Yesterday, I had the strongest desire to blow off a workout since I started training with Jason. The good news is that the "strongest" desire was still not that strong. I am on day 38 of the training plan and still not missing a beat.
I spent the day in Indianapolis job shadowing at the IUPUI Registrar's office, so that I would have better I idea of what Registrar's offices actually do, since my job involves supporting their functions. Getting up early, driving by myself in Indianapolis, sitting through training, and generally having my daily routine turned upside down left me pretty exhausted by the end of the day. When I headed back to Bloomington about 4:00, it was 45 degrees, drizzling, and seemed to be getting dark already. There was a definite urge to stop at the Dairy Queen in Martinsville, buy an extremely large Blizzard and some of the "real" DQ food that isn't available in Bloomington, and eat in it front of the TV when I got home.
However, my destiny awaited with the evenings' scheduled workout, so I pressed onward. You see, my race simulation on Saturday earned me a tentative upgrade in my power zones. The plan was to increase the prescribed zone for my workout by 15 watts to see how I fared.
Both the strength and the downfall training with a power meter is its blunt objectivity. When you have a pretty good idea of the number you need to hit to achieve Goal X, and you are nowhere close to that number, it sometimes makes you want to stay home and train more instead of racing. Within reason, I relish any opportunity to squeeze a few more watts out each workout in the hope of getting a little bit closer to the "magic numbers".
Last night was 3 X 8 minutes Sweet Spot, with 10 seconds max effort bursts every two minutes within the interval. I first heard of "bursts" in this article and thought, "Holy Crap! That's exactly the solution to my late race fading!" They'll be especially good in prepping for the Lumberjack 100, as the whole course is short, steep hills that tax the legs a bit more each time. Anyway, I actually completed the workout well above the newly prescribed zone. If I can replicate in tonight's 4 X 9 minutes regular Sweet Spot reps, then I will officially get my zones increased, and spend every workout a little closer to where I want to be.
The closer I am to fast
The closer I am to fast
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