more biking...

Friday morning June 26th 2009:

Easy recovery spin on the CompuTrainer device in the house on a chosen 10 mile flat TT course where via the training software I can control the amount of wattage I am training at in 10 watt increments in the Coaching Ergo mode. The ride was quite un-eventful as I kept my HR in the lower zone 5 lever for full benefit of this easy, recovery day…a 40:45 minute spin!

Saturday morning June 27th 2009:

Long ride was scheduled for the day of a ~two hour duration with two interval sessions of twenty minutes each at threshold levels with a ten minute recovery between each.

So I headed up to southern Wisconsin up to the Bong Recreation area because I know this region well from the cycling TT I do plus it really the only place I know of where I can properly get in a specific workout ride of this nature without stopping in the rolling farm hill roads of theis region.

After a nice progessive warm-up ride on the county roads at minute 50 I started my first 20 minute threshold interval. The effort was as as much as my body would allow me to give on this day as I rolled along focused on this longer interval. After that one was finished I rode and easier paced 10 minute recovery segment rehydrating and taking gel for the next session. At one hour and twenty minutes into the ride I started my second 20 minute threshold interval focusing even harder on this effort...when it was done I gave it my all.

The rest of the ride was recovery & cool-down time to make my total ride time of 2:16:02 with a very nice average pace of 20.1mph with an average HR 128bpm plus a max HR during effort at 147bpm...total mileage covered was 45.6 miles.

I noticed three things during this ride...

1.) My legs & body were very fatigued.

2.) Even though I was giving 110% effort during the 20 minute threshold sessions I noticed after the ride my HR was getting no where near where it should have been.

3.) Even with these variables I rode a quicker average mph pace overall and didn't feel any more taxed than normal both during & after the ride (maybe my cycling conditioning is getting better :-))

My Polar HR chart from the workout:
http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/062709.JPG

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