This past week....

Time really flies - time to set plans for yet another weekends. But first things first. Here's a quick update:

Over the past weekend (20-21) I've managed to run 17.5 km (1hr 44 mins) and do a long bike ride (65 km). I'm still debating if I should enter the Tatra Tour on 1 August (www.tatratour.eu). M is doing the full 212 km route, but I'm considering the 100 km. Considering that I have to wait for him anyway, this may be a good distraction for a few hours. Just the altitude difference (about 1000 m) scares me a bit. I'll decide after another long ride. Overall though, I love riding the road bike - it's really amazing how much different it is from the MTB and yes, it is pretty comfortable once you get used to it.

During this week, just managed to do a run on Tuesday morning and a bike ride last night. Somehow getting up in the mornings is REALLY hard! I think weather has a lot to do with it. Plus if I see a cloudy sky, somehow any enthusiasm gets sucked right out... Right now its sunny, so maybe tonight I'll squeeze in a run.

Now, for the weekend. As I'm car-less until mid-next week, it looks like the 15km run is kind of out. So, M and I are going to the mountains (near Wisla) and are planning to do some hill work there. Hoplefully there will be some time for a hike as well. I miss mountains! Already planning the trips we'll be taking in the Tatras next month. And the weather better clear up by then!

Finally Friday!

So - another week is gone. But where is the summer??? It seems like no one is having a real summer this year. Here, in Warsaw, it's rain, rain, rain, and a little bit of sun...
Well, I guess complaining won't help much here, so just need to adjust to this.
On the running front, this week was a bit hampered by a sudden overload of work, but still managed to do a tempo run on Wed - 11km at 11kph pace followed by an easy 9 km on Thursday. So, what have I learned from these 2 sessions? That over the past year my heart rate has lowered! I was training with heart rate monitor for a while, but due to both my laziness and technical malfunction I've stopped. This week I've decided to borrow M's just to see how I'm doing, and voila! On the recovery run I was able to keep my heart rate between 140 - 145, which was impossible to do a year ago. Even on the tempo run, I averaged at 163, which is pretty low for me.

Tomorrow I'm attempting a 17km long run. Weather gods - cooperate!

Quick update

Even though weather over the long (4 days!!!) weekend wasn't very stable, we still managed to make the very best of it, so here it goes:
Thursday, 11 June - 45 km bike with road bikes in Kampinos (actually found a nice stretch of a secondary road that runs through the forest)
Friday, 12 June - about 23 km through Kabaty forest & than a nice, slow ride through Piaseczno and back through the forest
Saturday, 13 June - 15 km run in the forest (managed to do it right before it started pouring for the rest of the day)
Sunday, 14, June - 58 km to Gora Kalwaria and back. Original plan was to go with the road bikes but looking at the wind we with MTBs. Very happy as I think the wind would just blow me off the road with the light bike. Still managed to do some awesome sprints - up to 40 kph, albeit with the wind. On the way back, just as the tiredness was starting to hit me and we had to go a long way against the wind, M did his part and let me draft him!

Overall a great weekend!

Finally Friday!

Getting up this morning was soooo hard! But the thought that it's Friday made it a bit easier. Anyway, out the door at 6:45AM and towards the forest! Did exactly 10km with 12 100 to 200m intervals. I've noticed that if I do longer intervals I cannot repeat them so for a bit I'll stick to these short ones. Anyway - felt very good. The main plan for this weekend is to do a medium/long run - 15-20km.

Sunday & Wednesday

I'll start with this morning though. After many rainy mornings, we finally woke up to a semi-clear sky and no rain/drizzle or whatever else can get you wet. Promptly at 6:30 we were out the door. And what a run it was! The forrest is so nice at that time with the birds waking up and the amazing smells! I did the full "big" loop (11km), with an average of 10.5 kph. Very happy, very energized and ready to start the day!

Now, for this past Sunday (31 May). Even though we woke up to some rain and many clouds we packed our bikes and went to Naleczow - MTB maraton. And what an adventure it was! Mud everywhere, a lot of rain but a lot of fun people and great organization! I did 34km while M did 63km. Sounds easy, but for a good 5-7km I had to walk my bike in mud, which stuck to the bike like crazy, making it at least twice as heavy as it was. Pictures coming soon!