All-out on the bike

Yesterday afternoon I hopped on the trainer to do a 30 minute time trial to see what kind of shape I'm in now. While I can't figure out my speed, my heart rate is a good indicator of how much I've improved since my last TT in late fall of 2009, when I set my Lactate Threshold (race pace) at 174 BPM, about 10-12 bpm below my running LT.

After a 5 minute warmup, I started the TT. The first 5 minutes were tough, trying to get my legs in a rhythm and get my body used to the fact that it had 25 more minutes of pain and full-force effort. Once I got the cadence rhythm down, I just had to focus on keeping the effort going. 10 minutes in, I hit LAP on my HR monitor to begin the HR measurement. I noticed that my HR was hovering in the high 170s and low 180s... and it was an effort, that while difficult, I could keep up for at least 20 more minutes. It was tough indoors, but I got it done and nearly fainted getting off the bike, I must have really gone all out. Drowned myself in recoverite and felt better instantly.

My LT HR average ended up being 180 bpm! That's 6 bpm better than a few months ago, showing that my bike fitness has taken a huge leap. I'm almost as fit on the bike as I am in running. I can't wait to get outside and see what that means in terms of speed...