WHEN TRAINING BECOMES RISKY
EVER FOUND YOURSELF right behind an absolute beast, only to take a quick glance and realize...
... all the other fools have been left in dust?
Happened to me today,
and it was quite foolish.
It didn't seem so at the time.
I felt great,
our lead kept increasing,
and the great Alfredo was hammerin'.
Then, we caught a light.
All gains...
... poof!
As the group reached escape velocity on the final steep section of the first climb, I thought...
... Uh oh, I'm looking at a lonely next 15-20 miles.
Why did I take that risk, to go with a pro triathlete?
Because it was a training ride.
What was the pay off?
The most taxing ride in months,
I rode much harder, per Training Peaks,
than at BWR and Cactus Cup races.
By a lot.
Which produced a huge fitness bump.
Why didn't I race this hard?
Racing is often very tactical...
- use our matches prudently
- let the other guys pull and suffer
- going just fast enough to hang onto our finish position
... because the goal is often to simply place well.
Doing the minimum...
... is often a winning formula.
Training is like a laboratory...
- speed
- effort
- intensity
... where we find out what is possible.
It's not risky in a race, if we already know...
... we can handle it.
===
Two years ago, I was at the state road race championships. The previous year, my sole focus was Leadville, where being able to hold high tempo/low threshold for hours is key.
I still had a ton of that type of fitness.
In the two first miles, I popped a little hill.
Not a big effort.
But, for some reason, the group didn't follow.
So, I kept going at Leadville pace, building up nearly a 2 minute lead.
After a full lap, 22ish miles, my pal Andy bridged up, and now we were working together.
Eventually, 3 others made it across.
Neither Andy nor I won, but we managed to get on the podium...
... and enjoy a dream scenario, in a break, with a friend.
===
===
164.7
7.5 hrs sleep
No strength work
10 minutes stretching
91(fitness per training peaks)
0 min vision therapy
