Indoor Vs. Outdoor intervals.

 OK, I think we all have a love / hate relationship with the trainer. Living in snow bound country, the trainer is a necessary evil for a big chunk of the year. But once the sun comes out the trainer isn't necessary any more, it's just evil. But I have to admit, after spending over 70 hours on the trainer this season I've gotten pretty good at doing interval at a specific wattage. And I had no idea if I'd be able to hold a specific wattage stable outdoors while dodging cars and trying to keep the bike on the pavement .

On Wednesday I decided to give it a try. My prescribed workout was 4x9 minute intervals at 102% of threshold or ~230w on my TT bike. I headed out to a nearby climb called “Big Mountain” that is closed seasonally to car traffic do to snow. It was the perfect road with a continuous climb and no cars to deal with, just other bikes. I decided to warm up on the first part of the climb and then do four ten minute intervals keeping my power in the 230-240 range. It turns out maintaining a power range wasn't difficult at all, even if it did hurt a bit. I ended up with average powers of 237w, 234w, 229w, and 236w. Right where I wanted them. I did run out of hill before I finished the final interval, but I ended up with 34minutes at 103% FT and the workout called for 36 minutes at 102%. So, pretty darn close.

The moral to the story, weather permitting, I'm outside!

Train Hard and Smart,

Pat