Hey all, this morning I limped through most of Abbot. Well, MOST of Abbot. It’s 2min WAY over threshold intervals. I could only get through 1 minute. I just can’t go that hard for that long at 5am. I’m ready for warmer weather and the time change so I can do some outdoor, evening workouts or training races. We have a tues/thurs training race here in Denver that starts after the time change.
It’s possible I’m just getting tired as I approach the end of this training block (LV Build II). Can’t wait to rest and start the crit specialty phase.
Here’s the thing with early morning workouts - they’re never easy but you learn to tolerate them. I’m up at 0415 and on the bike at 0515 for the blue blocks of pain. Some mornings the motivation is low but I get on the bike anyway. For example, I did a ramp assessment this morning even though I wasn’t real enthusiastic to start but after a few minutes, all was right with the world.
Would I rather sleep in like a ‘normal’ person? Most assuredly. Would I change my routine? I would not. Keep at it and read the thread Bryce shared; it’s got some good info.
Unless it is a workout like Taku or Pettit, I cannot get up and get straight on the bike. If it is something like Abbot, I will need at least an hour before I’m good to go. Even then, I probably will not feel ‘okay’ until after the first interval. Wake up. Coffee! Some muesli. Catch up on some news. TR !!!
I did 5am workouts for over a year, never had an issue with the harder intervals but recently I’ve had to stop doing them as having to get up so early was starting to affect my sleep- I started to naturally wake up at about 3am then found it impossible to get back to sleep knowing I had to get up to do a workout. Over time it just meant that I wasn’t getting enough sleep and not recovering from previous workouts. Made me grouchy and tired during the day. There’s a limit to how early you can go to bed in the evening- still need to spend time with family, get jobs done around the house etc.
I’ve changed over to evening workouts as soon as the kids are in bed, can be done by 9pm ish and still get time with my wife as I don’t feel so guilty about staying up late if I don’t have to get up as early.
I hear you on the getting up earlier part but that alone is a really stressful part of my day, never mind the training part. And going to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier is a bit of a strain on my marriage since the wife wants that time with me. I’m going to try polarizing my training a bit more so I am rested enough to hit the hard ones harder.
I think it might just be that Abbot is really tough. I fell apart doing Spencer +2 a couple of weeks ago. I do all my workouts in the morning and managed the rest of the plan okay, but that one just destroyed me. I’ve just put it down to a bad day and a tough workout.
Try 3:30am rides. I have to get up at 2-3am usually for work and am usually on the Trainer at 3:30-4am most of the time. I find the SSB rides get my motor going for the rest of the work day.
A boatload of strong espresso (6 shots) and either a bowl of granola or porridge and I am roaring to go.
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