Steve in a Speedo?! Gross!

GOOD Track Workout, Then SKIPPED Track Workout

>> Monday, June 29, 2026

Ten days ago I hit the track before heading up north later that day. I wanted to do something a LITTLE shorter/faster, but not do TOO much because that would be extra stress on my already sore calf. So I modified a 3x(4x400) with 60 sec between 400s and 3 minutes between sets to be 2x(4x400) with 60 sec between 400s and 3 minutes between sets.

The first 4x400 looked like this:

1:16.1
1:13.5
1:12.9
1:13.3

I was feeling decent after that first set of 4, and I CONSIDERED doing like 9 or 10 of the 400s (instead of just 8), but I figured I should focus on speed and not trying to get too many in. So after a 5th 400, I told myself to throw out the "descend" mindset (where I try to get faster on every interval) and instead just go ALL OUT for the last 3 intervals...

1:14.7
1:11.5
1:11.6
1:11.8

... so all of those three were 1:11 as they BARELY got slower. I was hashed. Good workout!

Runnin' laps.

Pace graph: 2x(4x400), 1:00 between 400s, 3:00 between sets.

Then last week I found myself skipping an interval workout. I was just hashed. I felt like I would pull up injured if I hit the track. I just "went for a run" instead of doing anything hard. That was just 4 days after my longest run in over a decade, and just 2 days before that was a long brutal bike. My body didn't feel like running hard, and I don't know how badly I needed to listen.

The following morning (after doing an EASY run instead of a track workout), I woke up with a training readiness of 1:

Skipping the run was basically throwing in the towel for any chance of speed this summer. I might be doing a 1 mile in about a month, and I'm well behind on any short, speedy, hard track workouts. I'm pretty sure I've now set myself up for a "personal worst" 1 mile. But I need to get used to that... this old body isn't getting any younger...

Long Ride in Northern MN

>> Saturday, June 27, 2026

Two days before my Father's Day half marathon, I went out for a long ride. I had no speed goals, no specific workout, just wanted to get in 45+ miles.

So I headed south from Emily MN on some decently wide shoulders:

I started early, so I was only passed by 3 cars by mile 7.

I got to Crosby (where we've mountain biked before at Cuyuna State Park), and I hopped off on some paved trails that go through the park to add in some more miles:

I rode through Cuyuna and came around a corner to find 2 red fox making babies in the middle of the street. I caught one on camera by the time I got my phone out:

A loon in a small lake.

Turning around at a little lake.

The skinny DEEP Huntington Mine Lake on my way back.

Taking a 2 minute break as I leave the park ready to head
straight north into the wind for the final 15+ miles.

My average dropped from nearly 21 mph to 19.3 mph after fighting the light wind. It wasn't HORRIBLE, but it felt brutal after 15+ miles. I got close to Emily and stopped to take a photo at a large bike. But I found my phone ON in my pocket and it had just taken 70 short videos of the inside of my jersey:

My bike and the BIG BIKE.

Weird elephants as well.

5-mile splits. Straight south to Crosby, then through Cuyuna State Park and back.

In the end, it was 47 miles in 19.3 mph. My first three 5-mile splits were all 20.4 - 21.4 mph, but my last 3 were 17.5 - 19.4 mph. Just a nice ride that ended kind of depressingly slow.