Heart Attack Workouts

I have my DVR box set to record all Cycling events on Versus TV. That gives me something good to watch in my downtime. Even though triathlon races are very different from bike races, I still learn alot from watching those guys ride.

I heard about how Andy Schleck won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race, so I watched that last night. Andy was my favorite during the 2008 Tour de France, because he always had a smile on his face. Now I realize that smile was really the grimace of pain.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXTiwuttaDU]
Watch Andy grimace in pain on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXTiwuttaDU

The guy with the red jersey who gave a thumbs up to the camera is Frank Schleck, Andy’s brother. Frank helped slow the chase pack down so they couldn’t catch up to Andy. Not sure exactly how he did that, but, I think it’s way cool!

If you watch the guys sprinting to the finish for 2nd and 3rd place, man they are working HARD! I work hard on my bike, but I never work THAT hard! As a triathlete, I should not ever work that hard during a race, because I need to save something in my legs for the run. But in training, I should most definitely be working that hard. Not every training ride, of course, but if my plan says Zone 5, I should be grimacing in pain!

I do work very hard on the trainer! Here is a picture that my husband took of me doing a trainer ride on the deck. He calls my trainer rides “heart attack workouts” because I am really huffing and puffing and working hard! I was doing 8×3 minute VO2 max sets combined with Spinervals Uphill Grind. Next time I do a “Heart Attack Workout”, I’m going to think of Andy Schleck, and try to dig even deeper than ever before. If nothing else, thinking of Andy will at least give me heart palpitations 😉