Make it sparkle

Group rides start next weekend. That means today's ride was going to be the last Saturday I'd spend on the trainer. So I decided to make this a good, tough workout. I figured I'd do the Roth Ergovideo, since all the pace changes would be like the hills of Muskoka, and I'd do a quick transition and knock out a few miles at predicted marathon pace. A nice brick as my last shot.

I set the Ergovideo at the hardest level I've attempted so far (-15%, up from -20%), but I had my gearing in a relatively easy gear, so that the easy parts of the ride would be more relaxing. The downhills and easier sections would have me at 140-145w, whereas last time I would have been at 170w. So, easy sections easier, but hard sections harder. Net result: the average watts for the day were 1.5w higher, but the high wattage sections were 10-20w higher. The made for a lot harder ride than I expected.

I hopped off after 2:30, changed shoes, and got the treadmill moving. According to Daniels' charts, my marathon pace is a shade over 7:00/mile, so that makes for 8.5 mph. The first half-mile was unpleasant, but once I fell into my rhythm, it actually went pretty well. Three miles in 21:12, and a quick cooldown. It's odd that I was "comfortable" (ie, not dying) at 8.5 mph, but my intervals at 8.8 mph are such a struggle. That small speed increase is obviously enough to change energy systems. Give me a few more months, and these will be easy speeds. (Yeah, right.)

Then I spent the afternoon and evening doing some bike tuning. It's time to get the road bike ready to take the spot on the trainer, but I'm making it all pretty to start. New bar tape, new chain and cassette, full tune-up. Lightning McQueen will get a full work-up on Wednesday. It's spring and the bikes deserve the special treatment.

Bike: 2.5 hours, 199w average
Run: 3 miles @ 8.5 mph