CompuTrainer Class: Torture Test IV Part II

Since I did the real test and am super happy with how I did on Tuesday, I decided to ride the 5 miles at an easier pace today. I was aiming for somewhere around 15 minutes and wanted to keep my HR below 180. I managed to stay there until 9 minutes, brought it back down, and then forgot to keep it down after minute 11. But I felt great and just decided to ride. In fact, I'm actually pretty happy with this ride today especially considering I wasn't trying to work super hard. It wasn't my best result, but I wasn't aiming for results. It was, however, significantly better than January 6, the last time I did but didn't do the test.

March 3, 2011, Torture Test 4 Part 2: 14:26, 202 watts (high-tempo ride)
March 1, 2011, Torture Test 4: 13:48, 229 watts
January 6, 2011, Torture Test 3 Part 2: 14:58, 185 watts (tempo ride)
January 4, 2011, Torture Test 3: 14:06, 217 watts
March 25, 2010, Torture Test 2: 13:56, 223 watts
January 28, 2010, Torture Test 1: 14:22, 208 watts

Today was so nice that I couldn't stay inside. And since I'm trying to be good by running only once or twice a week, I went out on my bike for a hilly ride. This was a slightly different route from what I've done on my past hill rides because I decided to warm up a little (30:22 with some strong headwind and tailwind). The 15+ miles took me exactly an hour. I climbed Lynnwood from west to east, and it took me 8:23 to get from South Berrys Chapel to Sawyer Road—a benchmark number to try to improve all season. From there it was 2 minutes of descent followed by 3 minutes of climbing up North Berrys Chapel. Another 6 minutes of descent and recovery before climbing up Holly Tree Gap; I didn't time that climb because there were too many cars and I forgot to look back at my watch. The more hills I ride outside now, the better I'll be all season, so I'm looking forward to lots of similar, better rides throughout the weeks!

The first sprint marker is pretty accurately placed. The second is questionably placed; I know there are at least two city limit signs on this route but can't remember where the second is. The elevation doesn't look right, because I know the climb up North Berrys Chapel is the steepest but also the second climb (around mile 11). Mapped separately, the three steep (short or long) climbs on this route look like this:

Lynnwood Way west to east: 1.2 miles

North Berrys Chapel: 0.3 miles

Holly Tree Gap: 0.4 miles