What a difference a day makes

I usually find it more difficult to produce any power on the trainer than the road. At least in warm weather. But we don't have warm weather. Yesterday, I did a 20 minute effort, which was really pretty crappy, even for me. It was the worst 20 minute effort I'd ever recorded as a matter of fact. And it hurt a lot. I felt totally destroyed afterwards.

Today, I did another one, and it was significantly better. Not great, but a reasonable number for me in November. Strange. And it didn't sap me nearly as much. I felt significantly better afterward.

There are a few factors that might contribute.

One. Yesterday was thanksgiving, and I did my effort after the feast. You might think there was something wrong with my head. But it was not right after. Several hours later. And I didn't really eat all that much. So it was just kind of a normal meal for me. But there still might be something wrong with my head.

Two. I did my effort in the garage, thinking I might be able to dissipate heat better in there. I think it was actually too cold though. Even though the sweat was rolling off me, I think the air was cold enough to mess up my breathing, because I found myself coughing afterward.

Lesson learned. Even though hard efforts like that always make me feel like I'm overheating on the trainer, don't try to compensate with a colder ambient temperature.