Saturday Morning Brick Workout

So normally I would head out to run some trails on a Saturday morning, this time of year though that requires waiting for the sun to come up (lazy, good for nothing sun), and seeing as how we have Casey's secret Santa fund raiser at school this morning I had to get my workout in before then. Plus we are headed out of town to visit my relatives so my normal Sunday morning ride is on the shelf as well. What a perfect scenario for a brick workout!

Brick w/o part 1 - Run - 5.94 mi - 56:49
It was cold this morning, 8 degrees according to the weather app on my phone, time to break out the winter running gear. I already had my heavy duty pullover and warm up pants, but after letting Lucky out for his morning business I realized I was also going to need my face mask. I got myself all bundled up and head out the door, although it was cold it wasn't terrible since there was little to no wind. I learned last year that winter running can be very enjoyable if you have the proper gear. The worst scenario for running in the cold is starting out slightly cool and never getting warmed up.

As far as the run went nothing terribly special, just a nice 6 mile loop around the neighborhood, Lucky joined me and he seemed to be holding his own, in fact he seemed like he was pushing the pace a little bit. I get concerned in this kind of weather about keeping him out very long but usually at or around 10 degrees he's ok any colder or if there is a strong wind it's probably not safe for him (or me for that matter) to be out that long.

I finished up the run came inside stripped out of my layers and grabbed a drink and an energy gel and headed downstairs to jump on the bike trainer.

Brick w/o part 2 - Bike - 13.5mi - 45:00
Like all my trainer rides I'm merely guessing at the mileage based on sporadic cadence counts, perceived effort and the gears used. I started out pretty slow, legs definitely felt heavy after the run but once I got loosened up a bit I got into a rhythm. The best part about riding my trainer is being able to watch TV while I ride, it keeps my mind occupied while plugging away at the miles and lets me catch up on some of my favorite TV programs.

I had planned on doing an hour on the bike, but 30 mins into it I realized I was not going to have enough in the tank to get me through. Legs felt tired, which is understandable I've had a pretty hard week of training without a rest day since the previous Monday so I was on my 12th consecutive day of training, plus I added leg lifts to my routine this week. Tomorrow will be an easy day, maybe run for 30 mins on the hotel treadmill, or just take a much needed day off.

For the week I've totaled out at 4 runs for 20 miles, 3 bike rides for 56 miles and I lifted weights 4 times (2x upper body and 2x legs) for a grand total of 8 hours and 15 minutes. Ideally I would like to be around 10-12 hours for a week and peak at 15 hours once I start incorporating swim workouts in January. Getting all that into my schedule will take effort and some sacrifices like going to bed earlier and getting up early but that is half the fun and challenge. Living a sedentary life style is easy and frankly boring, being active and training is not only a physical challenge but a mental one as well, one thing I have learned is that to be physically strong you have to be mentally up for the challenge as well. Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.