It seems we are all pretty much in the same boat, so it's nice to commisserate.
The workouts have been going well, I have been following the plan down to the last detail. I never knew an hour on the bike could be so hard, and I never knew 2 minutes could be so painfully short as they are on bike recovery. The bike workouts hurt, but in a good way, I love having that burn in the legs. I'm taking it easy on the runs, have been staying in Z3 for the past few to try and accommodate a nagging knee issue, and will continue to do so until I feel fully sorted out. Have been talking with Leigh & am confident my stretching & strengthening will get me back on track. Sometimes it's hard to take a few weeks laying low, even though the season is months away, but keeping injury-free is so much more important in the long run than doing that extra mile interval. That in combination with a dead PT wheel being serviced = not everything feels quite in line yet.
Aside from that minutae, I feel really good. Excited to be working out, look forward to my workouts every day. Winter fluff is dropping off, starting to feel & look fit again.
I am using Nov & Dec to keep getting into the groove, and in Jan I plan to get back in the pool periodically. I am honestly really looking forward to the next few weeks so I can get some week 8 testing done again, I'm dying to see some progress.
I agree, thanks for the thread Chris. Bill, thanks for the "lurker" comments. I am one too. I just joined late October and started the November OS but have not posted any workout results yet. I am still somewhat intimidated by the group. I read somewhere that half the group is power and the other half is HR but I never see the HR folks posting results. All I see is power. So, being HR on the bike, I have watched and listened rather than join in. Same with the run, I have been quite intimidated by all the sub-7 minute per mile postings.
But, as to your question: "How ya feeling?". I feel fantastic. I am in week 5 and other than fatigue at times (I still only manage 5-6 hours of sleep/night), I already have made great progress. Historically, I have never trained in my life. I have been doing tri's for 4 years but only from an exercise twice per week mentality. I have faked my way through a couple of HIM's on just running 2 or 3 miles a week with my dog. Well, I did a 5 mile turkey trot last week and bested this course by almost 5 minutes. I came close to my 5k best pace time in 5 miles. What was even better than the time was no sore legs that day or the next like what normally happens to me.
Final note...I signed up for Lake Placid 2011 as my 1st IM. When I signed up, my goal was to just finish. I believed I could do the swim and bike and then have enough time to walk the run. My goals have changed already with just 4 weeks into this OS. I am not walking that run. I will, however, have to throttle that excitement a little so I don't overdue it. I find I am already skimping on rest days and I certainly want to avoid injuring myself.
Not posting my workouts on the threads, but I have managed to do them all as assigned for the bike. Runs have been done on the treadmill do to a nerve impingement in my L4 (do not want to come up lame on a run and have to limp back home in the snow), but getting treatment and physio says I will be up to speed in no time. So runs are as presribed from my 5km test, but I know i can run faster, so for now I am following what has been assigned. I am in the intermediate OS plan.
Nice Post Chris G. I too was thinking of a similar post to bring up. Lot's of folks who have been crushing it and even well over there testing results. (Me included a day or two) But it does need addressed to watch how many days we try to test how much we can do over our testing results. If I ever do, its to see how the body reacts to the effort but then never go out the rest of the week and still try and keep repeating them "above" efforts.
I've been doing just about normal as other OS's. Some up days, some down days. But what has suprised me is that I've been able to just keep at it considering my year and just a couple months before the OS going through the Chemo treatments I had no idea what the body would handle. I will monitor closely all OS and more frequent Doc checks to make sure blood levels etc... are all in check.
Looks like we have a good well rounded group of smart folks here in the Nov. OS
Chris, you might have a hard candy shell but you definitely have a creamy nougaty center....you big SOFTIE! You are so right...this is totally breaking point time. I am amazed at how well written the plans are to keep you right on the edge without going over, even though so many of us do the extra stuff (Turkey Trot, odd outdoor ride) that can be the straw that broke the camel's back. Full rest days are mandatory now, as is self care. We are about to hit the intervals that really build our fitness...not just challenge us, but build it before we test again...and like many of you, I am oddly looking forward to it. Great group, this Team Turkey...thanks for sharing!!!
