Quick Tip: Avoid Training in No-Man’s-Land
Many riders spend too much time in the space between easy and hard. They ride recovery days too fast to recover well, but not hard enough to gain much from the effort. That middle ground is often called no-man’s-land.
An easy ride should usually leave you feeling better, not more tired. A hard workout should have a clear purpose and enough recovery around it to make the effort worthwhile. The trouble begins when every ride becomes moderately hard simply because that pace feels productive.
It can feel productive. You are breathing harder than on an easy ride. The average speed looks respectable. But day after day, that pace can leave you too tired for quality work and too stressed to recover fully.
This does not mean moderate riding is always wrong. A long steady tempo effort can be useful when it is planned. A hard group ride may put you there for good reason. The problem is doing it by accident on nearly every ride.
Before you leave, decide which kind of day it is. If it is easy, keep it easy. If it is hard, make the hard work count. Giving your rides different jobs is one of the simplest ways to make training more effective.