Difficult Double

My legs were not feeling great (even worse now) but I was in the office and when in the office with ones colleague what runs a bit, one is duty bound to go for the lunch run. Probably not the ideal move as I needed to complete session one of ten of the Zwift Academy training schedule - a 70min intervally/thresholdy/ftpy session - but it would have been rude not to.

So, the run wasn't too bad. Quite a surprise really because my legs felt heavy, the pace seemed slow and I collapsed on the gently uphill, final kilometre but I was a whole 10s quicker than last time out.

Tonight I was home latish but with time running out to complete the first session of the schedule I hit the turbo. The session involved a few short above ftp intervals followed by some longer ones, all with decent recovery before finishing with 4 short, sharp ones off short recovery. It was hard and I was hanging on in the last few but I completed the session. One down nine to go...

So It Turned Into A Rest Day...

My quads are shot and I'm feeling pretty weary. It has been a good few days of really good training but you've got to know when to take a rest. That rest came today which was unfortunate as I had planned a pootle around Sugar Loaf but I didn't think sticking to the plan was sensible so I will save it for another day. Added to that it's the first day of the Zwift Academy training schedule which I've signed up to do to provide continued motivation. Each session stays on the schedule for two or three days so taking the rest day today allows me to complete the first session tomorrow. Session two will be Wednesday through Friday.

It's Working...

So I've been cranking out plenty of sessions on the turbo but very little running. The bike work feels like it's strengthening my legs but I haven't had much analytical data to back up the theory - until today, as I went for a run. It wasn't a long run. I just wanted to run a route I've run a few times to see where I'm at.

I ran the Longhope short loop, 5.5km with 160m ascent. It felt quicker and I felt a little stronger - the climb still defeated me but overall I felt like I was going better than of late. So it was fingers crossed as I uploaded the data - I was going to be mighty disappointed if I was slower than last time....

Two minutes quicker than the other times I've run the route during the last two years. Result. From this very limited, statistically meaningless data, I feel happy that the bike work is providing good training. So happy in fact, that I hopped into the saddle for a hilly training race, 48k, 900m ascent and subsequently totally ran out of steam but ground it out till the end, exhausted and shaking...

All my training data tells me I'm due a rest day but I've a day off tomorrow and was planning something, so we'll see...

A Short One....

The virtual UCI Worlds Course Short Lap, that is. 24km, 500m. Again, another ride at the top end of my average power. Each session sees my average power creep a little higher and I'm feeling fitter.

Hour In Innsbruck

There's a new route in town, Innsbruck, and it's a replica of parts the upcoming UCI Road World Champs route. Apparently it's been fairly accurately mapped but I wouldn't know one way or the other. It's good to have another set of routes to add to the mix.

Took part in a four lap race on the flatter section of the route after work. The lap had a short, sharp climb followed by a short sprint towards the end. Despite a decently powerful ride, not totally all out but working hard enough, I was thoroughly whooped by the rest of the field. I wasn't last though! Riding pretty even splits, I managed to catch and pass a struggling rider on the last lap. He'd obviously gone off too fast. Having that rabbit to chase meant I worked a little harder, resulting in my fastest lap of the four. It was another decent hour in the saddle.

Job Done...

Well that's the full set collected. All seven stages of the virtual Tour de Oz complete and it was another pretty good session. I wasn't feeling strong - and I'm definitely having a rest day tomorrow. The field was down to just 15th of us so it was certain to be a solo ride. I guess most people interested in doing the full set had already completed, this being the last day.

Stage three was just shy of 30km and 250m ascent. My average power was within a couple of watts of yesterdays shorter ride so I'm happy with that. I surprised myself by pushing harder than I thought I'd be able to, not having the competition. All in all, another pleasing training session.

Entry Confirmed - Gulp

So that's it. The deal is done. The entry is confirmed (for the OMM). I've heard there are some lovely views to be had in the Black Mountains at the end of October - mainly mist, fog and rain....

So tonight, to keep my dream of completing the Tour de Oz alive, I needed to complete one of the two missed stages. With my legs feeling tired I decided on the shorter of the two missing stages, stage two at just 22km and 200m ascent. To be fair it doesn't really mean much but I've set myself the target and it'll be nice to meet the goal.

I wasn't feeling it at the start and set off pretty pedestrian. After a bit I started to edge the pace up a little. Then after a couple of kilometres in I found myself leading a pair of riders who just sat on me for about 2km without taking any of the work at the front (and yes, drafting, even in the virtual world, is simulated). That irked me a little. I know it's only a virtual little world but even so I wasn't having it. I put the hammer down and kept it down until they were but specks in my rear view mirror [don't actually have a rear view mirror but I never saw them again].

After that I caught up to a sporting Brit and we pretty much shared the work all the way to the end. We each tried to make a few break aways but neither of us managed to get fully clear before being reeled back in and so it came down to the sprint finish..... Which I took by no more than a metre or two. Bloody enjoyable and what I thought was going to be just going through the motions became a proper hard work out.

