Another day, another brick workout

Now that I'm getting close to IM Brazil, coach has programmed in 2 brick workouts per week--one on Tuesday after my hard, quality ride, and one on Saturday, after the longest of my 2 weekend rides. So my running schedule looks like this:

Monday: Short, easy ride with Strides
Tuesday: Brick after quality ride
Wednesday: Tempo
Thursday: Long, ending in Tempo
Friday: None or short with strides
Saturday: Brick after quality longest ride
Sunday: None

So we are still getting in 5 runs per week, and the only one that I would consider "easy" is on Monday!

Yesterday was an alleged rest day, but you all know those are sort of against my religion. I knew I would go ahead with my strength workout (to avoid having to do any the same day as a tough brick workout), and I just felt like I needed another swim. So yesterday I lifted (HARD, I don't do anything easy it seems), and within 1/2 hour I went to the pool. I did a "force" workout which consists of lots of pulling (1800 yards worth yesterday). My legs were tired from the strength workout and from the previous week, so I figured pulling would be fine, but man, my arms were like rocks during the workout, but I managed to get through it with decent swim times. After my workday ended, then I spent 2 hours vigorously raking my back lawn, which included cleaning out the biggest of my perennial beds. To say I was tired and sore after all this is an understatement! I slept 10 big ones last night in celebration of my "rest day."

I felt rather tired and sluggish this morning, even with all the sleep I got. I stretched for 45' this morning, because I needed to work out the kinks from the raking, and it just felt like a good way to start my day. Today I had to ride my road bike again, since I won't get the Bitch back until Friday. I thought I had the Power Tap figured out, but after my second FT interval, I cleared the damn thing instead of starting a new interval (for this reason alone I would NOT buy one of these again--the same button combo if held quickly starts a new interval, but any longer and it clears all the data!). Oh well, I just rode as hard as I could during the 2 FT intervals. The winds were gusting to about 38MPH, but the temps were nice (about 72). I can tell I got a decent workout in based on the calories I burned as recorded by my HRM (thank God I have THAT thing dialed in). I'll do my formal FT test next Tuesday on the Bitch with the good old SRM. I am so used to it, and it's so easy to use, unlike the crazy Power Tap.

I didn't think I'd be running too well today off the bike, since I did a fairly serious brick workout on Sunday. But then again, the week before, I did a LOT of serious brick work, didn't I? Still, I keep thinking I'm going to have a "bad" run, but it just hasn't happened since when I was sick. So I take off from my house. There's a 1/4 mile uphill right out my door. Not real steep, but you know you are going up. My stomach felt like the typical, "Can I PLEASE puke right now?" and my legs felt slow and, well, just WRONG. I don't pay attention to my HRM much anymore when I start my outdoor runs, especially a brick run. I just tried to run as best I could, and not give in to the typical thoughts of "Can we PLEASE stop this feels like complete and utter CRAP." But I remembered my mantra that EVERY WORKOUT COUNTS, so there was no sense letting the brick demons take control.

I hit Mile 1 and now I looked at my watch. I was expecting maybe 9:30, since I was supposed to go out "easy." Nope. 8:37. WTF??? (Note to Brett: I bet we were running faster than we thought in SC, he he.) I mean I can't tell you how "not good" I felt and I guess it just doesn't make a difference. So I keep going until I hit 15' where I can turn around, stop briefly to drink some Gatorade (which is probably all over my face at this point since I biked about 1:30), and then head back home. I negative split the turn around to the last mile, and then it was 1 mile to go. I didn't really try to push it that much, but lately, it just seems that the faster I go, the faster the crappy-ass feeling stops, so there is no point in prolonging the matter (note: this is NOT true in an Ironman race--the ultimate in brick workouts. These "short" brick workouts are nothing compared to a 1/2 or full Ironman run. However, I do think I will have the same attitude that if I slow down too much it will just make the crappiness last longer, so I will avoid slowing down as much as I can. I tell you, it can take YEARS to get to that point.). When I'm running that route and it's not a brick run, lots of times I just pick it up a little and manage anywhere from 7:50 to 8:05 on that last mile (which is sub-5K pace for me, see I AM slow!), so today I'd have been happy with 8:30 or more, I really didn't care. Oh well, 8:16 (on Sunday I did it in 7:57). So despite several big training weeks, more bricks than I care to remember, I'm not really losing much speed, am I?

It seems that my legs are on autopilot now whenever I run, and that I have become much better at just ignoring whatever else feels bad that day and getting to the business of running. Does that mean I've become a runner? This is my 9th year of running, so I suppose it's about time! I mean, I actually enjoy running now. I think a lot of it has to do with being very lightweight. I hate to tell those of you out there, even though I feel compelled, but any excess weight just makes running suck. Who wants their thighs rubbing, their tummies bouncing, or feeling the impact of excess weight every time your foot hits the ground? It feels much better to be floating, and to not feel so much gravity whenever I climb a hill. This great feeling now has me paranoid of putting on any weight, but it's not stopping me from eating like a horse. Just ask Shelley how much I can pack in. I swear I have been eating so much, and I think I'm down another pound. I truly believe that once you achieve leanness to the point of only carrying essential fat (which is about where I am), that as long as you are doing some exercise, your body just behaves like a furnace. In fact, I bought a bag of Cheetos at the grocery store. I still haven't begun devouring pasta (another thing that I know keeps me lean: I eat TONS of brown rice, but just don't often crave the pasta anymore--usually by this time in the year I am all over it), but I think I will need to eat some this weekend since I have big long rides. I suppose I should keep a food log to prove how many calories I'm eating (probably less than I think), but I have my hands full just doing my workouts, stretching, sleeping, grocery shopping, and trying to stay ahead of the bottles and laundry. And visit my mom at least once a week in the hospital.

Well, enough of all that. Bonus, I am browning up. I can't wait to see how I look with my 2006 physique and a nice suntan! If nothing else, I plan on looking great in Brazil, including, yes, I will be sporting a thong on the beach. I think I'm worthy.