A Non-PR on the Bike (Featuring Goats)

After mentioning in Monday’s post that I’m just “base building” right now (which I take as meaning just easy to moderate mileage and effort), I went out that afternoon to do a hard tempo ride. I did that 15.3 mile loop through St. Paul that I like to do. I nearly posted back in August that I was maybe done with hard tempo rides for the year, but I wasn’t totally sure. NOW I’m totally sure. That was brutal.

I had to quick stop to get a photo of St. Paul's invasive species-eating goats
in Crosby Farm just past Hwy 5. Yes really. (Click the link.)
The one in the middle appears to be smelling my swass.

Being I haven’t been doing rides with much effort lately, it was extra rough. It felt like an early season ride that I would describe as “sporadic” - I was never in a rhythm, and I couldn’t “settle in” to a gear and just push; I was always jumping around pedaling HARD and then coasting a bit. My PR on that loop is 21.9 mph from this past June, and this past week I did it 2 mins and 31 seconds slower at 20.6 mph.

My tempo loop through St. Paul. This was from this post in April where I hit 21.0 mph
for the first time. Since, I've been over 21 mph 4 times. But not this past week.

That was honestly right where I thought it would be. I had no delusions of being much faster than that.

Where I was a little BETTER than I had hoped was in a swim the next day. I did 3x500 because I noted in Monday's post how my swim endurance really took a hit after 6 weeks off with a sore ankle. I figured I'd probably turn in about 7:45s for the 500s. My first clocked in at 7:37, and I expected them to get slower (when usually I can negative split them). But #2 was UNDER 1:30 pace at 7:28, and I basically kept that pace for the final one at 7:29. Sure, in early August I did this workout averaging 7:18 (which is my PR for that swim), but having them just a few seconds/100 slower right now still felt good.

Well, that's another good training week in the bank. Time for another day with family, and then back to reality. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!