New record

Today I hit a new personnel record. I am not sure it is a record that I wanted, but there you go. 4 hours 25 minutes on the Kickr. Never have I spent anything like that long on the trainer before. If I have my way, never will I spend that much time on it again.

I had jumped on the trainer with the intention on only being on there until the rain had passed and the roads had dried a bit. A couple of hours was my estimate, I was then planning on doing the rest on the road. However, unfortunately the weather this morning turned out to be more or less in line with the forecast. Rain with periods of more rain. And wind. And cold. it didn't really let up until well after I was off the bike. I have seem numerous posts from people on Facebook describing what it was like out there, and I have absolutely no regrets about not being out there with them. Training in these conditions might be a sign that you are a hard man, but I would have a major issue with anyone calling over 4 hours on a trainer the soft option.

I had a 150km to do on the bike today. I have done similar rides in conditions like this before. Those days when you never seem to be dry or warm. They stick in my memory of some of the most miserable sessions I have ever done. They are also the sessions that I have come closest to cutting short, just to get out of the unpleasantness. Were those sessions more miserable than 4 and a bit hours on the trainer? Hmmm, that would be a close one. At least this morning I was warm and dry.

The session went okay...ish. The session had four long efforts. By the 2 hour mark I had done a couple of the efforts and was feeling okay. I had a quick break to get more fuel and water and then did the third effort, which hurt but I got through. The fourth effort was just agony and actually required a brief stop at the half way mark to reassess my life's priorities and my own sanity. I got through the fourth effort, but it took it all. After the last effort, I was really on empty but knew that I should probably be on the bike for at least another hour. All I could do was turn down the power level on the Kickr and spin through the last 60 minutes. I am not sure how much benefit I got from that last hour, but sometimes I think it is important to spend the time, even if it is just an exercise in mental strength.

All up it was a tough session. I felt okay at the end, but when I got off the bike I realised just how much the session had taken, feeling a little wonky for a while. I don't know what the correlation between wind trainer and road is. Measuring power allows a comparison and based on that the power levels I was holding on the Kickr are about equivalent to what I would hold on the road. However, I suspect that the lack of respite that you get on the trainer, no coasting, no lights, no downhills mean that the trainer really puts the hurt on. I don't really know, but that is my theory. Certainly felt the case this morning.

Other than many hours on the Kickr, I haven't had any other training today. I did briefly consider heading down to the Saturday Swim Smooth session, but after the Kickr session I just couldn't muster the spirit. It wasn't on the program anyway and really would have been a bit of an extra session, so I was happy to let it slide.

Back on the trainer tomorrow morning, but this time for considerably less time. I will also be running, giving my calf a bit of a test. Hopefully it all goes smooth.