Slog it out or Slack off
I have trouble deciding on whether I am pushing too far or wanting to slack off. At what point is it ok to say enough is enough without feeling like you were looking for an excuse to stop a workout early. This was the thought was confronting me today.
The weather was very windy, partially cloudy skies, an air temperature of 32 degrees and a wind chill of about 16 degrees. I was scheduled 50 miles of cycling and I decided to do it outdoors. Completing a 50 mile ride would be the longest I’ve accomplished since Ironman Lake Placid back in July. When I reached around 30 miles, I found myself looking for excuses to cut the ride short.
On the side of cutting it short was the fact that the air temperature was the coldest I’ve ridden in quite some time. It was very windy and my pace was very slow. Add to that the fact I have ridden over 40 miles exactly 1 time in the past 4 months and getting in 40 miles was looking to be quite the accomplishment. For added influence, I tossed in the thoughts of my children waiting for me back home.
Conversely, there was no good reason for me to pack it in early. I was dressed properly so I wasn’t cold at all. My feet were in excellent shape and my hands were only slightly chilled. I decided to let my annoyance at being dropped on hills a couple of times by pace lines to be incentive for me to keep on going. How am I ever going to regain my Ironman like fitness if I can’t even complete a 50 mile ride?
I was hoping to see Todd in the park to have some company while riding. A short time after I returned home from the ride, I received a message from him giving all sorts of lame excuses for not showing up in the park. Yada, yada, yada… I am used to him coming up with reasons for not doing a workout or event that is tougher than normal.
In the end I decided that I didn’t have any good reasons for not finishing 50 miles. It was too cold to take my children outdoors, my son was resting with a cold and it was still early in the day. I wasn’t tired, injured, thirsty or hungry. I just needed to finish it and not let any excuses get in my way.
That is pretty much it. I rode in a pace line for a while, by myself for a while and chatted with the occasional rider. It was a perfect winter ride.
Stats:
Data Value Unit
Duration 3:04:55
Sampling Rate 5 s
Energy Expenditure 1765 kcal
Number of Heart Beats 24975 beats
Recovery -25 beats
Minimum Heart Rate 88 bpm
Average Heart Rate 135 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 163 bpm
Standard Deviation 12.6 bpm
Minimum Speed 3.2 mph
Average Speed 16.8 mph
Maximum Speed 29.9 mph
Distance 51.3 miles
Odometer 166 miles
Minimum Cadence 31 rpm
Average Cadence 93 rpm
Maximum Cadence 150 rpm
Minimum Altitude -55 ft
Average Altitude 7 ft
Maximum Altitude 80 ft
Ascent 1539 ft
Descent 1660 ft
Minimum Power 3 Watts
Average Power 195 Watts
Average Power (0 W incl.) 185 Watts
Maximum Power 442 Watts
Pedaling Index Average 22 %
Pedaling Index Maximum 41 %
Left Right Balance Average L52 - 48R Left - Right
Left Right Balance Maximum L76 - 24R Left - Right
The weather was very windy, partially cloudy skies, an air temperature of 32 degrees and a wind chill of about 16 degrees. I was scheduled 50 miles of cycling and I decided to do it outdoors. Completing a 50 mile ride would be the longest I’ve accomplished since Ironman Lake Placid back in July. When I reached around 30 miles, I found myself looking for excuses to cut the ride short.
On the side of cutting it short was the fact that the air temperature was the coldest I’ve ridden in quite some time. It was very windy and my pace was very slow. Add to that the fact I have ridden over 40 miles exactly 1 time in the past 4 months and getting in 40 miles was looking to be quite the accomplishment. For added influence, I tossed in the thoughts of my children waiting for me back home.
Conversely, there was no good reason for me to pack it in early. I was dressed properly so I wasn’t cold at all. My feet were in excellent shape and my hands were only slightly chilled. I decided to let my annoyance at being dropped on hills a couple of times by pace lines to be incentive for me to keep on going. How am I ever going to regain my Ironman like fitness if I can’t even complete a 50 mile ride?
I was hoping to see Todd in the park to have some company while riding. A short time after I returned home from the ride, I received a message from him giving all sorts of lame excuses for not showing up in the park. Yada, yada, yada… I am used to him coming up with reasons for not doing a workout or event that is tougher than normal.
In the end I decided that I didn’t have any good reasons for not finishing 50 miles. It was too cold to take my children outdoors, my son was resting with a cold and it was still early in the day. I wasn’t tired, injured, thirsty or hungry. I just needed to finish it and not let any excuses get in my way.
That is pretty much it. I rode in a pace line for a while, by myself for a while and chatted with the occasional rider. It was a perfect winter ride.
Stats:
Data Value Unit
Duration 3:04:55
Sampling Rate 5 s
Energy Expenditure 1765 kcal
Number of Heart Beats 24975 beats
Recovery -25 beats
Minimum Heart Rate 88 bpm
Average Heart Rate 135 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate 163 bpm
Standard Deviation 12.6 bpm
Minimum Speed 3.2 mph
Average Speed 16.8 mph
Maximum Speed 29.9 mph
Distance 51.3 miles
Odometer 166 miles
Minimum Cadence 31 rpm
Average Cadence 93 rpm
Maximum Cadence 150 rpm
Minimum Altitude -55 ft
Average Altitude 7 ft
Maximum Altitude 80 ft
Ascent 1539 ft
Descent 1660 ft
Minimum Power 3 Watts
Average Power 195 Watts
Average Power (0 W incl.) 185 Watts
Maximum Power 442 Watts
Pedaling Index Average 22 %
Pedaling Index Maximum 41 %
Left Right Balance Average L52 - 48R Left - Right
Left Right Balance Maximum L76 - 24R Left - Right
posted by Rebel at 7:31 PM
2 Comments:
I see we struggled with the same issues today. And tomorrow, Sunday, it's supposed to be snowing. If it isn't coming down too bad, I may still try to make up my mileage or get a ten-mile bike ride in.
If you want to come riding in the snow and help a rank amateur figure out how to properly ride a bike, or maybe do a loop of the park, give me a call. 917.750.8370
Cris
Yeah yeah yeah. I did a 30-miler on Friday with the lads from JackRabbit (in the wind and cold) and then headed over to the pool for a quick 4000 yard swim.
Dinner plans Friday (late) put a damper on my Saturday morning ride with you, so instead of worrying about it, I spent a lovely day with the wife.
Ho hum. We'll have plenty more cold training rides together in the coming months.
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