Well it’s that time of year again.

The time where a rider sets out the door with two bottles of drink mix, three back jersey pockets stuffed full of ride food and a long day in the saddle ahead of them.

Several hours later the rider returns with no water, sore legs, a sore butt and now their pockets are filled with articles of clothing they’ve taken off during the long ride.

For those that have a 3 hour trainer ride planned for later this morning, keep in mind: I hail from the sunny streets of Phoenix, Arizona… I spent my entire summer walking out the door to train at 5:00 a.m. each morning, so winter is Phoenix’s time of year that makes it worth living here. I don’t plan on seeing much rain for the next few months either…

Currently I find myself working through the second week of a three week build. Right now my training’s looking something like this:

MON.- 1 hour in the a.m. light tempo, no breakfast (The Belgians got me doing this, great for weight managament). 3 hours in the p.m. with a big gear workout.
TUE.- 5 hours, very easy endurance pace.
WED.- Same as Monday, 4 hours.
THUR.- REST DAY
FRI.- 3 hours, basically all I can fit in after school.
SAT.- 5 hours, local Group Ride.
SUN.- REST DAY

I’ll take a down week after Thanksgiving and then ramp it back up for another 3 week build in December. The three weeks will probably look something like this: 25 hours, 30 hours, 32 hours with plenty of big gear work and some light tempo workouts. I’ll plan out the exact details when I get a little closer.

A few years back in Tucson, I did a 38 hour week in December… and I managed not to hurt myself, so that was an added bonus.

I talked to my teammate Neil Shirley a few weeks ago and he was telling me about his first 3 hour training ride and how he completely came unglued at the end of it and went hunger flat. I chuckled and told him it was probably because he was a big wuss… A few days later, I went out for my first 3 hour ride and basically did the same thing… Jeez. My butt was pretty much over sitting on a tiny bike saddle and my legs were basically zapped. I put it in a big gear and stood up most of the way home. As I creeped back into the neighborhood, I found myself thinking of how just about a month ago I was super fit and finishing up the racing season. How could this happen in only a month? I mean… I’m getting older and all… and I didn’t really do as many 12 ounce curls as I had done in past years… Needless to say, when I next talked to Neil I told him that I finished up my first 3 hour ride feeling super strong and that he’d probably be working for me this season.

So if anybody knows Neil… please, let’s just forget to mention this to him. I dunno, maybe I’ll send some coffee your way.

Thanks.

-Austin

Categories: Daily Jibber Jabber.
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