Winter in the northern hemisphere is traditionally the time to build your endurance base through long, steady efforts. It’s also a time to develop your mental toughness whether on the turbo trainer or dragging yourself out into the cold or wet or both. You’ve probably packed your best bike away for the winter and are now riding something several kg heavier. You also have to wear lots of clothes and thick gloves, and you may have added the odd pound or two to your own body weight.

After two to three months of this you might begin to feel a little sluggish and your motivation may be dimming. The obvious solution would be to mix in a couple of cross country races or a winter duathlon. Failing that, especially if injury is preventing your from running, how about turning the last hour one of your long rides into a high-speed chain gang.

It might not be on the training programme, and it almost certainly isn’t something you would want to do every week, but you might be pleasantly surprised. Assuming you’ve put in the endurance building training, you should find you can hold a high intensity for a sustained period, and it won’t hurt as much as you think it should. With any luck you should also get a pleasant endorphin rush and a boost to your motivation.

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