It’s just over two weeks before my first road race so to get my body accustomed to going all out, I did some anaerobic work capacity (AWC) intervals today. I warmed up riding tempo, with three short sprints to get my legs primed. After some more tempo, I did five 30-second efforts with 90-second rest intervals. The first three weren’t too bad, but by the fourth one, I was reminded how much I hate AWC workouts! I was breathing so hard that my teeth hurt! While I suffered, the 90 second rest interval gives some respite, as opposed to Tabatas where you only get 10 seconds. Those are of the devil!

After all that suffering was over, I rode tempo then did a 1-minute L6 push and a couple uphill L7 efforts. With more rest in between them they weren’t as bad. And doing them on a steep hill always helps; more power for less perceived effort. For fun I did a one more sprint right after the downhill on Deep Canyon Drive in Hillsdale Estates. I only managed 1,047 watts for 10 seconds, but not too bad considering I hadn’t tone any sprints since last season. As for the workout, 1hr 45min at an intensity factor (IF) of .91, ain’t too shabby.