Originally Posted by
WonderMonkey
I think my strategy will be similar. For my weekday exercise rides my "go as hard as I can" will probably "how many all-out intervals can I do in the time I have to do them". I know if I just warmup and go as hard as I can the ride will be short (by comparison) but if I do bursts of "all out" followed by a recovery and then more "all out" I may be able to do more.
Perhaps I should clarify: I'm not riding a full-on sprint for the
entire 15-mile lunch ride. I push as hard as I can knowing that I have to be able to make it back to the office (and be able to stand once I get there). I have a Garmin Edge 800 and a power meter, so I can monitor my HR and power output to make sure I'm not slacking, or pushing too far into the "red zone". Much like my longer weekend rides, I'm always looking to up my average speed by a tenth or two, chop a minute off my ride time, or bump my average power by a watt or two.
Unfortunately, the roads and bike paths I ride during lunch really aren't conducive to all-out intervals. Too many cars, pedestrians, stop signs and stop lights that don't allow the regular efforts needed to make intervals successful. Which is lucky for me because I absolutely
hate intervals
