So I tried some VO2 intervals again today had to abort, 30 seconds into the second interval. My legs felt better than yesterday before I started them, but once I went over FTP it was just not going to happen. But since my power in Tempo and even near threshold didn’t feel so bad, I kept riding. Since I was already on Highway 16, northbound, I ended up doing the Emmett–Horseshoe Bend Loop, yet again.

I rode mostly tempo all the way to Horseshoe Bend. As I was heading into Black Canyon, I noticed the river before the dam had lots of foam and figured it was due to the high flow rate of the nearby rivers lately. As I went by the dam it was impressive, that was the most water spill-off I think I’ve ever seen. The reservoir itself was really muddy and had lost of debris in it. The ride through Black Canyon was nice and it was cooler than down in the valley due to the cold water right next to the road.

After a quick stop at the Chevron in Horseshoe Bend it was climbing time! I started out at a lower wattage initially, saving more for the top-half of the climb. I didn’t want to stall halfway up like I did on Thursday. I ended with a negative split of 281 for the first half, then 284 for the second…mission accomplished. But once I got to the top my legs were fried and I basically limped home. I finished the ride in 3:03, not a bad time considering I wasn’t going super hard most the time. It was a good ride and I didn’t feel as wasted as I did on Thursday, but then again, the training stress wasn’t as high. But I do think my body is absorbing the training load a bit better. Now I just need to rest for a few days see if I can successfully complete a VO2 workout.