Short Double Brick: Breakthrough!

This morning, also short of time, I planned to do 300-yard swim and a few miles on the bike at a fast pace.

I ended up jumping on the treadmill for a quarter mile and found that I performed each portion of the workout at a very fast pace. I think the shorter bricks and Spin class are reaping dividends!

SWIM

11/20/2013

• DURATION:10m
• DISTANCE:300.00 yards
• PACE:03m 18s /100 yards
• TIME:9:20 AM

Instead of being limited by my lungs, I pushed back. Since it was going to be a short distance, I used that to outsmart my limbs; instead of my typical routine of "fast out, slow back" which I had been using as a strategy to survive for the entire 1/2 mile, I pushed as hard as I could out and back for the few six laps I'd planned. Very effective.

BIKE

11/20/2013

• DURATION:05m
• DISTANCE:2.00 miles
• PACE:24.00 Mi/hr
• TIME:9:25 AM

For the bike, I also pushed much harder than I ever had -- I could hear the Spin teacher hollering into the microphone - "SPRINT!!!" and so I did! Came up with a 24-mph pace which got me thinking in a different way: When I did the Century run, my training consisted of intense hilly rides, so a 12-mph pace was reasonable. Yet the Sprint Tri is going to be around Pleasanton -- FLAT -- so I decided on a 24-mph race pace (Since I noticed that winners had a 30-minute time for the 12-mile ride). 

Run

11/20/2013

• duration:02m
• distance:0.25 miles
• pace:10m /Mi
• time:10:15 AM

Then I leapt onto the treadmill with about two minutes left and had planned to do a quarter mile at 12 mph, but when I was at 12 mph and noticed I was entering my workout on my device while doing that, I realized I could do a lot better than that! I cranked up to a 10-minute mile, which was frankly far outside of my expectations, but not unreasonable as a goal race pace! Why Not? I did that for 0.15 miles and was ready to quit: I focused on hitting the next number only, not imagining trying to get to 0.25. So it was 0.19 --  go for 0.20!  And 0.20 -- fight for 0.21! Little by little. Actually made it to 0.25 at that pace and was quite pleased with myself!

So my entire training strategy shifted today! I decided to set a goal race pace for each segment, and then perform a micro-section at that pace, and then expand. So today I did a quarter mile at 10 mph, next I'll try for a third or half! 

Swim: 2.5 min for 100 yards

Bike: 25 mph

Run: 9.5 minute-mile

Then according to my Kinesiologist, alternating is very importing; jogging then sprint, and 

CONFUSING THE MUSCLES is a strategy to develop  muscles, because they stop building once a routine is formed. I'm going to believe that for lungs, too! Alternating ! Keep them guessing!
And, she says, start with a short distance at race pace, then build longer distances gradually, maintaining that pace. Yes!