating my Final Surge workouts with some notes on how I am doing after the workouts however I am I figured I would touch base here weekly as a recap as well to keep everything in one nice place.
For running - I have not allowed myself to break out of Z2, keeping myself in TRP and adding in Z2 for the training intensity efforts so far. I think that I am going to try to hit a short 1/2 mile Z3 interval in next week's FTP run to see how I respond and recover. Would that be OK? I will do it on a treadmill so that I can monitor BP before and after really quickly and see how I recover the rest of the day.
For biking - I am going to start doing the Wednesday bike FTP workouts as prescribed as I am at home on a trainer for that, and can easily monitor how my body responds. I figured 1 hard workout a week will be OK at this point and then on the weekends I plan on taking it more as time in the saddle for now - adding in some shorter efforts on the long ride in the coming weeks.
For swimming - I am focusing on open water swims for endurance through the end of July then will be hitting the pool for more of the interval work in August, as again I can easily monitor how my body feels there at the pool as I am never more than a few feet away from a wall if needed.
So far I am not having any known issues with my BP so I am just easing into the training again, focusing first on time and then on effort.
The real test will be IM70.3 Ohio next weekend where I am doing the swim and run. I plan on executing just like I did IM70.3 Gulf Coast - i.e. swim comfortably and then run managing my HR in the low Z2 pace, keeping my HR around 150-153 as possible.
Thanks for the update! I appreciate the 3D nature of a few paragraphs vs just the data.
I think the idea of adding a little intensity back to the run and the bike is a good idea. Particularly starting with just one session each discipline a week.
On the run, those half mile repeats or three minutes intervals with two minutes of rest are perfect. Just monitor your ability to recover which is that you are better. In other words, see how long it takes you to get your heart rate down from the end of the interval to your recovery zone. My guess is that could take a little bit of time.
Well I've never seen you ride your trainer, I'm assuming that you can do the workout in such a way that you get the work done without jeopardizing your health. Given that cycling is not a weight bearing exercise, you should have more bandwidth to recover after the intensity.
Most importantly, just listened to your body and see how it responds over the next 48 hours after these key sessions. We are in a bit of uncharted territory, so it makes sense to pay attention.
Thank you so much @Coach Patrick, that is some great news!
I have some more news on the health front, we shall call it icing on the cake: I had the Boston Heart tests run and got my results back as well as a month-out BP check last night.
My BP has been stabilized for a month now so Dr has released all holds on my effort ramp up plan and said that I know my body best and the he trusts that I will know when to stop or modify if anything changes - I told him how we train in EN with quality and volume and he says that our approach is perfect for how he would like me to train and agrees to the intensity ramp up plan with adding in those shorter Z3 intervals with recoveries, as well as has cleared me for IM70.3 Ohio this weekend without concern.
Now that we have a month of HR and BP data as well as all of my blood work back in - we know that I am in a good place and that all is modulated with lifestyle choices no additional medical interventions required. Basically he told me to keep doing what I am doing!
I took this week as taper - so when I am back from OH I will start in with our plan of adding in those Z3 short intervals on the runs and will be executing my rides per Rx! My goal is all green next week in the completed category in FS.
I will check back in post IM70.3 Ohio with how the day went - given these interruptions I have no real goals other than this is a supported training day!
That is fantastic news! I can’t wait to hear how the weekend went. Kudos to you again for being so diligent and managing that fine line between taking care of your body and training.
I did the relay with my hubby - he rode I swam and ran.
Over all - Fabulous time! I cheered for the ENers I saw out on the course and Mike and I had a fun day together in a mixed bag of a race.
SWIM (STRAVA or it didn't happen: https://www.strava.com/activities/1736563211) - Safe Swim rolling start with self seed. I seeded myself in the 50-55 time as I have not really swam any real distance since May's IM70.3 Gulf Coast swim. I passed tones of people - mainly because they all seeded themselves in the wrong positions to beat the clock - but what it resulted in was a war zone of contact. Definitely NOT a SAFE swim. To top it off - due to the 79.5* water temp there was a "party wave" released 5 minutes after the last non-wetsuit swimmer at the back of the pack - so when they came tearing through there was some very very aggressive swimmers as they were already 5 minutes to the negative. I cut myself on some guy's unfastened safety pin (OUCH!) and was purposefully pushed underwater (with 2 hands - not an accident) by a jackhole of a swimmer who decided he'd rather drown me than him try to swim around me. I was not happy with this but there was a lot of pushing, and overall rude behavior out there.
