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.
Three rides, two walks, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Pretty standard, really.
I had planned on doing the two variations of ZA2023 Workout #2 this week, but feedback from the session led me to hastily rethink my plans.
Here are this week’s rides:
- Tuesday – Low Cadence Baseline
- Thursday – Neokyo Nights: Stage 2 – Twilight Harbor (B)
- Saturday – Zwift Academy 2023 – Workout #2: Long | Fatigue Fighter
Generally this one felt like a stronger week than usual.
The big change up has been to push through and force myself to hit the lower cadence drills. Tough, but rewarding, not only in Saturday’s Workout #2 but also in the week’s race.
I’ve also been suffering a bit this last week, starting from Thursday, from a bout of illness. It’s not got me sidelined but I keep getting these nagging headaches, and bouts of hot and cold temperature changes. The general feeling here is it might be covid, so I’m doing my best not to go crazy.
However, and very thankfully, I don’t seem to be impacted in my cycling.
As usual it’s good to keep an eye on the weight – it’s sitting happily at around 67kg. No worries there.
And also the watts output.
Generally I’m thinking I can see a very, very gradual upwards trend emerging. I can’t try any harder to make that happen, I know that.
It dawned on me last night though, rather than compare watts, it might be better to compare watts per kilo.
That way, if my weight has fluctuated, the numbers should not be affected.
I don’t know why, but I kind of hoped to see some hidden knowledge jump out at me.
Alas, not really.
Really it’s a bit like the stock market.
I want to see higher lows. By which I mean when the numbers do drop a bit, I want them to be higher than previous comparable drops.
And ideally some higher highs… but let’s be realistic right now.
All of that sounds like I know what I’m doing in the stock market. Of course I don’t. I’m worse at that than I am at cycling… which is saying something.
Also I included the anaerobic numbers because ZA2023 Workout #3 sees us doing a repeat of Workout #1.
Only this time, we will be doing the 2×30, and 2×2 efforts whilst already fatigued.
Oh yes, it’s going to be a right old fun time.
Lastly this week, and only just today actually, I’ve signed up for something called “The Winter Wheelers”. My wife sent me this one through this morning, somehow it came via my kids school:
As best I can tell, it’s some kind of massive rip off of my one-of-a-kind Advent of Cycling challenge, which honestly, I was umm’ing and ahh’ing about doing again this year.
However, this may have swayed me, because, well, cash prizes.
If you fancy it, have a look – this is my referral link for transparency. I’m not entirely sure what I get for referring, but if it’s any kind of cash, and I do win, I will be donating it to good charity.