I am feeling surprisingly good. I notice that Wednesday and Thursday my legs tend to be a little bit heavy, but otherwise I am handling the load just fine. I'm kinda crazy though...probably my swimmig background. I love intervals. I have no trouble hammering through the pain to finish off tough intervals. I struggle with the longer slower easier stuff as I get board.
the only problem I've been having is due to bike fit. My left leg isn't quite flexible enough to handle all the additional drop as i ride aero for my intervals. It has been creating a lot of glute/hip/leg trouble. Massage therapist did a LOT of good, I've been trying to duplicate what she did...but I struggle making myself cry like she makes me cry. (ie. wooden dowel between my teeth.) Anyway, I see the PT today to get a little more direction on fixing this up. But stretching and rolling on roller and tennis ball really help a lot.
Otherwise, feeling great. I can tell my run has come back around as I started holding 7:05's for z4 pace and now hold 6:50's with no trouble at all. My bike power hasn't shown any improvement yet, but that is more the result of me getting a new fit and dropping my aero bars from 0 drop to about 11cm in the last 4 weeks. Having said that, I did my 2x15 yesterday and held IF 1.02 and .99. So the legs might be coming around already.
Thanks, Chris. I'm feeling good about hitting every workout except for one day when I rode 62 miles instead. Today (doing tomorrow's bike intervals) I crapped out on the last 8' Z4, the first time I just couldn't hit the numbers. But, tomorrow is a rest day and I'm going to take it easy. The hard part has not yet begun for me yet because I've been able to ride and run outside almost every day until this week's cold front. The early morning rides are going to be mostly inside from now until February, and that's hard for me. I just like getting outside, but not on the road in the dark. So, I'm getting mentally prepared.
I bought the OS intermediate plan last August, bought a PT, and started playing around with the plan for a couple of months. It helped me get ready, know what it would take mentally and organizationally to hit every workout when I was ready to get serious. So far, so good. That consistency is good for my mind as well as my body. All my aches and pains are normal, just sometimes fatigued from not enough sleep.
Well I guess I will swell Chris' head a little more and compliment him on a great post. True leadership.
I would say I am feeling pretty good. Especially considering I ran a half marathon two Sundays ago followed by a Turkey Trot then the Turkey Challenge. I got all my workouts in last week but feeling like i am dragging a bit this week. Yesterdays bike was fine, hit all my targets, but didn't feel great. Today I looked at the run workout, 45' - 2 x 1/2, 1 all at TP and thought wow that looks kinds of easy. The last mile damn near killed me. Could have been because I was on a TM but not sure. Maybe fatigue from last week plus I never get enough sleep. Looking forward to tomorrow's bike.
Mentally feel great. I am at where I was at the end of last OS so that is positive. Feels great that I will be so much stronger coming out of the OS. Great job everyone and as Chris says, even the lurkers should chime in. Doesn't matter if you are not a power athlete.
Being a self coached tri geek with realistic expectations, I've been tinkering with the hi-intensity stuff for a couple of years. What I LACKED, was structure/boundaries. I was throwing a dart in the dark and hoping it would stick. And got that kind of results, too. It's the structure and the disciplined Day Off that is making the biggest effect on my training. And the peeps here are top notch with the support and accountability. Basically, I'm still in the 'excited' phase of joining the team!
re: How ya feelin'?
Bike: feelin' strong, building that smooth and steady progression over the days and weeks. I don't like, but can stomach, those tuff days, knowing that a good wko is just a day away. REALLY wish I had a PM, but that will come eventually.
Run: started off with a nagging injury that I got to work on quickly and its turning the corner now. Been running, and been running pretty hard, but not OS Plan Hard. I'm sticking with a modified OSPlan/PTrecomended plan until the next test. Also, think that my Polar needed cal on that first test, and read a little fast. So, I expect that I'll be starting over at the next testing. That's cool, all about being honest to improve.
Swim: simple drill time in the pool, like the 'no-pressure' approach to the swim.
I see the big picture. Though the holidays offer a big challenge, I'll be around.
I guess I would call myself a 50/50 lurker. It's been more about time available to get on the forum versus desire.
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading everyone's commentary in this thread. For me at first, I felt like I wouldn't make it a few weeks into this program. The pace called for from my testing seemed too high to keep going for 20 weeks. I'm a new biker since last year and know that my watts are relatively low; compared to all of you great athletes! But, I've now managed in the past couple of weeks to keep my intervals about 10% higher than my FTP from the initial test. Don't worry about being too much of an over-achiever. I don't feel like this extra effort is hurting my ability to perform at the next workout.