My finish time was 52 minutes, and given no wetsuit in a flat, no current lake - compared to my last 1.2 miler at 49 minutes which was with wetsuit and in the heavily currented ocean - I am saying that this was was if not equal to, a definite better effort than May. 3 minutes different but in reality my Wetsuit alone would have made 5-7 minutes of difference at least, so that is improvement all day long!
RUN (STRAVA or it didn't happen - https://www.strava.com/activities/1736767261)- AKA the schitt show. My back froze up on me the literal 1st step that I took out of the stadium. So bad that I was brought to raging tears - bent over not able to walk correctly. I decided to push through thinking that it would release around the 5k mark and if not I would give myself permission to quit as there was NO WAY nor any need for me to be in agonizing pain for longer than necessary. Do not be a hero to be a zero Jennifer!
I made it to 5k and there was some improvement in that I could walk, but running was out of the question and my back HURT not just was tight. The pain was tolerable but very present. At the 5k mark - just as I was going to call it a day my waterbottle fell out of my hand and lady behind me picked it up. As she handed it back to me she started to cry. I said thank you for picking this up I am so sorry that you had to bend over and exert that energy - to which she replied through her tears - I have to quit. I think that I need to quit. It tore up my heart and right then and there I realized that she was sent to me to provide me a focus other than my back and for me to give back and to help someone else achieve their goals that day. I grabbed her around the shoulders, pulled her in for a hug and said NOT TODAY!
We set off walking... and stayed together the entire remaining 10 miles. 4 hours later... we arrived at Selby Field and I let her go ahead so that she would have a clean finisher's picture capturing her finishing her first 70.3. I finished in TEARS in PAIN but with PRIDE in knowing that I had it in me to keep on going, and that I am so happy that I said to myself to wait until the 5k mark because obviously there was someone who needed me to be there for them.
Ironically - she is from Michigan (the other side of the State) but we have mutual friends... including 2 people I went to college with who also do IMs.
So - the back issue? After meeting with my Chiro the moment I got home, we discussed the possibility being hamstring/glute/quad/hip flexor tightness resulting in compression of the lower back which resulted in the tightening and subsequent spasm of the muscles. I feel 100% normal again and did so about 3 hours after finishing. No long term damage.
I am now stretching out 2x a day my hammies, quads and hip flexors, as well as doing overall stretching and fascia blasting to help release tension on the areas.
Looking ahead - I am in recovery this week and my body really took a beating on the 4 hour death march. But I finished!
As for IMFL and the run - yeah this back thing has me a teeny bit worried. I am going to focus on stretching and foam rollering and fascia work religiously, and see how that plays out on my running. If I do not get an improvement on the back in the next few weeks, I may be employing a FST specialist to see if it is a fascia issue, so in the mean time I am following the plan and will report back on how things go.
ONWARD!!!!!!! And way to go EN For taking home the trophy in our division at OH!
So I took a week for recovery and went riding this weekend attempting to get back on the plan - the heat and humidity really had me suffering and mentally I just did not have it in me. I am so disappointed that I had to modify my 3.5 hour ride to just over an hour. I just had nothing left in me - I was not feeling great, felt sort of dizzy and just not in it. I left feeling like I am a failure. That carried over to Sunday where it was more of the same - I managed 2 hours but they were at 13 mph - WTF?! FAIL.
I am hoping that things turn around for this weekend's BTD - 1 hour swim, 1 hr run and 4 hour bike in about 10 degrees cooler weather so I should be in a much better place.
Here are some interesting data points from the last week - my last 7 days of sleep Averaged at 8:58 - that is nearly 9 HOURS!!!!!!!!! The week prior I was at 7:55 average, historically I am at around 7 hours. I have felt so tired all week and now I see that I have been sleeping ridiculously long hours,
Sleep in hours per night leading up to the race -
Monday 7.9,
Tuesday 7.4,
Wednesday 8.7,
Thursday 8,
Friday 7.2,
Saturday / race eve 6.4 ,
Sunday/ race night 9.9
Last week -
Monday 9.2, Tuesday 8, Wednesday 8.6, Thursday 9.8, Friday 7.3, Saturday 8, Sunday / last night - 10
Saturday I felt EXHAUSTED all day and took a hour or longer nap before our bike ride.
Does this mean that I am still recovering from the weekend's 1.2 mile swim and 13.1 mile death march? During my ride I was yawing so much that I honestly felt that I could take a nap and sleep for days. Today I am feeling more myself - not so drowsy, fully functional, and looking forward to some exercise. Could last week, and thus my horrible performance this weekend, have been a recovery sign?
