What was I thinking?!?

As I mentioned in my last post, I am starting to get a little antsy to get into a new training plan. So yesterday I thought I would do a Brick workout which I haven’t done in quite some time. Digging through my DVD Spinervals collection, I came across a Ride and Stride DVD which looked interesting. It appeared to be a reasonable one hour workout so that is what I chose.
There must have been some small print or a warning somewhere on the package that I couldn’t find because this was not for the faint of heart. After a warm up on the bike of 3 x 30 second high tempo spins it was time for the actual session.
Each set was a 10 minute variable gearing, high cadence time trial on the bike, followed by a quick transition to the run and then 5 minutes on the treadmill. The set on the treadmill started out with 1 minute at base pace (comfortable jogging), the next minute was base pace + 2 miles per hour and an incline of 3%. With each minute you increased both pace and incline by one. Starting with a base pace of 6 MPH left me finishing off at 11 MPH. By the end of the third set of this workout I was wobbling and seeing double! My legs felt like jelly but it is definitely a workout that I will do at least once every couple of weeks.
Saturday I had a nice cruise type run in perfect autumn conditions. It was cool enough that you needed some light gloves but otherwise it was sunny and no wind. I ran one of my favourite routes which is out toward the old airport and is along good gravel covered roads. Right from the start the legs were strong and I found myself really powering up the first few inclines. Once on the trails I settled down a bit and just enjoyed the great views of the river valley.
The way back was more of the same and I found myself back at the house in no time at all. As I was not paying much attention to my watch I was surprised to see I had covered 9 miles in just under 1 hour and 1 minute. I still think I need to find a race!
Today was a swimming day and I managed to get in 2,300 metres at lunch in 51 minutes. It was a good workout and I find lately I have become a little more disciplined in doing some drill work and I believe it is helping.
This evening was a quick 5 mile run in 33:54 as I had some things to do. I have noticed a distinct increase in my speed over the last little while. It is not planned, but just seems to be happening. Maybe it is just the fresh, cool fall air that has put the jump in my step.
Congratulations to all the marathoners who competed this weekend. There were some great times posted and I hope everyone enjoys a nice recovery.
Have a great day!