Training log: January 2024 summary
This was a solid training month and I enjoyed it a lot. I started cycling and swimming again after a long hiatus, which was ideal for the freezing cold days in Ottawa that hit between -15 and -20C. I used the cycling sessions to work on threshold workouts and build my VO2 Max. This also helped me increase my running speed. I watched movies when I cycled, and the workouts passed by relatively quickly.
I also had a couple of lower mileage running weeks (roughly 50-60KM), which were fun. I felt as though my body needed to switch things up so that I didn’t overtrain. The mix of swim, bike, and run kept things interesting. I also did a lot more core work. My main goal is to train consistently and avoid injury. Cross training helps a lot.
I finished this week with about 112KM of running mileage, and many of the runs felt good (see below). I slept a lot and ate my last meal earlier in the day. My resting heart rate dropped back down to about 38 BPM, and my I kept my heart rate at about 128-130 BPM during Zone 2 runs (roughly 70% of my maximum heart rate).
I attached some graphs below that show weekly mileage, average heart rate, and sleep. As a rough heuristic, I notice that my resting heart rate is much lower when: (1) I train in Zone 2 rather than threshold, (2) I eat my last meal earlier rather than later, and (3) I sleep roughly 7.5-8 hours per night.
I also increased my carb intake lately. I wanted to replenish my glycogen stores, which training depletes. My go-to pre-training meal is rice cakes with peanut butter, banana, and cinnamon. This helped me a lot for my second daily training session. I ate a lot more rice (generally rice with beans or rice with lentils) than usual.
In the coming weeks, I want to post some plant-based recipes on the blog. I love to cook and there are so many tasty, healthy, and affordable vegan meals. Some of my favourite plant based recipe websites are Minimalist Baker and Love and Lemons.
Otherwise, I was happy to be back in Phoenix for a week. It rained most of the time. But that’s my favorite running weather. I had to work pretty early in the morning due to the time change (Phoenix time is 2 hours behind Ottawa time), which meant I had to wake up at roughly 4:15am so I could run before work. However, I love the solitude and peace of early morning training, and I like to be up early to see the sun rise. For those who want to run very early, it is worth investing in a rechargeable USB running headlamp.
This coming week, I want to focus on threshold biking sessions and swimming. I will probably reduce my running mileage and build my VO2 max a bit more with threshold sessions (roughly 4 min repeats at 85% of my max heart rate). February tends to be pretty dreary in Ottawa. But the weather has been unseasonably warm lately (it is supposed to be above 0 C this week, which is not normal). I’m stoked to train a lot, cook some tasty meals, and hang out with friends and family. I’m also excited about some new academic articles and book chapters that I want to write, and that I hope to share soon in other blog posts.
Have a good week!
All views expressed in this blog are my own and do not constitute any form of medical, nutritional, physiotherapy, or other type of advice. They do not represent — and are not endorsed by — any academic institution.