So as far as execution on my BTD goes this Saturday - which BTW is my 40th b-day - I was planning on doing the 1 hour swim first, then the bike, ending with the run, but may move the run to 2nd place... what do you think? Traditional order or complete as I feel?
Congratulations on the race. Sometimes we fly and sometimes we don’t, I’m super proud of you for getting it done. I agree that that back issue was worrisome especially as it can feel like it’s out of your control. That self-care is huge so let’s keep it up.
Don’t underestimate the cost of two of exerting yourself on the swim but that sitting around before getting back after it at the end of the day. It’s possible that the delay between the two events allowed you to tighten up. Hopefully the self-care stuff I’ll get you back on track. Paragraph
Sounds to me like you were just underfed for that session. A lot of times fatigue manifests itself not only just as physically tired but also nutritionally weak. I think it’s important for you to go back and take a look at that nutrition for the last two or three days it into the weekend and make sure you’re firing on all cylinders. When I start a ride like that I don’t feel good, and I have enough hydration, I have to stop at a store and stick some food in my face.
That said the humidity has been brutal. Nothing wrong with that any effort down see you can complete the work out for time if needed. Let me know how things have gone since.
I am back from Germany and am back in action! So I am still very worried as I have missed what I feel is half of my training plan, however I cannot succeed by looking backwards - I have to just accept it and move forward making every day count.
I am also no longer afraid of higher effort work on my running - no more death fears, I am A-OK!!! - but I am struggling to get into the higher zones and stay there without real fatigue setting in due to starting late in the game. How do I triage this? If the plan is 3 x 1km at Z4 - do I do maybe 6 @ 1/2 K efforts or even 12 @ 1/4k effort? I have been just sort of running for time not effort but I think that I need to start doing some effort. OR, maybe because I am starting so late I focus on time in TRP vs effort work? I am being realistic that IMFL is most likely not going to be a PR effort for me, but my goal is to finish feeling good and not doing damage by being too undertrained. I also am realistic that I have a good volume of work ahead of me still so I am happy about that!
My mental plan is that IMFL is a celebration of getting back on the road to health - then over the winter I am focused on Body Comp and getting ready to CRUSH my goals in 2019.
BTW @Coach Patrick I am not having the back issues as much and I am feeling so much better every session, getting stronger on both the bike and run! :-)
Great to have you back. I love seeing all of the pictures… Thank you for sharing!
For now I would like you to keep the intensity workout in, and yes please break it up as you need to. Especially if the temperature for you is as crazy as it is here right now. I would happily take half mile or quarter repeat as needed. You can continue that higher intensity working through mid September… Call it the next three weeks. Then we can switch over to the Endurance stuff.
there is value in the intensity for getting your system back into shape quickly and to setting a higher ceiling against which the endurance training will be more effective. The hard part is, it’s super hot right now and he had a little bit of time off. So physically you will see the adaptations quickly, but mentally it will be tough… Which is why I recommend breaking it up.
Don’t sell yourself short for Florida already. If we can get in one or two bigger regions of cycling volume in late September in mid October you should be pretty good. Remember, there is a lot of free speed available in great execution. If what you’re saying is “I don’t care about the outcome, I’ll focus on the process” then you and I are on the same page. My point is that this process focus can sometimes it yields a better outcome than you think!!
I am also excited to hear that your back is doing better! Onwards!
Comments
Ayyye Coach!
@Coach Patrick so an update, I had a dehydration headache yesterday (Tuesday) from a poorly executed Monday, so I rested and slept like a baby after drinking H2O all day long.
Silly me did it to myself - I opted to do Master's swimming on Monday eve with a run (easy easy Z1 2 miler) before hand, and did not hydrate properly. I paid for it during swimming and all through the next day.
So I missed Tuesday but did a run/swim on Monday, so basically flipped the days. Looking ahead this week I need some help. There is no way that I can get in a 12 mile RR run on Thursday this week due to both weather and work issues, however I can do it on Sunday this week.
