Since retuning from Japan I have been trying to recover my biking form. Before I left for France I was riding at my highest level ever and was feeling very strong. After returning from all my exotic touring I had the mental ability to ride but not the physical ability. I would go on a long ride, get in front pull hard and blow-up, or I would race some local riders and do great for the first 200 meters then blow-up. In fact I have been blowing-up for several weeks now and I have been getting pretty frustrated.
To figure out why I have not been riding at the level I thought I could I did some research, but before the answer here are some numbers. Before I went to France I was riding 12-14 hours a week, some days doing long distances and other days doing shorter more intense workouts. I was also doing intense core work. Once I returned from the ETape I had 10 days at home 5 of which I had to travel due to work and a niece's wedding. I was able to ride some but only 5 hours the entire 10 days I was home. Then I went to Japan for 2 weeks where I did not ride at all. Upon returning from Japan I had work and killer jet lag which took another 10 days to feel mostly normal. In summery I worked out like a fiend then took a month off with little or no riding.
Ah Ha you say, that is the answer, I took too much time off; and you are partially correct. The real answer is Consistency. There is a woman I know in VQ. She is a tri-athlete and just won the Louisville Ironman in her age category. I asked MJ what she attributed her win to. She immediately said VQ workouts. However, after some further questioning from me she thought a little and said the real difference is consistency. After thinking about MJ's comments and my training schedule, consistency is the reason I became better, and lack of consistency is the reason I have had a long recovery.
It is frustrating to learn that to get fast and stay fast, riding consistently is the way to go. Unfortunately there are no short cuts for us mere sports mortals. So I am back on the road and I hope to see you beside me. This week I am training for the 4man TT on the 13th. More on that later.