To give a numbers perspective, my FTP on 11/1 was 186. Now, I'm knocking out my intervals with about a 200-205. I'm looking forward to the test coming in a few weeks and know that I'm going to blow my old FTP out of the water!
To give a numbers perspective, my FTP on 11/1 was 186. Now, I'm knocking out my intervals with about a 200-205. I'm looking forward to the test coming in a few weeks and know that I'm going to blow my old FTP out of the water!
That right there is the Beauty of being a new EN athlete and new to this training. It just totally rocks in your first year most all who have not been used to this type of training see huge fitness bumps. And then later in the year you will see the true benefit of the execution with all that new found fitness. Keep it up and Enjoy!!!
I got some good news today. I went to the doctor because I was having some serious joint pain in a toe that I had surgery on many years ago. Thought it was degenerating. Turns out it was probably my new shoes rubbing right on the spot where I have a screw inserted. So, I'm making some modifications to my lacing and resting it a bit more. Got some Celebrex which I tolerate so much better than OTC NSAIDs. Feels much better already. Hopefully I'll be back on track in a few days.
Like Tucker, the Wednesday run was the hardest yet. The week before I did do a hard effort at a 10K Turkey Trot. The Saturday brick run and Sunday both went fine. I think the biggest issue is I have done some of the Wednesday runs at lunch at the office gym and I am more tired and it is HOT in that gym with no fans. HR has been 4-8 BPM higher (avg/max) during these sessions at work.
The bike has been the area of noticeable improvements already. Seeing I hadn't put more than 40 miles on the bike in the last 2 years these gains are "low hanging fruit". My Quarq is coming and will look forward to seeing my watts (for now the KKRM and a Garmin with speed/cadence).
Pacing on the Sunday run has been tougher when I have done them outside. In the cooler weather I am gravitating too close to 3-5K pace and need to hold back a tad.
Wish I had more time for the forums but life gets in the way...
This is my first OS and I feel great! Been wanting to push it more, but fighting the urge and sticking to the plan. Thanks to everyone who's posted caution as it get's tougher over time. Really helpful to keep me in check.
Bike: Working power for the first time on my new CompuTrainer. Will be indoors exclusively thru the OS (not because of weather but because currently I only have the CT for power measurements). Intervals are all WORK, but I'm recovering enough to get thru the week. I find that I really enjoy the WORK. I seem to be wired mentally for intervals. Riding with some good tunes on my iPod helps (I would never do that on the road). Can't wait for my next test to justify bumping up the FTP!
Run: Feel faster already! Haven't done intervals (or hard running) in over 10 years...and I love it! I'm finding that the run intervals are much easier mentally and physically than the bike intervals/WORK (probably because they are shorter time-wise). Whereas on the bike, I feel like I'm pushing close to my limit output for my intervals, on the run I feel like I've got 30sec/mile left in me. Can't wait to see what the next test brings (although I felt like my run test was much harder than my bike...I thought my heart was going to burst).
Overall...VERY HAPPY I found EN. Thanks to @Shaughn Simmons for introducing me to this great team!!
Great post. I'm very delinquent in posting. I'm feeling really good, but that's probably because my running has been sporadic as I nurse some achilles pain. I've tried to supplement with extra 0.7-0.8 IF bike sessions, as the biking seems not to affect the tendon. I DID run a 4 mi Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, and I don't seem to have lost much of the running ability (finished 16/250 in my AG, which is HUGE for me), and was mostly pain free during the run, although the achilles was stiff the next day. I did a gentle treadmill run earlier this week, but have yet to hit all run workouts in a week. Hoping to get back to full strength running in a couple of weeks.
Felt great until this week. Think T-giving visitors left me a present in the form of a cold. Think I am recovered as of yesterday, but Tuesday's bike was a bust... swapped friday day-off for Wednesday and succesfully got back on the horse yesterday.
Being an off-season newbie I feel like I am making v good progress. I really find the tempering remarks from the veterans incredibly helpful as my consitency is probably my biggest historical problem. I literally have some of their posts in my head as I am overly ramping something up to help reign in self-destructive bursts. I recently looked at my mean maximal power graph from this years IMCDA. I had a going in plan of capping my watts at 250 (my then FTP) on the hills (or anywhere else for that matter). Talk about lack of focus... now that I know what to look for... I now see that the mean maximal graph shows 300 watts for an hour... good lord, what a moron. No wonder I blew up spectatcularly on the run and walked the vast majority of the marathon.