Is it OK if I swap around some days to be more conducive to my current schedule of availability and SAUs? My proposal is to modify like follows:
THIS WEEK
SCHEDULED --> PROPOSED
For next week and honestly until the race on May 12th I will need to adjust the plan to accommodate my schedule and to keep earning SAUs since I only see my husband Friday nights and then during Saturdays. My proposed schedule is as follows if you agree:
UNTIL MAY 12th
SCHEDULED --> PROPOSED
@Coach Patrick Well I have some great news to report. I completed my 12 mile RR on Sunday and.. wait for it... NAILED IT!
https://www.strava.com/activities/1526003421
My goal pace for the segments:
I Kept on pace (well, I was a little faster than goal pace but I tried hard to stay in within 10 seconds of goal pace), HR in perfect zone - a nice slow progression whereas normally I would be running in the 160's the whole run so huge improvement here - and RPE felt right where it should be.
I think after Gulf Coast I need to do another 5k TT to get my new paces for Ohio because it is was very difficult to stay in the prescribed paces as they felt really slow to me; however I know that it is important to mind the planned paces no matter how good I feel. I will need that HR bandwidth for the expected roaster of a condition the race will be in.
Now I have a run question for you - what is the best way to safely increase my run volume? I realized during the 12 miler that I do not have enough miles on my legs to support this distance without feeling horrible afterwards - no matter how great I felt during.
I am just not hitting the numbers that I need to be during the week to support a long 10-12 mile run safely. I am thinking of adding in some morning miles to bump the volume up safely, and extending out the run times prescribed. Can you help me figure out a weekly target to be hitting right now? Last week I ran 20 miles total - 8 miles during the week (as 2, 3, and 3) then 12 on Sunday - that is crazy and while I could do it I am feeling the effects in my knees and ankles.
My plan for this week is 26 miles in run volume. I am allowing 24 hours between big volume run days - so my last run on Tuesday will be the evening, I will not do another run until the evening on Wednesday. I will split my long run on Thursday into 2 sessions, so I will not do another run until Friday evening. I will take Saturday as a SAU day with my hubby and do a fun ride with him (usually a few hours) and then Sunday I will do my final run of the week, a full 36 hours since my last run. I think that this plus a Normatec session on Saturday and 30 minutes of daily sport-focused yoga will be very helpful in recovery. Does this look ok?
Monday - Yoga and recovery
Tuesday - AM: easy 5k recovery + recovery yoga PM: Tempo run and Master's Swim (6-7 miles total)
Wednesday - AM: recovery Yoga PM: Bike threshold and brick run (3 miles)
Thursday - AM: Long run part 1 PM: Long run part 2 + Chiro adjustment and Master's swim (9-10 miles)
Friday - AM: Swim RR PM: Bike fit tweak + Run strides (2 miles)
Saturday - SAU Fun ride day with Mike (we typically do ~ 3 hours of urban riding for fun) + 60 minutes of Normatec at the Troy Cryo Lounge (an awesome recovery spa with Cryo chambers, Oxygen bar, an IR sauna, and Normatec boots)
Sunday - Bike + 60 minute race pace brick (6 miles)
I hope that you had a great time at Camp! Onwards!
@Coach Patrick I hope that you had a great time in Spain!
So I incorporated a 3 mile easy paced run yesterday morning, and then did the tempo run last night before master's swimming. The master's set was strength and endurance (we did 100's, 50's, drills, and a 1200 endurance set) so it fit perfectly with the plan. I feel really good today, I think adding in easy effort recovery runs is the way to go to continue to build that durability without increasing my injury risk as long as I allow adequate rest between these higher volume days, correct?
I like the swim consistency piece; just remember to swim your own speed most of the time. We don’t want you pushed every session!
~ Coach P
funeral that ended up stealing a few additional days from me. I did my 1.2
mile TT this morning and while it is artificially fast (I was in a 22yd
pool - why they even make a 22y pool is beyond me), I was very happy to see
that I negative split the entire swim. I did 50 laps (the one good thing
is that 100 lengths= 2200yd so math was really easy) lapping my Garmin
every 10 laps.
Every 440 yards was faster than the last just by my focus on catch and pull
and swim mechanics. I tried to not push off from the wall as the pool was
already short. You can see my SWOLF score decreased as well lap 2 - lap
5. I was especially focused on the EVF, soft hands, and strong pull
engaging my LATS and not my shoulders.
I am going to set up a debrief call with you for after the race, where we
can set expectations and goals for my next block of training, another 70.3
relay in July.
Have a great weekend - see you on the flip side of Gulf Coast!
JLK
The knowledge I have gained from you has been a literal life saver in my
race execution. I have so much gratitude for EN and the support of me and
helping me shape the athlete I am becoming.
