Putting in the work

OK, a short post tonight, I need to SLEEP.
This has been a tough week already. Tuesday I was in Boulder for a group tempo run around the Boulder Res. There were 6 guys total and it was a strong group. We basically did it so each guy controlled 1 interval and went through the cycle twice. 55 min and 18 or so of those at about 5:30/mile pace. That's some good threshold work and I was feeling it at the end. But, no rest for the wicked. After a short stretch I headed over to Amante Coffee for an espresso and banana bread.
I downed an FRS Energy drink that I brought with me for an extra pick me up. If you haven't tried this stuff, you should. It's not like Red Bull at all, no Chinese herbs or massive doses of caffeine. It has a bunch of vitamins and green tea extract that give me a subtle, long term pick me up. I don't' get jittery or hyper, my body just seems to function that little bit sharper. Check out the link to the right.
So it was on to the new steed again for a hard ride. I headed out to Carter Lake, did some loops around Berthoud, up the backside of Carter Lake and back. It was a great day with some sun and no wind. The bike felt awesome and the seat stayed in place the whole ride. It was my first ride where I averaged over 20 MPH, so that's not bad for 85 miles after a hard tempo run. After driving an hour home, downing 2 bowls of cereal I headed to the gym to gain some strength. Front squats, leg press, dead lifts, hamstrings curls, it all makes you stronger.
Today was a good 4k swim w/ some IM in there for fun. Then it was more biking. This time it was a steady tempo the whole way except 2 short climbs where I punched it. Again, I averaged just over 20 MPH, so I was stoked.
The run afterwards was difficult at best. My quads were Jello to start, but they came around after 20 minutes. I did a lot of uphill running to take the strength gained in the weight room and transfer it to the roads.
Now it's time for bed. Tomorrow I go to Boulder again to run with the group. It's a longer, "slower" run, so about 90 minutes at 6:30/mile. Then if I can still stand it's up Left Hand Canyon for some climbing. It should be FUN!!