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.
Overall a decent week, if not quite the one I had in mind at the start.
Here are the week’s rides:
- Tuesday – Primary Benefit: Sprint (Outdoors)
- Thursday – Getting Stoned (Almost) (Outdoors)
- Friday – Advanced Zwift Academy Baseline Ride (Open) (Indoors / Zwift)
- Sunday – Slack Bandicoot (Outdoors)
Unusually, my favourite ride of the week this time around was an indoor ride!
Yes, the site name being what it is, that shouldn’t be a surprise. But I’ve not done a right lot of indoor stuff recently, and what I have done has been more laid back / recovery … heck, lets just say what I really mean – easier – rides.
This one wasn’t easy, though.
This was the kind of kick up the arse I desperately needed. A sweat soaked leg wobbler, setting a time and pace over three different segments which, I assume, I am supposed to repeat in 6 to 8 weeks time, when I’ve put my shonky body through the Zwift Academy 2021, and gained some additional watts.
Honestly, I think my sprint time is going to be hard to beat.
I reckon I could eek out a couple of seconds on that second effort (Titans Grove Reverse KOM), and frankly I’d be disappointed if I couldn’t get significantly closer to 23 minutes, if not under 23 minutes on the Epic KOM Reverse. I really could have done better on that one.
Poor pacing, you see.
Anyway, it’s pretty good to have some targets to work towards. I feel I do my best when I have targets, rather than just riding randomly. To be fair, that’s probably the same for everyone.
Now, I’ve already messed up the Zwift Academy 2021 program because I haven’t completed Workout #1 yet, and with the start of this week we’re already into Workout #2 as the active group ride.
No super big deal here. I can do Workout #1 as a solo ride and then slip in #2 as a group ride later in the week. I think having to do the Baseline ride and Workout #1 in the first week, combined with being outdoors and not really paying attention… well it was a lot to ask of me.
One interesting stat I’ve noticed this week has been that my overall monthly distances have been trending downwards. I’m not sure if this is because it’s simply easier to do more kilometres indoors, and I’ve largely been outdoors this year. Or if I really am slacking off that much that it’s more accurate than I’d care to admit.
Truthfully I think it is the indoor / outdoor thing.
It does mean that my distance stats may be down a touch on last years. But I’d be interested to see the same time span graph for calories. If my theory is correct than they should deviate.
Lastly for this week, once more I have slipped into “unproductive” mode.
I’d be lying if I said I understood this. I can’t say I pay too much attention to these graphs. If I feel like riding, trust me I will go riding. And when I don’t, I don’t. Letting the Garmin tell me when I should or shouldn’t have a bike ride seems a little nutty. Probably there’s very good reason to it, but I never let common sense stand in the way of a good time.
Right, so plans for the week ahead are simply to do Workout #1 and #2 for the Zwift Academy 2021. Other than that I’ve just started a new job, and it’s bloody sunny again all of a sudden. So whatever happens, happens.