The short story - 40 minute 70.3 Relay PR on hellish conditions. Hubby's
bike was longer by 30 minutes... so that 40 minute PR was ALL ME on the
swim and the run. It was wacky crazy hot and I was able to mitigate the
heat and.. drum roll... NEGATIVE SPLIT THE RUN in a huge way. I finished
looking and feeling better than I started. How does that happen?
EXECUTION!
See you Thursday!!!!
Back into training after taking the weeks of transition - I feel AMAZING! Humbled, but very in a good way.
So since I did my first week - here are my 3 unquantifiable things, those things that went well:
1 - I actually paid attention to my HR on runs and what do you know? It is working. :-) I am feeling so much stronger and am actually paying attention to my efforts and heeding the zones I need to be in.
2 - My run is improving by leaps and bounds and I am feeling so much better with each run. I am motivated to get out there now, not fearful.
3 - I am enjoying spending time on the bike with my husband! I do my workout on Saturday morning, then ride bikes for fun with him in the evening (very low HR efforts). We ride together on Sundays and I ride my ride, he rides his, but on a 6 mile loop so we see each other a lot.
It has made for a really cool experience!
ok @coach Patrick let's talk about moving some training around! :-D
I went ahead and moved the days I needed to in FS already - my gosh that is AWESOME! I love being able to make comments on my WO's as well as provide information like how I felt, any conditions that I want to make note of, etc. I am a data nerd and this FS is da bomb. I added a "travel day" option for workouts as well so you can see when I am travelling.
So I am travelling without Bike the week of June 25th and the week of August 20th.
For June 25th - Travel to Ashville, NC -
For August 20th - Travel to Hanover Germany
So basically travel days are no workout days, and when I am out and about I can get in some good runs.
Is that a good adaptation to the plan?
Hola @Coach Patrick !
I am learning! :-)
So - I had a medical set back pop up last week - I guess week 1 of "resume to training" is better than IM week! I had a skin cancer scare that turned out to be nothing to worry about so I get to save my face from disfiguration and have upped my sunscreen game big time.
After the Derm news I booked it to my Primary Care dr to get a "check the box, purely a formality" all clear for IM training. I walked in expecting a standing ovation for all of my hard work and my weight loss... only to be told I am benched due to an abnormally high and worrisome BP - I was 179/123.... I was on a literal brink of either heart attack or stroke. The worst part - I felt FINE - no symptoms, my HR was normal, no headache no anything, and had I not been at the Dr I would have been out on my long run!!!
So, emergency intervention was performed with 2 shots to get my BP down immediately (left there with a 159/108), and I went home with 2 Rx's for additional BP Meds. Saturday rolls around I am back in to the doctor for a follow up and BOOM - 118/72. Normal.
I was cleared to resume training (YAY!) and now I carry a BP machine with me to monitor before and after training sessions to see if we can mine any additional data as to why I had such a close call.
So I am travelling this week and will aim to be consistent in getting in some runs, the pool will not be an option due to the thunderstorms we are experiencing down here now - and then when I am back this weekend I plan on getting back on plan.
I dropped off my tri bike to the LBS for a Di2 upgrade, so when I get back hopefully she will be ready and I can put her to good use!
Thank you @Coach Patrick it was scary but a good lesson. Just because you feel fine, does not mean you are fine.
My BP has continued to stabilize and I have returned to some modified training.
My plan is that I am going to take the next week as more time vs. effort just to keep an eye on things, then I plan on ramping up the effort cautiously over the following week, and as long as there are no BP blips I should be back up to full EN non-triaged workouts in 2 weeks.
Is this a good modification/approach?
Hi @Coach Patrick !
I would like to take you up on your offer to help navigate workouts for the next month or so of training, as that gives me assistance in knowing how to ramp up intensity safely.
I'm starting to feel behind in my fitness and after speaking to my doctor he wants me to ramp up intensity slowly and not to go right back to full intensity right away. I am good with that as I am not ready with this lacking of a cardio base, however now I'm kind of starting to worry about IMFL.
We are about 17 weeks out from race day - I can swim miles at a time, I can run at least 13 miles - and I can bike at least 50 miles comfortably at an easy (VERY EASY) pace these days so I am not at ground zero per se, but I am not where I would like to be (which is a place not based on reality so I need to let go of "what could have been" and adjust my expectations based on "what it currently is")
@Coach Patrick as an update to my email a few days ago, here is how I have been taking the workouts this week:
Monday I did a really easy and short skill swim just to get the feel of the water after a weekend of riding - my arms hurt!
