dreadedmonkeygod . net

I am dumb. I should have learned my lesson. A year or more ago, I raised the seat on my road bike by 5mm, and loved it immediately. Slightly higher, slightly more power to the pedals, all the usual awesome.

And after a couple of rides, I noticed my hips hurting. I located the trouble in my iliotibial bands. (No surprise there.) I lowered my seat back to where it was, and that fixed the problem.

Two weeks ago, like an idiot, I raised the seat on my road bike by 5mm.

There was discomfort, then pain. I figured I'd overdone the deadlifts. Nope. Wrong. It's the saddle height.

So I've put my seat back where it was, and will be leaving it there.

I'm feeling the benefits of the "Maximum Strength" block, but I'm still trying to get my head around how a grand total of six workouts is really going to impact my performance. (I guess that's why I have full four-week Max Strength block scheduled for May.)

All in all, my only thought is that I need to dial back the barbell work slightly when I resume strength building in May. I can lift heavy twice a week, but not three times a week. (Like I did two weeks ago.) I've (re)learned that I need at least two rest days after a heavy barbell session.

It's time to pick out workouts for the next Base block. I'm targeting "Muscular Endurance" and "Force Production."

So, it looks like I'll be aiming to maintain a schedule that looks something like this:

• Monday: Moderate Hills: 3 min. @ 6% grade, Zone 4 x 3-5 reps.
• Tuesday: Barbell Work: Strength Maintenance
• Wednesday: Recovery Ride
• Thursday: Tempo: 30 min. @ HR Zone 3
• Friday: Moderate Hills: 3 min. @ 6% grade, HR Zone 4 x 3-5 reps.

The challenge here is a strange one. I need to find a moderate hill that takes three minutes or more to climb. Around here, hills can be short or long, but they're always steep.