Race Simulation!

It rained all day Monday, but by 4:00 it was clear so I went to the pool. The water level was very high from all the rain, and cold, but the worst part was all the bugs in the water. The entire wall at one end of the swim lane was covered in furry little caterpillars, at least 50 of them under water. I tried to ignore them as I did my workout:

• 500m warm-up (4x25, 2x50, 2x75, 2x50, 2x25)
• 750m long swim (in 16:13)
• 2x100
• 8x50
• 6x25

That 750m long swim was a pace of 2:09/100m, and I know I can go a bit faster in the race. 

Tuesday was the big race simulation day: 12 miles on the bike, hard, followed by a quick race-pace run. Originally I was planning on running the race distance (5K), but my left achilles tendon was a bit sore so I decided just to run one mile. I've done plenty of bike-to-brick workouts before, but I usually take it easy on the bike to make sure I have the legs for the run. The purpose of this brick was to see how hard I can push it on the bike and still have the legs for the run, and to give me the confidence to not hold back during the bike portion of the race. Two days before this I did a tempo ride on the bike, and at 18.83 mph I crushed my previous best. So for the race simulation I was hoping for about the same.

I ended up crushing that record as well, and averaged 19.43 mph over the 12 miles. I focused on keeping my heart rate just below LT, between 160-165, and was able to keep it in that range consistently. Every now and then I would start getting tired, but then I would see that my heart rate was in the 150s and would pick the pace back up, knowing that my legs could handle it. By the time I finished my quads were aching pretty bad, and I was worried that I went too hard and wouldn't have anything left in the tank for the run.

After a 2 minute transition I started the run. I decided not to look at my pace at all, and only focus on keeping my heart rate right at LT, between 170-180. After pedaling hard in the big gear for 30+ minutes running felt easy by comparison, and my legs were churning out a solid pace. I was hoping for a 9:00 mile, and based on my perceived effort that felt within reach.

My reaction when I saw that I finished the mile in 7:55:

So not only can my legs handle running after a tough ride, but they're faster than normal! GLORIOUS TRIATHLETE MASTER RACE.