Tuesday I had a bike team meeting to go over IMFL for the new racers, so I took that as my rest /recovery day
Wednesday I nixed the FTP test and did the Tour de OZ Stage 3 riding a little afterwards to hit an hour. I pushed a little bit on some areas and the hills, but kept my HR in a reasonable area - sub 155 for the most part and monitored my BPO afterwards, and it was only slightly elevated in the 130's /80. YES!
Thursday (today) morning I hopped on the bike again and did an hour of recovery around London on Zwift, taking advantage of the sprint sections really pushing high watts for those 0.1 mile stretches, but the rest of time taking is uber easy - low low watts and low low HR. No abnormalities to BP or HR.
Tonight I am going to do an OWS with a friend as I have that HIM in 2 weeks - oops! and then a little short run if I feel ok.
Friday I am going to do a little run to get back on my legs being mindful of my HR.
Saturday I have a 40 mile tour - One Hellova Ride, which I will take at a comfortable effort and be mindful of HR given terrain (hilly) and then will use Sunday as a recovery run day.
So basically it is all about TIME on my legs, arms, and in the saddle this week - not focusing on numbers aside from HR.
Next week is
I propose to continue with "focus on time not effort" on the bike rides and swims for the next week, adding in some OWSing as I have the race in a few weeks, and to do my runs slightly modified from Rx'd - basically where they require time in Z3 maybe splitting up the Z3 time into smaller chunks jut like you have us do when we need to triage a workout that is going south.
So for instance the Run FTP wko is designed as:
-Level 1: 2 x 1/2 mile (2'), 1 x 1 mile (4') @ Zone 3 (160 - 166 bpm). Remainder of time @ Zone 2 (149 - 159 bpm)
I would modify it as
-Level 1: 4 x 1/4mile (2'), 2 x 1/2 mile (4') @ Zone 3 (160 - 166 bpm). Remainder of time @ Zone 2 (149 - 159 bpm)
Or should I even go a little more cautious and do it all in 1/4 mile chunks? Or only do the first 2 x 1/4 miles at z3 and the rest at z2?
Looking forward to hearing back! Have a great weekend!
@Coach Patrick
Another week down and I am still plugging along, so far so good! I am just sort of taking a cautious but purposeful approach to my sessions.
I have been updating my Final Surge workouts with some notes on how I am doing after the workouts however I am I figured I would touch base here weekly as a recap as well to keep everything in one nice place.
For running - I have not allowed myself to break out of Z2, keeping myself in TRP and adding in Z2 for the training intensity efforts so far. I think that I am going to try to hit a short 1/2 mile Z3 interval in next week's FTP run to see how I respond and recover. Would that be OK? I will do it on a treadmill so that I can monitor BP before and after really quickly and see how I recover the rest of the day.
For biking - I am going to start doing the Wednesday bike FTP workouts as prescribed as I am at home on a trainer for that, and can easily monitor how my body responds. I figured 1 hard workout a week will be OK at this point and then on the weekends I plan on taking it more as time in the saddle for now - adding in some shorter efforts on the long ride in the coming weeks.
For swimming - I am focusing on open water swims for endurance through the end of July then will be hitting the pool for more of the interval work in August, as again I can easily monitor how my body feels there at the pool as I am never more than a few feet away from a wall if needed.
So far I am not having any known issues with my BP so I am just easing into the training again, focusing first on time and then on effort.
The real test will be IM70.3 Ohio next weekend where I am doing the swim and run. I plan on executing just like I did IM70.3 Gulf Coast - i.e. swim comfortably and then run managing my HR in the low Z2 pace, keeping my HR around 150-153 as possible.
I think the idea of adding a little intensity back to the run and the bike is a good idea. Particularly starting with just one session each discipline a week.
Thank you so much @Coach Patrick, that is some great news!
I have some more news on the health front, we shall call it icing on the cake: I had the Boston Heart tests run and got my results back as well as a month-out BP check last night.
My BP has been stabilized for a month now so Dr has released all holds on my effort ramp up plan and said that I know my body best and the he trusts that I will know when to stop or modify if anything changes - I told him how we train in EN with quality and volume and he says that our approach is perfect for how he would like me to train and agrees to the intensity ramp up plan with adding in those shorter Z3 intervals with recoveries, as well as has cleared me for IM70.3 Ohio this weekend without concern.
Now that we have a month of HR and BP data as well as all of my blood work back in - we know that I am in a good place and that all is modulated with lifestyle choices no additional medical interventions required. Basically he told me to keep doing what I am doing!
