Training Status

When I got back from Colorado last week, I was feeling pretty unfit and concerned that I was well behind where I was last year at this time. What a difference a week makes! I feel much, much better right now after a week of solid training. I still don't feel race-fit, which is fine, since it's only March, but I'm feeling pretty good.

By the numbers, I am down on training hours from last year. As of last week, I had trained 15 hours more last year than this year. This is to be expected, since in 2006 I started my Base phase in January, where this year I started in February.

The interesting thing is the composition of these hours. Last year at this time, 47% of my hours were on the bike, 50% of my hours were strength training (!), and 3% of my hours were cross-training (ie- off the bike conditioning). This year, 50% of my hours have been on the bike, 25% of my hours have been strength, and 25% of my hours have been cross-training. To me, this seems like a much better mix.

This weekend will be a big riding weekend for me, and it looks like the weather should cooperate. Next week is a Recovery week, so I'll test at some point that week and we'll see how I really did this phase.