Uncoupled.
The day after a rest day, I really have no idea how my legs will respond. Sometimes it goes well and I have reserves of power I rarely see. Sometimes it doesn't and it takes a couple days for them to come around. I've tried to nail it down to rest or diet or some other element, but for the most part I just have to wait and see.
This time around, my return felt flat. I actually put out some respectable numbers, but my legs felt as if they were made out of lead. I started dreading each interval, and had to mentally psyche myself up for each one. The legs would begrudgingly respond, and I was glad when it was over, bathed in the endorphin afterglow and free of the physical strain.
The next day, I exploded out of the blocks and kept chugging away. The legs weren't feeling a thing, and responded beautifully. Weird. I wish I could replicate that on a regular basis.
Then I decided to go for a sprint. actually, I was only half-heartedly hitting it just to take the jersey, because the leader at the time for that particular sprint really wasn't all that fast. Whatever it takes to pass the time on the trainer. I jumped out of the saddle, took a couple stomps, and suddenly my bike started swaying uncontrollably. That was pleasant. I teetered a bit, bounced of the wall, then steadied myself on the heater I keep in there for cold days. Months of sprinting had backed three of the feet out of the trainer. Strangely enough, they had done so evenly, so I had no notice before the blessed event. No creaks or rocking in the base, just a sudden change in stability.
Note to self- LockTite those fuckers.
I fixed the feet quickly, jumped back on, and amazingly kept right on cranking for the rest of the workout. Workouts like that don't happen all that often. Usually I'll have good points and bad points. Maybe I can sprint but I can't sustain any power. Maybe it's the other way around. Sometimes my legs fall off after a sustained effort and I limp my way home. This time I just had a the ability to do whatever I wanted for as long as I wanted. If I wasn't so time-constrained, I would have kept going.
I know I'm going to pay for this.
Hopefully it won't be too bad, and I'll level off and cruise (or limp) towards the next rest day, where the cycle of uncertainty will start all over again.
This time around, my return felt flat. I actually put out some respectable numbers, but my legs felt as if they were made out of lead. I started dreading each interval, and had to mentally psyche myself up for each one. The legs would begrudgingly respond, and I was glad when it was over, bathed in the endorphin afterglow and free of the physical strain.
The next day, I exploded out of the blocks and kept chugging away. The legs weren't feeling a thing, and responded beautifully. Weird. I wish I could replicate that on a regular basis.
Then I decided to go for a sprint. actually, I was only half-heartedly hitting it just to take the jersey, because the leader at the time for that particular sprint really wasn't all that fast. Whatever it takes to pass the time on the trainer. I jumped out of the saddle, took a couple stomps, and suddenly my bike started swaying uncontrollably. That was pleasant. I teetered a bit, bounced of the wall, then steadied myself on the heater I keep in there for cold days. Months of sprinting had backed three of the feet out of the trainer. Strangely enough, they had done so evenly, so I had no notice before the blessed event. No creaks or rocking in the base, just a sudden change in stability.
Note to self- LockTite those fuckers.
I fixed the feet quickly, jumped back on, and amazingly kept right on cranking for the rest of the workout. Workouts like that don't happen all that often. Usually I'll have good points and bad points. Maybe I can sprint but I can't sustain any power. Maybe it's the other way around. Sometimes my legs fall off after a sustained effort and I limp my way home. This time I just had a the ability to do whatever I wanted for as long as I wanted. If I wasn't so time-constrained, I would have kept going.
I know I'm going to pay for this.
Hopefully it won't be too bad, and I'll level off and cruise (or limp) towards the next rest day, where the cycle of uncertainty will start all over again.
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