I took this week as taper - so when I am back from OH I will start in with our plan of adding in those Z3 short intervals on the runs and will be executing my rides per Rx! My goal is all green next week in the completed category in FS.
I will check back in post IM70.3 Ohio with how the day went - given these interruptions I have no real goals other than this is a supported training day!
Onward and upward!
@Coach Patrick Just a follow up on my race.
I did the relay with my hubby - he rode I swam and ran.
Over all - Fabulous time! I cheered for the ENers I saw out on the course and Mike and I had a fun day together in a mixed bag of a race.
SWIM (STRAVA or it didn't happen: https://www.strava.com/activities/1736563211) - Safe Swim rolling start with self seed. I seeded myself in the 50-55 time as I have not really swam any real distance since May's IM70.3 Gulf Coast swim. I passed tones of people - mainly because they all seeded themselves in the wrong positions to beat the clock - but what it resulted in was a war zone of contact. Definitely NOT a SAFE swim. To top it off - due to the 79.5* water temp there was a "party wave" released 5 minutes after the last non-wetsuit swimmer at the back of the pack - so when they came tearing through there was some very very aggressive swimmers as they were already 5 minutes to the negative. I cut myself on some guy's unfastened safety pin (OUCH!) and was purposefully pushed underwater (with 2 hands - not an accident) by a jackhole of a swimmer who decided he'd rather drown me than him try to swim around me. I was not happy with this but there was a lot of pushing, and overall rude behavior out there.
My finish time was 52 minutes, and given no wetsuit in a flat, no current lake - compared to my last 1.2 miler at 49 minutes which was with wetsuit and in the heavily currented ocean - I am saying that this was was if not equal to, a definite better effort than May. 3 minutes different but in reality my Wetsuit alone would have made 5-7 minutes of difference at least, so that is improvement all day long!
RUN (STRAVA or it didn't happen - https://www.strava.com/activities/1736767261)- AKA the schitt show. My back froze up on me the literal 1st step that I took out of the stadium. So bad that I was brought to raging tears - bent over not able to walk correctly. I decided to push through thinking that it would release around the 5k mark and if not I would give myself permission to quit as there was NO WAY nor any need for me to be in agonizing pain for longer than necessary. Do not be a hero to be a zero Jennifer!
I made it to 5k and there was some improvement in that I could walk, but running was out of the question and my back HURT not just was tight. The pain was tolerable but very present. At the 5k mark - just as I was going to call it a day my waterbottle fell out of my hand and lady behind me picked it up. As she handed it back to me she started to cry. I said thank you for picking this up I am so sorry that you had to bend over and exert that energy - to which she replied through her tears - I have to quit. I think that I need to quit. It tore up my heart and right then and there I realized that she was sent to me to provide me a focus other than my back and for me to give back and to help someone else achieve their goals that day. I grabbed her around the shoulders, pulled her in for a hug and said NOT TODAY!
We set off walking... and stayed together the entire remaining 10 miles. 4 hours later... we arrived at Selby Field and I let her go ahead so that she would have a clean finisher's picture capturing her finishing her first 70.3. I finished in TEARS in PAIN but with PRIDE in knowing that I had it in me to keep on going, and that I am so happy that I said to myself to wait until the 5k mark because obviously there was someone who needed me to be there for them.
Ironically - she is from Michigan (the other side of the State) but we have mutual friends... including 2 people I went to college with who also do IMs.
So - the back issue? After meeting with my Chiro the moment I got home, we discussed the possibility being hamstring/glute/quad/hip flexor tightness resulting in compression of the lower back which resulted in the tightening and subsequent spasm of the muscles. I feel 100% normal again and did so about 3 hours after finishing. No long term damage.
I am now stretching out 2x a day my hammies, quads and hip flexors, as well as doing overall stretching and fascia blasting to help release tension on the areas.
Looking ahead - I am in recovery this week and my body really took a beating on the 4 hour death march. But I finished!
As for IMFL and the run - yeah this back thing has me a teeny bit worried. I am going to focus on stretching and foam rollering and fascia work religiously, and see how that plays out on my running. If I do not get an improvement on the back in the next few weeks, I may be employing a FST specialist to see if it is a fascia issue, so in the mean time I am following the plan and will report back on how things go.
ONWARD!!!!!!! And way to go EN For taking home the trophy in our division at OH!
Hello @Coach Patrick !
