Trainers and Treadmills

Yesterday was a day of solid indoor work. Such is the life of a triathlete in Northern Alberta training for an April event! Having said that I must admit that in some respects I do like the clinical nature of doing a brick indoors. The steady whirrr of the trainer reminds me to keep my pedal stroke smooth and steady. Head down, no worries about cars, potholes, dogs (Jim), the edge of the road, (Jim again), just man and machine. Of course I also have my iPod on along with the DVD of Coach Troy leading me through my 2 plus hours required today.

And I got it done. Total time was 2 hours 15 minutes, 42.15 miles, average cadence of 92 and a speed of over 18 mph. Then I jumped off the bike, refilled my water bottle, donned my running shoes and onto the treadmill for a brisk run. Only a half hour but it was at a decent pace as when my intermittent readings on the treadmill showed up I was running at 9.1 mph. Once again I must admit I do love the treadmill for these types of workouts especially, but also for other reasons. Like when it is too cold, too dark, or I just want to do a really mindless run. This is the third treadmill I have owned and in each case we have worn them out. With two of us using it on a regular basis, it racks up the miles pretty quick. Another of my pet peeves, is the use of exercise equipment to hang laundry on. And you well know that thousands of treadmills, exercise bikes, eliptical machines and rowing machines found under the Christmas tree will meet that fate. What a shame!

So far this week I have logged 9 hours and 43 minutes. One more hour will complete my week. I don't always necessarily follow the training plan on a day by day basis, but really work towards completing my obligation for the week, and my time by discipline. In order to do that today I will have to do a short run and a short bike. However, my legs feel pretty good and the temperature is supposed to hit +5 C today so I think it will be difficult to miss the opportunity to run a little longer outside. I think I am going to run the Black Cat Trail for starters and see where it goes from there.

Tomorrow will be a day off as we bring Francesca back to school. It has been great having her home for so long, but it is time to get back to the books for her. We get to see lots of her as it is since Edmonton is only 2 hours and 40 minutes away.

Hope you have a great weekend!