Monday morning I commuted 10miles averaged 20.8mph, wasn't feeling particularly great as it was close to 0 degrees and I had to stop after 500m to put my waterproof on as wind defence as I underestimated the cold due to the gorgeous sun.
Monday's commute home I thought I needed to make up for Sunday so did an extra long one and averaged 19.1mph, 35miles. Got wet, dried off in the sun, got wet again then dried off. I was just glad to get the miles in and that I was able to put a bit of effort in.
Tuesday was freezing cold again, I had to de ice the car and really had no energy to cycle. I went swimming and really really tried to go fast but ended up taking lots of rest and eventually got cramp at the end and felt I hadn't done anything all night.
Wednesday ROUTE - Bit of a make or break day for me this. I have cycle races, triathlons and time trials planned fairly soon and want to up the training so that I can take a rest week end of May. I was hoping to feel strong on the bike so that I could ride Thursday, footie Fri, park run Sat, and another bike on Sunday.
I called on Pantani to help me out and met at his place. The skies were murky but for once the wind was no where to be found. After the first mile I just knew what kind of form I was in. Although I could go fairly fast with a decent amount of effort, it didn't last long, I couldn't sustain it due to nothing being there and the only noticeable amount of power coming from my legs were from standing up. I was going to keep my cadence as high as possible and as we ascended Huddersfield road I was going very well, not dipping below 10mph until some traffic lights mid way that disrupted my climbing and I ended up standing every hill from then onwards, all the way. I had heard that grinding the gears up hills can be beneficial so decided to try it. Pete must have been under the weather too as he was no where to be seen on the climbs. To cut a long story short I ran on empty the rest of the way home, the only burst of speed coming when Pete decided to cheekily overtake me on a short steep climb in Rochdale. His lead didn't last long!
Glad to get home so I could resume stuffing my face. The copious amounts of coke zero to make me feel bloated, on top of my caffeine hits and milk cravings, is not helping!!!!!
Distance 45 miles
Average 17.0mph
Ascent 33ooft
For an' easy' ride I am more than happy with those stats but have decided that I am not going to cycle until next Sunday. Its been coming for a couple of weeks and I have just blown. I think it started since I went running again, using different muscles. If I get the day off on Saturday and it's nice I will try my best to get out of bed to do the Heaton Park 5km run. Also depends how I am after footie on Fri. Need a big long rest.
I've got to knock riding on the head for a few days too. I've killed my poor knees grinding large gears up hills.
ReplyDeleteNo more single speeding for me for a few weeks!