My training plan for the Mid South Double

The training plan

The challenge to partake in the MidSouth double was kind of a joke at first but, I have stuck with my training plan and it seems to be going well. I am by no means going to podium at the event looking at previous times however I hope to suffer as little as possible.

Running

For me the run is always going to be the hardest part given when I signed up I hadn't run more that 12 miles ever.

I decided to complete a 1/2 marathon running program (I used Garmin coach for this) then straight into a marathon training plan for the running side, I used Garmin for this one too.

The 1/2 marathon plan culminated in me running a 1:42:05 on a flat paved course around lake hefner.


The marathon training has been going well also, I have been training using heart rate zones and mostly (when the HR monitor is working) I can stay in the correct zone, sometimes the HR randomly seems to drop or spike, but mostly I ignore this and it works out.

Riding

I have also been using a Garmin Century plan for the riding side.The plan is split into three phases base, build and peak, I have just entered the peak section.

This has meant some double up days for workouts to ensure I get rest days.

As it stands right now I am feeling a little apprehensive about the double but think the training is working.

I'm sure there is no way I would have been able to run 16miles the day before the Growler and ride as well as I did when I started this plan.

My biggest takeaways so far 

I was really bad at nutrition when doing long events, I am working on improving that but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. The Garmin 530 does help with that though as it's constantly reminding me to eat and drink.

My fitness has improved, or at least my V02max Garmin voodoo estimation has.

Not sure how this is worked out.

I am enjoying running again, a lot more than I thought I would.

It's interesting to look back on how much I have trained time wise for this event. See here

Gravel Growler 2020

2020 Gravel Growler - Shawnee

The 2020 edition of the Gravel Growler was a blast. This year we headed south into some undulating terrain. It was a little cool at the start but warmed up significantly once we got going, well after the worlds longest and slowest neutral roll out. 

Freezing before the off...

I had been talking with one of my teammates and riding buddies before the race about how maybe we could ride together. Once we got going it became obvious that wasn't going to happen, she blew me away within the first two miles after the neutral start.... She went on to win the "old lady category" her words not mine with a smoking time 4:59:49. 

Bye Carin, you are at the front of that group.

After the fast groups had dropped me, I settled into my "race" pace. I was caught by a couple of teammates and we rolled along pretty well. After a stop to take off some layers we ended up riding at different paces and mostly that is how I rode the race, solo and unable to bridge up to draft people.

Out here doing my thing

The gravel was great

At the aid station around 43 miles in I caught back up to Zach. I was able to get in and out of the aid station pretty quickly and managed to get ahead of  Zach.  He caught back up to me and we rolled together for a little while before he dropped me again, he is riding really well at the moment. 

The miles were going by pretty quickly and there was almost no wind however the hills kept coming. 

more hills

and again

Empty roads

Before I knew it I was 80miles in and back in Shawnee.

Almost the finish, I caught the guy ahead of me. 

Another selfie, sure ok then. 

Results

I finished in 5hrs 20 min with no cramping and no significant loss of power, this is a huge improvement over last year at this race where I went out way to fast and blew up like a "champion"

24th place in my category

"Old people" category

Pro results

The Strava