Intensity begins on the bike

Today was my first attempt at adding some intensity to biking for the 2009 season. Of course I have done this before, but I've never started this early. You know, usually by the time I start I can actually do it outside on the road, and in the past it was just heart rate based whereas this is cadence-based and I'm told to just do them all at whatever effort level I can maintain throughout. It's amazing how a basement that seems freezing cold when you first start can feel so much warmer once you get going. It is also amazing how pushing a certain gear can seem so simple in the beginning and so darn difficult once you get to the last interval. But it's kind of nice when your legs are burning, because at least that means you're working hard.

So I survived, and I think I'm going to need that extra work because in a few weeks I have to do an indoor time trial on the bike. I've never tried it before, but I'm told it is more painful than a 5K so I am really excited about it considering how much I hate 5K's and each time I line up at the start line I wish I was running a half marathon or something else that didn't involve pushing such a hard effort for such a short amount of time. I am all about the distance.

After my intervals I set out for a short transition run. T2 took a little longer than needed because of course I had to dry off the sweat and suit up to brave temperatures back to being stuck in the 20's, and then I was forced to walk down the driveway because it is a complete sheet of ice and I'm pretty sure I would've broken some bone had I tried to run down it. And the driveway is long, so that took a while. But hey, I had an ok run for once. Short, but ok. Except for the part where my heart rate monitor said my heart was beating at 33bpm, which I'm pretty sure was some sort of technical glitch. Either that, or I'm probably going to die soon.