After I got off the bike on Saturday I really felt the need to take a break.
The thought of a hard climb on Sunday morning just didn’t appeal. And I skipped it.
No regrets here, as covered in the weekly review. Rest days are important, and I’m not trying to become something I’m not, and never will be.
I also opted to take Monday as a rest day. This is in line with my weekly riding schedule.
And honestly, I think that was the right thing to do, also.
Coming in to tonight, I felt fairly fresh and whilst I can’t say I was rampant to get back on the bike, I certainly wasn’t hesitant as I had been towards the end of last week.
Typically on a Tuesday I’d hit up an easy ride.
Not so this evening. I opted for the Sweet Spot Training session that I’ve come to know, and… well, not quite love. But it’s an effective session, that’s for sure.
I must admit to not actually watching Zwift during much of this ride.
Instead I was alt+tabbed out to watch a TV show. To make sure I kept tabs on the workout I used the Zwift Companion App, pausing and swapping back in whenever the 5 minute interval was coming to an end. Grab a screenshot, and get back to the video.
One thing that I was aiming to do during this ride was keep a cadence around 95rpm.
Thing is, I didn’t pay much attention to this at all. And it was only just now, as I grabbed the screenshot from Strava (below) that I saw I’d averaged 100rpm instead.
I’m happy that I can keep a higher cadence, but it bothers me a bit that I’m really unable to keep control and dial in the RPM’s that I want to achieve. I always seem to creep up and up. Largely, I think, because it feels easier in ERG at higher RPMs.
Now it’s good to have got a solid start on the week. 30km ride, ~500 calories burned (well, 492, but who’s counting?), and generally a decent way to spend 50 minutes on Zwift.
I’m aware that last week I went a little too hard, and so am maybe going to be a bit more cautious this week. Although, that said, I am out tomorrow evening for food, so need to do a little pre-meal calories smashing. Unless I can find something suitable, I imagine another SST session will be in order.
Or maybe… The Wringer.
As the Christmas period approaches, I think I’m definitely set on taking an FTP test over the break. Probably pre-Xmas day as well, rather than post. Although that depends on when I’m off work… I guess.
At this point I’m really feeling I need to up the intensity slightly. I’m really hoping to push past a 200w FTP now, and that will have an impact on sessions like this. It’s not that this feels easy now, but I’m guessing it should perhaps be a touch more taxing than it is.
The one disappointment I’d say is that my heart rate still seems on the high side here. Apparently I averaged 142bpm, which is about in line with a typical SST session. Not sure how I blipped up to 186 towards the end there.
In slightly related news, I sent back the screen recording hardware now, so filming the Tacx Software rides is going to be challenging … need a better solution to this problem.
Oh well, food for thought for tomorrow.
