Impromptu Intervals

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The elderly bicyclist with whom I had a brief but inspiring conversation today looked kinda like the guy in this photo, only very different.

Today’s session was 17,234 meters.  There was not an iota of back pain but I didn’t feel inspired to return to Pete Plan yet.  However, I did feel inspired to work a little harder than during the recent few days which have consisted entirely of easy distance rowing.

The inspiration came from a chance conversation I had with a senior citizen bicyclist while I was in a nearby grocery store parking lot.  He looked trim and fit, so I asked him how many hours per week he spent bike riding.  He said “about 10 to 12 hours,” and when I thought about that and compared it to my recent average of maybe 7 or 8 hours per week of low-effort rowing, I thought I’d keep today’s time about the same, but increase the effort a little.

So the session was divided into 14 splits and I did every other split at a higher effort level and alternated that way between hard and easy for 14 splits, with only one necessary break during the session.

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Happy trails to you.