Indoor Intervals Before the Weather Warms Up

I'm sure I'm not too different from other cyclists in that I have a love-hate relationship with my indoor trainer at this point of the off season. I have a nice CycleOps trainer that wasn't cheap so it's a great training tool, but I lack any enthusiasm to get on the thing now.

This week I have been hammering away on my trainer doing intervals to try to boost my VO2Max capacity and breath control in general. Necessary?Yes. A good training exercise? Yes according to all the cycling mags that had various iterations of this type of training in their November though February issues. Mind numbing? Totally. I have ridden with my iPod and set the trainer up in front of the family room TV, but in the end I'm ridding my bike inside and it's gotten stale. Give me 90 degrees with 80 percent humidity over winter any time. I'm ready now!

Last weekend when I had tons of time the weather was aweful. I got mad enough to ride any way, but about froze my hands off. This weekend is going to be spectacular weather and I don't have half the time I did the weekend before. The week started in the 20's with 1-2 inches of snow, which shut the city down. This is a total joke to people that relocate here from places that get real snows. The week will end in the 70's. In like a lion and headed to being a lamb is what March may be about this year. Weather in the Carolinas can be wickedly cruel this time of year, so that's the way it goes.

The good news this week is that I've scheduled my time to go to the Human Performance Lab here in Raleigh to get my pre-season/post race one baseline. I'm looking forward to meeting the team there and getting a better sense of where I am now and what they think is possible. The staff at the HPL are all athletes themselves so they can relate not just test.

The best thing to look forward to this weekend other than the weather, is daylight savings returns! A full hour more of training time no matter what. Another thing to look forward to is the Spring Classics kick off with the race to the sun-Paris-Nice. It should be a good test to see how the big teams and best riders are going to fair this season. It's also been a barometer of who could be on track to win the Tour in July. It should be fun to watch!