Wednesday, May 13, 2009

First things first...I have to clear something up! A few folks got all excited when I said I had a swim date with DGB. D is my friend and coworker Debbie. We've done a few races together and she is my partner in crime for the Great Lunch Swap project. So...sorry folks...no exciting date story to share!

Speaking of the swim date...I was tired last night. I had picked out a fun sprint workout that I had really enjoyed the last time I ran through it. Last night the mind was willing but the body wasn't. I just couldn't muster very much of a sprint and I wound up calling it a night at 1500m. Oh well, at least I got out and got something done! It just goes to show that minimal sleep results in sub-par workouts though...

A peek at the weather forecast this morning indicated a 0% chance of precipitation for the day. That's the first time in a week or two that I've seen that and I knew I needed to take advantage. Time to bike into work! It was pretty brisk in the morning at -3C (27F) but I dressed pretty appropriately so it didn't feel too bad. I tried to keep my cadence over 90 rpm as much as possible and the ride was fantastic.

Since yesterday's canceled ride was supposed to be all about hill repeats I figured that my uphill ride home would be a half decent substitute. I also thought I'd include some hill repeats on the big hill into my neighborhood...that I normally try to avoid. I left behind my backpack at work, left behind my extra warm clothes (since it had now warmed up) and anything else I didn't need. I didn't want any extra weight, I just wanted to ride. Last year this ride home would just kill me. I found it so hard! Now that I've got a bike computer with cadence on it I'm finding that it is really helping my riding. Last year I was just trying to push big gears which would be okay on the flats, but it would tire my legs out and the hills would be so hard. I really noticed today that if I focused on 90 rpm for as much as possible I was riding quickly and efficiently, and I was taking the hills like nobodies business. I went through three hill repeats and would have loved to do more, but I could see some nasty clouds in the distance (0% chance of precipitation???). I wanted to get home and get a brick run in before things got nasty. Here's the elevation profile for my ride home:

When I got home I threw on my running shoes and headed out for my 20 minute brick run. At first my legs felt a bit wooden but they sorted themselves out reasonably quickly. After the ride home I was floored by my pace - 2.27 mi in 20 min, which is an 8:49/mi pace. That's a bit faster than I normally run! So all in all...a great day for workouts!!

Now off to bed so that I can be up and raring to go for my swim tomorrow morning!

14 comments:

Melanie Tait said...

Wow that graph is hard core Leana. Does that mean you have loads of hills on the way home? Phew...

ps. re dating - you wait till you get to Aus for NYE - gorgeousness is everywhere!

Missy said...

Looks like where I live. Makes hill repeats real easy to get in, that's for sure;) Just ride home!

Great brick and fast run.

joyRuN said...

Whoa!! That's insane elevation followed by a run at 8:49 pace!

Great great job :)

Marlene said...

That is one intense elevation profile! Way to kill those climbs. You are getting so strong on your swim, bike AND run workouts!

Keith said...

Quite the elevation profile indeed! And I thought I was doing good on Road to Nepal!

I'm looking outside today (Thurs am). Weather is cold and cloudy. I don't believe them when they say no rain. Looks like rain. Smells like rain.

Wes said...

From now on, I'm going to siphon off some of your workouts and claim them as my own ;-)

RoadBunner said...

Wow! Sounds like your bike/run are really coming along. I bet those spin classes all winter really got your bike in gear! Great job. I'm glad you can start riding to work again.

Aron said...

yikes that graph scares me

Lindsay said...

wow great workout! work those hills girl. and a speedy brick run - while that's my 'easy' pace i usually have a hard time hitting it without a killer bike ride before :) so basically, you rock!

Badgergirl said...

Wow! Nice job on the bike and the run.

teacherwoman said...

Sweet graph! Definitely nothing like where I live. Things are pretty damn flat here, but windier (is that a word?) than hell! LOL

ShirleyPerly said...

Riding in 27F??? OMG, and I thought 35-40F in Fargo was fffrrreeezing!!

But way to climb those hills, and great pace on your brick run!

Bootchez said...

Your elevation graph looks angry -- like it has teeth! Damn, girl! And the whole cadence thing is really showing itself to be important, yeah? I'm fooling around a bit myself, and though I haven't seen any real changes yet, it *feels* like I'm going faster . . .

Sonia said...

hahaha I feel concerned in the people got excited about DBG..... hahaha sorry I started gossips LOL

Seriously?! A sub 9 min/mile off the bike.... I bow to your greatness!!!!