Friday, August 11, 2006

Rackin' up the miles

Since getting the TCR, I've logged 124 miles on it. By Sunday I should be sitting around the 200 mark. I did an intense 1hr ride on Wed, and I paid for it yesterday. The legs were smoked. They started to liven up towards the end, but that was too little, too late. I've got another 2hr jaunt lined up for this afternoon. Hopefully the legs will be more interested in participating this time.

Throughout my HR based training, I've seen the limitations of using HR to train by. Don't get me wrong, the training I've done has really paid off this year. But there are better methods out there. After this season is wrapped up, I'm gonna get me one of these (when finances allow it). When you train with power, you're dealing with absolutes. Outside factors can affect your HR, and as a result, you don't know whether to believe the HR numbers or not. When using a power meter, you have an exact picture of what's going on with your training. It's THE way to measure your performance and progress. If you can turn out an average of X number of watts today, and next month your average is higher, then you're getting stronger/faster...no matter what your HR monitor is telling you.

The only downside is the cost. $1000 plus is tough to swallow, especially when you consider that I only paid $1800 for my road bike.

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