Like many others in the northeast, I’ve had the good fortune to spend the last 3 weekends outside of my dark, dank basement and on the road. It’s about mid-season for my training plan, so I’m curious what kind of pace everyone puts in for their long rides at this time of year (since they can be few and far between). I did 3.5 and 4-hour rides at a respectable race pace and felt fresh enough to follow up with a strong 10k after each. Then, I did a 4:15 ride this past Saturday at 4-5% above race output (with a nice headwind to boot). Afterwards, I lumbered through a disgustingly slow 5k and spent the returning 5k like one of the walking wounded. I was fine for my 2-hour run on Sunday, but now I’m curious about the cost (or value?) of pushing the higher output on long training rides, with the knowledge that I don’t NEED to put in a quality run straight off the bike.