Indecisive

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)	0:44:52	9:01 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s)	0:44:51	9:01 pace
Distance (mi )	4.97
Moving Speed (mph)	6.7 avg.	15.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+74 / -74
Avg. Heart Rate	147 bpm	Zone 3.9
Temperature (°F)	33.8°F avg.	33.8°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)	WNW 16.7 avg.	WNW 19.5 max.

Start time: 05:17:01 AM

There are several issues with the current training plan and they hit on Tuesday and Thursday pretty squarely. My schedule (getting the little girls to school on these two days) demands that workouts be complete by 6:15.

Let's start with the Thursday problem: If I oversleep (like last week), I lose the workout (since less than 20 miles on the bike these days seems like a waste). I think I arranged the schedule this way so that I could swim or lift on my 'off' day and getting the swim in requires arriving at the gym at 6 ready to go. But for now---that is, until it gets too cold to ride---perhaps the better approach is to move the Thursday up a day so that I can get a good ride in without worrying about whether I managed to be out the door by 4:55.

The problem with Tuesday is its purpose. It's position (after a long ride, intervals, and then a medium ride) suggests that it should be an easy, recovery run. But in a week of three runs, it is hard to figure out where to put a tempo run. I think that it is important to keep pushing up the running mileage, so the long run serves an important purpose. It is also important to keep intervals in the schedule. My inclination is to make Tuesday a Tempo run, but my aching muscles are not there by Tuesday. Today, for instance, I was running at tempo pace during miles 2 and 3, but by mile 4 I just did not have much left.


So I am stuck with indecision. One possibility would be to move the week so that I take Tuesday off and then hit it on Wednesday with a Tempo run, Thursday with an easy 20-25, and then head into the weekend which is punishing, but seems to be an effective four days. The downside here is that we are back to the Thursday ride issue. Also, the body wants an 'active' recovery on Tuesday---meaning that I feel better if I do a little running because it pushes the blood through and cleans out all the nastiness that builds up from four days of abuse.

The other problem here is that my hope would be to make the 20-25 mile ride a 'tempo' ride. Currently the cycling is primarily recovery pace and I am definitely not building any real speed here. The tradeoff may be that we need to choose a tempo run or tempo ride---and in all of this the main indecision is whether my focus is running (where cycling becomes my recovery activity) or whether I am also training to be a race-worthy cyclist.

For the next two weeks, the focus is on the Thanksgiving Day race (running), so the training needs to reflect that goal. I am inclined to ride tomorrow so that I get a decent workout in and then I can take Thursday off to come back fresh for Friday. Next week, it may be good to take Tuesday off, since I will be heading down to the P01 Meeting anyway and then I can do a Tempo run on Wednesday, an easy something in the bike Thursday, and that will power me into the weekend before the race.