First brick of the season...

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. - Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

Yesterday - I was proud of myself for getting on the trainer. I rode it for an hour. The time passes much quicker if I have a plan. I did a warm up for 10 minutes and then 20 x 1 minutes intervals with 1 minute rest then a 10 minute cool down. My trainer has a 'power' meter gauge. I believe it to be consistent and do not really care about the accuracy. So my warm up, rest intervals and cool down were at 160 watts and the intervals were at 260 watts. I prefer to spin at a high cadence so the times at 160 watts were at 90 - 100 RPM and the 260 watts were at 75 RPM. Take the power numbers with a grain of salt - they only relate to me on my trainer. Who knows 260 watts could really be 100 watts (or even 500 watts - dreaming). I really can't go much lower than that - this was supposed to help build leg strength. The time went by quick.

Just for fun I did an EASY, SLOW 3 mile run - the rain was light. This was the first 'BRICK' that I have done in a while. With the slow pace the brick was super easy and I felt strong - I could have ran much faster, much longer, and much harder - but I didn't.

Today - The rain has stopped so I will get to go on a longer bike ride, however, it is cool outside. I know, 48 degrees is not that cold - many people across the country would kill for that weather. But it is cool for here.

Still not swimming

Last month I read an article about many pools closing due to the need to modify the drains but I did not think that it would effect me - well it does. The pool will be closed for a least another week. I am still thinking about braving the open water swimming. I need to get a temperature reading from the lake and put the wetsuit on and just do it. I am sure the lake is much cooler that the usual 84 degrees of my closed indoor pool. I really have to start getting some time in the water.

Luckily, I always have a back up plan (meaning clothes in my locker at the gym). I did the alpine trail on the treadmill. This is still challenging to me. I only set the hill program for a max speed of 8 MPH with a max incline of 12 for 30 minutes. I did not have my heart rate monitor but it was a good workout. Next was a strength training session of back and abs. Also pretty tough after the holiday break.

Did an hour long cycling session on the trainer after work. The program called for a low cadence. Low for me is 70. I usually spin at right about 100. This was a tough session.

The diet is still in order!