Now, where was I after being so rudely interrupted by Blogger eating my big post? Oh yes. I'd talked about my Tuesday bike.
Wed was yoga. At the time I didn't think much of it, but my tree was really strong, waving only slightly in the breeze.
Then Thursday morning I was in the pool and my balance was shite. It sounds odd to talk about balance in the water, but it was off and I could feel it. I was working a bit harder to maintain my pace and wasn't getting clean air for breathing. My roll was slightly out of time with my stroke, and it felt like my feet were dragging. Did several 100 m intervals on 2:15. This is coming around. 40 minutes in the pool.
Friday I was on the bike again. Sorry about the numbers. (no I'm not) Warmed up and some spin technique. Then 5 minutes at 175 watts to really get my blood flowing. 5 easy. Then 20 minutes trying to stay between 190 and 195 watts. My breathing was regular and deep, heart rate stable at low to mid 130 bpm, cadence about 86 to 88, legs feeling good, and sweating hard. This was a good effort, and I could maintain this for quite a bit longer, I think. It takes a little bit of focus to maintain the pace but I'm not fighting for every watt. Then 5 minutes easy.
Now the hard part, upping the brake setting a level, same gear and cadence, trying to maintain just over 200 watts. This takes work to maintain. If I don't look at the display my legs tend to slack off. Breathing is hard. I can feel the effort in the legs. I lasted 6 minutes and dialed it back. I could go longer if I really want to push, but I'm not sure if I could go 20 minutes. I am sure my legs wouldn't be happy with me, but I think that's going to be what it takes.
It's surprising how quickly the limits close in at such a small increase in output, only 5%. That takes me from steady state to over the edge. At least I know where I am, and now I can go through the book and start doing some of the other tests and calculations to figure out what I need to do to improve.
The weather sure looks sweet for next week! 12 C (53 F). That's practically a heat wave. You can bet I'll be out for a run or two. I may even be in shorts and short sleeved shirt.
We're getting some great weather soon! I'm going to be outside a lot.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit lost in the watt talk. It's just as well I don't have a power meter yet. I'd be afraid to see how low my watts would be. :)
53F it's a tropical heatwave for you!
ReplyDeleteWatt talk can get a bit thick. I'm putting it there only as notes for me. As far as I'm concerned the actual number doesn't matter, it's only how it changes over time. Higher is better.
ReplyDeleteYay for strong tree poses and heat waves in January!
ReplyDeleteBoo for Blogger's logistical nightmares!
Boo also for Disqus eating comments. There are two others missing in action. I see them in email, and one of them on my iPhone. Not sure why yours showed up and not the other two. Tree used to be a brutal pose.
ReplyDeleteDoes your bigger tummy help or hinder your tree?
There were two comments that either Blogger or Disqus ate. The first, from AKA Alice -
ReplyDelete"53F it's a tropical heatwave for you! "
the second from KK -
"Yay for strong tree poses and heat waves in January!
Boo for Blogger's logistical nightmares! "
No idea why they never appeared. At all, anywhere. Darryl's comment eventually showed up once I realized it had a link in it and therefore went to pending.
My responses - Still looking like 53. Yay and boo indeed!