Three on, three off
Posted by: stevecaddy on: Friday May 18, 2012
3:00 Steady Effort Power Interval (i.e. Zone 4 / above threshold … but don’t blow)
3:00 recovery
3:00 SEPI
3:00 recovery
3:00 SEPI
3:00 recovery
8:00 rest
x2
A catch-up for yesterday after a shitty night’s sleep on Wednesday night. This one hurt more than Tuesday’s effort. I fought it and made angry thoughts for the first couple of efforts and then, in the third, my posture softened, my shoulders opened and I ‘remembered’ to let the pain in. I’m not at the point where I can push past the evil burning into the realm where everything just flushes with warmth, but it’s coming back to me.
All week I’ve been struggling to sew up a presentation for Agile Australia. There are three big ideas I need to connect, and the penny just hasn’t been dropping. This morning, after throwing myself on the fire at 5:30, the solution appeared in my head under the hot stream of the shower, in a moment of endorphin-couched clarity. I love it when that happens.
That’s the mental situation. On the physical front, Strava is kind enough to remind me that regardless of perception, I didn’t go as hard today as I did in Tuesday’s effort, at least not in HR terms. It’s the kind of discrepancy that would be interesting to compare against a power reading. Was it fatigue preventing my heart from revving up, or did I simply not have the will in me?
In which I get up and do intervals at 5am, then ride to work in the freezing rain
Posted by: stevecaddy on: Tuesday May 15, 2012
3:00 Steady Effort Power Interval (i.e. Zone 4 / above threshold … but don’t blow)
3:00 recovery
3:00 SEPI
3:00 recovery
3:00 SEPI
3:00 recovery
8:00 rest
x2
And then a really easy commute.
In which I go on a solo mission to Mt Pleasant Rd and return in time for pilates.
Posted by: stevecaddy on: Sunday May 13, 2012
I would have loved to have joined Neil out in the Dandenongs this morning, but lately I’m committed to being home by 10am on Saturday mornings so that Fee can go to pilates. So I went on a solo mission out to Mt Pleasant Rd instead. Not only was it was cold and crisp and pretty (numb fingers), but I felt good the whole ride.
77.4 km
1,087 m
02:53
Zone 2 1:39:08
Zone 3 0:45:33
Zone 4 0:15:40
*sound of magpies*
Rest
Posted by: stevecaddy on: Wednesday May 9, 2012
As a “reward” for my under-recovery yesterday I took an ice bath and had a very heavy sleep. I didn’t feel hugely better this morning, but we’ll see what tomorrow holds.
The bath itself wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. After the first minute or two it’s relaxing enough, but the initial foot and ankle pain is pretty nasty.
Abortion
Posted by: stevecaddy on: Tuesday May 8, 2012
Abortion is a contentious issue. It’s a swift and brutal end to a fledgling session. Then again, some argue that an interval that couldn’t maintain target heart rate was never really ‘alive’ to begin with. Me? I’m going to defend my right to choice on the ground that when Zone 3 feels like a fight to hold on to the tail end of a bunch — just to keep the little number north of “2.9″ it becomes suddenly clear that I should decide what to do with my body. And that decision is get some more rest. Ungood sleep the past couple of nights.
On the positive side, climbing out of bed at 5am is getting to be less of a shock to the system.
Scheduled:
3x
12:00 Z3
6:00 Recovery
Aborted after the first effort.
Later:
Ice bath. 25 min @ 1x bag of ice in water just deep enough to submerge straight legs.
In which we climb 1,000m in 33km
Posted by: stevecaddy on: Sunday May 6, 2012
Hexa-badass
Posted by: stevecaddy on: Thursday May 3, 2012
Training on the bike 20-30hrs a week is a lot of time on the bike. Think about it: 20-30 HOURS a week on the bike. How you approach these hours is going to have a massive impact on your progression.
There is no doubt riding long hours on your bike consistently for months straight will strike a righteous fitness profit in your legs. But, let us not forget: training is not only about your legs. Training must primarily be about the mental connection between you and your legs.
This winter I decided to ditch the headphones. No music. No French lessons. No Radiolab science hours. And I trained by myself. Alone. No distractions. No hold-ups. I only had the rhythm of my breath and the monotonous quiet whirr of rubber on pavement as my companion. Days when the wind roared and the rain came violently from the skies were a gift. They offered variation as my mind fought for focus.
3x tempo
Posted by: stevecaddy on: Thursday May 3, 2012
Warm-up
8:00 easy pedal
3x 10 sec sprints on the minute
3x 10 sec max cadence on the minute
Workout
10:00 Zone 3
5:00 recovery
x3
Strava link
I needed to give myself a stern talking to at 5:15 in order to get out of bed.
3x tempo
Posted by: stevecaddy on: Tuesday May 1, 2012
Warm-up
8:00 easy pedal
3x 10 sec sprints on the minute
2x 10 sec max cadence on the minute
Workout
10:00 Zone 3
5:00 recovery
x3
Up nice and early to get the efforts in (rolling by 6 a.m.). Helped by the fact that it was a very, very mild morning — twice the minimum temp of the previous night. Compared to yesterday morning, with winter gloves, knee and arm warmers and a bag full of laptop, it felt like the first knicks and jersey only ride of summer this morning. Bliss.
