sitting in the hole

it appears I'm in the midst of a "sitting" theme this week.
first my uncomfortable saddle-sitting issues, and now an entirely different kind of sitting:
yesterday I kept slipping into and sitting in a hole.

a black hole.

the black hole we've been taught not to sit in.
it's that heartrate range at about 85 percent of one's maximum, where most people apparently tend to work when they exercise.
my power camp training taught me to stay out of that range---for me, 159-164---the black hole. the reasoning behind avoiding that area is that people tend to plateau there: they reach that level, it's hard enough, and so they stop pushing. our coach's theory is that we gain strength, endurance, and ability when we push past that limit. which then helps us to sit just below that spot as well, for hours on end if necessary.
what it all comes down to is that when you find yourself in that hole, you're supposed to either kick it up a level, or back off.
my issue yesterday was that it hurt too much to kick it up very much higher: 162 seemed to be where my heart wanted to be, but it sure felt like 172. not a good way to feel.

so I sat in the hole a lot.

now this can be a sign of overtraining, or illness, or just having an off day. I'm choosing the latter, because I have been feeling pretty much the same as always, and had a recovery day just the day before, so it shouldn't be related to overtraining.

it was just a day to sit in a hole.
uncomfortably.
black hole, sore bottom parts,
what a day.

today was somewhat different: an awesome, crisp, beautiful, less-bottomly-painful ride up millcreek canyon, starting from my house at 5:15 when it was dark and fresh. still didn't reach my top zone, but at least I felt good powering up some of those rises without that extreme top effort.

and still I sat in the hole more than I'd like to have done.

the next time I ride, I plan to work everywhere but in the hole. tomorrow is my yoga day, my day off the bike, so I'm planning to get realigned and be fully back to being a hole-less rider on friday.

I'll be sure to keep you posted.