Uhl in Eagle, ID – That ride on Saturday really kicked my butt! I rested on Sunday and Monday with a couple easy recovery rides, then finally felt good enough yesterday to do a sprint workout. Today it was time for VO2max intervals. I'm focusing on VO2 training for the next few weeks so today I went out for a set of 5x5's. Yesterday the winds kicked up and today it was still blowing like crazy! The winds have been blowing at 20mph with gusts over 40mph! But I figured, I'll be racing in conditions like this, so I might as well train in it!
I did two of the intervals into a headwind. They weren't so bad, but I did them on a slight uphill so it was pathetic to have to resort to my easiest gear (39x23), while doing an interval!!! I also did a couple with a cross-wind, which was a bit disconcerting as I was being blown around by the wind gusts. I even had to dodge a couple tumbleweeds! Finally, I did the last one with a tailwind and it was actually fun (well, as fun as a VO2 interval can be). Nothing like doing intervals at 14mph, then finally doing one at 26mph! My average power was good for all five intervals but I could definitely feel fatigue coming on during the last one. I spun home then added some roller time as a cool-down. This was one of my better VO2 workouts as far as hitting my wattage targets. Hopefully I can block-train some more VO2's, tomorrow.
