Moving the Cheese

(Perhaps "moving the finish line" is more accurate, but I really like that book.)

The only way to get better (for endurance training, anyway) is to go longer and harder.  So I'm going to try to kick it up a notch the next few weeks until I begin tapering in mid-March for the Lonestar Half-Iron.

On Saturday, I started the morning by meeting up with the Keller Running Club at the Keller-Smithfield Node for their "6-miler" on the Bear Creek Trails.  I took a detour up the steep hill on Elaine St (both times - on the "out" and the "back") and did the loop around the baseball fields at the Keller Sports Part so my run totalled just over 8 miles.  Afterward, I did another couple of miles (oops, forgot to restart the Garmin) with a fellow Cowtown Half-marathoners - back west on Bear Creek Parkway to Keller Town Hall and the KISD Natatorium and then wound along the trails back to the Node (and my car).  About 10 miles total.  MotionBased data & map (for the first run): http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7619648

After the run, I hightailed it to LA Fitness and was surprised to find that even at 9:00 AM (15 minutes before the start of spin class), all the bikes were already reserved.  I caught a huge break when someone working out on a bike told me he was planning on leaving at 9:10 and that I could have his bike then.  Nice.  Not only did I get a bike when it wasn't looking likely, but the bike he was riding was "my" bike (you spin regulars know what I mean).

After 6 minutes on the rowing machine (while waiting for the clock to reach 9:10), I hit the first class hard (avg hr 155 bpm) and then took a 4-minute breather during the 15-minute intermission (note heart rate drop on chart from 1:05-1:09) and the tried to hang in there for another hour.  The second class was very hard - the run was definitely catching up to me and my legs felt very sore.  But overall, I ran 2.75 miles more than last week and added the 6-minute rower session - so definitely a significantly more vigorous effort despite the lower heart rate during the double spin-classes.

Today, after two 2,000 yd swims last week, I decided to go a little farther.  Total swim time: 52:44.6; Total distance: 2,500 yd.  My splits:

• 1st 500 yds: 10:31.5
• 2nd 500 yds: 10:29
• 3rd 500 yds: 10:25
  
• 4th 500 yds: 10:40
• 5th 500 yds: 10:38.5
  

Still a ways to go when compared with my 3,000 yd PR pace, but overall, not too shabby ...