Priority: Fat Loss
The single best thing I've done for my training this year is to build a periodized plan that clarifies priorities, and then stick to those priorities.
And so, here I am reminding myself of my initial principles:
- clear priorities
- play the long game
I've been putting off my fat-loss & base training block. The plan is to do what I did last year: shed ~10 lbs by simply postponing breakfast until after my 11:00 AM bike ride. Basically, I did fasted cardio, and it worked great.
I've been hesitating to implement this because:
- I like breakfast.
- I've given myself the excuse that I need the fuel to make sure my rides are productive.
- I only have ~12 weeks until my first race. I don't want to sacrifice training efficacy to gain weight loss.
This is bullshit. I'm doing some difficult intervals, sure. But they're not intense intervals. They're right around my lactate threshold. So I don't need the available glucose.
This week is a back-off week, so I'll let it go. But when I start back up next week, it's time to get real about dropping the fat.
I have to remember that it may be 11 weeks until the first 6-race OtH series starts, but it's ~22 weeks until the second series starts. Fat loss should go early in my training (in other words: now). And if I put it off until later, I'll just sabotage both series for myself. Far, far better to Play the Long Game and focus on the genuine top priority in the here-and-now: drop 10 lbs of dead weight.