Originally Posted by
groovestew
... But it’s not in my nature to take it easy, and it ticks me off that I can’t ride like I think I should be able to. Why I think I can ride like others who put 2-3 times as many miles on their bikes than I do is beyond me...
When you go for a ride, don't make a plan to ride as hard as you think you can. Make a plan to ride the way that you will be able to finish and still feel the hunger. Set a target, that will assure you from burning yourself too fast.
My first brevet attempt was last year and it was 400km as I was not able to join the shorter onces before. I knew at that time that if I use too hard gears, I will have problems with the knees, so I planned not to use the big ring in front (in my case it is 46). I managed to reach 225km before giving up due to saddle pain and a bit of knee as well. I was so tired next day, so I didn't even consider to attend 600km, no way. Few months later I did three rides over 200km including end-of season brevet as the only finisher.
Yesterday I had a first day in my training program with the recovery ride. One hour with the HR between 94-110 bpm. I have focused only on the HR monitor (didn't think about turning the computer so I didn't see the speed). It was realy hard to limit myself as I was feeling much more power, but it only happened few times when I passed 110. The average for the ride was 105.
So maybe when going for next long ride, put the target on reasonable average speed, much lower than you can, but still assuring completion within time and stick to that.