Progress?
Went to JB again yesterday as usual for the past several weeks. The results of this 2x20 session were very encouraging but I'm not completely sure if this is due to any progress. The temperature was much milder than usual for one thing (mid to upper 70s) and it had just stopped raining. It was still very humid out and the air felt thick as molasses. But the air also had that very refreshing smell that occurs after a rain and this was invigorating. I was also well rested. I had several good hard days of training and by Wednesday evening, after mowing the lawn, I was pretty pooped. So I rode very easily Thursday night just tooling around with my son for about 20 or 30 minutes and then took Friday off completely.
Power-Tap #1: Duration: 20:05 Work: 279 kJ TSS: 32.5 (intensity factor 0.986) Norm Power: 232 Distance: 6.91 mi Min Max Avg Power: 0 323 232 watts Heart Rate: 97 171 158 bpm Cadence: 60 138 97 rpm Speed: 9.2 31.6 20.6 mph Torque: 0 238 81 lb-in Power-Tap #3: Duration: 20:05 Work: 272 kJ TSS: 31.2 (intensity factor 0.965) Norm Power: 227 Distance: 6.838 mi Min Max Avg Power: 0 301 226 watts Heart Rate: 111 172 164 bpm Cadence: 53 138 100 rpm Speed: 4 32.2 20.4 mph Torque: 0 249 81 lb-in
Last week I managed 222 and 218 watts average power which was slightly better than the week before that and this week you can see an even better average power for the two intervals. I will try again next weekend so let's see what happens.
It looks to me like your
It looks to me like your season is coming along really nice. Any time you can average these speeds and wattages that's good riding. Way to go.
I hope
That you are right, thanks!
Could be the weather...
But then it could be you're just naturally coming into form for the Cyclocross season.
Motivation plays a big role for me. When I know I have something coming up I'm gunning for I have more energy. I can dig deeper. Suffering is a way of paying it forward, and it's well worth the price for the extra bit of performance it will unlock for my goal event.
Whichever it is, good job. Keep up the great work. Make this year a standout year. - Mark
Yes
motivation to train is certainly not a problem right now, that's for sure! August has been a bit of a break with not much racing other than Tuesday night. It's been more of a build month. I rode the cross bike a little yesterday and I will start adding in more cross bike workouts after Gateway and the MS ride. I was thinking of doing 2x20s on the cross bike in a field. That might be good. Would be nice to have my PM on for those workouts I suppose. It's possible and I am actually thinking seriously about it.