It's Been a While Since My Last Post

 ... but I have still been running and riding. Honest. Still putting in 6-8 sessions a week. I've built up a good endurance base. Shifting my focus to speed work from here. Probably should have shifted a month ago. Won't be neglecting the longer runs though. Most important of all, I am still enjoying it.

Nice Run in the Sun

So, today I went for a loop of Flaxley in the sunshine. My legs felt pretty good, despite a full-on Bike session yesterday. I felt so good, I decided to change route and take another crack at the 'Blaisdon Hill Climb from Velthouse' segment. A couple of weeks ago I missed out on setting a PB (from 2013) by just 1s. At the time, I wasn't trying for a fast time, just to run it without stopping. To go so close was a surprise.

Today, as I approached the climb, I started to feel more fatigued and less confident but went for it anyway. During the climb I was really struggling, feeling slow but I kept grinding. If I was going to run a slower time, I sure wasn't going to be beaten to a walk. In that aspect, at least, I succeeded. I looked at my watch to see 11s down on the segment time. I wasn't too disappointed (I was really). I really thought I had a better time in me today. Ho hum and on I went to complete the run.

It was only later, when I looked at the segment on Strava, that I realised the 11s down, was down on the KoM not my PB. I actually destroyed my PB by 49s, improving from 4:47 to 3:58 and I'm now only those 11s off the outright 3:47 KoM, in third spot.

Those few weeks ago, when I managed to run the entire climb without a breaking into a walk for the first time since circa 2016, I'd pretty much ruled it out as a potential KoM target, being 60+ seconds off but now it's very much game on...

Building Distance

It's been a few weeks of fairly low-key training, although I've been building my long run every other week. I'm up to around 15k now. I'm still on six to seven runs/rides per week but I've been a bit lacking on the treadmill interval sessions so I'm going to make that a focus for the next few weeks as well as continuing to extend my long run every other week.

Still Progressing

 I rounded out the final long stage of the Tour de Zwift the week before last, with a cracking ride. 90mins at threshold. Beautiful. Finished the run version the following day with a ramped effort, 6.7km. The final short route of stage 6 was also a cracker. Absolutely NOT a zone 2 ride. I was on the limit for the 40-minutes of the 27km virtual ride. 247W average earned me an FTP increase of +6W, to further extend my highest ever FTP.

The Sunday before last I was over to the mountains to do the race timing for the Pen Tir fell race. I got there early for a jog out and back along the race route beforehand. Only 7k but 350m so a decent little workout.

This Saturday, I completed my longest run of the year so far, just under 15k. I'm looking to keep building to about 20km. Sunday was some zone 2 before a rest day Monday - and I needed it.

Up today was a banging 51km Zwift at not full throttle but still my best 1 hour 45-minute power for goodly while - and I managed 90 minutes on the piano and day 2 working on the second of the ABRSM Grade 1 pieces - which went even better than the Zwift.

There Probably is Something to Zone 2

I've been cracking on with the Tour de Zwift. I've now completed the long, medium and short courses of stages 1 to 5 with stage 6 incoming next week, where I will earn the badge of honour for completing all 18 stages/routes. It has been good training as I've 'raced' hard on the long course and zone two'd the medium and short each week. On the running side, there's only one route and I used it for a threshold each week and that's been good training.

As to the zone 2, I'm starting to build my long run back up and yesterday's 12k was steady. I worked on the hills and inclines but wasn't pushing for PBs. Now I've re-conquered the hills around these yer parts I'm aiming not to be reduced to a walk ever again, so I worked hard enough to get up the hills but without bleeding through my eyeballs. On the flat my effort was more towards steady. It was a surprise to find I'd beaten my previous best on the 'legs or lungs' climb by 21s as I wasn't "trying". All of which, I think, means I shall be keeping on with the zone 2 training.

I Hate This Cold Weather

It does not make it a very attractive proposition to get out for a run. I have been out a few times but most of my training over the last couple of weeks has been indoors with the usual mix of intervals and zone 2. It's currently Tour de Zwift season in the virtual world, a set of six stages, run and rides. They're not technically races but generally attract loads more people than normal and a lot of people do race.

There can often be 1000+ riders or 50-100 runners and do make a really good place for some hard time trial action. With lots of people ahead it allows for some really solid efforts to try and bridge across to the next group in front. I've treated the runs as time trials and pushed reasonably hard but not all out. My speeds, not directly comparable to running outside, are up there and a bit beyond what I've run before in these events. I've not pushed to the limit yet but will try and edge a bit nearer the limit in some of the upcoming stages.