Training Update

A couple minutes to type out a training update for a little motivation before getting it up to sit on my trainer for 40 very painful minutes...

Basically, up till about a week ago, I've been doing only base.  This cumulated in a 45 minute private time trial test to see where my fitness was.  For that 45 minutes, I averaged 330W, which is better than last year. Pat on the back.

Last weekend was the first race of the season.  You can read all about that in the previous post.

Now, it's back on the saddle to do interval training to try to increase my threshold power.  The last couple years, I've been doing 2x20min intervals, with 5 minutes in-between.  Compared to last year, I am starting my interval training waaayyy late.  I was doing this stuff in November last year.  This year it's February and I still haven't strung together any significant interval sessions.  Another difference is I am trying a new workout.  8x5min with 1 minute between each interval.  It's the same 40 minutes of pain, but with the rest periods evenly distributed throughout.  It's supposed to be better for race power development than the 2x20min sets.  Or something.

Anyway, makes sense to me.  Only in the breakaway or a long climb are you doing 40 minutes constant, and even then, the pattern is more akin to the 5min on/1min off pattern than it is to a time trial.  I'm not focusing on time trials this year, so it makes sense to be focusing on intervals that more readily duplicate race conditions.

Plan is to do this until two weeks before the Cherry Blossom Stage Race in late April.  That gives me 7 weeks to get my shit together and bang my way into race shape.  No 7 mile infinite hill at Cherry Blossom this year... maybe I'll have a shot at the overall (really?).