Potentially Stupid Brick Workout

So it's RACE DAY for me! I should have HOPEFULLY just finished the Olympic Distance race at the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis. (Check my Twitter page for updates!)

A week ago, I posted about a 43 mile ride - my longest ride in over 2 years. I felt like I was in "base building" mode where I'm just getting in some miles to get ready for "race season." That should happen in March or April... NOT in July. I had no speed on that ride, so I wanted to get in a LITTLE speed work to hopefully remind my legs how to move fast...

... so I decided to do short brick 3 days before my race.

Yeah, I know. That's not the smartest thing to do. But MENTALLY, I needed it.

I kept the distance short, and I didn't go "all out" on the bike and run, just at nearly race pace (and for a lot shorter distances). I first did this 16 mile loop on my bike:

I did the first 5 miles at a "moderate" pace (it's some easy miles and it's mostly downhill), then I picked it up to about race pace for the final 11 miles. There are some little climbs in there, so I did NOT hit those too hard - I didn't want to fry my legs for today's race. But I DID try to pick up the pace shortly after the climb to still know what it was like to push while being winded.

I transitioned for about 2 minutes, reset my Garmin (while changing the mode to "run"), and headed out for a 3 mile "race-pace" runoff:

I'm REALLY glad I tried out the Garmin on a race-pace run because I learned something about it that I'd hate to learn in a race! I took off from home telling myself to not go any faster than 6:30 pace, and the Garmin read that I was going about 7:15 / mile pace. That was fine... I knew I'd build a little into it as my legs loosened up a bit. For most of the first mile, it said I was going around 7:03 / mile pace. At my FASTEST going down a big hill, it said I was down to 6:23 / mile pace. "Whoa Steve... keep it 6:30 or slower..." I was coming up on what I know as my "mile 1 marker," and I glanced down at my watch just as it beeped. I expected to see 6:55 - 7:10 based on all of the times I checked my actual speed. But it said I had ran a 6:06 mile!! When I was telling this to my wife, she said "Oh yeah, it's well-known that Garmin's 'actual pace' feature can be a little off." It wasn't well-known to me!

So at the race today, I WILL glance at my actual pace on the run, but I won't trust it until I hit a mile marker. I'm glad I found this out on a training run, because I'd hate to take off too fast in a race where I stated one of my main goals is NOT to bonk! Notice then (in my run screenshot above) that I slowed up a bit, but still ran mile 2 and 3 in 6:18 and 6:25. I finished those 3 miles feeling a bit worked, but NOT tired or sore. I don't know that I can hold that pace for a full 10K after swimming a mile and biking 25 miles, but I'll give it my best today!

I got home, watered the flowers, and was stretching my legs out by 6:15 a.m. That's what happens when you leave for a workout shortly after 4 a.m. :) Pharmie then headed out for a run of her own, so it was a good morning!

And then after that brick workout, my family came to visit and took Pharmie and I out for our upcoming anniversary. We went to Fogo de Chao (can you say "meat buffet?") for LOTS of meat!! And then we got a free dessert for our anniversary:

Regarding eating at a "meat buffet," I believe comedian Louis C.K. put it best when he said:

If you missed it, here are my race plans for today. And pop by my Twitter page for race updates!

Back with maybe a quick race post tonight or tomorrow, a race report Monday, and a GIVEAWAY sometime later in the week! Happy Weekend!