Last week saw me only able to get two rides in due to some nasty, rainy weather almost all week. Plus, on Saturday, I woke up with some serious sinus issues that kept me from riding. I’m actually quite lucky I haven’t gotten real sick with my wife and two of my daughters under the weather. Luckily, I’ve dodged that bullet.

It’s been a busy week and I haven’t been able to post at all so I apologize. Contrary to popular belief, I’m neither a full-time blogger. The 9-5 soaked up a ton of my time this week which makes me wonder why it’s called a 9-5. More like an 8-6 but I’m not complaining. Because I’ve neglected posting this week I’ve got a few things to cover in today’s post. Strap yourself in, squirt a gel, and grab a wheel.

If you’ve been cycling for any length of time chances are that you’ve heard of Intervals. The word ‘interval’ or ‘intervals’ is usually tossed around while folks are talking about their training. For instance, you might see on DailyMile a cyclist describe their last ride as being 3×8 Intervals at RPE 7 with a 10 minute RBI. Makes perfect sense right? In this post I’m going to explain what Intervals are, the different types, and why they’re good for your riding.

As we move into week #3 of the Cycling for Optimum Weight mission, I began a new workout sent to me by Darryl of Loving the Bike. To recap the last two weeks, I’ve just been riding to get in a total of 5.5 hours in the saddle. Pace and distance weren’t as much a priority as getting the time in. This week though we move into more of a ‘training’ mode and start interval training.

Ok folks, time for a weekly wrapup. I’ve been doing good in my riding this week and only took one day (Thursday) off and that’s because I was super tired. Work has been crazy (it gets that way at the end of the month) and I had stayed up too late on Wednesday. Something had to give. I can still easily make my 5.5 hour riding goal as I’ve ridden every other day this week and plan on a 1.5 hour ride tomorrow.

Last night my youngest daughter had an audition at one of the local magnet schools that specializes in the arts. She was more than ready to get it over with as she had been practing a lot. We had to be there no later than 6 PM so we arrived early (“If you can’t be on time, be early” is my motto) and I’m glad we did. There must have been 500 kids there auditioning for spots in programs like visual arts, band, voice, creative writing, and dance. The theater was jammed with kids and parents. Little did I know that I would be pushed to my physical limits.

The school officials promptly called the kids back to the testing rooms at 6 PM. Parents weren’t allowed to leave the theater. It was filled to capacity with parents, siblings of kids auditioning, and it was hot. I told my wife I would stay and bring our daughter home so she could head home to do stuff she needed to do. That may have been an error in judgement.