Think I am still lover-cooking things... I really did have a cold, but wonder a bit if my over-targeting contributed to tuesday's bust (well, that and the fact that I jsut figured out that I increaed the pressure on my rear tire and failed to save the warm-up test on my CT!)
Still learning patience and appropriately distributing effort through time...
I laughed at this post since I was in the middle of deciding whether or not to restart the OS in January. After a week of life craziness and missing more workouts I decided it's probably best, especially since stuff will not get any less busy in the next few weeks. Luckily, I have the time and flexibility in my season plan to wait until January. Good luck to everyone, and I'm sure I'll keep watching to see how everyone is doing. Really happy to see so many new ENers doing well!
As other have said, great thread and great reminder of what the OS can do to you!
I haven't been in the forums or really doing anything other than work lately. Still, I've managed to get in the morning workouts even while punching out emails on the BB. I was sick the week before Thanks Giving so I'm a week behind everyone but am finally starting to feel the soreness in my legs. One good thing is that the mental toughness that I've been lacking is starting to return and I'm getting more comfortable pushing myself.
Looking forward to catching up more with everyone here!
I'm hoping this week brings more consistency in feeling. Last week's workouts (modified schedule): Bike #1: fine. Run #1: 4.5 miles on horrible, wheezy legs of lead. Run #2: 7 speedy, effortless miles. Bike #2: suffer fest. I'm thinking it was a scrambled travel and conference schedule (workout and nutrition-wise) and work stress that left me unable to sufficiently recover from and absorb the work, even with a day off between each workout.
Catherine - DC? Welcome to EN! We gotta get a happy hour going...
Comments
Can I come work for you?
warm sunny weather, outdoors on the bike ... It's dreary, rainy, and (for this native Georgian) cold in DC today!
It seems we are all pretty much in the same boat, so it's nice to commisserate.
The workouts have been going well, I have been following the plan down to the last detail. I never knew an hour on the bike could be so hard, and I never knew 2 minutes could be so painfully short as they are on bike recovery. The bike workouts hurt, but in a good way, I love having that burn in the legs. I'm taking it easy on the runs, have been staying in Z3 for the past few to try and accommodate a nagging knee issue, and will continue to do so until I feel fully sorted out. Have been talking with Leigh & am confident my stretching & strengthening will get me back on track. Sometimes it's hard to take a few weeks laying low, even though the season is months away, but keeping injury-free is so much more important in the long run than doing that extra mile interval. That in combination with a dead PT wheel being serviced = not everything feels quite in line yet.
Aside from that minutae, I feel really good. Excited to be working out, look forward to my workouts every day. Winter fluff is dropping off, starting to feel & look fit again.
I am using Nov & Dec to keep getting into the groove, and in Jan I plan to get back in the pool periodically. I am honestly really looking forward to the next few weeks so I can get some week 8 testing done again, I'm dying to see some progress.
I agree, thanks for the thread Chris. Bill, thanks for the "lurker" comments. I am one too. I just joined late October and started the November OS but have not posted any workout results yet. I am still somewhat intimidated by the group. I read somewhere that half the group is power and the other half is HR but I never see the HR folks posting results. All I see is power. So, being HR on the bike, I have watched and listened rather than join in. Same with the run, I have been quite intimidated by all the sub-7 minute per mile postings.
But, as to your question: "How ya feeling?". I feel fantastic. I am in week 5 and other than fatigue at times (I still only manage 5-6 hours of sleep/night), I already have made great progress. Historically, I have never trained in my life. I have been doing tri's for 4 years but only from an exercise twice per week mentality. I have faked my way through a couple of HIM's on just running 2 or 3 miles a week with my dog. Well, I did a 5 mile turkey trot last week and bested this course by almost 5 minutes. I came close to my 5k best pace time in 5 miles. What was even better than the time was no sore legs that day or the next like what normally happens to me.
Final note...I signed up for Lake Placid 2011 as my 1st IM. When I signed up, my goal was to just finish. I believed I could do the swim and bike and then have enough time to walk the run. My goals have changed already with just 4 weeks into this OS. I am not walking that run. I will, however, have to throttle that excitement a little so I don't overdue it. I find I am already skimping on rest days and I certainly want to avoid injuring myself.
