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 pretty normal week by current standards. A little disappointing with how it ended, but perhaps a little over optimistic on my part.
The week ahead is going to have to mix it up a bit, but more on that below.
Here are this week’s rides (and run):
- Tuesday – MyWhoosh – Tempo #5 Workout
- Wednesday – Long Tempo in London
- Thursday – Tour de Zwift 2024: Stage 8 [Run]
- Saturday – Humpty Grumpty
The interesting thing is on a micro level things are starting to tick upwards.
But looking at the bigger picture it’s perhaps not very surprising at all that I struggled with my SST session, give my massive dip in form from taking it easy for several weeks.
My current target is to see through the SST session in full. And to that end I’m going to do the SST sessions at a lower FTP until I can comfortably complete them, and ramp back up. So I will do my next one with 220w at the top end, rather than the current 230w.
After that I’ll assess, and if that was a good enough struggle I’ll keep at it, until I can raise to 225w, and then back up to 230w.
I suspect that’s going to take a couple of weeks.
For the week ahead, however, I have to complete two 5K runs.
That’s to complete the Stage 2 and Stage 6 runs needed to close off the Tour de Zwift 2024 Run series.
My current plan is to do this Tuesday and Thursday, with the SST sessions Wednesday and Saturday.
But.
And it is a fairly big but this week.
I was supposed to be on an ‘away day’ tomorrow to Birmingham. However that was canned late on Friday. Instead it’s going to be a ‘virtual’ away day – which translates to “a day long Zoom call”.
Joy.
Whether I’m going to get a break that coincides with the start time of one of the Tour de Zwift Stage 2 or Stage 6 runs is anyone’s guess. If I were a betting man, I’d probably say it’s unlikely.
I’ll need an hour to get the session done as well, taking into account stretching, warm up, the event itself, cool down, stretching, and shower.
A big ask.
Whatever anyway, I’ll do my best to fit something in. I’m sure I can figure it out on the fly.
Either way, I have to get these events done this week.
If you’d asked me to run 2x 5Ks in one week back at Stage 1 I’d have thought you were mad. But that would have been significantly down to how physically tight I was after those runs. Now, thankfully, I’m fine. I do need to stretch though, way more than cycling.
I’m quite looking forwards to getting them both done. It’s not easy, running for 30 minutes solid, but I’ve definitely found some kind of enjoyment in it, which I didn’t think I would.
That said, it could just be that my mind adapts to having invested like £200+ in this adventure, and it has therefore convinced itself that I’m having fun. That does sound like something I would do to myself.
To the week ahead!