Yeah!  Day off day!  And of course it is beautiful outside.  When in the world will it stay nice out permanently.  I'm so sick of the cold.  I know, I've been harping on that a bit, but still.  Sheesh. What a long winter. 

Liverpool won yesterday.  Torres scored yet again.  What a stud. And the Fire start soon.  And so do the Sox.  What a great time of year for sports!  Awesome! 

2.5 hour bike. Keep RPE 3-4. Use race clothes if possible. Use race equipment.

20 minute recovery run after the bike at RPE 2.

Today was both the best and worst workout/ride I've had.  It was the worst because of the wicked head wind I had to ride into the whole way back.  I wasn't paying attention to the wind on the way out and I paid for it dearly when I turned around.  That being said, I was able to learn quite a bit from it, making it a good one.  I learned what I need to do when going into the wind.  Aero tuck first and foremost.  Dropping it down to the small chain ring too.  But more importantly, I learned I still need tons of T.I.T.S.  Even after a year of training, I need more T.I.T.S. 

And again, my toes were frozen.  Made for a VERY difficult run.  Felt like I was running with logs on the end of my legs.  So hard.  REaly glad I have the day off tomorrow.  I'll need it.   

Oh my goodness I'm tired.  I thought I was tired yesterday.  Nope.  So glad I have today off of working out.  I soooo need it. 

I think that even though it is supposed to be cold again tomorrow morning (32?) I'm going to do my brick outside.  I just can't even stand the thought of doing any more long rides on the drainer at the gym.  I can't even fathom it.  And at 2.5 hours it might push me over the edge.  So today, I'll research that new route again and see if I can actually finish it.  All the way to Peotone and back.  About 40 miles or 16 mph.  I should be able to do that.  As long as it isn't too windy. 

So thankful warm weather is just around the corner.

30 minutes at RPE 4-5.

90 minutes at RPE 3 using race nutrition/hydration plan.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG.  Awesome, awesome, awesome.  WHAT A FRIGGEN AWESOME WORKOUT!

Ok, to start out with, I was tired all day.  Just exhausted.  Felt slow.  Lethargic.  Walking through syrup.  Yawning. Achy.  Everything. 

BUT, I knew it was going to be a pretty night so I had something to look forward to.  And boy did I ever.  Jumped on the bike and took off.  Felt pretty good.  Nothing special.  17+mph and other than one spike (sprinting through a light before it went red) I kept it fairly low.  And got back, threw on the shoes and took off for the run.

I didn't realize till I took off that I haven't gone this far, in a straight run, outside since last year.  So I went out and did the long loop through the forest preserve.  The weather was perfect.  60 degrees.  Slight breeze.  BEAUTIFUL sunset.  Some clouds in the sky made it even more so.  Lost count of all the deer in the FP.  Heck, there were three of them just standing at the side of the trail just watching me.  All of 10 feet away.  I wasn't really paying too much attention to my pace.  Just paying attention to my RPE and how it correlated to my HR.  At one point, I felt I was going the same pace but my HR was starting to spike.  Then I took a big swig from one of the Aquipod bottles (8oz) and within another couple of minutes it was back down again.  Could be coincidence but I'll have to keep an eye on it. 

Long and short of it, this is, by far, the best long run I've ever done.  Helps that it wasn't too hot out, but still, it was awesome.   Sure I'm a little sore and tired.  But it felt SOOOOOOO good.  By the second half, I barely felt my legs.  They didn't hurt.  They weren't numb.  They were just machines turning over and over and over.  The best part of it all, my HR average was only 168!!!!  For 9 miles!!!!  I think the last time I came this close, my HR was averaging 178.  THAT is a HUGE drop.  THAT is the progress I've been looking for.

Speed day
wu: 3 x 200 - swim, kick, pull
main: 16 x 50 odds RPE 4, evens RPE 8-9
cd: 150 easy


Odds done at 2:00 pace
Evens done at 1:30 pace

30 minutes in full aero position. RPE 3. Do 5x20 second accelerations separated by a few minutes after a warm up period.

Mercy it has been a week.  Mega busy at work.  Obscenely busy.  Not that I'm complaining too terribly much, but it is definitely hopping.

Glad it was a bit of a shorter workout tonight.  I need the break before the big brick tomorrow night.  At least I have Friday off.  Anyway, I think the weather might actually be nice enough tomorrow night to actually do the entire brick out doors.  If that happens, I will be one very happy camper.  

Finally, we watched Keith Olberman tonight.  We watch him quite a bit.  He's funny.  But he was one angry man tonight.  At Ferraro for what she said, and then for standing by what she said.  And more importantly, he is mega ticked at Clinton for not "Rejecting and Denouncing" what Ferraro said.   His closing comments lasted a full 9 minutes and it was non stop talk.  I haven't seen a rant like that on TV in a LONG time. Possibly ever.  I, for one, think she went over the top and now doesn't know how to stop, and Clinton is only playing the game the only way she knows how.  And I think the public has gotten passed that kind of "game playing" which is why Obama seems to be such a breath of fresh air.

Only time will tell. 

Race-specific
wu: 2 x 150, swim, back
main: 600, then 6 x 100.
cd: 2 x 125 easy
Did the 600 in 11:30.
Did the 6 x 100 at 1:50 pace. Felt very good overall.

90 minutes with hills. Solid effort ranging from RPE 3 to RPE 7

Ugh.  I really need to split days up like this.  2 hours at the gym at one crack, in the middle of the week, is too much.  I think I have a long one on Thursday, so I'll see if I can split it up.  I went to the gym straight for work and started at 5:30 and I still didn't get done till almost 8.  I didn't eat dinner till almost 9.  That's just too late.  Not good for me either.

On a different note, went to the pub for the first time in a long time last night.  They had the Black Wolf Lager.  YUM!  I think we need to start going back again.  :)

Workout day off today.  And much needed.  Tired from the workout yesterday, I think.  And probably the combo of the time change isn't helping. 

Busy week ahead.  Not only with working out, but with work.  Annual review time, which doesn't bother me too much, but also tons of other things.  But that's ok.  Keeps me out of trouble.

Three more weeks till Shamrock Shuffle.  Will be my first real evaluation of how my run times are sitting.  I probably won't get really nervous about it till that week.  Looking forward to it though.

And last, but not least, it is supposed to hit 50 on Wendesday!!!  50!!!!!!!!!!!!  God, I can't wait!