six weeks off the Bike

BullGod said:

So, after my retirement from bike racing I didn't ride a bike for 6 weeks. I did, however go running for 1hr 4-5 times a week, and I haven't gotten fat, and my heart hasn't exploded.

However, as running has murdered my hip, and as I am still addicted to pain and exercise related euphoria I slung the bike onto the KK on monday and did some 10 minute blocks for an hour.

To my surprise I saw that I was putting the 10 minute blocks out at 330 watts, and even in the "rest" periods was cranking 200+. My HR was also as comfortable as it used to be, and the only major differences I noticed to my workouts last spring was that 1) I was enjoying it, as it was a once off, and not a daily grind and 2) After an hour I was fu&*ed and 3) The next day my legs were sore which never happened before ;-)

I really wish I had known just how long you can stay "fit" when I was a racer and used to fall into deep anxiety if a cold meant I couldn't train for 3 days!

For a moment I was almost tempted to make a comeback ;-)

Comeback? The bugs that are still stuck in the mud on your bike haven't had chance to fossilise yet! Six weeks off the bike for some is a regular winter occourance! :p

😄

BullGod said:

So, after my retirement from bike racing I didn't ride a bike for 6 weeks. I did, however go running for 1hr 4-5 times a week, and I haven't gotten fat, and my heart hasn't exploded.

However, as running has murdered my hip, and as I am still addicted to pain and exercise related euphoria I slung the bike onto the KK on monday and did some 10 minute blocks for an hour.

To my surprise I saw that I was putting the 10 minute blocks out at 330 watts, and even in the "rest" periods was cranking 200+. My HR was also as comfortable as it used to be, and the only major differences I noticed to my workouts last spring was that 1) I was enjoying it, as it was a once off, and not a daily grind and 2) After an hour I was fu&*ed and 3) The next day my legs were sore which never happened before ;-)

I really wish I had known just how long you can stay "fit" when I was a racer and used to fall into deep anxiety if a cold meant I couldn't train for 3 days!

For a moment I was almost tempted to make a comeback ;-)

Quite coincidental that you just posted this. I'm just back on my bike after eight days off due to a cold (and cold weather), with a time trial two weeks from now. I've been wondering if my race performance might suffer. Also, there's the mental aspect of losing that training that I worry about. If my training has gone well, when I hit that inevitable pain crossroads during a race, I know I have no excuse not to be able to deal with it and keep pushing. However, after a break like I've had, when I hit that same point, I have a built-in mental out - "I can't be expected to push through this because my training was inadequate." And I'm afraid that will lessen my ability to keep hammering.