Hi All! How was your weekend? No complaints here. This last week capped off a tough four week training block, that to be honest, as left me feeling pretty tired. It all started Tuesday with a much dreaded VO2 max interval workout on the trainer. 5x4min, all-out efforts, with 5-minutes rest in between each one! I've come to realize, that VO2 max intervals, even though a short workout, are my least favorite thing to do on a bike, hands down!
Wednesday's scheduled workout involved a great 2-hour endurance ride to the coast, via Rancho Santa Fe, and then up to Palomar Airport Road, and back in to San Marcos. I really enjoyed that ride. Riding at an endurance pace (140-160bpm's), for an extended period of time is so much fun! You're not killing yourself out there, but you're not taking it easy either. Just a nice, quick pace, really enjoyable.
Thursday was 2x20 FTP intervals on the trainer. These types of intervals are som much more tolerable then the VO2's! Just a good hard tempo for 20-minutes on, then 10-minutes rest, then another 20-minutes. You're definitely working hard, but you don't feel like you're either going to throw up, or have a heart attack during the workout!
Friday was a 40-minutes recovery ride around the neighborhood. Recovery rides are nice, but they're actually difficult for me. Not on a physical level, but all mental. A recovery ride is like s low day at work. The clock ticks away, ever so slow, and although it's nice just to be out on the bike, it's no where near as fun as an endurance ride. Maybe it's because I race, and riding at a pace so easy, a grandma could drop me, just isn't very exciting.
This weekend I managed to get eight solid hours on the bike, four hours and 70-miles on Saturday, up Highland Valley Road to Ramona, down Highway 67 to Lakeside, down Scripps Poway Parkway, and eventually back through Rancho Santa Fe to home. I pushed the pace pretty hard, and last night was extremely tired, more tired then I should have been for a ride like that.
Today I decided to go out for another 4-hours, but this time stick to the coast, and keep the pace down. I rode out to the coast and Del Mar via Del Dios Highway and Via De La Valle, then made my way down to La Jolla where I met up with my good friend Andy Gurney. Then together we rode back North up the coast, where I peeled off at Palomar Airport Road, and back home. My legs felt tired, and my heart was a little slow to respond to any effort.
This coming week is a long overdue rest week. That doesn't mean I'm to take the entire week off the bike, but the few rides I do, will be short and easy. All the hard work over the last four weeks has left me feeling tired for the last four weeks, and now the rest week is necessary to let my body and mind rebuild that much stronger.
Hope all is well, until next time...
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