SPRING TRAINING--NO PARTYING HERE

We had another legal practice group "meeting" last night after work, to celebrate St. Patty's day is more likely.

Either way, now that I'm "in training," the partying stops here. Yesterday it was a 2200 yard swim in the morning with a 30 minute run planned after work. The weather again was outstanding--71 degrees when I left work. I'm telling you this is a treat--have to take advantage of it any way I can.

Don and I headed to the track, my first track workout since last December. Nothing hard was planned, just a footstrike count, and fortunately I was okay (15 second count, need to hit 21 or more). The other part of the workout was simple: eight 30-second surges, with 90 seconds recovery, or until the heart rate monitor stopped beeping. I was finding that the only way to control this was to walk for 30 seconds after the surge and then jog easily until the next one was to start.

We were joined on the track by a few others, as well as a large group from one of the local running stores. I know they meet 3 times a week but forgot they might be there. It was a pretty big crowd and I was starting to worry about getting overtaken by a herd of runners, but they went on the road for a 2 mile warmup before heading back to the track, and by then I was almost done.

What is annoying about these people is I know they had a planned workout; however, the track is at a public school, yet they completely blocked all lanes near where they were meeting up, like it was for their private use, causing us to have to run around them rather than them moving. Rude and thoughtless. (What's crazy about this is these people PAY for these group runs. I know they probably get some coaching on the side, but I've found with these types of groups that if you are slow or new, you often get left behind quite soon and are left floundering on your own anyway.)

The workout again was one where I could have gone farther and really had to control myself to stop and keep to the program. My walk breaks to get my heart rate down are taking less time, and when I restart I feel good, not like I wish I could just be done. The only thing that caused the heart rate to go higher was the surges, and I pretty much expected that.

For those not familiar with heart rate training, while it sounds like it is tedious or hard to do, it really is something you need to get used to. And you need to get used to the fact that if you go out of your comfort zone, you will be going over your heart rate limit and your monitor will remind you. That's okay for speed work, but doesn't help you progress on a daily basis. They always say you have to go slower to go faster, and while I've always known that, I'm now starting to see how it works. If not faster yet, then farther still feeling good.

Time to break out the new running shoes though. The old ones felt great in Cancun on the running path, but now running on cold concrete they aren't so comfy, and the area on my hip that reacts to worn shoes first is starting a mild flareup, telling me its time.

I've been spared a trial on the first week of June, leaving my options for which half Ironman I will do a little more open. However, trial is rescheduled for later in the year, just when I had another event planned, so I can only hope this thing settles.

Today's workout was a 45 minute ride, which for me is on the trainer. While I don't mind the trainer, I am getting a little tired of taking the bike off and putting it back on every time. Today, that process was complicated by having trouble getting it lined up to lock it in, resulting in wasting 15 minutes of workout time. I can't have this happen all the time. I have thought about this before, and Don mentioned it today himself, about getting a high tech spin bike for home, and after today I'm leaning closer to that idea. Ideally, however, I would prefer to just get a new bike and leave my old one on the trainer, but unless a lawsuit I'm involved in settles and I get a judgment and payoff, I will probably wait. (Whoever thought triathlon was cheap??)

No. 2 daughter is coming home to visit this weekend, to see the baby and attend a cousin's wedding, so I'm sure I will be more than busy with a houseful of people. But somehow, the workouts have to get done. Good thing everyone sleeps in and I don't, because I see that as the only way to pull this off.

I'll catch up with you all later. Have a great rest of the week!