Bummed!

[Jenn]

No, I don't take any days off and I know I need to. It's a mental thing for me if I don't work out everyday, I feel like a lard butt. I'm trying to take a day off and just take my daughter in her jogger and walk to rest, but it's just hard. When it comes to working out I have real issues with taking days off.

[Mr. Bloom]

I'm shocked to say this, but I find that Sport Beans make a huge difference to my energy levels when I'm feeling like that...

I'm shocked because the effect for me is so stark...I guess those things give quit a jolt!

[silver]

I find that my averages vary so much for so many reasons. i don't feel like I can compare rides just based on average miles per hour. I feel that I compare based on level of energy exerted.

I ride out of my neighborhood, the stops and turns bring down my average. Traffic and how many times I need to slow down to allow a car to pass through an intersection effects it, wind, hills, slowing a bit to drink more, wiping my nose, etc.....you get the idea.

If I go out specifically for a hill workout, my average will be very low.

I've also found that when I'm very concentrated on "keeping up my average" that I make riskier moves. I might think of trying to make it through an intersection before that car gets there, rather than stop, or take a turn faster than I'm comfortable. So I get kind of aggravated with myself when I get too hung up on my average. But that may just be me, with my very heightened, post crash, sense of safety and caution.

Even what I eat the day before effects my average. Do you feel like you had a good workout? Did you get out and ride? Then don't beat yourself up.

[DarcyInOregon]

Jenn, you mentioned in another thread the dismay you feel about your speed. People asked you what exactly is wrong with your speeds and you never responded. I am asking it again. Are you training to race? If not, for a fitness/fun cyclist, your speeds are excellent.

When you read posts in this forum from others who say they go up steep climbs at 25 mph and pedal down the road at 30 mph, well those cyclists might be racers or cyclists who have biked for years or they have exceptional weather and road conditions. Don't compare yourself to others because you may not be the same type of cylist.

Enjoy your rides and feel the passion. That is what it is all about. When there are so many variables from day-to-day with respect to weather and route and road conditions, focusing on numbers can get you away from having fun, getting the cardio and burning the body fat. You will know you are getting better because you will see and feel your fitness level increase, and that has nothing to do with focusing on your average speed.

Darcy

[Grog]

Take off your bike computer, or put tape over the speed/average speed.