As I entered off season this year after my final race of 2015 in October, I made the decision to approach it with a different mindset. Instead of backing down on my training, I opted to press on and see what improvements I could make to my body, my performance, my weaknesses and my strengths with the hope of heading into the 2016 season ready to reach new levels.
I spent a decent amount of time on my bike this winter. I am fortunate to have access to Wahoo Kickrs and Perf Pro Studio Software and road consistently three days a week. One ride was focused on cadence, the second ride on HIIT Intervals and the final being a course ride focused on gearing. Coupled with the bike training were several sessions of strength training that included functional, foundation and heavy lifting. I tested my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) several times throughout the winter and saw improvement not only in my numbers but in my perceived exertion as well. Monitoring my numbers helped me to continue to press my training to higher levels, providing me with additional challenge and allowing me to reap the rewards.
At the beginning of March, the warm weather returned enough to head back to the roads. I was excited to find out how strong I felt taking on hills and varying terrain. An outside ride that was challenging at this time last year now seemed extremely doable and sparked my excitement for the season to come.
Maintaining discipline through the off season and continuing to push during this time is definitely hard, but as I enter my peak training for 2016, I feel confident and ready to push myself to the next level. Each workout was a positive deposit in my personal bank and now I have the opportunity to reap the rewards of my hard work while I continue into my race focused training.
A new favorite biking adventure that I tried this winter - I look forward to getting out again!!