Bike racing camp is quickly approaching. I have been working out like a fiend trying to get into better bike shape. Last Saturday was a very hard workout. Here's how hard I worked. Normally I burn 450 calories an hour and on a submax, easy ride, my average watts are between 120 and 130. On Saturday i burned 890 calories and averaged 152 watts for 90mn. The rest of the day my legs were toast.
Sunday was a long ride. My assigned goal, which I completed, was 3 hours and 45mn. I did about 40% of the ride with a raised front wheel to simulate climbing a steep hill. The raised front wheel puts extra stress on your quads. At the 2 1/2 hour mark my legs felt weak, noodle like, and i had trouble maintaining 135 average watts and cadence: Toasted again.
I called my coached and complained that I was feeling like I was not in good bike shape and i will not able to compete at bike camp. I was also confused why I felt so bad. i had been training hard but i felt i had trained enough to handle the increased workload with only a modicum of difficulty. Bottom line, coach said, listen to your body. If your legs feel tired take a break on the workout stress. In other words match the exercise to how I feel.
I am backing off. The legs feel better. More on the recovery later.
