Portland Commuter Training: Week 1

My bike...in an office...first time ever

Technically, last week was Week One of a sixteen week "training plan" for the Portland Marathon: Quest for the Sub-3 Hour Marathon. And, at least for the foreseeable future, I'm going with a different approach to training: attack the hills as much as possible with an occasional touch of speed or distance on the flats or track. My "plan" is to assault said hills by bike and by run. I forgot how much fun it is to ride a bike in this city, and my goal is to build as much strength and general toughness as possible (attacking hills), so cycling will be a significant portion of my weekly exercise volume for the next six weeks or longer. I still hope to actually run 4-5 times per week, but I shouldn't have to run as long on those (long run day excluded) if I keep cycling in the mix. I'm also hoping that cycling a bit more and running a bit less helps prevent over training or injury deeper into this quest, but ultimately, at this point as long as I maintain a weekly volume of 400 to 500 minutes, attack vert, and have fun doing it, I should be good to transition into Phase Two in a couple months. 

Although, I certainly hope to continue to write the occasional race, run, or ride report, and maybe a Road to Oregon piece, moving forward I don't foresee having as much time to write actual content driven blog posts as in the past. With this in mind, I've decided to simply share my weekly training log as a blog post for a while. It's always been viewable in my pages section, but this makes it more present and potentially open to comments if I can get the comments link to work more consistently (unacceptable). Some of the daily log updates are in-depth, and others are not. There's runner speak, local terminology, and an obvious tone of a diary at this stage, but my hope is those who tune in and read are inspired to get out and challenge themselves on a daily basis, and discover their authentic self however that may be. Enjoy, copy, and/or share.

Week One Training Log... 

Sunday, May 31:
Trail run (83min, ~9mi, 2000ft elev. gain) - Wildwood Trail this morning with Carter. Lots of vert and a tough test for the lungs and legs. Felt great to be running through the woods in the PNW again. Carter did great as well. (P31)

Monday, June 1:
Morning: bike ride (18min, ~4.5mi, 280ft) - Road to Whitman Partners for work
PM: ride home (18min, ~4mi, 500ft)

PM: Easy run with hills (34min, 4.5mi, 380ft) 
-Total of 70min of exercise and 1000+ft of elevation gain today with a fair amount of hill work both riding and running. Building leg strength rapidly since moving back to Portland. The only way out of our neighborhood heading north, south, or east is going to include a decent amount of hill work - just what I wanted. (P31)

Tuesday, June 2:
AM: bike ride (14min, 3.5mi, 280ft) - Straight up and over this morning

PM: run home (50min, 6.5mi, 880ft) - Ran home from work this aft via Terwilliger Blvd. Felt pretty steady and controlled up and over the hill. Good stuff. (1500s)

Wednesday, June 3:
AM: run to work (40min, 4.75mi, 360ft) - Ran to work via Terwilliger. There will be many options to make this longer, shorter, and more difficult through the hills. (P31)

Looking east off Terwilliger Blvd on 6AM run to work

PM: ride home + mtn bike/hiking through woods (43min, 8mii, 1000ft) - Rode home via Ter, Homestead, Gains, OHSU, Marquam trail, Fairmont, Mitchell, and down the other side. Finished up going back up Shattuck and Cameron. It was a big time route up and through the west hill woods, and the marquam trail. I had to get off and walk my bike up many of the switchback sections. Will have to finish this off next time by taking it all the way to the spire on top of Council Crest. Getting vert and loving it.

Thursday, June 4:
Hill run home (52min, 6mi) - I took it deep today on my run home from work. I hopped on the Marquam Trail at the lower end of Terwilliger and blasted straight up to the top of Council Crest. I wanted a route that offered some tough climbing and was shaded, and this seemed to be a great option. The forest was cool, and it was probably a 1000ft climb, although I don't know for sure because my Garmin has decided to stop transferring data (annoying). I will definitely keep this route in the rotation. Starting to hanker for some flat, faster stuff. (P31)

Top of Council Crest Park - highest point in Portland West Hills

Friday, June 5:
AM ride: (21min, 5.3mi) - Rode to work this morning via Terwilliger (like this route)

PM ride: (45min, 9.4mi) - Rode home via River View Cemetery. I love climbing through the cemetery. The roads are nice and narrow. It's quiet. And, it's well-shaded on hot, sunny days by massive Douglas Fir trees. The reward of the view from the top is also a nice added bonus. 

Top of River View Cemetery 

Weekly Totals:
- 418 total minutes
- 259 minutes run (5)
- 159 minutes bike (6)
- Lots of climbing; feeling stronger already