Location: Key Biscayne
Time: 6:45 am
Workout: Bridge Repeats x Brick Run
Shoes: Hoka One One Carbon X
BRICK : Cycling immediately followed by a run (aka...RIP LEGS)
Ah, Key Biscyane - the hub of all things cycling and triathlon in South Florida. Honestly, the location for cycling and triathlon training does not get any better than the Key. With wide, paved and marked bike lanes, us athletes can ride without the fear (well... a smaller fear) of coming head-on with traffic. To add to the thrill of training, Key Biscayne features a slight elevated tease of a climb over what non-Miami natives may call a "hill". For us Miamians, we know it as the William Powell Bridge on the Rickenbacker Causeway.
The bridge stretches across approximately .8 miles with a graduated incline of 3-4%. Those number may not look so intimidating on paper, but trust me...biking and running up that bridge ain't no joke .
Today's workout called for bridge repeats, big gear efforts into Virgina Key, and a brick run.
This morning was hot, humid, and windy to say the least. It's always a bit tough to mentally prepare for long workouts in challenging environmental conditions. Every excuse in the book seems to make its way after the first hour when the legs and lungs are starting to burn.
But we get it done anyways.
I've quickly learned how to react to things only I can control - breathing, cadence, hydration, nutrition.
Get ahead of taking control and your body will follow.
Though the run wasn't necessarily my fastest off of the bike, the run felt smooth throughout. Splits remained relatively even with small min/mi drops each mile. The brick run will always remain a challenge - but for some reason, the 10k just seems to have that "UGHR" effect on me, even with some fresh running legs.
As for the bike...I definitely need to improve on my overall conditioning and fitness.
Cycling over that bridge never fails to kick my ass time and time again.
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