Something a bit different today. Or yesterday, actually, as it’s a full day late for me to write this up.
Basically, mistakes were made. Lots of mistakes. And running was only one of them 🙂
I said in the End of Year 2023 review that I’d like to take part in a Run event on this years Tour de Zwift.
Ideally I would have waited until I got some proper running shoes.
But impatience / boredom got the better of me, and I decided to have a stab at it in my regular crappy trainers. I’m not entirely sure what those trainers are for, but training seems to play no part of it.
Anyway, I figured I’d do the Tour de Zwift Stage 1 event as a run. I’m not a nut case, so I opted for the shorter variant, which in itself is still a 5K.
I don’t think I’ve ever run a 5k in my life.
I made the decision to do this at 15:45, and the event began at 16:00.
At that point I wasn’t dressed, the treadmill was full of boxes, I didn’t know where my Zwift Run Pod had got too, and I didn’t have Zwift on the iPad.
A fine start.
Somehow I did managed to get everything ready (sort of) with 20 seconds left to spare.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t pair the Run Pod.
Why?
Flat battery, of course. It’s two and a half years since my last run on Zwift (or… my last run), so perhaps that was unsurprising. However, that did mean I completely missed the start of the event. Fortunately I was in the event, so at least I could still take part. It would have been nicer to do it with the group though.
It took me about 5 minutes to get the battery changed and my Run Pod back on, and paired.
Then I set off.
Shakily.
The next big mistake – which I did not realise for the whole run – was that I had not calibrated the Run Pod.
When I set the speed on the treadmill, the related speed in game was not the same. Mostly I ran between 7.5km to begin with, and up to 12km at the top end, but in Zwift this was anything between 6km and 10.5km, so I definitely ran more than it showed on Zwift.
Not good for someone who hasn’t run for a good long while, and the badly supporting shoes meant I ended up getting quite a bad blister for my troubles.
Anyway, I posted some times.
Unsurprisingly I didn’t come in under 30 minutes for the 5km. That only became a target about 20 minutes in though.
I reckon I could do that, if everything was setup properly. But it would, I think, mean running steadily at 11kph, which I reckon I do need proper footwear to truly attempt.
Also for complete transparency, I didn’t technically manage to run the whole thing. About half way through, around the start of the third kilometre, I dropped my towel so very briefly had to slow the treadmill, stand on either side and pick it up, then get back moving and speed it back up. Hence the dip below.
It’s a bit like beginning cycling all over again.
My legs are utterly shot. I’m walking like John Wayne right now. Sitting down isn’t so bad, but standing up turns me in to a grandad.
I was expecting to wake up completely seized up, but thankfully that didn’t happen.
On the plus side, any progress is going to be new PBs.
I’m guessing all the Tour de Zwift runs will be a choice of 5 or 10km, give or take. I might try to complete this series as a run, rather than a ride. I don’t know yet. That will be some different kind of achievement.
All in all, absolutely killer and I reckon Stage 2 is going to come round fast and I’m going to hate myself.
What fun!