I'm thinking I may pay for the effort tomorrow but nothing is going to stop me completing the 30km of stage three to complete the tour...

Furthest One To Date

Well that was a bit killer and I'm definitely heading towards empty - which is not good news as I have the final two make up stages of the Tour de Oz to complete on Monday and Tuesday.

I really drained the tank today. Probably set off a bit hard, caught up trying to keep up with the other riders around me. That was a bit of a mistake. On the plus I got a pb on the Box Hill climb and the London lap but from there each subsequent lap (4 laps in total) and climb was slower than the one before. I was really treading water on the final lap. Suffice to say my power average was well down but it was my longest ride to date at just under 70km and 840m climb, 2hr31.

I almost lost it in the final 9km section after completing the 4 laps. The route seemed to be heading back towards the Box Hill climb again. I turned the air blue with expletives, a very very dark blue. I was pretty livid, scratch that, I was full on livid, as I thought it was making me go up the climb again... Thankfully it turned before the start of the climb and headed back to the classique finish.

I am feeling so very knackered right now...

What Have I Done?.....

.... I've only gone and got myself roped into entering the OMM in October. With the commitment made, I'm actually feeling quite scared at the thought of spending two days in the middle of the Black Mountains based on my current state. But to be fair to my race partner, it didn't take much roping. The idea of such a hard challenge, relatively so close, should be just the shot in the arm I need to knuckle down. Three months to get myself mountain race fit...

As to today, I took to the bike for a virtual Zwift race and put in a pretty hard effort. On a flat 27km multi-lapper, I hit a good (for me) power average of 185W. Got some good jelly leg on the sprints, especially the final one, across the finish line.

A Light Week In The Heat...

So it's been a light week. I'm feeling worn down by this heat and the disturbed sleep patterns it's brought. I'm normally a morning person, up with - or before - the sparrows, but this week has been a struggle. It was a steady turbo this evening. Not a hugely powerful session but acceptable.

BKilled It...

on BKool this evening. I decided to re-ride the virtual Mordiford 17km loop and race myself. It's surprisingly motivating to try and break away from your ghost - and break away I did. But once you're out ahead the motivation keeps on coming as you push to prevent the gap closing. I pushed at all stages of the route and was rewarded with a decent ride. Three minutes quicker and among the highest power output averages of my rides to date. I think it was actually the highest but I can't be arsed to check - well, maybe later....

Pleased With That...

So I completed the last stage of the Zwift SIS Tour de Oz, stage 7. Taking on the 48k, 900m Three Sisters Zwift course in 1hr46. My longest 'virtual ride' to date and it was pretty hard going. I can definitely feel it in my legs.

So when I say I completed the last stage, I don't mean I've completed all the stages - yet. I missed stages 2 and 3, as I said before - at least I think I said that before, or maybe I didn't. Who knows? Anyway, I missed those two stages but there are 'make up days' available at the end of the month to ride the missed stages. Not sure how that all works but hopefully it will become clear before the day as I would like to complete the set - and get the unique virtual Tour de Oz kit for the virtual me to wear with pride.


Sad geek alert! Only read on if you are a sad geeky bastard like myself...

Had a bit of a hiccup with the Strava import. I started ridding and then switched across to the pre-ride warmup area - all in my virtual little world, of course - but somehow it recorded the last location of my warmup as the first point in the actual ride, meaning the very first point was recorded at something like 8000km/h! That seemed to upset the elevation data, introducing a funny offset. So I tried to manually correct the import file, deleted the activity and then re-imported the data. That fixed the start/offset issue but cocked up the elevation data - I do not think I ascended 3500m! So I had to delete that and re-import the original data which was luckily available from my Zwift profile - phew, I think all you sad bastards still reading, will agree. (You cannot undelete a Strava activity, which is a bit pants). All sorted in the end though, well, apart from the original offset, wrong start point issue - so not really sorted at all then - but the important thing is that all the stats look correct.

See, I said only read on if you're a sad geeky bastard.

A Bit Of Brush Work...

As I swept the Waun Fach fell race this afternoon. If I'm honest I was a little worried I might not be able to keep up but in the end it was fine. I was well within myself. It gives me some hope that despite a fall off in run specific training over the last couple of weeks, that I've managed to maintain the simmer and can kick up to a boil during the next couple of months in time for my comeback...

Hors Categorie...

Well that was pretty much agony. Stage 6 Tour de Oz complete and in homage to today's Tour de France, the route was the Alpe du Zwift. 1030m of climb in 10km without any respite. Suffice to say I found it hard going. Moving with so little speed meant the distance ticked down soooooo slowly. Total ride time including the warm up was 1hr41 of that 1hr10 was spent just on the climb! Total ride, including the warm up section, was 27k and 1220m climb. Not sure if I enjoyed it or not! but the achievement of having done it makes up for that.