Training and the heat

I know i know it's been WEEKS since my last blog entry. Why? Well, i've been training pretty hard, and work as well, as to be honest, I just couldn't bring myself to spend anymore time not working, training or sleeping.  But it's finally Friday, and I"m starting to feel like a human again.

What's the difference?  I looked at my total mileage for the month. I am actually training less miles than i ever have.  I should be having twice the energy? I thought so too, but in fact, I'm even more worn out than I've ever been.

The training.  Well, in addition to the heat, which im sure wears everyone out, the training is all about intensity.  When i ride alone, and have no clue what I'm doing, i just ride. IF i get tired, i slow down.  The only motivation is the ride itself. And as my coach pointed out, I wasn't doing anything different, so my body had pretty much adapted.   That also means I had well developed my slow twitch, big ass power muscles.  Slow, or low, cadence was my happy home.

Now enters the coach, and he introduces a new way of handling cadence. Two of my days are riding high  to really high cadence. While one day is supposed to be about 7 effort (on a scale of 1-10..called Perceived Effort, or P.E.) I find it to be more intense.  IT's also annoying bec my bike computer is set (in a workout) to buzz me when i'm breaching the cadence levels. Translation..the damn buzzer is going off CONSTANTLY!  IT's a small margin of 88-92 cadence. One good gust of wind will kill that.  And riding around the serpentine path of the lake, where you are constantly in and out of the wind, suggests just that.

Second, is interval training.  Carmichael talks of this all the time, but he speaks of it in relation to your fitness test. I've never really understood how to do that on my own, hence the coach. That's another reason why a coach is so beneficial.  HE makes SURE you are working out at the levels you need to be. So, intervals..Ok for me, it's Hitting the paddleboat's hill and riding as hard as i can to mockingbird, then slow on the way back. But there are also cadence levels you have to hit. Doesn't sound hard, does it?
But for some reason, it wears me out.

Last night, when i got home, i was covered in a fine, white powdery substance. I thought i'd sweated thru some construction dust. BUT it was salt.  'nuf said, it was hot outside.

The Hotter than Hell is in a week. To say i'm nervous about this one, would be an understatement. My first time riding the 100  there.  My family is there, along w/ a ton of ppl i know. It's like coming home to compete in your home town.  I'm always anxious over how much, or how little food to carry.  How many gels and do i use the flask this time?  Tomorrow is a 50 miler, so i'll see how well i stack up against my last ride with the team.

Drink lots of fluids out there, i'ts HOT!

Clear, calm skies.