Spring weather has finally arrived in La Grande, and I’ve actually been on a couple rides with elbows and knees exposed. Another sure sign of spring is the barrage of bugs pelting my face, including a couple orifice shots. Monday I did a split workout that totaled 5 hours of riding with four 10 minute climbing repeats on the Terry Ranch climb outside Elgin. Then I rode to and from work on Tuesday (2 hours) and followed up with a 1 hour run. The run had my legs reeling, so Wednesday I rode the climb to Andes Prairie, one of our quartet of epic climbs near La Grande. This morning I attempted the cliff to Morgan Lake with the local boys, and finished 4-day training set with a ride home after work in a thunderstorm.
All this was easy compared to the demands of last weekend. In an unprecedented move, I took 3 days off the bike. Recovery days. . .a novel concept. I dug deep and steered clear of my bike every time it tried to lure me over. Late last week, I finally conceded that I’d reached my breaking point. My field tests times weren’t improving and I was feeling some chronic fatigue. I weighed my options: train harder or take time off. It was a tough choice, but the latter won out. The days off must have helped because I crushed a couple climbing field tests this week. I knocked 2 minutes off my long climb time up to Andes Prairie and 3 minutes off my Morgan Lake time, both from last year. I’m now feeling refreshed and focused for the upcoming stage races.
I was trying to think back to the last time I took 3 days off the bike and was having some difficulty. When I was in Florida and Massachusetts last Dec-Jan I didn’t have a bike but I was running must of the days. I think the last time I took 3 consecutive days away from aerobic training was early last fall, but I’m not sure. The bottom line is that I may consider rest as an option in future training.
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