What's your average distance, pace, etc?

[Eden]

I don't think its too unusual for hr to start high and then settle in - its what I expect doing a TT, even with a good warm up there's an initial spike then things settle in. It's good you do your resting hr - it is one of the first indicators and its quantitative.

Good for you for letting go of speed. My training is all by time and effort (can't afford power.... so its hr for now). I don't pay much attention to speed or distance until its race time. I certainly do compare my TT times on the same course from year to year too see if I've improved- and I generally look at other peoples as well to take into account course conditions too - even if you are slower, if everyone else was slower too and by a greater percentage, you can still have had a good year.

IMHO average speed on a training ride is pretty useless... unless you are on a closed course doing a TT there's just too many variables to make it a useful measurement. Someone on a straight flat 10 mile road with no stop signs or stop lights can "average" the exact same speed as someone who is on a hilly, twisty 10 mile road with 5 lights and a 2 stop signs. The person who had to slow down and stop a whole bunch of times had to have gone considerably faster (and on a harder route) in between all the stops to make up that same average. Of course, I do live in a city so access to routes without a lot of stop-go on them are rare. Some people might be near roads like this more than I am and might find it a measure that they can use - but still only to compare them self to them self...

Even most clubs when they classify their rides specify that the average speeds they list are for flat roads in optimal conditions - so they aren't (or at least should not be) talking about average at the end of the ride, but average level cruising...