Talk about cold, this morning it was a frigid 8°F! So obviously it was another trainer ride for me today. My resting HR was back to my normal low and I thought it would be a good day to do some VO2max intervals. I hopped on the trainer a little after noon and did a 30-minute warm-up. Within the warm-up, I did a 5-minute push at threshold. I targeted 305 watts and ended up with an average of 311. It actually didn’t feel too bad for a change. So all systems were a go for the VO2 workout.
The workout consisted of 4×2-minute intervals, with 90 seconds rest between each interval. The goal was to do three sets, with eight minutes recovery between each set. The first two reps felt decent, but by the third and fourth, my legs were burning…big-time! During those reps, I’d start to justify quitting after two sets instead of three. Working at this level really hurts and it reminded me of the way I usually feel the first few races of the year. I plugged along and suffered through it.
The first 8-minute rest period was much appreciated. But starting the second set, I didn’t feel as “rested” as I thought I should; it hurt just as much as the last rep of the first set! But I figured I’d stick with it, as long as I could keep my power up. I managed to do so but kept on thinking about quitting after this set. I also played around with gearing during this set.
Once I finished the second set, I decided my power was good enough that I had to keep plugging along. How could I justify quitting to all my blog readers!? The last set hurt the most and I was trying various pacing strategies to keep my average power up. Nothing seemed to help; regardless of whether I started hard or easy, they all hurt! In addition, they’d hurt sooner and sooner with each succeeding repetition. By the last couple of reps, they were hurting after only 40 seconds! But I endured the pain and finished off the last set!
When I was done I was so glad it was over! Honestly, I think that was the most I have ever pushed my legs outside of a race. After downloading the ride I learned that my power during the last set wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was still within the -10% time-to-quit limit! It just goes to show that despite the pain you may be feeling, you’re still able to produce power. I’m glad I stuck with it as it was both a great physical and psychological workout! Total ride time was 1:50 with 135 TSS and 222/261 ave/norm power.