Unlovely Day

Well the forecast yesterday turned out to be mostly correct. The weather today has been made up of wind and a fairly continuous series of rain fronts. Bleeerch.

In the end I did jump on the trainer this morning. The weather was probably borderline. If I had headed out on the bike I would have got wet, no doubt about that, but probably not continually. I would have got blown sideways as well, but probably not until the second half of the ride. So I certainly could have ridden on the road, it just wouldn't have been very nice, then again neither was the trainer.


Of course no sooner had I jumped on the trainer than I was second guessing my decision. Is it that wet? Perhaps I should head out? To be honest though, while there were some dry spells, when it weather was bad, it was terrible. Bad enough that I am happy with my decision of jumping on the trainer.

Having said that though, it wasn't a great session.The session was supposed to be 120km, but I just couldn't get myself through that. I got through 2 and a half hours, which would usually be enough for 80km or so on the road, but that was about my limit. I have previously wondered how long I could do on a trainer and I think that is pretty close. It was certainly my limit today.

It wasn't just a mental limit, it also smashed me physically. I am not sure why, but I suspect that 2 and and a half hours on a trainer is not the same as two and a half hours on the road. No matter how good a trainer is and how well it simulates the road, whether the session is one hour, two hours or three, the trainer always seems harder. That is certainly what I have found in the past and it is also what I found this morning.

I was okay for the first part of the session. Then I had some hill repeats, which I have simulated on the trainer before, and just like last time these one absolutely buried me. I never really recovered from them. I got through another hour or so, but my legs were fried.

Very frustrating given the good session I had yesterday. It is funny to do 150 minutes on the trainer and still feel like you coped out, but that is how I feel. Yesterday I felt great for doing the hard yards and today I feel the opposite.

Still it could be worse, I could have stayed in bed.

If we get another weekend of miserable weather, would I do the trainer again? I am not sure. I suspect not. It is certainly a very, very solid session, but for me it just isn't the same thing as a long ride on the road. Hopefully though the weather is on the improve and this isn't a decision I have to make for a little while.