New Training Zones

More of the same cross prep – threshold work and micro-intervals. 20 minutes of 15 sec. on/off followed by 10 minutes of zone 4. I came to the conclusion as my powertap once again crapped out on me today that I will develop new metrics for my efforts.

zone 1. sweating

zone 2. more sweat than zone 2

zone 3. sweat and runny nose.

zone 4. embarrassing sweat, frequent nostril excavation needed (i.e. snot rockets), and mild drooling.

zone 5. massive sweating, streaming snot, and uncontrollable drool. Note: Some drool may foam.

zone 6. no sweat (its all gone), no snot (its now rapped from edges of nostrils to ear lobes), drool has rendered the appearance of Cujo (major foaming, breathing through which is nearly impossible).

These zones, I believe, for example, such as, like…offer clearly definable thresholds. My personal experience is that most cyclocross races develop a zone 4 early and progress to zone 5 quickly. True conviction and effort will yield zone 6 and victory (or massive cramping, lock-jaw, and intestinal distress).