So I took a week for recovery and went riding this weekend attempting to get back on the plan - the heat and humidity really had me suffering and mentally I just did not have it in me. I am so disappointed that I had to modify my 3.5 hour ride to just over an hour. I just had nothing left in me - I was not feeling great, felt sort of dizzy and just not in it. I left feeling like I am a failure. That carried over to Sunday where it was more of the same - I managed 2 hours but they were at 13 mph - WTF?! FAIL.
I am hoping that things turn around for this weekend's BTD - 1 hour swim, 1 hr run and 4 hour bike in about 10 degrees cooler weather so I should be in a much better place.
Here are some interesting data points from the last week - my last 7 days of sleep Averaged at 8:58 - that is nearly 9 HOURS!!!!!!!!! The week prior I was at 7:55 average, historically I am at around 7 hours. I have felt so tired all week and now I see that I have been sleeping ridiculously long hours,
Sleep in hours per night leading up to the race -
Last week -
Tuesday 8,
Wednesday 8.6,
Thursday 9.8,
Friday 7.3,
Saturday 8,
Sunday / last night - 10
Saturday I felt EXHAUSTED all day and took a hour or longer nap before our bike ride.
Does this mean that I am still recovering from the weekend's 1.2 mile swim and 13.1 mile death march? During my ride I was yawing so much that I honestly felt that I could take a nap and sleep for days. Today I am feeling more myself - not so drowsy, fully functional, and looking forward to some exercise. Could last week, and thus my horrible performance this weekend, have been a recovery sign?
STRAVA OR IT DID NOT HAPPEN:
Saturday's hot ride that I nearly fell asleep during: https://www.strava.com/activities/1750143330
Sunday's Schitt Show: https://www.strava.com/activities/1752684300
So as far as execution on my BTD goes this Saturday - which BTW is my 40th b-day - I was planning on doing the 1 hour swim first, then the bike, ending with the run, but may move the run to 2nd place... what do you think? Traditional order or complete as I feel?
Don’t underestimate the cost of two of exerting yourself on the swim but that sitting around before getting back after it at the end of the day. It’s possible that the delay between the two events allowed you to tighten up. Hopefully the self-care stuff I’ll get you back on track. Paragraph
That said the humidity has been brutal. Nothing wrong with that any effort down see you can complete the work out for time if needed. Let me know how things have gone since.
Hi @Coach Patrick !
I am back from Germany and am back in action! So I am still very worried as I have missed what I feel is half of my training plan, however I cannot succeed by looking backwards - I have to just accept it and move forward making every day count.
I am also no longer afraid of higher effort work on my running - no more death fears, I am A-OK!!! - but I am struggling to get into the higher zones and stay there without real fatigue setting in due to starting late in the game. How do I triage this? If the plan is 3 x 1km at Z4 - do I do maybe 6 @ 1/2 K efforts or even 12 @ 1/4k effort? I have been just sort of running for time not effort but I think that I need to start doing some effort. OR, maybe because I am starting so late I focus on time in TRP vs effort work? I am being realistic that IMFL is most likely not going to be a PR effort for me, but my goal is to finish feeling good and not doing damage by being too undertrained. I also am realistic that I have a good volume of work ahead of me still so I am happy about that!
My mental plan is that IMFL is a celebration of getting back on the road to health - then over the winter I am focused on Body Comp and getting ready to CRUSH my goals in 2019.
BTW @Coach Patrick I am not having the back issues as much and I am feeling so much better every session, getting stronger on both the bike and run! :-)
Great to have you back. I love seeing all of the pictures… Thank you for sharing!
For now I would like you to keep the intensity workout in, and yes please break it up as you need to. Especially if the temperature for you is as crazy as it is here right now. I would happily take half mile or quarter repeat as needed. You can continue that higher intensity working through mid September… Call it the next three weeks. Then we can switch over to the Endurance stuff.
there is value in the intensity for getting your system back into shape quickly and to setting a higher ceiling against which the endurance training will be more effective. The hard part is, it’s super hot right now and he had a little bit of time off. So physically you will see the adaptations quickly, but mentally it will be tough… Which is why I recommend breaking it up.
Don’t sell yourself short for Florida already. If we can get in one or two bigger regions of cycling volume in late September in mid October you should be pretty good. Remember, there is a lot of free speed available in great execution. If what you’re saying is “I don’t care about the outcome, I’ll focus on the process” then you and I are on the same page. My point is that this process focus can sometimes it yields a better outcome than you think!!
I am also excited to hear that your back is doing better! Onwards!