The Numbers for January

Looking back on the month I have to be satisfied with my training both from a volume and a quality perspective.

Swim Time 11:14 Distance 18.38 miles Average pace 36:42 / mile
Bike Time 20:40 Distance 380.79 miles Average speed 18.4 mph
Run Time 18:31 Distance 155.96 miles Average pace 7:05 / mile

Rule of thumb would say that I should allocate my mileage / time commensurate with the race distances. So that would say that roughly 80% of my mileage should be on the bike, 18% on the run, and 2% in the pool. My January numbers show a distribution of 69% bike, 28% run, and 3 % swim. Because of my love of running I think this is about as good as I am going to be able to do. Still the amount of cycling I have done already far surpasses any that I have done in previous training cycles. In addition, the quality of my workouts has been top shelf. Lots of intense efforts and a suitable number of recovery workouts have all helped me develop my skills. I really believe in the “super compensation” theory, where you need to add new stimuli to your workouts, followed by rest and recovery to make progress.
On the physical side, I am showing no ill effects thus far. The Achilles is always there, but can be managed with regular use of my roller. I have noticed a slight tweak in my left shoulder, nothing of note, but I will have to watch my stroke to ensure I am not doing something different.
Yesterday I ran at lunch in the -22 C weather. I finally had enough of the treadmill and the sun was shining so I thought what the heck. There was a slight breeze from the west, but the route I chose would avoid it until the last 2 kilometres. The run was basically a hill workout as it starts out in the valley and has a steady climb to the top of Robb Road. I had a good strong pace, despite the added layers, and covered 7.26 miles in 53:43.
My ride in the evening was just over a 1:20 and was strictly recovery. Mostly done in the small chain ring and my cadence averaged 94 RPM. The legs felt good and it was a relatively easy workout.
It is a new month, with some new challenges. I don’t expect to rack up similar numbers as I will be taking a week’s vacation to get some sun in the middle of February. During that time I will get some running in, but not much else. And the runs will be easy, because I’m on holidays!
Have a great day!