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.
The only downside to this week’s riding would be the lack of any indoor / structured workouts. Other than that, I’m happy enough with how the week’s gone.
Here are this week’s rides:
- Tuesday – “Sprinting” (Outdoors)
- Wednesday – Just Not Feeling It Today (Outdoors)
- Friday – Not Quite Giro Speeds (Outdoors)
- Saturday – Close To Parlick (Outdoors)
- Sunday – Deer-y Me (Outdoors)
One thing I’ve not done since my crash (nor really much before, if I’m being honest) is sprinting. It’s my least favourite part of cycling as it usually leaves me wanting to puke. Anyway, every so often it is a thing I know I should do, so I got that in on Tuesday.
Pretty sure that’s what absolutely killed me for the rest of the week though. On Wednesday I was feeling dead, and Thursday was so much more of the same that I decided to skip that day and ride three days over the weekend instead.
Saturday’s ride out to some new roads and into the lovely countryside was good though. I do love being out that way. Lovely and quiet roads, and beautiful scenery.
Whilst I promised to do another SST session this week, I failed at that. When the weather’s nice enough to get outdoors it’s really hard to convince myself to stay in and punish myself for ~40 minutes at 90/95% of FTP.
Silly though really as those sessions are more beneficial overall than heading outdoors every time, I’m sure. Lack of self discipline. Well, maybe. I guess this goes back to the whole crash mindset.
What is it I’m riding for?
Fitness?
Enjoyment?
Both?
Superficially (aka, without much prior thought), definitely both. So maybe that’s why I prioritise the way I do. Hard to see that changing in the short term, and to be honest, if I learned anything from that crash it’s to not push myself as stupidly hard as I was doing.
Weight-wise … just up and down. I got a telling off from my wife for weighing myself at any random time of the day that I felt like it.
Apparently I should do it every morning, or at some specific set time.
My word there’s a lot of strict BS to this fitness malarkey.
No concerns on the weight front – but why it fluctuates so much is because I often cheat weigh myself after a ride, then on the days when I don’t ride and I do weigh myself, I get a much more realistic figure 😀
The uptick on the VO2 Max chart was pleasing to see.
Also the training load is about where I want to it to be. I’m aiming for 30km rides outdoors now whenever I go out. That’s why the trend is higher. All good. I seem to be hitting that.
On the press ups front, I did just manage to hit 200 a day, yesterday.
Well, I’ve definitely strained my thighs somehow doing that. I know my form is garbage. I strongly suspect if I were to do 200 proper push ups, as opposed to whatever the name is for what I’m doing, then I’d be much closer to managing about 50. That’s the plan tonight then, get my form in order and ensure I’m doing them right, rather than mindlessly aiming for a number.
Anyway, all good. Happy enough with my progress this week. More of the same for the week ahead, then will have to change it up the week after.