Each week I try to review and reflect on my previous week on the bike. This allows me to see how my fitness and ability is progressing on a wider timescale than day to day. For previous weekly reviews please click here.
I think I could summarise this week fairly quickly as: nothing outstanding, but steady progress.
Of course there are more words below so I will expand on this a bit.
Here are this week’s rides:
With the Bank Holiday last Monday I was able to get in a slightly longer ride, and make it outdoors, too.
However it rained and I got a good soaking along with a filthy bike. I then dropped my bike when cleaning it, scuffing up both shifters. Bit sad about that, but given the rest of the damage I’ve inflicted on my poor, yet highly loved pedalmotron over the last three years, I’d say this was but a scratch.
Even though Monday’s ride was taken at a fairly relaxed pace, when it came to doing my weekly SST session on Tuesday I was feeling super tired. I had in mind that I would take the higher intensity blocks at a lower cadence, in order to start work on what I believe are a slightly different set of muscles (err, I am no scientist) when working at low vs high cadences.
However I was too tired for that sort of thing. Just getting through the set was enough of a challenge.
Unsurprisingly then, I took Wednesday as a recovery day.
Back then for Thursday. Race day. And in typical Thursday Zwift race fashion I got absolutely pummelled.
So much so, actually, that I got dropped in the lead in.
Honestly, the shame seems to know no bounds.
In my defence though, City and the Sgurr is 5 climbs in a row over a very short track, and I wasn’t the only one to get left in the dust.
I won’t bang on about the ridiculousness of Zwift racing categories this week. Save that for when I’m short of something else to say.
That then left Friday as another rest day, I do like those, and then in to Saturday where I hit up another new Zwift Climb Portal route, this time Bealach na Bà. My entire performance on that ride was fairly lacking. But I did “turn up” at least, so that’s got to be worth something.
I’d say I’m not exactly where I was hoping to be at this point. Two months ago I set myself a task of getting back up to 245w as my FTP by the start of September.
I feel if I set that now, and did my SST sessions at that figure, I would be overly taxing myself.
I’m not there. Still. And that sucks. But I have to be realistic with myself.
However I do feel like if I did another FTP test today then I would definitely do better than last time. Not too hard, last time was atrocious. But I do think I’d do considerably better. I’d be disappointed to not hit somewhere between 240 and 245w I think.
Which does seem a bit contradictory with what I’ve just said.
However I don’t feel training at that figure right now would do me much more than training at 240w. And the Garmin does seem to agree. That puts me somewhere between 235w and 240w.
I feel I could eek out just a tad more in a timed 20 minute test. But I’m nowhere near that 250w target. Not even close.
Weight wise I feel fairly stable. Hovering around the mid 67s. Maybe adding weight might add power? I really don’t know. And I’m not going to eat Krispy Kremes to find out.
Happy where I am.
And I think that sums me up overall at the moment. Perhaps a little too happy. Too comfortable.
Anyway, the races this week are much easier, so I guess that messes things up a bit. Not sure what will happen as a result of that but the plan is basically the same as usual. SST, endurance pace, race, rest, climb, recovery.
I do feel like the plan is working, but I think 3 months was a little too ambitious to see the results I want(ed) for myself.