Over the years, you may have heard me say that the only intervals I do reliably are intervals of overeating and regret. When it comes to intervals on the bike, my record is poor. I know, of course, that I could be a stronger cyclist if I did more intervals, yet on most of my rides, indoors or outdoors, I get into a comfortable rhythm and simply stay there.
On the road, elevation changes create natural intervals. You will work harder going uphill, like it or not. But on a rail trail like our Eisenbahn, you might stay in the same gear for the whole ride, pumping out mile after mile with almost no changes in power, heart rate, or perceived exertion. I now do so much of my training on the Eisenbahn that I need an artificial stimulus to make me surge above the baseline effort.
I want to be in Zone 2 most of the time on most of my rides. It is the fat-burning, mitochondria-building approach that I can sustain long enough to produce results without producing too much fatigue. But it needs to be complemented with intervals if I want to continue to be more than just a Zone 2 rider. And despite an almost complete absence of elevation change, the Eisenbahn still can be a good place to do intervals.
I have created two Garmin segments for myself. The first is 0.80 miles from Maple Drive to Auburn Ashford Drive.
The second is 0.51 miles from Haven Drive to Century Drive. Between them is a recovery segment of 0.60 miles.
As I approach each work segment, my Garmin Edge is going to alert me. On days when intervals are part of the program, that alert will be my cue to push harder until I reach the end of the segment. “Harder” will mean something between Zone 3 and a series of all-out sprints, depending on the training objectives of the day.
Garmin will time all of my transits of these segments. On Zone 2 days, that won’t count for anything. On interval days, however, those times will serve as additional motivation. Who doesn’t love going after personal records?
But I won’t be ripping down the trail when other users are present, and you don’t need to worry about me creating any Garmin segments in West Bend, Kewaskum, or Campbellsport. The segments I created are safely removed from population. Someday I may create another pair of segments between Campbellsport and Eden, but when I go that far north the objective is always Zone 2 endurance. Not sure I want to arrive at the north end of the trail already gassed from intervals and still facing a 23-mile ride home.
