Well, I start this week realising that the last 5 weekly reviews have all said 2022 rather than 2023. So I’ve updated all the old titles and post links, and no doubt broken a bunch of things along the way. Good times.
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.
A decent mixture of activities this week. And overall a decent week in general. I think / hope I have a new job sorted which is good for my head as well as my bank balance.
However, constantly interviewing really took its toll. I hadn’t planned to go outdoors during the week, but pushed myself out onto a bit of a climbing route on Thursday which, whilst knackering, was what I needed. And it set the tone for Saturday.
Here are this week’s rides:
- Tuesday – Zwift Race Scotland: Stage 1 – Rolling Highlands (B) (Indoors / Zwift)
- Wednesday – Zone 2 For Me And Zone 2 For You (Indoors / Zwift)
- Thursday – Decompress (Outdoors)
- Saturday – Tour de Zwift 2023 | Stage 4 | Longer Ride (Indoors / Zwift)
Kick starting the week with a race, I managed to unlock a new kit I quite like via Zwift’s February racing series: Race Scotland.
It was a bit of a chore heading back to Rolling Highlands after doing that three times last weekend. But it was, perhaps, a little easier doing it at race difficulty, rather than 100% trainer difficulty.
Even so, I got absolutely destroyed on the final 500m or so. Pretty gutting as I feel the result of that race didn’t flatter what was otherwise a very solid personal performance. I set a new 15 minute power PB, which again was kinda just lost in the overall event.
Wednesday’s Zone 2 ride was nothing to write home about. Same old. Very boring. About the only thing of quirky interest was I managed to start the exact same workout, on the exact same route, at the exact same time as another Zwifter. We matched each other the whole way along… a weird coincidence.
But yeah, as above, due to constantly interviewing each week day, and then as a result not sleeping well the night before, I was all over the shop both physically and mentally during the week. By Thursday I needed to get out and clear my head.
Heading out up to Beacon Fell, I deliberately challenged myself by taking on the Crumbleholme Lane climb – one of the tougher efforts around here, and thankfully nice and quiet roads.
I did alright on that. In full winter kit I was a bit hot, and it wasn’t by any means a challenge for the overall Strava KOM, but nevertheless I rode it well enough to be able to complete the full climb for the first time. Last time I did it I had to stop at the turn as I had gone too hard, too early.
So another achievement for the week.
Amazingly I gained a full pound on the scales yesterday. Feels unusual, and is maybe as a result of drinking too much beer this week.
Why I find it odd is because on Saturday I did the Surrey Hills ride to make up the Stage 4 Longer Ride I’d missed due to injury during the Tour de Zwift 2023. During that ride I feel like I lost about a kilo in sweat.
The room sure smelled like it 🤮
So it goes really, things seem to work in reverse. You think you’ve done well (aka Tuesday) and you haven’t. You try to put weight on (aka all this year) and you don’t. Then when you think you probably lost weight, you gain half a kilo overnight.
God knows.
I’m still in a sort of job limbo going into the next two weeks. I have to wait to see if I pass security clearance – not reason to think I won’t, but it’s not a given – so I’m still not fully settled. In between now and then I have nothing much to do. However I have my week’s race planned in, and then beyond that it’s kids half term so no doubt I’ll be busy in real life.
Fun times.