When in doubt, head back to the dirt..............
Way too smokey to ride this morning. A little front blew through this afternoon clearing most of the garbage out of the air - for now. It's too close to race day to take chances on jack'in the lungs with crap in the air. Knowing what I was likely going to have today, I did two sessions of hard sprint intervals on the Airdyne yesterday and last night. Only able to get my heart rate into the low 160's, I wasn't satisfied. Getting home a little later tonight, I decided to get on the mountain bike and do a quick cardio burn - or try anyway.
I've not been on the dirt bike for quite a while, so I thought it may be a bit tight. Two months ago I was just a shade over one hour, with a peak heart rate of 174. A month ago, I was just a shade under one hour with a peak heart rate of 165. Tonight I was just a stitch over 54 minutes, but only had a peak heart rate of 150 (that sucks!). I stayed in the fast gears for the first two groups of switch-backs but found the easy gears up top. Near the last hairpin turn, I picked the wrong line and spun out on some shale. Other than that, it was a constant drive to the top, just not working as hard as I had thought.
Looking at the Garmin data, it appears my heart recovery is pretty good. I think I need to mash this thing and break 48 minutes before the race. Until then, I need to double up on cardio on off days, with enough time for long day prep and recovery. I think I could shave seven minutes off, with more than five minutes off the front end.
With the Cache Century on Saturday, I need to keep my legs fresh for some fast riding. I'd like to do that in five hours, which is a clip by any standard. If I can't get Woodruff on Wednesday, I may have to settle for something a little less dramatic on Thursday. It has more to do with the weather than anything at this point.
So........quick rides like tonight generally come with a little fast tempo.
Ride HARD!
