I got through Week 15 of my training plan. It was definitely a bit challenging with me getting done work late, but I have great support from my wife and I was able to get in workouts, even if not exactly to plan. Even though I had a bunch of bad days, even ones where I felt like I might be getting sick, I had really good days as well. I really made sure to capitalize on those good days so I could have great workouts and help towards my fitness building. Only a couple weeks of this project left before I can get a more normal schedule.

Monday 2/8

Another long work day. I didn’t get done until 10pm and I didn’t have the energy for my planned 5.75 mile endurance run. I hopped on the trainer for 38 minutes, but I was not being successful at closing my rings. I also was just not feeling it for my ride, as you can see from my heart rate. Despite keeping a consistent and slow pace, my HR still steadily increased. So, I got off the bike and decided to walk for 13 minutes to finish out my rings. I went at my normal 3 mph walking pace. Overall, I wish I had just walked and did some mindful cooldown with Apple Fitness+.

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Tuesday 2/9

Nike Training Club had speed work planned for today; 7 x 1000 meters. I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I decided I would try for Monday’s 5.75 mile endurance run instead. Sadly, I could only get in 3.5 miles. You can see from my heart rate graph that I was trying to walk for a bit, hoping I would regain some energy to keep going, but that never happened. I still did my NTC warm-up like always, but even that was tougher than normal. Never underestimate how much stress and run-down can impact your workouts. I was still very happy to get in what I could and that I stopped before I hurt myself.

Wednesday 2/10

For my rest day, there was only one option; trainer ride. I didn’t get done work until 9pm and was exhausted. The trainer rides are usually very relaxing because I get to not only workout and work off my stress, but I also get to catch up on shows. I got in a 45 minute trainer ride and felt a lot better.

Thursday 2/11

Another Thursday and another benchmark planned. As I mentioned before, benchmark runs are really great to show how you are progressing. Plus, if you are able to actually use the NTC app, then it will adjust your plan accordingly. Since I cannot use the NTC app the way I want to, and I am not really looking for Nike’s definition of benchmark progress, I decided to get in my Tuesday speed workout, which was 7 x 1000 meters. I was feeling good at the today, so I did my NTC workout and got right into my 5 minute warm-up walk. I then completed all of my intervals, going at 7.2 mph to really push myself. All I can say is WOW! I felt amazing, but extremely exhausted. My heart rate definitely hit some news highs at the end. However, I kept at it and was successful. One thing I have really learned is to embrace the days you feel good and go for it! Even though earlier in the week I was exhausted and not feeling so great, I felt great today and made sure to show that in my workout. Never give up and always keep moving forward!

Friday 2/12

What a horrible work day; got done at almost 11pm. I was so tired that I just wanted to get something in and space out. Therefore I went with my go-to workout and hopped on the trainer. I got in a 34 minute ride and felt so much better afterwards. Yes, I was still exhausted, but at least overall I felt much better.

Saturday 2/13

My long run for this week was 11.5 miles. With house cleaning, I didn’t get to my run until the evening, and my back was a bit sore. I did my NTC warm-up and 5 minute warm-up walk. I had to do some extra walking during a handful of my Galloway intervals, but I got it done! However, thanks to some unknown technical glitch, my watched stopped the workout just under 10 miles. I didn’t know this happened until I was about 3/4 of a mile into mile 10. I got a bit frustrated and psyched myself out, so I stopped at just under 11 miles. Later in the evening I was a bit bummed I didn’t just finish it out. It really is amazing how mentally impacted I can get from technical errors. I ended going through both of my Nuun Energy water bottles, as well as two Honey Stinger gels and a pack of Honey Stinger chews. I was definitely surprised I went through all of my hydration.

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Sunday 2/14

For my rest day I decided to get in a bunch of workouts, including strength and stretching. To start off, I did a core strength workout. I have just been doing some basic things like bar hang, assisted push-ups, squats, and lunges. During my base training I didn’t really focus as much on upper body as I should have; but you have to start somewhere. I am hoping another month I can start moving up to a combination of pull-ups and bar hang. The same goes for push-ups; I am hoping to be doing regular push-ups with the same, if not more, reps.

After that did some yoga. I went with Apple Fitness+ and chose Yoga with Jessica for 30 minutes. This ended up being a bit more challenging than I expected. However, I felt so great after I was done. Yoga is so amazing and one day I will get a yoga routine down.

To finish out my workouts since I had a bit more energy than I expected, I hopped on my bike for just over 15 minutes, going at a moderate pace with higher resistance. I probably could have gone a bit longer, but I didn’t want to overdo it. Getting in that variety of workouts felt really great and I am hoping I can get more days like that in the future.

For COVID Valentine’s Day, my wife and I got an epic sushi tray from a really nice Japanese restaurant near us. I definitely wish I got in a HIIT workout to burn some calories before that dinner.

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