I guess I’m proving that the training principle of specificity really works. For as much as I do the Emmett–Horseshoe Bend loop, it may not be surprising that I broke my personal record…yet again! This time by a significant margin: I did it in 2:46:15 with a normalized power of 261 watts!

I think my form is finally coming around after a two-month plateau during the summer. While I had a good climb on Saturday’s Sweet EHB loop, when I did Bogus on Monday I didn’t have nearly as much power and was slightly disappointed. I probably needed more recovery before Monday’s ride, but I wanted to make Monday and Wednesday my “hard” days so I’d have two days before Saturday’s 1,000 Warriors race.

I still would like to break 2:45 which now I know is realistic. I have a feeling after I taper for Bogus in a couple weeks, my legs will be much fresher, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. For now, it’s time to rest up and get ready for the suffer-fest early Saturday morning…Cat 1–3 men start at 6:05 AM!