Thursday Thoughts ~~ One Week until Christmas!

Procrastinators of the world rejoice! You have another five days to put it off!

I’m dreaming of a wet Christmas. I have to say, even with the exceedingly wet year we are having, I much prefer it to snow. Thankfully, we have about a 2% chance of having snow on the ground on Christmas day. From my viewpoint, the whole white Christmas thing is grossly over-rated.

I was born in an area where snow is common all Winter long. I’ve had more than my share of it. I’ve lived and worked in the north-eastern part of this wonderful country. Trust me on this one. Here is better.

Somehow the romance of the white stuff wears off when you have to shovel yourself out to get to work. And often, you just complete the task when the plows come along and throw a huge ice dam across your driveway. I don’t miss that

Ice in the driveline. Not just ice, but slushy mush, mixed with caustic and corrosive chemicals, re-freezing in the chain and cogs, making shifting difficult, and damaging components. The task of cleaning that toxic, frigid, spooge out of the driveline, and off of the bike. Freewheels that are literally frozen and locked. Deciding that, “I’d really rather not ride this morning in this miserable crud,” only to discover that the car simply will not start. Here is better.

I don’t miss a climate where winter riding is an insanely risky challenge, and rollers or trainers are about the only way to keep in shape.

Winter Training ~~ Temptations

There is a tendency to do too much intensity to “make up for” less volume. There is volume, and there is intensity. These things are not equal, and cannot be exchanged, one for the other. It’s hard to do volume in this season. Volume is a “time variable.” That means that you do more volume by spending more time on the bike. It’s not possible to spend more time on the bike, by spending less time on the bike working harder. It just doesn’t work. All that does is make you tired, and more prone to injury. There is also evidence that repeated, high intensity workouts, with insufficient rest and recovery intervals, can weaken the body’s immune systems. This is a time to do some very specific, targeted intensity work. But don’t over do it.

Just a few thoughts to keep in mind.