The Triple Brick

Last Sunday I had the following workout:

3x(1 hour ride & 20 min run)…the first set was to be easy (with my heart rate in Zone 2), second set should be a little harder (Zone 2-3) and the third set closer to race pace (solidly in Zone 3).

I was SUPER excited to do this workout and see just how far I could push myself…both physically and mentally.  When I woke up Sunday morning it was dark and gloomy outside…it better not storm…I have been looking forward to this workout all week!!  I looked at the weather forecast and saw that there were chances of severe storms starting after 1 pm, so I knew I needed to get started!!  I had already decided that I was going to ride the same route and run the same route with each set to see if I could get a little farther every time before turning around and heading back home.  This would prove to be a much bigger challenge than I originally thought…especially on the bike!!  Come on Mojo…Let’s do this!!!

Set 1:  I started out on Mojo heading east, then north and finally east again.  When I got to the 30 minute mark, I turned around and headed back home via the same route (west, south and west).  With the winds from the ESE at 13 mph, I thought I would be able to get home a little faster (heading west)…and  I was right.  I ended up riding 14.76 miles in 56:36 (just shy of the planned hour).  This meant my average speed was 15.6 mph for the first ride.  I felt as though it was really easy and I wasn’t pushing hard at all.  I took very little time transitioning to the run…I was shooting for a 9:00 pace off of the bike for the first set.  I started off nice and easy and felt like I was at a pace that I could maintain for a few hours at least.  I was right on pace…I ran 2.26 miles in 20:16.  This meant my average pace was 8:58 for the first run.  I was off to a great start!!

Set 2:  I immediately transitioned back to Mojo and headed out for the second set.  I started off slightly faster on this set than the last set.  I felt as though I was working, but not very hard…little did I realize that the winds had picked up and were now closer to 18 mph from the ESE.  I did make it farther, but decided to ride for 32 minutes before turning around to get me closer to the 1 hour time I was shooting for…this strategy worked!!  When I turned around and headed south back into town, I really felt that headwind…WOW!!  I ended up riding 16.17 miles in 1:01:14, which gave me an average speed of 15.8 mph.  While I was not much faster on the bike this time, I was faster…and every little bit counts!!  🙂  I knew I needed to keep some energy in the tank for the last set, so I quickly transitioned to the run and went out faster than the first set, but not pushing to exhaustion.  I ran 2.34 miles in 20:15.  This meant that my average pace was 8:39…I felt like I could have maintained this pace for quite a while…I’ll take that!!

Set 3:  I again quickly transitioned back to the bike and hopped on Mojo for the last set…Let’s get ‘er done!!  I knew I wanted to push hard, but at a pace I could maintain and I did just that…I made it even farther than set #2 before turning around.  This time when I headed south back into town, the winds were even stronger than during set#2…the winds had increased to 21 mph from the ESE.  I was mentally really strong and focused during this set…”I am strong.  I am tough.  I am strong.  I am tough.”  I rode 17.16 miles in 1:03:04 during my last bike leg…WAHOO…16.3 mph average speed for my last set!!  With my fastest transition yet, I was off and running.  I quickly found a pace that I could maintain, but with difficulty.  I ran 2.35 miles in 20:04, giving me an average pace of 8:33…YEEHAW!!  I DID IT!!

I successfully completed this workout as planned!!  With Ironman Kansas 70.3 only 3 weeks away, this was a HUGE mental boost!!  I was exhausted, but ecstatic…time for food, a shower and a nap 🙂  Oh yeah…the severe storm that was suppose to come…it came later in the day with 70 mph straight winds and tornadoes around us.  Glad I wasn’t out on the bike then…