part of my winter commitment this year is to ride 7-10 hours a week, no matter what. it can be trainer, off-road, or road, but it has to be done. at my age, i can't afford to slide backward. so built in my program is at least one harder ride a week, too, so that i can keep a bit of an edge and not die of boredom.
so, i'm not slow. at least, not slower than i normally am. i did two hours today with 3 twenty minute intervals grouped together with 5 minutes rest between. and, a strange thing happened on the way to those intervals...i equaled my 30 AND 60 minute power records of 285w and 275w, respectively. now i always find it funny that, even with a 4-5 minute rest between, the numbers still turn out well. but, a good explanation is that the 4-5 minute rest is not done at a very low wattage (i like to keep myself ready for the next interval) and that rest makes the next interval stronger than if i had just gone ballistic for 60 straight minutes.
of course, i'm thinking, "i should be doing the 'cross races!" but there really isn't any purpose. the reason i do so poorly at 'cross is simple: i have lost the critical strength necessary, i.e., the 0-100mph and hold for 45 minutes. that used to be my key strength, but with age, i've lost that and developed others. i can do that super hard start for mountain bike races, but only because those eventually settle into a rhythm, where my endurance and bike handling are enough to do the trick.
oh well, i guess i'll just be happy that my fitness hasn't gone to hell in a hand basket.
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