Fortnightly Review - Weeks 7 & 8

Still no swimming as the pointless lockdown continues. 

And another couple weeks with no outdoor cycling. The first weekend that was still because of the snow, but the second was more just that I didn't want the extra hassle of getting changed and dragging the bike out, when I could just go and sit on the turbo trainer. The volume and distance challenges that I have signed up for now are just too heavy to be adding another half hour of getting changed and cleaning the bike and doing more washing while I rack up less miles or more time going at the slower mtb pace. 

The weather has improved noticeably this week and the evenings are getting lighter, so I might manage to get outside on the mountain bike soon. 

I am continuing to put in silly run miles as I now have 4 different challenges running at the same time. I had never done a 50 mile week before, and then in the last 3 weeks I have gone 50.3, 52.5, 60.9.

The lockdown is affecting my mental health significantly now. I decided this week that after a month of my promotion at work I have had enough of that role and have asked to step back down from it and go back to my previous role. 

The continuing lockdown is also affecting the mental health of those few people that I am still in regular contact with. My girlfriend (now ex) was clearly struggling with the stress but refusing to acknowledge that it was affecting her and has decided to break up with me. 

Actuals, (Target) - 

Swim 0 miles / 0 m. (0.0 miles).
Bike 82.5 miles. (69.2 miles). MTB 0.0 miles. (17.3 miles)
Run 106.4 miles. (90.0 miles).

2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 stretching / rollering session. 30 mins of yoga. 

Cumulative Actual, (Cumulative Target), [Cumulative Stretch] -
S 0.0, (0.0), [0.0],
B 276.4, (257.1), [270.0],  MTB 41.8, (64.3), [67.5],

R 333.1, (305.0), [320.3].

Core         - 11, (8), [12]
Weights    - 10, (8), [12]

Stretching - 10, (8), [12]
Yoga         - 13, (8), [17]. 

Fast run sessions - 1, (>8) 

Junk swim sessions  - 0, (<0).

Fortnightly Review - Weeks 5 and 6

Still no swimming. The infuriating post-Xmas lockdown continues despite all of the Covid numbers being much lower than October now and big chunks of the 'at risk' groups being vaccinated. 

I am keeping the turbo ticking over and am managing my base mileage numbers. I didn't get out on the mountain bike in the second week. The weather on Saturday was ok to run, but it wasn't going to be fun on the bike. In a good week I would have been able to drag myself out and gone anyway, but this week has just been a struggle start to finish. 

Having racked up 50.3 miles over 11 runs this week I managed to make my two week run target. I have trawled my spreadsheet back to 2007 and the longest calendar week I can find was 48.0 at the start of 2020, and the longest for 7 days in a row was at the peak of my marathon training when I did 49.3 from Thursday to Wednesday with a 21-mile run in that weekend. 

I am ahead of my plan to run 180 miles in Feb but at some cost. I am struggling for motivation now, and the continual pain in my right hip is flaring up on any longer, or faster, runs. And faster is a misnomer. I have done nothing resembling a fast run this year. I did accidentally do a 5-mile run under 8 min/mile pace, but 2 of the next 3 days were similar distances but at 11:04 and 10:32 min/mile as I struggled on the hip. 

My mental health is also suffering between my new job and the lockdown. If I am not sleeping (badly), or running, or working, I am bored out of my mind. And working suddenly has a lot less appeal. I have stepped up to a new role and I thought things were bad at my previous level, and hadn't realised quite how bad things were going to be at that next level up. In less than a fortnight, not only do I understand why my predecessor left, but I am already seriously considering doing the same myself. 

Actuals, (Target) - 

Swim 0 miles / 0 m. (0.0 miles).
Bike 73.4 miles. (69.2 miles). MTB 9.0 miles. (17.3 miles)
Run 84.1 miles. (83.4 miles).

3 short core, 4 short light weights and 4 stretching / rollering session. 46 mins of yoga. 

Cumulative Actual, (Cumulative Target), [Cumulative Stretch] -
S 0.0, (0.0), [0.0],
B 193.9, (187.9), [197.3],  MTB 41.8, (47.0), [49.3],

R 219.7, (215.0), [225.8].

Core         - 9, (6), [9]
Weights    - 9, (6), [9]

Stretching - 9, (6), [9]
Yoga         - 11, (12), [16]. 

Fast run sessions - 1, (>6) 

Junk swim sessions  - 0, (<0).