Training 2008-W26-28

We're definitely into unstructured-summer-training (also known as fit-in-exercise-when-I-can) mode. I have enough on my schedule that the training volume required to extend my repertoire to a half-ironman distance isn't in the cards. Failing that, my B goal is something like "stay in share and enjoy the warm weather," which I do.

2008-W26 was a bicycle commuting week (I'd hoped to dedicate at least one week this summer to riding every day). MWF to Highland Heights (a short ride in the morning, and slightly longer ride home to avoid pee-em traffic; TTh to University Circle, where the ride is longer but downhill both ways. All said, just under 100 miles for the week. Sunday I hosted the Roads Scholars for 9.2 mi around the suburbs at 10:30/mi.

W27 featured a Wednesday evening trail run with some CTC folks. (I should really send in my USD20 registration fee, given that I lurk their training groups semi-frequently.) The usual route: 5.5 mi at 9:50/mi with some quality hills and spirited creek-hopping for good measure. Assorted bike rides, say, 40 miles.

W28 snuck in commuting on T and Th, and the regular trail run on W. 35 miles by bicycle and 6.3 mi at 9:48/mi on shoes.

Those shoes, by the way, now have approximately 550 miles on them, and no longer feel good on my feet. I'm not sure what the rule of thumb is for running shoes, but I suspect that's a little long. I really dislike shoe shopping, mostly because I think a reasonable pair of shoes (sneakers, work shoes, dress shoes) should cost $50, and they don't.

That 550 miles figure is summed up by SportTracks, a freely-available, open-source alternative to Garmin's Training Center software or MotionBased website. It also seems far superior, in part because of the many plug-in modules written by various users. When downloading my GPS data (which ST can do directly), I tag a workout with my shoes, and it adds the distance into the total. I'm not sure what happens if I switch shoes mid-run; fortunately I'm not yet so into mixed-terrain running to worry about it.