Post Written by Patrick McCrann. You can follow him on Twitter here.
The Overview
The final week of December was full of Christmas and the usual mayhem. Having two little girls really into the season this go ’round makes it just that much more special…and that much harder to geek out on the training.
This week will be unofficially know as the week of phlegm, as I spent the better part of my free time must trying to clear my head, my lungs, and, I am convinced, the better part of my body from this vile mucus. I am no doubt at defcon two, and will need some kind of magical pill from my primary care when I stop in the first week of January. Until then, I will run, sneeze, blow, and cough/jump my way to staying in shape. 
Body Comp goals were again on the edge, as holiday cookies and being out of my home environment makes things just that much harder. I am doing my best, but am looking forward to getting back to my own routine.
The Annual Endurance Nation Holiday Run Challenge has kept me honest, but hasn’t really jumpstarted my run. If anything, it does have me thinking about doing a slightly longer run next week…probably a good thing before that half marathon in Feb!
The Workouts
Monday — FTP Test, results covered last week. Very excited about the updated FTP, but the week really went downhill from here.
Tuesday — Easy 30′ run to just get loose. Am worried about run test on Wed AM, so just got out there to keep the blood flowing.
Wednesday — Tough vDOT test. Windy day, 12-degree temps, coughing….wah, wah, wah, yielded an 18:23, for 5:58/mile or 7 seconds per mile slower than my last test. I didn’t expect much more, but one can always hope. Proud that I was able to make something happen.
Thursday — A tough hour as 2 x 20′, with the first one fine at 318, then the second one just plain popped! 300 (maybe)…was totally spent. Coach Rich confirmed to be a sadist.
Friday — Thanks to EN run challenge, I decided to put in 8 miles at about 7:30 pace in the dark, at 5am, on Christmas. Good for my mental state, prob not so good for recovery.
Saturday — Sat trainer ride amidst Xmas boxes of 2 x15′ as 322, 318, then 15′ at .85. Total of .951 for 55 mins, 81 TSS. Skipped the 5′ all out and the second 15′ as I feared the girls were up…but was secretly tired. Added in 4 miles at 7:30 pace just to stay in the challenge game.
Sunday — Short and sweet 45′ run with 3x1mile at TP for 10 points in the challenge. Vewy, vewy tiyurd.
Stats Summary for the Week
Weight: Again back to being stuck at 179. I was good early, then dropped back to the 179 space. I think that’s my happy place right now, only I am not so happy about it…we’ll have to see if a renewed focus can have an impact!
FTP: 320 baby!
vDOT: Dropped down to 55 from 56.25, but that’s just fine by me. Good ground to make up in 2010!
CTL: 51 TSS/day (previous week was actually 46.5 TSS/day)
TSB: -21.3 with a week of testing and resting dropping things down a bit after 8 weeks….amen!
Hi, I'm Patrick McCrann. 
