+15

No, this post isn't about Calgary's +15 system, though it's actually pretty interesting. For the non-Calgaryians, this is a system where you can walk from building to building throughout most of downtown without having to go outside. The enclosed pedestrian bridges are about 15 feet up, and some are double or even triple height. It's a great way to get a walk during the winter.

Today's brick started with a 20 min warmup. I was still a bit tired, and I could feel my calves being a bit heavy. Wanted to warm up thoroughly.
5 x 1 min r leg, 30 sec both, 1 min l leg, 30 sec both, 15 sec acceleration with 45 easy.
5 min easy pedal
10 min 15/15
5 min easy pedal
12 x 7/3 aerobic. Found a gear where about 95 rpm would drive my heart rate up to the top of zone 2. By the third one, heart rate was only going to mid zone two, so I upped it to 100 rpm or so. That lasted an hour. The third last was a bit of a struggle, and I couldn't maintain the 100 anymore, and settled back to 95. Heart rate was higher than I liked. By now my legs were getting tired, and my butt was beginning to hurt. Second last was between 90 and 95, and the last was just barely on 90. 3 hours. I was happy to get off Estela. That's the longest ride since last summer. Except for the last couple sets, I felt strong and comfortable. It took a bit of doing to stay on, but I figured that last half hour was worth several individual 1 hour rides at least.

3:15 transition, mainly to dry off.

32:30 to run around what we call the long block, about 4.1 K. Nice and easy, but trying to keep a quick turnover. I found my running legs quite quickly, and had a nice run, top of zone 2, bottom of zone 3. Only about -10 C out, sunny and clear. Never even thought of dropping back to a walk. Feet and legs felt really good, and I could have kept going for a while longer. Walked another 10 minutes to cool down. Stretched a bit. Snacked. Stretched more. Showered. Stretched. Relaxed a bit with feet up, then ate a real meal (Waldorf salad, if you're wondering), and stretched a bit more.

Weekly Totals
Swim 4.5 hrs
Bike 7.75 hrs
Run 3.25 hrs
Total 15.5 hrs (!!!) Can you tell I'm thrilled?
This is the first time I've spent this much time working out, and that includes race day weeks last year. I feel great! Most of the workouts have been solid. In particular, today's bike was getting close to my current limits. I'm feeling really positive about the training, and how things are going. I was on the bike drops for a bit and was happy to notice there was hardly any belly flab bouncing off my thighs.

Was thinking of Julie during the run, and hoping she's enjoying camp. Here's a package of blogger love going her way! Drop by her blog and tell her you're thinking of her. She'll like that.