Answer: I've been traveling (yes, again).
3 days after running a 10k PR at the Palo Alto Moonlight run , Toni and I set off on a 3.5 week trip to south east Asia: Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. (To de-jet lag before our big round of countries we started with 3 days in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia).
This was an intense, high energy trip and there was no time for any running...just as well because the weather was hot and humid..not the hottest time of the year down there but plenty hot for us, especially if it was sunny.
We took over 4000 photos during the trip, so it will take a while to whittle down to a few hundred of the best, when I've done that I'll share the link. Meanwhile I'll share this photo of sunset over the Mekong river in Vientiane, Laos
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Only 14 weeks to surf city, not really enough for the best buildup, but enough to do something better than a trot.
Since I didn't run for 4 weeks (last run was 10k race on 9/20) that makes for an interesting question:
1) How much fitness did I lose in 30 days?
2) How fast can I get it back?
Somewhere, I remember reading that fitness goes away twice as fast as getting it back, e.g. if you knock off for 1 week, it takes 2 weeks to get back to the same shape. Somehow this seems a bit unfair!
I will test this theory and see how long it takes me to get YPB efficiency numbers in the ballpark from when I ran the 10k race before the trip. Here is my first week back:
| Date | Miles | Pace | BPM | WHR% | Elev+ | Elev- | YPB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-10-21 Mon | 3.2 | 9:47 | 120.6 | 61.1 | 25.7 | 25.1 | 1.475 |
| 2013-10-24 Thu | 3.3 | 10:55 | 102.4 | 46.2 | 27.2 | 26.8 | 1.563 |
| 2013-10-26 Sat | 3.0 | 9:23 | 126.4 | 65.9 | 14.7 | 14.7 | 1.468 |
| 2013-10-27 Sun | 7.9 | 9:44 | 123.7 | 63.7 | 88.8 | 93.6 | 1.451 |
| Summary | 17.4 | 9:55 | 119.1 | 59.9 | 156.4 | 160.2 | 1.479 |
This was a light mileage week at pokey paces, as the jet lag from the return flights was some of the worst Toni and I have experienced.
I thought I was energetic on Monday and did a 3.2 (aborted doing 5..I was feeling it too much). On Wednesday I was so sleepy after lunch at work I had to go home at 2:30pm. I then slept to 6:30pm, ate dinner, and back to sleep at 8:30pm until 8am the next day(!). Thursday I felt good enough to try another 3 miles and plodded at 11m/m with reasonable efficiency. But my strength was still gonzo.
Sat/Sun I could tell I'm getting a bit more back to normal, but both Toni and I have had some cold-like symptoms, drippy noses etc...probably due the dry air at home after all that extreme humidity.
As for my fitness, compare the YPB numbers above with the last set of weeks before my 10K
| Date | Miles | Pace | BPM | WHR% | Elev+ | Elev- | YPB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-06-10 Mon | 26.8 | 11:33 | 126.2 | 65.7 | 1609.0 | 1601.6 | 1.233 |
| 2013-06-17 Mon | 33.3 | 11:30 | 124.5 | 64.3 | 1286.0 | 1275.3 | 1.228 |
| 2013-06-24 Mon | 6.8 | 10:03 | 122.0 | 62.3 | 44.4 | 47.8 | 1.438 |
| 2013-07-01 Mon | 8.0 | 9:29 | 127.0 | 66.4 | 91.6 | 89.9 | 1.464 |
| 2013-07-08 Mon | 30.6 | 9:31 | 124.1 | 64.0 | 152.4 | 162.7 | 1.489 |
| 2013-07-15 Mon | 25.3 | 9:44 | 123.9 | 63.8 | 430.6 | 438.2 | 1.483 |
| 2013-07-22 Mon | 30.2 | 9:33 | 125.6 | 65.3 | 255.5 | 258.6 | 1.471 |
| 2013-07-29 Mon | 43.0 | 9:34 | 123.4 | 63.5 | 490.6 | 496.9 | 1.493 |
| 2013-08-05 Mon | 33.0 | 9:31 | 122.7 | 62.9 | 394.9 | 363.3 | 1.513 |
| 2013-08-12 Mon | 18.4 | 9:20 | 124.5 | 64.3 | 72.5 | 41.4 | 1.524 |
| 2013-08-19 Mon | 28.5 | 9:21 | 124.1 | 64.1 | 417.4 | 432.8 | 1.525 |
| 2013-08-26 Mon | 21.4 | 9:16 | 124.3 | 64.2 | 127.8 | 136.1 | 1.535 |
| 2013-09-02 Mon | 29.3 | 8:59 | 125.1 | 64.9 | 112.0 | 115.6 | 1.553 |
| 2013-09-09 Mon | 14.2 | 8:54 | 126.8 | 66.2 | 44.6 | 52.0 | 1.560 |
| Summary | 348.8 | 9:47 | 122.1 | 62.4 | 5529.3 | 5512.3 | 1.460 |
Last time I had a week below 1.48 was around 7/22 ..it was 8 weeks after that I was hitting 1.55+ pretty consistently, so, it looks like it will take me 8 weeks to get back after 4 weeks off ..so far this is validating the old saw I am remembering...we shall see!
(To translate the YPBs into something you can understand better: right now running at 125 bpm for 5 miles + I get about a 9:40 m/m pace. At 1.55 YPB fitness I can run the same HR at 9:00 pace...i.e. I've lost 40s per mile at the same effort level)
I have 12 weeks left of training before my 2 weeks of taper: if i can get back into the shape I was in on 9/2 in just 8 weeks from now I will be happy as 4 weeks to top up a bit more should be great.
Of course there are holidays in there, a birthday (mine!) and a bat mitzvah which will require working around ....but I'm used to that by now.
Welcome back! I was beginning to worry a bit..
ReplyDeleteIt really isn't fair that fitness is so hard to gain and yet so easy to lose. But it's also not fair that chocolate isn't a health food and money doesn't grow on trees. I hope it's a bit quicker than the eight weeks you're expecting.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about that fitness- it will return. Just keep up with your solid training, Paul!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an incredible trip. Both my dad and FIL have been on the Mekong river, but not in Laos.. well maybe it was actually there or Camobodia, but not on the record at the time ;) .. My dad has been back twice since the '60's and enjoys seeing the progress in Vietnam.
Happy Birthday to you!!
Ok, this is the 3rd time I'm tried to respond...stupid blogger...
ReplyDeleteI'd do about 5 weeks of MAF/low HR training (with some short hill sprints or strides 2-3x/week), 5 weeks of sharpening skills, then 2 weeks taper - and you're set. Heard great things about Surf City!
Glad you got a nice trip in with Toni; looks so pretty (love the water).
If you're in Sac for the race, let me know and maybe we can hook up. I'm not even sure if I'm "racing" it - not really in marathon shape right now, so may run a friend in - will see. Would love to "meet" you.