With the weather being so cold, I haven’t been able to get out and do any neuromuscular work lately. But since it was supposed to be clear all day, I thought maybe it would get warm enough to go outside for some sprints. I went to yoga in the morning then did some errands. When I came home I worked in the office for while, keeping my eye on our remote outside thermometer. Unfortunately, by 3 o’clock it was still only 34°F! I looked at the forecast and it didn’t look like it would be any warmer the next few days, so I decided to just go out there and do it! I figured if I warmed up and cooled down inside on the trainer, I wouldn’t need to be out there too long.
So I put on one layer of clothes, then got on my trainer. I warmed up for about fifteen minutes then took the bike off the trainer and put on a second layer. I wanted to keep my knees warm so I finally used my team knee-warmers…under my leg-warmers! I’m not a big fan of knee-warmers since they have such a narrow temperature range. If it’s cold enough for knee-warmers, it’s cold enough for leg-warmers…at least for me. I also wore my balaclava and goggles. Yes, I know they make me look like a dork, but they keep my eyes from watering and I don’t get an ice cream headache when going downhill! Then I put on the warmest gloves I had and headed out.
It’s been over a week since I’ve ridden outside and the feeling of being out on the road felt good. The roads are already a bit sandy from the snow we got this week, but at least they were dry. I just headed up Eagle Rd and did some sprints. I did three from a standing start, two on a hill, and a few more at speed. They felt good and I was surprised that the best one was within 70 watts (both max and 5-second) of my record-breaking sprint workout three weeks ago. Not bad considering how cold it was out there!
On my way back my fingers finally did get cold, but the rest of my body wasn’t too bad. But even after I got home my fingers hurt for another 10 minutes. I think I have a slight case of Raynaud’s disease. My gloved hands get cold even when it’s 50°F out! I spun for another 10 minutes on the trainer for a whopping total of 50 minutes. But since it was an easy day, I didn’t mind that it was so short and only a 44 TSS ride.