Lately I’ve been in a bit of a rut with my riding and life in general. I’ve been trying to figure out how I got into such a deep rut. I’m still motivated enough to get up at 5 am to go riding, but my rides have been lackluster to say the least. I keep thinking that this will be the ride that changes everything but then it ends up being a 3 hour session of work. The biggest problem is I’ve hit a plateau with my fitness and stop hitting that second wind, mostly because I’ve been riding defensively with my energy so I don’t end up bonking by the end. I’ve also been having problems keeping my mind in the game (in a positive way).
This last weekend I did the 62 mile option for the Bike For Breath charity ride. There were a few hills I had never climbed but for the most part the route took me on some of the same roads I’ve ridden several hundred times. With the exception of the first major climb the entire ride wasn’t really that challenging. And the only reason the first climb was a challenge was because I kept expecting the climb to end before it did so mentally I killed myself.
At about mile 30 I started passing people who had just stopped at the 1st rest area. Then one guy passed me so I decided to see if I could stay on his wheel and draft for a bit. Then I returned the favor and we started chatting at the first stop sign, I have a unique knack for making friends out of strangers on bikes at stop lights and signs. For the rest of the ride we stayed together and chatted about cycling, work and whatever else came up. One benefits of living in Silicon Valley is that most everyone works in the software industry so there is plenty to chat about for 30 miles.
During our conversation we started talking about training and how I had fallen in a rut lately and haven’t felt like I’ve improved. Jeff (the guy I met) said something that kind of stuck with me about how we are in good enough shape to ride 62 miles without really thinking about it and that’s not something most people can do (I’m paraphrasing a bit here). When he said it I kind of laugh and thought to myself that it’s kind of ridiculous that I’m not happy with my fitness level. Especially since I rode the entire route without stopping or using any of the rest stop for food or water (I’ve learned to be self sufficient on the bike). Even after the ride I wasn’t wasted for the entire day.
Your probably thinking “WTF MAN! WHY ARE DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR IN A RUT?!?!?!” It’s because when I finish the rides I’m not getting that second wind or nor do I feel a sense of accomplishment because I really didn’t put in much of an effort. So for the last couple of days I’ve been trying to figure out how to change things up a bit. Last night I came up with a plan to make my rides more interesting. I had heard a lot about interval training from my friends who race but I’ve never really tried it. If you know me I’m not very good with structured routines so I decided to come up with a few sprint spots on some climbs where I would ride full speed between two mental landmarks. The first one was after the first corner on the steep section of Moody Rd. I rode hard until my legs couldn’t take it anymore. Then I rested for a bit and then picked my next sprint point and went at it again till I finished the climb.
At the top of the climb my legs (and lungs) were on fire, I haven’t felt that type of burn since the first time I climbed Moody Rd. IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME! After the climb I descended down Page Mill and climbed the small section of Arastadero doing the same sprint type thing by the end of this set I felt exactly the same way. Then I descended down Alpine and headed home. When I got back to the office I had that second-wind-aerobic-high-thing going on, I really felt like I had accomplished something.
I really had fun picking out some spots and challenging myself to go as hard as I could for as long as I could. I think I’m going to try the same thing on my Thursday ride up Old La Honda. It might be too early to tell but I feel like I found something to help me climb out of the rut I’ve been in (pun intended).
I'm just your average 30 something white geeky male who rides a bike and