Today was my first brick workout since mid-September. I didn't really plan for it, but hell, strike while the iron is hot. It was a beautifully sunny day, with temps in the mid 40's so a bit on the chilly side. Yesterday I had vowed to myself that I would head out to Wildcat Road (aka "Kick-my-ass-and-leave-me-in-the-ditch-to-die Road") and run hill repeats on the first steep hill. Okay, all the hills on this road are steep, hence the nickname from my cycling outings on it. It is less than a mile from my front door to the foot of the first hill, a perfect warm-up distance. I decided to run to the top in sprint sets, with each set consisting of sprint 30 paces, walk 30 paces. It took me seven sets to reach the top. I considered running further, but since this is my first real hill repeat session I didn't want to over extend myself, so I turned around and ran for home. I was careful running the steep downhill, knowing just how hard downhills can be on my knees and quads. It gave me a chance to focus intently on technique, footstrike and stride rate. I admit, I really had a tough time motivating myself out of the door, and procrastinated until the sun was getting a bit low on the horizon and I knew if I didn't get going the light would fade and the temps would really drop. Of course by the time I was warmed up, and before I even started the hill repeats, I was feeling great, and glad to be out in the fresh, brisk autumn air. It was a good run, short but effective.
When I returned home I decided to get in a 60 minute spin session. I haven't been keeping up with my cycling quite as much as I would like. As with my swimming, it is so hard to return to indoor workouts after a glorious summer of outdoor training sessions. My route to work is the same road I spent so many hours cycling over this last summer, and as I drive my eyes wander the bike path on the shoulder of the road, wishing it was August and I was sweating my way up and down the hills. I know I can cycle outdoors even during the winter, but I don't have all the gear I need, and the wind chill can be brutal on a bike. I did pick up some basic gear before my event in September, just in case of inclement weather, but I didn't need it. I need to dig it all out and have it ready for the next dry weekend (granted, that might be in June).
I still haven't really filled out my training schedule as much as I would like. I have a few training days that are very specific: Monday and Friday are Strength Training with a focus on legs and core, Wednesday is Running Drills at the college track. The rest of the week is a little less focused: Tuesday and Thursday are dedicated Swim days, Saturday and Sunday are for Cycling and a Run workout. I am doing the Elliptical machine to warm up on Leg Day, and trying to fit in an extra run where I can. I'd also like to get in a third swim somehow. Yeah, yeah, it sounds pretty specific, but my cycling workouts are very generic, and not frequent enough, and I could say the same about my swimming. There really are not enough days in the week to fit in all the training sessions I would like. This is where I guiltily confess that I am looking forward to getting laid off from work so I can train more (terrible, I know).
I do have to keep reminding myself that this really should be my Off-Season, and I shouldn't have to be quite so obsessively focused. But my nature is to be obsessively focused, it is how I am, I seem to be hardwired for it. Maybe this year I will actually get a training calender, and keep a journal, or just do as I always do and keep it all up inside my noggin.
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