Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,171
Likes: 6,396
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
[MENTION=574593]Strawbunyan[/MENTION], I've read that high intensity interval training (HIIT) has a wonderful effect on endurance. I find it counter-intuitive: why would going really hard for short intervals help me ride more intensely when I'm normally going at a steady pace? I don't know, but it does. So take one minute of going at an annoyingly tough effort. Don't worry about tiring yourself out. See if it helps.
On my long (13-mile one way) commute, I don't aim for a steady pace. I go hard when I want to and rest (going easily) when I want to. I don't measure my recovery time, but I believe it improves when I make an effort to build strength. Um, did I state that clearly?