Today was the first day of the second half of my season. Last year I started intervals in November in preparation for the 2008 season, and was going really well in January and February. However I got a little cold after a trip to Colorado, and struggled to regain my power. Then I moved to Asheville and working 60 hours a week (usually on my feet) and 6AM intervals really drained me. By May I was struggling and by July I was totally burned out. This year I decided to do a few things differently:
1. Start training in January after a break for the holidays. This would reduce the number of hourse I spent inside, in the dark, doing intervals, and would shorten the time to my planned peak in July. The downside would be that I wouldn't be in great shape in February and March.
2. Take a mid-season break at the end of July and do a second ramp for cyclocross season, with a planned peak for November. This would allow me to maintain good fitness into the winter, while enjoying the local mountain biking trails and 'cross races!
3. Hire a knowledgable coach that was more of an advisor - Andy Applegate has done a tremendous job at keeping me motivated and tweaking my workouts when needed. As a result I saw new peak power numbers all the way up until my break 2 weeks ago!
So, after 2 weeks off and a few too many beers, I was back at it this morning - on the trainer: 2 x 20s. I was doing these in the garage at my previous home, with no external stimulation except some music. Now I've got music, DirecTV, cycling.tv, and a temperature controlled environment! What more could you want? The intervals felt good, and not only did I get in a good workout, but I watched CNN AND Fox News - Fair and Balanced right?
I also got a new mountain bike last week and plan to do a lot of mountain biking this fall! I can't wait, as there are literally hundreds of miles of trails all over the WNC area. Needless to say, I won't need DirecTV to keep me entertained out there!
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