First Brick Workout For the Season
I'm floating after a good, hard week of working out. I was able to swim twice, actually doing 900 yards the second swim, feeling strong during and after. I ran, cycled, stairclimbed, and did weights and abs as well. After each workout, I could feel the fatigue, but it wasn't overwhelming and I was able to go into each successive workout rested and ready for it. Today I decided to complete a brick workout to see how I would handle both physically and mentally the cycling followed by running.
I started on the spinner, going with an endurance program. After 32 minutes, I'd gone about 12.5 miles. I'm not sure the spinner is accurate, as that is about a 23 mph pace, but I did keep the cadence in the 90's the entire time. The program was helpful with its cues for when to add resistance, to slow down and speed up, and maintain. I've never used a spinner before starting at the gym, so it's taken some getting used to, but I like how easy it is to add resistance. My heart was pounding hard by the time I was finished.
From the bike I went to the treadmill. I told myself I was not, under any circumstances, going to allow the mph to go under 5. And I wasn't going to settle into my usual comfort zone of 5 and just stay there. The treadmill I was on had a 5k option, so I entered it and started off at 5. Every 1k I increased the speed and finished strong at 6.2 mph. I've never had a run where I actually increased the speed as I went along. Never. Being able to show myself I can do this was like quieting that negative voice in my head with a right-left knock out punch.
I needed this kind of workout. I constantly doubt myself and think I'm delusional for thinking I can actually be competitive in a sprint tri. Though I'm still not what many would consider fast in the run, I am pretty good on the bike, and after yesterday's swim, I think I can knock out the swim portion of the tri much better now than I did last year. With these small successes, I'm realizing just how much I look forward to the next workout. Today, several hours after the brick, I smiled as I thought about tomorrow's agenda: upper body, abs, and stairclimbing. Sounds like fun to me.
I started on the spinner, going with an endurance program. After 32 minutes, I'd gone about 12.5 miles. I'm not sure the spinner is accurate, as that is about a 23 mph pace, but I did keep the cadence in the 90's the entire time. The program was helpful with its cues for when to add resistance, to slow down and speed up, and maintain. I've never used a spinner before starting at the gym, so it's taken some getting used to, but I like how easy it is to add resistance. My heart was pounding hard by the time I was finished.
From the bike I went to the treadmill. I told myself I was not, under any circumstances, going to allow the mph to go under 5. And I wasn't going to settle into my usual comfort zone of 5 and just stay there. The treadmill I was on had a 5k option, so I entered it and started off at 5. Every 1k I increased the speed and finished strong at 6.2 mph. I've never had a run where I actually increased the speed as I went along. Never. Being able to show myself I can do this was like quieting that negative voice in my head with a right-left knock out punch.
I needed this kind of workout. I constantly doubt myself and think I'm delusional for thinking I can actually be competitive in a sprint tri. Though I'm still not what many would consider fast in the run, I am pretty good on the bike, and after yesterday's swim, I think I can knock out the swim portion of the tri much better now than I did last year. With these small successes, I'm realizing just how much I look forward to the next workout. Today, several hours after the brick, I smiled as I thought about tomorrow's agenda: upper body, abs, and stairclimbing. Sounds like fun to me.
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