Another Brick

Today I rode an exercise bike for half an hour, followed by ten minutes on the treadmill. I was kind of annoyed because my heart rate monitor was on the fritz for most of my time on the bike, but it was not the end of the world. I started off the treadmill run at 7:30/minute pace and gradually increased it until I was doing 6:40 pace for the last minute, which all felt fairly relaxed and easy. I also weighed myself after the workout -- 181 pounds, which is great for late January. The only other somewhat interesting note is that the guy on the exercise bike next to me was just sweating bullets -- it was kind of gross. I mean, I am all for getting a good sweat, but I just did not understand why homeboy could not wipe himself down every few minutes. After he was done there was pratically a puddle underneath his exercise bike...

Back To Bricks

So yesterday I did my first brick (bike/run) workout of the year. I did 30 hard minutes on the spin bike (a combination of hills and sprints) before running for 10 minutes on the treadmill at a 7:30/mile pace, followed by a five minute walk cool down. While this was definitely a short brick, I felt surprisingly comfortable on the running portion (although my heart rate was sky-high -- but what is new). I am definitely going to try to do one brick every week -- during my best racing season (2006), I managed to keep that up and it made a huge difference during races. Today I did 40 minutes on the spin bike at a constant, moderately-difficult resistance level, focusing on keeping my heart rate between 140-160 bps/minute. I continue to be pleased with my training so far -- and I still cannot believe it is not even the end of January yet!

Attack Of The New Year Resolutionaries

Today I headed to the gym at 1:00 P.M. to ride (well, spin) for the first time since I started training again. Unfortunately I completely forgot that it is the fifth day of the New Year, which means gyms around the world are packed with New Year Resolutionaries. You know who these people are -- they make a New Year's resolution to lose weight/get washboard abs/bulk up/work out more often, and thus, gyms around the world are packed in January (and usually part of February as well). Inevitably their newfound commitment fades, and gym attendance returns to normal. Do not get me wrong -- I truly respect these people for at least trying (and suspect every year some number of them get hooked and start exercising regularly), but it does make working out this time of the year a pain.

Anyway, tangent over -- the entire reason for it was to explain why I ended up having to ride a recumbent bike for 40 minutes instead of a spin bike or something at least faintly resembling an actual bicycle. Given the fact it was the first ride of the year, I was perfectly fine using the recumbent. I wore my heart rate monitor strap and I was generally in the 115-120 bpm range for the entire workout, which quite frankly is probably right where I should be given the fact I have not been on a bicycle since August. So I guess the New Year Resolutionaries may have actually done me a favor...

Happy New Year!

Well after a week and a half off, I did my first workout of 2009 this morning. I went for a four mile run in and around Hoboken. Between the cold (38 degrees), the fact that I have not worked out since before Christmas, and some major hills along the way, it definitely was not my best run. I ended up averaging 7:44/mile pace, compared to my last few treadmill runs which have been around 7:13. I am not particularly bothered by this run -- it is January 3rd, I already have two months of training under my belt, and I am only seven pounds above my targeted racing weight, so from a big picture perspective, I could not be happier.