Wow wee. I am knackered. That was absolutely killer.
There are plenty of people who bash Zwift workouts. And maybe rightly so. I’m not a professional, I’m not a racer, I don’t really know the good training programs or workouts from the bad.
But sweet spot training has to be one of the best bang for buck workouts that Zwift has to offer.
So what better way to spend a lunch time, right?
Yesterday was supposed to be a riding day. Ideally I wanted to do 5 rides this week, with Monday and Friday off as rest days.
Alas, work got in the way.
Typically I work 7:30-16:00, with 30 minutes for lunch. Yesterday that all went swimmingly until about 15:00 when I realised the thing I needed to get done wasn’t likely to work. And so I ended up working till 16:45 before finally getting things to a point whereby I was happy it would be finishable early the following morning.
But those 45 minutes over not only mentally taxed me, but also completely screwed up my plans for a bike activity. I only wanted a recovery session yesterday, but that lasts a full hour and going on the bike till 6pm just wasn’t an option.
Fortunately, I was able to claw the time back at lunch time today.
So, unsure what else to do, and given that there was no handy Zwift Academy workout or race / group ride to take part in, I decided to try an SST session.
Up until fairly recently, I used to do lots of SST sessions. I feel they are super beneficial.
However, the last one nearly killed me.
As such I haven’t done one in about 6 weeks at this point.
Today’s SST session was taken at my FTP of 228w, which is down from 238w at the last attempt.
I knew it was going to be a tough session pretty much towards the end of the first on block. It’s hard to ride at what feels like a really solid pace for 5 minutes, then try to recover at only marginally under that pace.
God knows how I used to do so many of these.
By the third block – or just over half way – I was mentally considering quitting.
Or at least hitting pause.
The only thing that kept me going was not wanting to write on here that I failed. Again.
Last time I had to wimp out of the final 5 minute off block as I was just completely beat.
One thing I do know with Zwift & the Tacx Neo 2 is that if you can spin your legs at 95rpm, somehow or other the ERG mode requirements just seem easier.
I don’t know if that’s in my head, or some kind of cheat, or what.
But by the end of the third and certainly into the fourth set, I just couldn’t spin. My RPM’s dropped to low 70s at one point, and I even resorted to some out of the saddle action to get me through to the finish line. Gruelling, in a word.
That said, I did manage to complete it. Knackering as it was, it was achievable.
Also midday bike riding always feels great. Sure, my legs are tired now, but I struggle to get the motivation to get on the bike later in the day, so getting it “out of the way” as early as possible is always a good shout.
That makes me sound like I don’t enjoy it.
I love my cycling, but boy, some of these rides are hard going.
I feel like I should get back in to the routine of doing a hard climb each week. The Tacx Software was ace for that, and I think it was hugely beneficial. I can’t help but feel like my fitness has dipped lately, and rides like this only make me believe it more.