I've been doing just about normal as other OS's. Some up days, some down days. But what has suprised me is that I've been able to just keep at it considering my year and just a couple months before the OS going through the Chemo treatments I had no idea what the body would handle. I will monitor closely all OS and more frequent Doc checks to make sure blood levels etc... are all in check.
Looks like we have a good well rounded group of smart folks here in the Nov. OS
Keep Crushing it Everyone!!!
the only problem I've been having is due to bike fit. My left leg isn't quite flexible enough to handle all the additional drop as i ride aero for my intervals. It has been creating a lot of glute/hip/leg trouble. Massage therapist did a LOT of good, I've been trying to duplicate what she did...but I struggle making myself cry like she makes me cry. (ie. wooden dowel between my teeth.) Anyway, I see the PT today to get a little more direction on fixing this up. But stretching and rolling on roller and tennis ball really help a lot.
Otherwise, feeling great.
I can tell my run has come back around as I started holding 7:05's for z4 pace and now hold 6:50's with no trouble at all.
My bike power hasn't shown any improvement yet, but that is more the result of me getting a new fit and dropping my aero bars from 0 drop to about 11cm in the last 4 weeks.
Having said that, I did my 2x15 yesterday and held IF 1.02 and .99. So the legs might be coming around already.
I bought the OS intermediate plan last August, bought a PT, and started playing around with the plan for a couple of months. It helped me get ready, know what it would take mentally and organizationally to hit every workout when I was ready to get serious. So far, so good. That consistency is good for my mind as well as my body. All my aches and pains are normal, just sometimes fatigued from not enough sleep.
I would say I am feeling pretty good. Especially considering I ran a half marathon two Sundays ago followed by a Turkey Trot then the Turkey Challenge. I got all my workouts in last week but feeling like i am dragging a bit this week. Yesterdays bike was fine, hit all my targets, but didn't feel great. Today I looked at the run workout, 45' - 2 x 1/2, 1 all at TP and thought wow that looks kinds of easy. The last mile damn near killed me. Could have been because I was on a TM but not sure. Maybe fatigue from last week plus I never get enough sleep. Looking forward to tomorrow's bike.
Mentally feel great. I am at where I was at the end of last OS so that is positive. Feels great that I will be so much stronger coming out of the OS. Great job everyone and as Chris says, even the lurkers should chime in. Doesn't matter if you are not a power athlete.
Being a self coached tri geek with realistic expectations, I've been tinkering with the hi-intensity stuff for a couple of years. What I LACKED, was structure/boundaries. I was throwing a dart in the dark and hoping it would stick. And got that kind of results, too. It's the structure and the disciplined Day Off that is making the biggest effect on my training. And the peeps here are top notch with the support and accountability. Basically, I'm still in the 'excited' phase of joining the team!
re: How ya feelin'?
Bike: feelin' strong, building that smooth and steady progression over the days and weeks. I don't like, but can stomach, those tuff days, knowing that a good wko is just a day away. REALLY wish I had a PM, but that will come eventually.
Run: started off with a nagging injury that I got to work on quickly and its turning the corner now. Been running, and been running pretty hard, but not OS Plan Hard. I'm sticking with a modified OSPlan/PTrecomended plan until the next test. Also, think that my Polar needed cal on that first test, and read a little fast. So, I expect that I'll be starting over at the next testing. That's cool, all about being honest to improve.
Swim: simple drill time in the pool, like the 'no-pressure' approach to the swim.
I see the big picture. Though the holidays offer a big challenge, I'll be around.
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading everyone's commentary in this thread. For me at first, I felt like I wouldn't make it a few weeks into this program. The pace called for from my testing seemed too high to keep going for 20 weeks. I'm a new biker since last year and know that my watts are relatively low; compared to all of you great athletes! But, I've now managed in the past couple of weeks to keep my intervals about 10% higher than my FTP from the initial test. Don't worry about being too much of an over-achiever. I don't feel like this extra effort is hurting my ability to perform at the next workout.
To give a numbers perspective, my FTP on 11/1 was 186. Now, I'm knocking out my intervals with about a 200-205. I'm looking forward to the test coming in a few weeks and know that I'm going to blow my old FTP out of the water!
That right there is the Beauty of being a new EN athlete and new to this training. It just totally rocks in your first year most all who have not been used to this type of training see huge fitness bumps. And then later in the year you will see the true benefit of the execution with all that new found fitness. Keep it up and Enjoy!!!
