A Day of Firsts

Today I completed my first brick of my triathlon training cycle and it was glorious. It was a day off first for me and I loved every one of them. I started the workout off 45 minutes on the trainer. I kept the resistance light since I wasn't sure how my legs would feel on the run. During the ride I drank sips of nuun every couple minutes since I hadn't had much to drink all day.

Between the ride and the run I had my first energy gel. I few weeks ago I bought a bunch of different types of gels and chews to try during training but I hadn't tried any until today. I ended up having a Clif Shot Gel, I think the Razz flavor. It was an interesting taste and consistency but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I chased my gel with the rest of my nuun.

I then set out for a four mile run. When I first started running I forgot that I had just been biking and was frustrated with how tired and heavy my legs felt. But then I remembered I had just biked for 45 minutes and my legs weren't supposed to feel fresh. I worked hard to keep the pace easy at the beginning of the run since the first mile is all downhill.

I was surprised with how much better my legs felt as I kept running. I was also surprised with my pace compared to how I felt; I was able to keep the run at a 10:00 average pace. The last mile was pretty tough but not the worst I have endured. Overall I was pleased with the entire workout, especially the run.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	39:51.2	4.00	9:57
1	9:53.7	1.00	9:53
2	10:06.2	1.00	10:06
3	9:27.9	1.00	9:27
4	10:22.0	1.00	10:21
5	:01.3	0.00	10:07

I am not sure how I liked the energy gel but since it was only my first time I am going to keep trying different brands and flavors. I was, however, happy that my stomach didn't reject the gel. It went down easily and I never really felt out of energy during the run.