Wow. Wow and OMG. Emily tried to kill me
Yesterday I started on Zwift’s Cycling 101 Training Plan. I found it a bit lacking in punch, though to be fair, it is based off my overall FTP, which Zwift has currently estimated at 127w.
Me, being a man, believed that I knew better than Zwift.
I figured I would bump up my next Cycling 101 training ride to something a bit more intense. In all honestly, day 1 was frustrating and I felt I needed something harder.
Trying to bump up my FTP bias for the second exercise proved fruitless. I’m not sure if there is a + / – range limit one can bump up or down too, but I couldn’t get Zwift to set the “intense” part of the exercise past 135W. Pre-ride, I felt that would again, leave me feeling frustrated.
So I went rogue.
I decided to drop the formal Cycling 101 training plan, and instead, opt for a one-off exercise.
As I ride for ~30 minutes each morning, I selected an exercise from the “Less than an hour to burn” category.
I’ll be honest, I went purely off time. Emily’s Short Mix is exactly 30 minutes, how hard could it be?
Well, as mentioned above, I decided to see what exercise is like for someone with an FTP of 165w. Boy, gee, oh golly, I don’t think that’s me.
As a quick overview, Emily’s Short Mix is three sections of three efforts, with the third and final effort being the most intense.
For me, at 165w, the sections consisted of:
- 3 minutes at 140w
- 1,2,3 minute at 165w
- 1,2,3 minute at 189w
- 1.5 minute at 123w (cool down)
The first time through being 3+1+1+1.5, then the next 3+2+2+1.5, etc
In hindsight it’s obvious that I was going to die. My fitness level at the moment tells me my maximum effort should likely have been:
- 3 minutes at 107w
- 1,2,3 minute at 127w
- 1,2,3 minute at 146w
- 1.5 minute at 95w (cool down)
So immediately I was riding at my maximum. Yeah, well played Chris.
Ok, so live and learn.
The first section went OK-ish. But the killer was the cool down at 123w. That, to me, was still effort. By the time the next section came round I had barely anything left to give. I pushed as best I could. But it wasn’t to be.
Brutally, when on an exercise, the Tacx Neo 2 goes into ERG mode. Essentially, in ERG mode, the turbo trainer (the Tacx Neo 2) controls the resistance. No natter what gear you change into, the trainer forces you to work to that level of resistance. It’s hardcore.
I pushed, and I pushed, but I couldn’t make it through the 2 minutes at 165w, let alone the forthcoming 2 minutes at 189w.
At this point, it should be noted that I’d forgotten to turn on my fan. Normally, one of my children will come in and talk to me whilst I’m on my ride, so I can ask them to turn the fan on for me. And in this case, both children arrived at gave me serious looks of concern. My eldest started a line of inquiry into why it looked like I had taken a bath. Sweat. Sweat everywhere.
I tried reducing the FTP bias in the app by pressing the iPad screen and then using the down arrow key. But it didn’t make a difference. I couldn’t keep pedalling. And when I stopped, the resistance was so merciless that I could barely start pedalling again to continue.
Beaten, I exited the ride early.
Unsatisfied with myself, I decided I’d do another ~5km on Free Ride. Easy mode, yes. But I’m not Chris Wiggins or Bradley Froome, or even Alberto Bartlet Contador. I’m me, a 127w beginner.
And so I did a 7.5km ride around New York’s “The 6 Train” circuit, which is a 6.5km jaunt around Central Park (I think).
This ride was much more my thing. I still got a sweat on, but I wasn’t dying.
I think the Emily Short Mix may be good for me, but I need to ride at my proper FTP range. Silly me. Still, it proves that Zwift’s estimate is pretty much spot on. I really do need to improve my overall fitness.
I’m a bit disappointed that I have not completed the Zwift Cycling 101 exercise for today. I might do this later this evening.
Likewise, I might give the Emily’s Short Mix workout another go, but at my accurate FTP. Worth a shot, right?
Phew. Time for a cup of tea and a slice of toast.
Sorry legs