Getting back on the bike

I decided after the SC State Road Race that this race would be my last bicycle only race for quite some time as I'm transitioning to triathlons full time for 2009. My A race will be the 1st Annual Ironman 70.3 Augusta on September 27th, 2009 and will add a few sprint distance events throughout the year.

I've been running for the past 2 months while taking time off of the bike. Pretty much Zone 2 and on average about 18 miles/wk. I downloaded a metronome mp3 for my Ipod and have been running consistently at 180bpm and just upped the cadence to 185. I decided to enter the 14th Annual Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup 5K mainly because the start is about 2.5 miles away from my house and I needed some speed work.

I started out a little hot - 5:42 pace for the first 1/2 mile and decided I better ease up and actually slowed down a little too much going into mile 2. I made the turn and realized that everyone in front of me with the exception of one guy was doing the 10K. At mile 2 I turned around and didn't see anyone so I knew I was safe but also realized I wasn't in any shape to catch the person in the lead. I finished 2nd overall with a 21:57 and 1st in my AG - 35-39. The guy that beat me was actually a teenager - 14 to be exact and he ran a 19:21. I had plenty in the tank and probably should've pushed it but couldn't find the motivation knowing that I couldn't catch the guy in front and there wasn't any concern about being caught. Probably will run in the 1st Annual Fitness Zone Jingle Bell 5K on 12/13 and with better pacing I should be able to go mid 20's.

Started back on the bike this week and estimated that I probably lost about 20W or less at FTP. I plan on doing about 4 hours/wk on the bike (T, TH, SAT) with all the work being 2-3 x 8' to 10' minute intervals at 95 - 100% of FTP. I will throw in some 85% of FTP on my long day (SAT) after my MS intervals are done. Mondays and Fridays will be off for now and my running schedule will be as follows:

30 minute brick on Tuesday - Z1 with 3 x 30" strides
45 minute run on Wednesday - Tempo with 3 x 1 miles at Z4 with 4 minutes in between
30 minute brick on Saturday staring in Z2 and finishing in Z3
60 - 90 minute run on Sunday with 15' Z1, then 4 x 30" strides. MS will be 3 x 1 mile at Z3 with 4 minutes recovery in between.

Should be fun and will start my annual plan in January.