Riding Nowhere

Ok, the house has seemed to settle from the weekend illness, and I myself seem to be back on track as well.  Unfortunately, I missed the Tuesday night ride - figuring a little more rest was probably the smarter option and all...  I guess it paid off.

Yesterday it was time to hop on the trainer.  Not really something to look forward to.  As I was getting set up and whatnot I could tell my legs weren't going to be happy with me.  Seems that the lack of activity over the past couple days had some negative effect - mainly my legs felt heavy, dead, and I guess tight.

Climbed aboard the trainer I did and I jammed out the workout.  Definitely felt it in my legs.  Felt the burn.  Pushed the burn.  Felt like dying.  Spit and snotted all over the place, but rode the hell (or as much of hell I could manage) out of the workout.

Question - am I seeing any benefits?  Well, it's only been a month of the regiment.  So I'm not sure if it's fair to really start looking for big results.  But, as I mentioned last week - I beat a PR on a local trail when I was just out riding... so for not pushing myself to beat my time (and stopping to move a downed tree) I was quicker.  Is that due to fitness, smarter riding, the moons aligning just right??  Who knows.

I do know that when I was in Boston and rode my trainer per schedule utilizing training videos (which had a similar effort schedule) I felt a lot faster and stronger on the bike once the trails were free from snow, the sun stuck around for a reasonable amount of time, and the temperatures weren't killer.  So, is the trainer helping the winter series, probably not.  But pair the trainer and the winter series and you've got some good work going into my legs and lungs.