26.26 Miles

Not a marathon morning—that's how far I rode today during our 1:22 Cycling Class. If I could do a marathon that quickly, I might possibly be one of the happiest, fittest girls around :-)

The ride looked like this:

• Warm up: 23 minutes before Todd started the program; 133 HR
  
• Warm up 10 minutes; 155 HR
• Ride 15 minutes, at 95 RPM, at 80% of your threshold (166 HR), then ride 7 minutes, at 110 RPM, at 85% of your threshold (176 HR)
  
• Recover for 5 minutes (155 HR)
  
• Ride 1 minute, at 95 RPM, at 80% of your threshold, then ride 15 minutes, at 95 RPM, at 85% of your threshold (173 HR), then ride 7 minutes, at 110 RPM, at (decreasing) 95–85% of your threshold (179 HR)
  
• Recover for 5 minutes (158 HR)
  
• Ride 10 minutes, at 95 RPM, at (decreasing) 95–80% of your threshold (169 HR)
• Recover for a few minutes (162 HR)
  

The first section was great. I really focused on keeping my cadence where it was supposed to be and had a significantly easier time maintaining 110 than I did the last couple weeks.

The second section was harder. I could barely maintain 95 RPM and was getting really frustrated. My legs just did not want to move fast, and they wouldn't go when I would try to make them. I could get up above 100 RPM, but I absolutely could not stay there.

The third section was brutal. Not only could I not reach 95, I could barely maintain 80. I felt like I was giving everything I had and wasn't going anywhere. Then I was getting even more frustrated because my legs just weren't going fast. I had my HRM recording data, and it's not like it was up that high (159 average; 182 max), so I don't know what the deal was with the sluggish legs.

I weighed myself 2+ hours later and was down 8-10 pounds. I'm going to guess I did not drink enough water before (any? and oatmeal+almonds+honey+an apple), during (20oz), or after (maybe 20oz?). Time to rehydrate!

Today was the second day in a row I got to run (50 minutes) outside. My fingers were freezing for at least an hour after I finished, but it was so worth it!

1. 8:39, 172 HR
2. 8:38, 176 HR
3. 8:50, 172 HR
4. 8:25, 172 HR
5. 8:30, 173 HR
6. 2:07, 167 HR
   
7. Totals: 50:00, 654 cal, 5.54 mi, 9:01 avg (6:38 best), 169 HR (207 max)
   

I was a bit slower today than yesterday, and my legs were toast from the start. But I had to run through it and tried to not slow my pace too much. I barely succeeded, but I ran the whole route, which was hilly, and felt good about that. Plus the last 2 miles got faster, so that's even better.