Have decided that I am going to do weekly updates on the training effort for the Trek Portland to Portland ride. Summarizing the most recent week of training seemed the most feasible, appropriate and least boring way to share process. There may be an odd workout here and there that I may choose to blog about individually, but the most manageable way seems to be weekly updates.
This last week has been an ‘on’ week. We typically do three weeks ‘on’ and one week ‘off’. The easiest way to explain it is that ‘off’ means a lighter week of training whereas ‘on’ is a heavier training cycle. This ensures that your body has time for active recovery now and then and you aren’t pushing yourself or gaining ground week over week without any type of easing off. Given that I’m 54 years old with a right leg that mostly works and is still slightly ‘off’ from my ACL surgery in August, 2023 – I’ll take it.
My schedule this last week was nothing out of the ordinary, though I did add in a game of pickleball with friends early in the week and had to shift my planned workouts around during the latter part of the week due to high winds on Thursday morning making the thought of cycling outdoors highly unpleasant, if not unbearable. Because of the winds, I opted to move my Sunday run to Thursday so I could run indoors on the treadmill. I moved the 2-hour ride from Thursday to Saturday and the 2:40-hour ride from Saturday to Sunday. I was very happy to see only a single workout on Saturday and a single workout on Sunday. It’s not always that way, but I enjoy when it’s just a single workout – even if a longer workout that equals the time I’d spend doing two different workouts.
Wednesday’s run was a good one as I was able to keep my pace and heart rate steady for the entirety of the run. I’m also able to push a little bit harder on each of my runs these days which feels good. It speaks to the strength returning to my legs. Friday’s swim was to be a workout with a number of shorter and faster sets. I was short on time and feeling more like a chill swim would be in order, so I opted to get in the same distance, but through longer sets with my equipment. It set me up nicely for my rides on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s ride was an easier 2-hour ride where I was to keep the wattage lower. This is sometimes a challenge for me because after riding so many miles over the years and having my strength increase, there is a natural tendency to want to have a little more resistance which leads to higher wattage. The exercise for me was keeping it low, and not pushing too hard. This is an important element to learn thinking about the idea of riding roughly 70-80 miles per day for 47 days. It’s not about the speed at which you do it, it’s about pacing yourself such that you can go the distance. Learning the ability to exercise restraint can be just as important as learning how to add resistance.
Sunday’s ride was a little more challenging. I decided to go off the island for part of the ride which helped with being able to ride for 2:40 without covering the same route repeatedly. Heading away from the island was blissful with the wind at my back and a smooth shoulder on which to ride. Heading back to the island had the wind, albeit not too heavy, against me combined with a rough and patchy shoulder led to exerting more energy than I should have had to. I found that I was likely not properly fueled and felt sluggish and tired for the last hour of the ride. I’m going to work on this for my upcoming rides as each will get longer and longer and I need to ensure that I’m appropriately hydrated and fueled.
The following is a summary of the week’s training activities.
| Sport | Distance | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycling | 48.2% | 104 miles | 6:47:05 |
| Running | 17.9% | 16.1 | 2:30:20 |
| Swimming | 14.3% | 5750 yards | 1:46:42 |
| Strength | 19.7% | 2:42:21 |
