Cycling Workouts: Discussion/Encouragement/Sharing/Banter

[HLaB]

The Threshold workout I did last night was originally scheduled for today. Given the 🌞 forecast I pulled it forward so I had time for lower tempo (Z2) session I could do out doors. I fired up TrainerRoad's workout generator this morning and it suggested Pioneer-3 (a upper level Z2 workout). I headed down again for a couple of laps of Conington Airfield. I'll maybe need to find a new training loop I think the old broken concrete road is making my hand go numb without me realising 🤔 Either that of it was just colder that I thought and I should have worn a proper softshell jacket instead wearing thin arm warmers 🤔

 

[HLaB]

I had planned to do my SS workout outside as it was predicted to be nice but it was better than that it was Bl00dy beautiful. I had started out on my usual route down Holme Road from Yaxley but amazingly the ECML level crossing at the bottom of Holme Road was up, so I turned left and avoided loops of the Concrete Conington Airfield road and looped by Ramsey St Mary’s, Ponderbridge and Farcet.

 

[Norry1]

I had planned to do my SS workout outside as it was predicted to be nice but it was better than that it was Bl00dy beautiful. I had started out on my usual route down Holme Road from Yaxley but amazingly the ECML level crossing at the bottom of Holme Road was up, so I turned left and avoided loops of the Concrete Conington Airfield road and looped by Ramsey St Mary’s, Ponderbridge and Farcet.



View attachment 766022

View attachment 766023

Yep, beautiful couple of days this week.

 

[HLaB]

My commute was really spinny but unfortunately for tonight’s workout I wasn’t and had to flip ERG off in the 4th last and last intervals to recover my cadence.

 

[HLaB]

Like last week I pulled forward my scheduled indoors workout to yesterday leaving today free 🌞 So I fired up TrainNow (TrainerRoad workout selector based on your recent history) which gave me Bess (a recovery ride). I headed down the flat Holme Road as I usually would for an outdoors workout but there was surprisingly fresh and stiff wind so I turned into the hills (not that East Northamptonshire is hilly but compared to the Fens it mountainous). For one 10min lap I was just 12.9mph for 151w but for another I was 20.3mph for 6 watts less.

 

[HLaB]

The forecasted sunshine finally came here near 1pm ish (it seems it was everywhere around far earlier than that). Here the fog had hung around longer. I had the SS workout in my Calendar, Carrson -3 and headed down Holme Road with the intention to do it in the flat Fens where its easy to regulate power but the ECML level crossing was down (could be 15-20mins) so I headed to East Northamptonshire like yesterday. Most of the intervals went OK, maybe a little too powerful at times but power comes easier outside so I guess that was OK my HR and RPE were in the SS zone even though the power was threshold. The 2nd last interval (3.5 mins) saw me on one of the local bumps so I went way over on the short 5% as you really can't get much power out to the blind 90deg bend at the Haddon village.

 

[HLaB]

I got home just in time to do an hour workout in the light after the clock change. I first headed down Holme Road to do a loop in the fens but the ECML level crossing was down and I could have been there for 15minutes and I didn’t have light for that. So I headed for the Connington Airfield road but after a lap of that I decided that it was sketchy enough of a surface in the twilight so another lap was unadvisable. So I headed down the Old A1 to Alconbury Weald. When I got there in the cooldown I stopped the clock to clip on my front light. Lol, then I realised it was only 3 blocks and my hour of daylight was up. There was some great sunset scenes on the way back but with my poor circulation post chemo and wearing short sleves, shorts and knee warmers. I dared not stop until I was close enough to home. I got bad enough frostbite snapping what I did

 

[HLaB]

With me having pulled forward today's Threshold workout to last night, today was free for a TrainNow session. TN identified the Endurance workout Black.
I headed down to Holme Road which was really exposed making it easy to hold a consistent power level, even down the steep Church Rd to Holme Road. Then I headed down the Old A1, again into what seemed like a headwind. I then turned 180deg at the Woodwalton roundabout, expecting an almighty tailwind, only to find it was a headwind again. I was unsure if I had enough interval time to be complete befor the new A1 (M)/ London Road roundabout so I a left into Stilton before doubling back to the roundabout.

It was the first ride of the year without knee warmers and if I didn't need to go back to the office, I could have stayed out all day 🌞

 

[HLaB]

I had a SS session to do today (2x20mins at SS). The only issue I mis calculated my turn and ended up doing circa 5 miles more than I meant to. Having said that the only person bothering that my lunch hour session took half an hour longer than it should is probably only me. It was a similar route to the last few days out on the flat Holme Rd and the relatively flat old A1 turning at Alconbury (I should have turned at Woodwalton). But because I was running late there was 80s of Z5 up the cycle path.

 

[HLaB]

Out into the Fens tonight for an Endurance ride. Despite the wind, I prefer to go that way as it's a less interrupted route. Except for the stops in the cool down. The last stop involved the butler taking the radiator and deciding to lie on it.

 

[HLaB]

Amazingly that's two days in a row after I've cycled down Holme Road that the ECML level crossing has been open. Well tonight was just about open so I never lost much. I had an Endurance session tonight and with the crossing being open I took it into the flat fens where its easier to maintain cadence.

I get back tonight and TR FTP AI has suggested a 5w increase 😎 (anything smaller is just noise IMHO).

 

[HLaB]

Another great night but the exact opposite temperature wise and it was back to shorts sleeves and bib shorts for tonight's endurance session which was fairly high cadence until I decided that I wanted to things slightly different and headed in to the undulating Northamptonshire.

 

[HLaB]

My commute with heavy laptop was slow at first, until I realised I forgot to connect my head unit to the radar then I decided to go left at traffic signals, which took me to a local village. Then I realised I might catch their chain gang start so I went faster again. Lol, there’s often 3 or 4 groups of 10or more out but there was only 1 rider tonight. He was eager for me to drop my laptop off and join him but I politely insisted I had a session to do and it would take too long. Anyway it set me up well for it. It was only a 30min session but pretty high intensity. I have an event coming up so I done it in 'resistance mode where I could be more in control of my cadence and avoid injury.



I found out why he was the only rider as it apparently turned torrential again (the sunny/ dry/ warm evenings of the previous posts are gone for now ) not that I knew as I was too busy

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Completed 10 sets of 6 x 30”/30” VO2 max efforts.Worked well outdoors with traffic free hill repeats. Just 6 weeks to main event of year.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Some threshold work this morning, total of 40 mins. Done on hill so minimal power during recovery heading back down. Session went well in this mos excellent weather.