I spent a lot of time this past winter putting in base miles running, saddle time on the trainer and rollers, and getting in the occasional swim. I am now at the point where I need to work on strength and power. I did do some nice interval workouts on the trainer. I've also done some intervals (strength / power) and tempo (muscular endurance) work in my running over the past month or so.
To focus on the running a bit, I also have been lucky to have a running partner who paid for coaching in his bid to qualify for Boston (he'd previously ran his PR yet missed qualifying by 15 seconds). This has provided not only himself but also the rest of us in the running group with some excellent, professional (the coach has run 2:30-ish marathons himself) training plans and workouts.
One of the running partners commented over the winter that, collectively, they were all running faster this year. The Boston hopeful also just ran a local half marathon and PR'd. I am simply playing the sheep and following along, yet getting all the benefits. I truly am lucky to be in such a situation as my running has dramatically improved.
For instance, last fall I'd commented on a 14 mile run at 8:11s. That was a great run for me at the time. I even noted my heart rate was a 148 average. This past Saturday I did a (broken - part of it on my own with a ~15 minute break waiting for my running partners) 19.6 mile run and averaged 8:03s and just 140 for the average heart rate. That's a great improvement in efficiency that will really benefit me in 5.5 months.
This past Sunday I got out for my first outdoor ride of the season and loved it. I rode 64 km over 2:20 and really felt great. That's not a speedy ride, but the point is my backside was fine in the saddle and my legs really felt wonderful. It's nice to get out there early and feel good about it and not internally commenting about how out of shape you are and how much work you have to do.
I've done that base work and now I need to start working the power and speed, which I'll be doing in short order. :)
