CCC 2015 Training

The Stats
Runs
8/01: 6.0 mi; 50'27"; 8'23" avg. pace
8/12: 3.1 mi; 24'05"; 7'44" avg. pace
8/15: 3.1 mi; 24'48"; 7'54" avg. pace
8/20: 3.1 mi; 24'51"; 7'58" avg. pace
                      8/25: 2.0 mi; 16'02"; 8'00" avg. pace
                      Rides
                      8/05: 12.7 miles; 13.9 mi/hr avg. pace; Mount Alpha
                      8/18: 13.9 miles; 13.7 mi/hr avg. pace; Mount Alpha

With this year's Capital City Challenge less than a month away I have taken to cycling and running. At a paltry 18 miles, August has featured my highest running activity of any month in 2015. That is a sad indictment of my fall off in running activity. But cycling picked up a lot of that slack over the past two months; in other words, I've not been idle. And thankfully, my running pace has not significantly deteriorated. I can still hack it at sub-8-minute miles. All of that gives encouraging thoughts to how this year's Challenge might proceed.
My times up Mount Alpha on the bike are getting faster. As the weather cools, I expect that to continue. However, the upcoming race features solely flat land, so maybe I should do a few Kanawha City time trials to prep for that 16 miles stretch.
On the rowing side it has been difficult to exercise the necessary muscles. I have tried to muddle along doing push-ups in my spare time, but I had hoped for a closer facsimile. More disappointing is that I strained a back muscle during basic activity a couple days ago. Until that strain heals up I can do little in the way of strength building or even cardio activity.
Given all the steps forward and backward in August, it is tough to say if my times will improve this year. They probably will not. I fully expect to cross the line right at 2 hours and 30 minutes. But I'm hoping to shave 3 to 5 minutes off of that effort. Time to get back to training.

July is for Cycling - 2015 Edition

The Stats
7/7:  11.8 miles; 16.5 mi/hr avg. pace; KC Time Trial Course
7/12: 8.4 miles; 15.7 mi/hr avg. pace; KC Time Trial Course
7/15: 8.3 miles; 12.7 mi/hr avg. pace; Mount Alpha
7/21: 11.7 miles; 16.3 mi/hr avg. pace; KC Time Trial Course
7/22: 13.9 miles; 12.7 mi/hr avg. pace; Mount Alpha
                      7/23: 4.7 miles; 9.7 mi/hr avg. pace; Job Corps
                      7/27: 10.6 miles; 15.3 mi/hr avg. pace; KC Time Trial Course
                      7/30: 10.1 miles; 13.7 mi/hr avg. pace; Airport and Coonskin Park

The running shoes were confined to the closet for most of July. After PTR jogged around Lexington on July 4th, I fixed my focus on the Tour de France and tried to emulate my favorite cyclists on the local routes. I tried, and failed, to beat Mike's time on the flat Kanawha City bike course. When I got frustrated by doing that over and over again, I biked up Mount Alpha. My times climbing up Alpha were significantly slower than last October. I think the fall weather is more conducive to climbing. To mix it up, I rode up Job Corps hill from Kanawha Boulevard; for my efforts I was greeted at the top by a security guard warning me, "Hey man, this is government property!" Sheesh, I can't even turn around in your parking lot? Anyway, my time up that climb was also below my best time by a good margin. I finished up the month with a route I had not tried; starting from Capitol High School, I biked to the airport hill and took a celebratory lap through the passenger drop-off lane at Yeagar. Then, I descended and biked back to Coonskin Park, which has some short but very steep hills. The sun was blazing hot and skin felt on the fringe of combustion at different points during that ride.
I may keep up this cycling trend into August and September for a couple reasons. First, the annual Capital City Challenge is on the horizon and biking skills are paramount to finishing that in style. Second, Mike and I are signed up to do the Colonial Williamsburg Fondo at the end of September in conjunction with the World Cycling Championships in Richmond this year. We'll get nice and tired before watching the best one-day racers in the world battle it out for the rainbow jersey.