I got some good news today. I went to the doctor because I was having some serious joint pain in a toe that I had surgery on many years ago. Thought it was degenerating. Turns out it was probably my new shoes rubbing right on the spot where I have a screw inserted. So, I'm making some modifications to my lacing and resting it a bit more. Got some Celebrex which I tolerate so much better than OTC NSAIDs. Feels much better already. Hopefully I'll be back on track in a few days.
Great news Matt. Don't want to messing with those bionic joints !
Like Tucker, the Wednesday run was the hardest yet. The week before I did do a hard effort at a 10K Turkey Trot. The Saturday brick run and Sunday both went fine. I think the biggest issue is I have done some of the Wednesday runs at lunch at the office gym and I am more tired and it is HOT in that gym with no fans. HR has been 4-8 BPM higher (avg/max) during these sessions at work.
The bike has been the area of noticeable improvements already. Seeing I hadn't put more than 40 miles on the bike in the last 2 years these gains are "low hanging fruit". My Quarq is coming and will look forward to seeing my watts (for now the KKRM and a Garmin with speed/cadence).
Pacing on the Sunday run has been tougher when I have done them outside. In the cooler weather I am gravitating too close to 3-5K pace and need to hold back a tad.
Wish I had more time for the forums but life gets in the way...
Bike: Working power for the first time on my new CompuTrainer. Will be indoors exclusively thru the OS (not because of weather but because currently I only have the CT for power measurements). Intervals are all WORK, but I'm recovering enough to get thru the week. I find that I really enjoy the WORK. I seem to be wired mentally for intervals. Riding with some good tunes on my iPod helps (I would never do that on the road). Can't wait for my next test to justify bumping up the FTP!
Run: Feel faster already! Haven't done intervals (or hard running) in over 10 years...and I love it! I'm finding that the run intervals are much easier mentally and physically than the bike intervals/WORK (probably because they are shorter time-wise). Whereas on the bike, I feel like I'm pushing close to my limit output for my intervals, on the run I feel like I've got 30sec/mile left in me. Can't wait to see what the next test brings (although I felt like my run test was much harder than my bike...I thought my heart was going to burst).
Overall...VERY HAPPY I found EN. Thanks to @Shaughn Simmons for introducing me to this great team!!
Good luck to EVERYONE on our next test!
Chris:
Great post. I'm very delinquent in posting. I'm feeling really good, but that's probably because my running has been sporadic as I nurse some achilles pain. I've tried to supplement with extra 0.7-0.8 IF bike sessions, as the biking seems not to affect the tendon. I DID run a 4 mi Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, and I don't seem to have lost much of the running ability (finished 16/250 in my AG, which is HUGE for me), and was mostly pain free during the run, although the achilles was stiff the next day. I did a gentle treadmill run earlier this week, but have yet to hit all run workouts in a week. Hoping to get back to full strength running in a couple of weeks.
Being an off-season newbie I feel like I am making v good progress. I really find the tempering remarks from the veterans incredibly helpful as my consitency is probably my biggest historical problem. I literally have some of their posts in my head as I am overly ramping something up to help reign in self-destructive bursts. I recently looked at my mean maximal power graph from this years IMCDA. I had a going in plan of capping my watts at 250 (my then FTP) on the hills (or anywhere else for that matter). Talk about lack of focus... now that I know what to look for... I now see that the mean maximal graph shows 300 watts for an hour... good lord, what a moron. No wonder I blew up spectatcularly on the run and walked the vast majority of the marathon.
Think I am still lover-cooking things... I really did have a cold, but wonder a bit if my over-targeting contributed to tuesday's bust (well, that and the fact that I jsut figured out that I increaed the pressure on my rear tire and failed to save the warm-up test on my CT!)
Still learning patience and appropriately distributing effort through time...
As other have said, great thread and great reminder of what the OS can do to you!
Chris G, you rock for starting this!
I'm hoping this week brings more consistency in feeling. Last week's workouts (modified schedule): Bike #1: fine. Run #1: 4.5 miles on horrible, wheezy legs of lead. Run #2: 7 speedy, effortless miles. Bike #2: suffer fest. I'm thinking it was a scrambled travel and conference schedule (workout and nutrition-wise) and work stress that left me unable to sufficiently recover from and absorb the work, even with a day off between each workout.
Catherine - DC? Welcome to EN! We gotta get a happy hour going...