intervals | commute

Sleep	7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	5:15 AM - PowerBar 7:30 AM – cereal 9:30 AM – yogurt, apple, string cheese
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	large bottle w/2.5 scoops HEED
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	ride – 6:00 AM
Workout Type	intervals
Weather	mid 40s, sunny, dry sky, damp ground in places, calm
Course	3 x 4 min, 3 min rest 3 x 2 min, 2 min rest 5 x 1 min, 2 min rest 2 x 30 sec, 2 min rest
Distance	ride – 32 miles commute – 9 miles
Time	ride – 1:58
Power
Results	pain followed by fatigue
Equipment	Road Bike 39/53, 12-25 Neuvation wheels
Clothing	knit shoe covers, knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, Heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap

Holy crap that was a good workout. There really is something to specific training rather than just riding around for fun... you think? :)

I hooked up with Greg K and Ryan D and we rolled down to Lake WA Blvd for what Greg promised would be our hardest workout. Ever. I was thinking the boulevard is flat, how hard can this be? I got an education.

Each interval was supposed to be ridden at basically the highest wattage you could maintain without fading at the end. It was suggested that the four minute intervals be ridden at 400 watts, the two minute intervals at around 450, the one minute intervals at something higher than that and the 30 second intervals at 650 ish. We got it wrong a couple of times by going out too hard but mostly we were right in there.

On the longer intervals I was having a hard time with Greg's initial acceleration. He would blast out of the gates and Ryan was right by his side and I would have to slave away to pull up next to them but then I was usually in the front by the end. Not always but usually.

I was still waking up during the four minute intervals (if that's possible) and quickly realized that my meager 'breakfast' was totally insufficient. I could almost feel the muscle glycogen being drained from my legs (and then replaced with lactic acid) with each interval.

That said the two minutes intervals were okay. I was able to go hard and not taper off so much.

On the other hand the one minute intervals were very hard. This is a duration that you want to go 100% but if you do you die prematurely so you go like 98 and hopefully you can hang on. We did three, rested for a bit and then did three more. Ouch!

finally it was time for the 'sprints'. My first one was miserable. Ryan and Greg took off and I was left floundering in their wake. The second time I resolved to keep accelerating and did much better. Greg got the jump on me but I got an aggressive start and slowly closed on him and finished just in front. I think by the time we let up I was in my 53x13. Not easy – especially after all the other stuff.

Finally we let our heart rates drop below 100 and puttered back to our respective homes. What a fantastic morning! Great company, great weather and I would never have pushed myself this hard alone.