Sunday's Workout

A short ride today. Did my ILTs. I really don't look forward to these. I guess not too many people would. I did 3 x 2 min each leg with 1 minute rest between sets. 80 rpm, easy gear. I know there is controversy over whether one leg workouts really do any good, but this is what Rob has recommended, so I'm sticking with it until I get hard evidence they don't do any good. They are definitely working the hip flexors pretty good. Getting a good burn towards the end of each 2 min set. The argument is whether the same can be accomplished using both legs. I really believe that the one leg allows you to concentrate solely on the muscle being worked. This concentration is definitely an important aspect of any muscle building workout, so I can appreciate this part. It was a good workout done up in the business park in Poway. One of the problems with the ILTs is finding a good location to do them. The business park on a Sunday is a great place for them, but come M - F in the am, it's the worst place to be. I really don't feel comfortable doing these on heavy traffic roads. I have considered getting a trainer as a substitute, but do enjoy the rides after my intervals are complete, so the trainer would not be good for that. I would much prefer to go ride than be in the garage on a trainer. That would involve wiring up the garage for entertainment for the training session.

I took a ride up Scripps Poway Pkwy afterwards, keeping my heart rate down as low as possible(supposed to be <75%, which is 144). Today, that was 159 going up the 7% average climb. It's 1.8 miles long. That's one of the problems with my drive train. I have a record gruppo and a 25 for the largest cog in the back. There are quite a few hills during my rides and the heart rate has no choice but to get above the target at times. I don't think I will ever be able to climb Scripps at a heart rate of 144. 159 is the lowest I've seen yet. That was at 9.7 mph average, with an average cadence of 72. I am looking for a 27 cog for the back and will be interested to see what this does to the heart rate on an easy day. Obviously, on anything other than an easy effort, I'm not on the lowest cog, so it's not a factor.