It's no surprise that I was one of the last ones to finish, but I found the hill repeats to be fun in a sick and twisted way. Next week we're increasing the repititions to 8 and I'm actually looking forward to it.
Afterwards, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about my approach to training. Pretty much all of my workouts have been based on building endurance. For an entire year I've been going for distance, not speed. Case in point: I had planned on getting up early this morning, swimming at the gym, then coming home for ~30 easy miles on the bike. Purely focussed on endurance.
I think it's time to add in some speedwork. This is not to say that I should throw out endurance training, but I'm ready to add in some focus on speed.
And with that, I devised a new plan for the day. No swim. One bike loop (~16miles) with hills. Push it. No stopping!
The route I chose is not super hard, but challenging enough to make for good practice conditions for the hilly sprint/oly triathlons that I have on my calendar.
I'm all giddy with the results. I'm no speed demon, but this is particularly fast for me. I'm even okay with my speed up the hills because I know I worked hard.
I'm excited to be rework my training plan for the next few weeks and see what happens.
I am betting that you will have big payoffs from that hill work!! I plan to tackle some hills on my bike this fall!! Great work!!
ReplyDeleteGiddy up! (as Sarah likes to say). Go whup them hills, quickly :-)
ReplyDeleteDo I see some massive PR breaking in the future? ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy training plan says to only focus on endurance the first year. Well, you're past the first year so you're right on track. Great ride, Speedy!
ReplyDeleteHey, Lisa. I'm going to start doing Friday morning hill repeats near your house, out behind the Honda dealership. You should join us!
ReplyDeleteNice work!
ReplyDeleteGreat job. All that distance work you have done will serve you well. Keep up the great work and, as Marcy said, here come the PR's.
ReplyDeleteCompared to you, You are doing very well! ... That is the best!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. Sorry about your food allergy. I absolutely cannot eat soy in any form, and also am feeling better since I quit eating wheat and gluten. More power to you to design a healthy eating plan that works for You!!
All that hill and speed work will pay off big time
ReplyDeleteI am with Marcy...I think you are on the verge of a break through!
ReplyDeleteTake Care
That sounds like a great workout!
ReplyDeleteI'll bet you see a good rewards from it! Especially if you continue to build it in.
Hills! Well done! I bet you see huge results
ReplyDeleteYou'll see improvements fast. And it's great that you built a good base first. You go girl. Good core strength improved my climbing heaps so keep up the push ups, too.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!! I can't wait to see you get faster and faster!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
I bet mixing it up on the workouts will improve both your speed and your endurance. Great job on tackling those hills!
ReplyDeleteNice.. that was fasst! I love how you described it as "sick and twisted"
ReplyDeleteI feel the need . . . the need for speed!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, speed workouts sound amazing!! I just really don't know the right way to do them!!!
Yeah Lisa!! You are tapping into some strength and speed that I bet you didn't even realize you had. I suspect you will have some awesome results from your hill work and speed sessions with your running group :)
ReplyDeleteYou inspire me to push myself harder, too, when I'm confident my foot is all better.