Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Pushing Through

Tonight I'm dragging. Don't want to ride. My legs still feel tired despite yesterday's rest. I'm tempted to tank this one. After about an hour of wrestling with the ride/don't ride decision... I'm getting dressed. As I roll out my legs are stiff. I don't feel like a champion today. I get through the motions of warming up. The legs are opening up, but still not feeling good.




"Go" I mumble as I start my first work interval... That was it? "That wasn't so bad," I tell myself. After the recovery portion the second interval feels even better. Ah! This is why I got off the couch! By my fifth interval I'm feeling fiesty. By the sixth and final interval the fun factor returns. It feels too easy. I reaaaally wanted to bury the needle today. I talk myself out of it. I've got to leave something in the tank for the rest of the week.

That's the hard part of endurance training. It's all quantity, not intensity. Go too hard one day, and you'll be wrecked for the next. Counterproductive. It feels like you aren't doing much. But the fitness gains I'm observing tell a different story. Counterintuitive. The chronic fatigue that's setting in also points to the cummulative effect this block of training. Pushing through this week before taking a few days off.

The next bloc of training is an open question. In fitness terms, I'm ahead of where I though I'd be when writing my season plan back in February. I'm considering using the next bloc for rehabbing the dirt skills and strengthening the elbow for the trail. I didn't expect to be trail-ready until late May. I'll beat that expectation. I'm probably ready for something easy like Double Lake now. There is dirt in my future! The next bloc's crucial, and likely the most important of the year. Much to consider...

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