This morning I returned to longer Zwift group rides for the first time since the Tour of Watopia Stage 5 shorter ride. It feels like a lot has happened since then. But sadly most of that has not been on the bike.
Although this ride was a large and well attended group ride featuring two (actually, I think three) pros, for whatever reason there was no beacon system in place so I had no idea where the pros were in relation to me.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I knew they were ahead of me.
This ride was marked as being between 2.5 and 3.0w/kg average.
There was no management of this pace. It was up to the riders to self regulate, so of course, people shot off the front like a bolt.
I mistimed my start – heck, I woke up at 8.40, so was lucky just to be up, dressed, fed, partially watered, and clipped in ready for the off. I got a poor start as a result, but because of the self regulation aspect, was able to find a pack that was meeting my pace.
And I should say I was self regulating far closer to the 2.5w/kg average than the 3.0w/kg.
My legs felt thrashed almost immediately.
Really this ride was all about building back up my endurance.
Coming in to this ride I was 53km away from my weekly 100km riding goal. And also I’d only done 1.9 hours (err… weird Zwift metric time measurements) of my 3hr riding goal.
Of course this doesn’t take into account any of my outdoor cycling that I’ve done this week, so the figures aren’t quite fair. But still, without those goals I likely wouldn’t have chosen this ride given that I was feeling pretty tired already.
As mentioned yesterday, the alternative to doing this ride – or any Zwifting today – was to head out and climb a local small hill.
I really want to do that ride. And according to Strava, lots of other people are doing that ride.
But I decided, in the interest of their being a lock down in place, and in not wanting to fall off, take up a valuable ambulance / hospital bed, I should refrain and do my riding indoors, instead.
Also, having – possibly – had Corona Virus, I don’t want to go into any place where I might get it again.
This ride was in many ways a total slog.
I managed to find a decent small group who kept me at a good clip, but likely I pushed myself a bit further than I ought to have.
The fact is every ride I’ve done so far with my Garmin, it has ticked me down a watt on my FTP. When I got the unit I input my FTP, conservatively, at 214w. This is down from the 218w I had hit just before illness floored me.
Yet now the Garmin has me down at 211w. Sad times.
And truthfully it’s probably right.
Even so, disregarding performance figures for the moment, it felt really good to manage to hit my weekly riding goals, even with reduced time on the turbo.
It felt less fun to be sat in a pair of soaking wet bib shorts and base layer by the end of the session. My immediate observation from riding outdoors is that I’ve come back from my rides barely sweating at all.
Maybe the wicked head wind does have a purpose after all!
After this one I’d usually be taking a break on a Monday.
However, given that tomorrow is a day off work, I might take the bike out on the roads again – just local stuff – given that I likely won’t be out and about for the rest of the week. It all depends on the weather, and how ambitious I’m feeling. And how early I wake up.
The one thing that I want to get back to, more than anything, is regular sweet spot sessions. I’m really missing them. They were – I believe – one of the best uses of my time on the bike. They aren’t the easiest of sessions, but they aren’t the hardest either. And the overall benefit seemed to be consistent movement in a positive direction.
The other key observation I’ve made since changing pedals is I had my cleat positions massively wrong.
The new positions feel much better, but I still think I need to move my right cleat just a fraction more so that I have the same position under foot on my right cleat as I do on my left. Sounds obvious, but I am no bike expert so getting these things right is not super easy for me. I had hoped all this would have been solved by a bike fit – but that’s currently been wazzed right out of the window.
Given how I felt this time last week, I couldn’t be happier with my progress at this point. To have been out on the bike, and met my virtual riding goals… it’s good stuff.
Hey Chris! I know all your fitness goals, etc. are important. But try not to get too obsessed with the numbers. Remember, riding is supposed to be fun! Cheers, Chuck
It’s a strange one. It’s just a few watts. I expected the drop off to be larger. But even just a few watts feels like a set back. Then I think back to where I started and 200w + was unthinkable to me at one point.
I am having fun – this last week more than most honestly. Just a personality trait / flaw that I focus on the small things I’m unhappy with rather than being grateful for the bigger things. I am aware of it. I try to work on it. Probably always have to deal with it, and be mindful of it.
You’re right. Thanks Chuck!