Build Phase and Frozen Eyebrows

I'm now in the midst of my first of two "build" phases of training. Unlike the 2-month base period which focused on leg toughness and durability, the next 2 months will be geared toward building strength and speed specific to the races I am targeting. While there is far more intensity built into each week now (e.g., hill repeats, tempo sets, tempo runs, bicycle strength training, Tabata Intervals), there is also a lot more recovery. I'm transitioning from [base phase] 7 days a week of "just below intensity" training to 4/5 days a week of significant intensity, and 2/3 days a week of pure recovery work. From a mental standpoint, it's actually much easier now. There are particular workouts [and more honestly, segments of workouts] that require the utmost focus, while others do not. This is quite different from the base-building period where everything was quite similar - and never really hard enough to call for "zoning in," but also never easy enough for "zoning out". Although its only been one week, I felt great during most of my intense workouts, and the earliest results are encouraging. Don't get me wrong, there is still *a ton* of work to do and this is just the beginning, but it seems the base that I built grinding it out over the last two months will provide a good foundation.

Only one workout to share: a long Z1/tempo ride, followed by a shorter transition run. The ride [on the trainer, as everything is at this time of year in Michigan] went great. I caught up on world news [thank you Fareed Zakaria], guilty pleasured in Jersey Shore [really Snooki? Couldn't move for an entire day??] and had brunch [the "b" carries multiple meaning] with Caitlin [Lucky Charms, Hammer gels, and sports drink for me - multigrain rolls and with lox and veggies for her. She wins].



Things got interesting when I got off the bike, and transitioned to running in a total white-out. Only 3 minutes into the run, I had given up on trying to establish any cadence [read; zero footing], and decided to just have fun with it. I have done plenty of winter runs this year, but nothing like this: it was brutal out there, driven by the colder than I had expected temperatures, downpour of snow, and 20MPH wind guests. My eye-brows fully froze [I mean they felt like glass], which is a first for me. 10 minutes into the run I had given up on "fun," and switched to what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

I survived the run just fine, worked muscles that hadn't been worked since I was on the way to Base Camp, and thawed out my eyebrows in a pretty memorable hot shower. All in all, a good workout! That said, I'm not going to say it didn't make me a bit more excited for a recently locked-in training trip to Clermont Florida over Spring Break.

That's it for this update. Stay warm (or cool), train hard, and in the words of my coach, rest harder!