Three questions, two are training and the other is advice about fit.
1.) How important is it to have a very strict training schedule? Down here in Florida it's hurricane season and it always seems to start pouring at 4/5pm and I find that my ride schedule is determined by the weather more than anything else.
2.) How important is it to stick with strict intervals during my hard days? For "hard training days" I just do group rides that I can barely hang onto. For recovery days I either do a slow solo ride or sandbag. Doing solo intervals just seems so boring and on the fast group rides my HR monitor reports an average HR of 78% of max and a HR max of 95% (But the effort doesn't seem monumental, maybe it's the adrenaline of trying to chase down a breakaway that hides the burning associated with a HR of 95% of HR-max)
3.) I'm noticing some minor soreness in my left knee area, the first time it occured was after an especially hard weekend of riding. It wasn't so much pain as it was a slight discomfort when I extended my left leg fully, the site of discomfort was the back of my knee. It felt like the two ligaments (or tendons or whatever they are) were sort of snapping in and out of place. Wasn't painful but was uncomfortable.
And more recently after an especially long ride and a day of complete recovery (no riding or excercise) my left knee feels a bit sore. My right leg however is in tip top shape. My only guess would be that my left leg is ever so slightly shorter than my right. I had some pants tailored a few months ago and the tailor did measure both my legs and found that they are equal in length.
1.) How important is it to have a very strict training schedule? Down here in Florida it's hurricane season and it always seems to start pouring at 4/5pm and I find that my ride schedule is determined by the weather more than anything else.
2.) How important is it to stick with strict intervals during my hard days? For "hard training days" I just do group rides that I can barely hang onto. For recovery days I either do a slow solo ride or sandbag. Doing solo intervals just seems so boring and on the fast group rides my HR monitor reports an average HR of 78% of max and a HR max of 95% (But the effort doesn't seem monumental, maybe it's the adrenaline of trying to chase down a breakaway that hides the burning associated with a HR of 95% of HR-max)
3.) I'm noticing some minor soreness in my left knee area, the first time it occured was after an especially hard weekend of riding. It wasn't so much pain as it was a slight discomfort when I extended my left leg fully, the site of discomfort was the back of my knee. It felt like the two ligaments (or tendons or whatever they are) were sort of snapping in and out of place. Wasn't painful but was uncomfortable.
And more recently after an especially long ride and a day of complete recovery (no riding or excercise) my left knee feels a bit sore. My right leg however is in tip top shape. My only guess would be that my left leg is ever so slightly shorter than my right. I had some pants tailored a few months ago and the tailor did measure both my legs and found that they are equal in length.
