Quality time.

I've been busier than ever but still getting in some good cycling workouts. Two out of the last four workouts have been on the trainer. I was talking to a buddy of mine about the love hate relationship that goes along with using the bikestand from hell. Anytime you got some time, you can make the best of it. That's important to me being able to stay close to home lately.

Yesterday I did a 2.5 hour road ride that was very necessary. Call it a mental health ride after having relatives in town for 3 days. I was feeling dead tired from hosting these guys and the heat didn't help either. I popped an energ ease that my buddy James uses and headed out the door to Del Mar. I was feeling really good once I warmed up and spent the first 30 minutes holding 200-225. Practicing a lot of discipline. The next 30 minutes I rode how I felt and was hitting the 300-320 numbers with a lot more ease than expected, just not hanging out there. I hit TP grade after the turnaround and held it at 265 just a little above LT. I normally push Z5 there but it was nice to give a steady effort over the top not requiring any recovery. Last 30 was held to Z2 and I felt pretty fresh at 2:30. I tried a lot of things along with pedal stroke. One thing that worked well was paying attention to posture on the bike. Pulling up and forward through the spine trying not hunching and I immediately saw the power surge without any increased effort. Like 20 watts. Another was making sure the glutes were firing. It's amazing the way it takes the strain off the top of the quads to generate some power with the backside.

Here's the Peak Average power from that ride. I like to see it flattish to gently sloping like that.

My IT band and shoulder are well on the mend and should be there by the end of the week. I've been doing a lot of strengthening for the core, shoulders, and back. Pretty much something everyday especially pushups, 100's and planking. Already feeling more stability.

This week should be fun with a tough ass ride scheduled for the 4th. I'm going to hit a new route (for me) up to Palomar mountain with JW and it should be a good test for both of us. I'm going to go over the profile but I think it's like 4,500 feet over 12 miles. Right in the middle of what should be a solid 60 miler+. James trains with power on his road bike so we can easily talk about pacing and compare numbers from the climb. just for kicks. Looking forward to it.