Little white crutch...

I was thinking about the last couple of race weekends and my apparent inability to push myself during the race. Over/Under intervals, Lactate Threshold intervals, Power intervals all lasting an hour or more are no problem during training - so what's the deal. Then it hit me...

...the little white crutch

I am so used to training with one ear plugged in. The music distracts me from the pain, the intensity, the time, and helps motivate me. I realized at the JP Cup in Madison that every time I came around the course to where the "Boom Box Crew" was camped out playing old school heavy metal I would pick up the pace and put in a hard effort. Then once I was out of earshot and the surge had wained I would settle the pace back down and repeat again when I hit the BBC spot again.

So today I went cold turkey - no more iPod on training rides! 1 1/2 hours of Over/Unders unaided by the little white crutch, it was actually a good session after I got over the initial "Oh Crap 1 1/2 hours of distraction free pain" I realized that I can push myself for that long with only my thoughts and internal motivation. I actually found I was pushing harder on the last interval than I normally do - perhaps it was my imagination but it sure felt like I was pushing harder.

So the quest for what hold me back continues...

...enjoy the ride.