Recovery almost done but at a cost

Seems like my HR response is almost or is back to normal now as my max on the last hill home was 175bpm without too much bother. Compared to Crystal Palace the pick up to 175bpm was a lot, lot faster and the recovery after seemed better.

The overall impact was quite large in terms of time off (3 weeks) and a major dent in my race calendar as the one race I was really looking forward to is this weekend. After the current training outage and the style of course involved I have decided not to enter, which is a great disappointment.

What was gained ? A big lesson on how over training can creep up on you when you ignore what your body is telling you, namely when to recover more. The other really good lesson, which has made it a worth while experience (not really) is the difference a reasonable recovery break can make.

My previous best for 60 a second output was 622W and at the weekend a brief test I managed 649W although I stopped at 55 seconds (not consciously going for a 60 second test, more a heart rate response) and the 55 second average was 689W with my heart rate topping out at 175bpm. Interesting and frustrating as my previous 55 second figure was 624W, which indicated an over 10% improvement on the back of the rest, but frustrating from the point that I had to let it slide to get my heart rate back on further rest.

The other side of the lesson is the difference that recovery rides make, both from a physical and psychological level. They make you feel much better and if kept at a low enough intensity help recovery by boosting circulation for a period of time. I'm at the point of thinking that time off the bike with total rest is at times more detrimental than a period with recovery rides only.