7 down, 1 to go. But OMG, today was hard as hell.
And as usual, I was too cocky with my approach to these workouts. These Zwift Academy workouts need to be respected. When will I learn?
Looking at the interval schedule for this ride, I wasn’t too concerned about what lay ahead. A few blocks at 215w, plenty of recovery… nothing I couldn’t handle, right?
With a rest day yesterday I was feeling fairly fresh and ready to rock this one.
I wouldn’t say I’m fully rested by any means, but I felt good enough to take on this one.
As ever, the information provided on screen by the “coach” was useful and interesting. I had no idea about VO2 Max before this ride, so learning a little as I meandered along my warm up was welcome.
This learning as I ride thing has been a common theme throughout Zwift Academy 2019, and I’ve really enjoyed it.
For the first effort I was way over 100rpm, and the time flew by.
As ever, my cockiness was given a healthy boost and I was sure this workout was going to be easy peasy.
With barely a bead of sweat on my head, a 2 minute @ 100w recovery block was very happily taken. Time to get on my phone, see what was on Reddit and maybe even indulge in a game or two.
Yes, the confidence was over brimming.
Following the first minute’s work, there was a longer 4 minutes at 180w.
This wasn’t overly taxing either, but certainly made me far more sweaty. No phone hi-jinx during this one, except to press the screenshot button a few times, of course.
I’m guessing this wasn’t intended to be a true taxing as plenty of information was presented throughout the 4 minutes of fun pedaling.
Again, a long(ish) recovery followed here, of 3 minutes at 100w.
Whilst the screenshots record me at 192bpm heart rate, I can assure you I was nowhere near this figure.
For whatever reason, my Wahoo Tickr is incredibly temperamental. I supposed electronics and the amount of sweat I produce don’t mix too well.
After this effort I was feeling really good about the forthcoming work.
How hard could it be? 215w?
I resolved to try the first 2 minutes at 215w, see how I felt, and then maybe up the intensity if I was feeling good about it.
The first two minute block went well enough. My cadence remained super high – near or above 100rpm – and I was concerned I wouldn’t get such a great workout if things continued as they currently were.
Oh Chris. How incredibly naive.
After the first two minute block I reached for the Zwift Companion App and bumped the intensity up to 110%.
What was previously a 215w interval became a 235w interval.
How much harder could it be to sustain an extra 20w for 2 minutes?
Well, as I was about to find out, quite a bit harder.
If nothing else, cycling certainly teaches humility.
By the end of the the following 2 minutes I was goosed.
The difference between 215w and 235w, over 2 minutes, was hugely noticeable.
However, I definitely felt like I was getting a better workout.
I decided that I’d leave it at 110% effort for the next block, and given that I had 3 minutes to recover, I figured I could be good enough to go again – this time for 2x 3 minutes at 235w.
My plan was simple:
If I struggled in the first 3 minutes, I would drop back to 100% for the next three minutes.
Pretty basic.
And so did I struggle?
Boy, did I.
Man alive. Getting to the end of that first 3 minute block absolutely caned me.
But still, I refused to be beaten.
I decided that I’d had to work really hard for the interval star, and I reckoned that whilst it had been exhausting, it was also rewarding.
And so I stuck with it for the next block.
Albeit at a much more grindy cadence.
I was out of the saddle for the second block.
Not only was the interval harder – 3 minutes at 235w – but the rest / recovery block was shorter, and at a higher intensity – just 1.5 minutes at 130w.
I managed to make my way through the second block but I was seriously doubting my ability to ride for 4 minutes at 235w, and even more so in the 5 minute ramp up.
Even so, I persisted further.
Again, my arrogance got the better of me.
I believed I could do it, so why not give it a proper shot?
Well, the issue is that I likely could (and ultimately did) make it through the 4 minutes.
But I was killing myself. Absolutely thrashing myself to make the time.
Even the first minute felt tough.
The second more so.
By 2.5 minutes in I was out of the saddle and remained that way for as long as I could, grinding as hard as I could, panting and wheezing, wondering why I put myself through this.
I know pushing myself is the only way I will improve, but slower, steadier progress is – in my more sound, reflective mind – much more preferable than blowing up.
After this one my heart rate was sky high, my chest hurt, I could barely breathe, and I wasn’t sure if what I felt in my stomach was cramp, or a pulled muscle (thankfully: cramp).
Ego put in check, I knocked the intensity back to 100% for the final 5 minute effort.
There was simply no way I could ramp up from ~FTP to 235w over the next 5 minutes.
The on screen prompt would have made me laugh if it hadn’t been so true.
My towel was drenched. My bike covered in a mixture of the usual sweaty, and foamy spittle, a long strand drooling from my gaping maw.
Good times.
Oh, and yes, the chest pain. The thumping, incessant beating. Good bye retirement, I never knew ye.
Even with 5 minutes at the now reduced 100w, I was absolutely dead for the first 3 minutes, and only barely starting to recover for the remaining 2.
And then we were to be off again.
My plan was simple:
Grind at about 75rpm for at least the first minute, then get out of the saddle for ~2 minutes, and then alternate between out and in the saddle until I saw myself home.
As you might expect, screenshots during this time were not taken.
This was extremely challenging.
I was questioning if I could even complete this last block.
Within the first 30 seconds I was hurting.
The next few minutes were some of the slowest, hardest pedal revolutions I have had yet on Zwift.
Truly a very difficult interval.
Somehow, some way, I saw it through.
Frankly I was stunned I did. There was a point where the seconds seemed to be taking more than a second to pass.
This one really put me close to the edge.
Even when this one was over, it took me a very long time to recover.
A minute had passed by and I was still puffing and panting, my entire body was throbbing.
It didn’t feel good, and I evidently didn’t look great. My wife made comments about the veins bulging out of my head. Fun times.
I question the final Zwift Academy workout.
It feels like each one has been getting that bit tougher, and I haven’t really been learning my lessons around ego.
On the plus side, I definitely do feel fitter today than when I started this process.
I am yet to check out the schedule for the next ride.
4 minute max effort?
Isn’t that kinda what I just did?
I have no idea. It doesn’t sound appealing right now.
With this one in the bag I’ve earned myself a rest day tomorrow.
One day on, one day off. That’s the life.
OK so looking at the positives:
- An hour’s riding on the week already
- ~30km done
- Completed it, though it was hard AF
- One remaining workout and I’m done with Zwift Academy
Honestly, right now I still feel exhausted. It’s been a very long day, and I’m very much looking forwards to going to bed.
Looks like I won’t be back until Wednesday. And my plan is to – maybe – ride the final Zwift Academy workout this Friday. So the rides in between will be fairly laid back. I’m guessing FTP Builder rides. We shall see.
