Six Becomes Seven...

So the ambitious plan to run five 5k's and a Duathlon in six days is looking like it's going to be at least seven days on account that my left hamstring is a little f*(%ed. Okay, I'm exaggerating but it was sore enough that I could only limp walk the run element of tonight's Duathlon. The bike was about the same as last which was surprising as I could feel the hamstring throughout. Tomorrow is definietly a rest day and then we'll see.....

11s

...Faster than yesterday's 5k. I was surprised how little fatigue I felt but then again it was only 5k. Back in the day a 5k was a sprint. These days it's more like an ultra. I have a feeling tomorrow's Duathlon is going to be more telling though...

Hard Week Ahead...

Probably being a bit ambitious but I'm trying to run five 5k's in five days for the Zwift Run the Worlds event - except it's going to be six days as there's the duathlon on Wednesday, so I'll be completing the fifth on Saturday instead. Still, probably being a bit optimistic for completing it in the six days but it's a good target to aim for. Luckily, there are plenty of makeup days the following week in case things go south...

Tonight's 5k was my quickest for a while. I forced myself to work hard and I was happy to see the finish.

That Competitive Feeling...

 ... I obviously wasn't but the old racing juices were definitely flowing in tonight's Zwift Duathlon League race number 1 of 6. A time-trial format bike / treadmill duathlon with points scored based on the distance achieved in 35 minutes on the bike followed by 15 minutes on the treadmill with a ten minute transition in-between.

I felt I paced it about right on the bike. I didn't hold back but didn't go all out although I was motivatted through the second half to chase down some 20-30 riders without going ballistic. As soon as the time was up I was immediately off the bike and onto the the treadmill. Talk about jelly legs....... I spent the transition at a gentle walk but the legs didn't feel like they were attached to my body. Once underway my legs started to feel better and I increased the pace throughout and overtook a number of runners but 15 minutes isn't long and it was over before I knew it.

So that's the marker set for next week's race, although the bike route will be different so it won't be directly comparable, the treadmill section will be. Hopefully I can go a bit quicker...

Tough End to an Easier Week

So it was a bit of easier week on the grounds that I was saving myself for today's Zwift session. I completed the final stages of the Tour de Zwift for two wheels and two feet with slightly easier effort levels than normal as today I had to make up for the Stage 3 bike ride I was missing. I was not looking forward to it and feel pretty knackered for having completed it but complete it I did. It's the first time I've completed the Hors catégorie La Reine KOM - and at two minutes under two hours, I was only 1 hour and 9 minutes slower than Romain Bardet's Strava KOM time!!! I need a little more practice....

It Feels Like I'm Improving...

So I went with stage 7 of the Tour de Zwift Ride tonight, the short 25k version in the jungle. I took it easy on the first lap but found myself churning out higher power on the climb second time round. So much so I was almost back to the kind of power of I was putting out eighteen months ago - that led to a gain of over 100 places as the riders around me ate my dust. Definitely heading back in the right direction...

Niggle Feels Better

Pretty good pootle on the treadmill today. Not the quickest but quickest of late at least and the ache behind my knee seems to have gone. I felt it half way through yesterday's ride and during Thursday's jog, sufficiently bad that I only did the warm up. Today's effort was much better. 

Bit of a Niggle

So I'm continuing on alternating days of running and riding although I have picked up a bit of a niggle. A dull pain behind the knee. It came on during Saturdays session of increasing pace 500m efforts. I probably should have cut it short but I wanted to complete the session and get my legs moving faster than they have of late. It didn't feel too bad but I took a rest day Sunday.

I managed an easy jog yesterday and a longer ride today at medium effort - apart from the climbing finish. The ache behind the knee is still there but not too bad. Maybe another rest day tomorrow to let it settle but we'll see.

And That's Another FTP...

But not a surprise this time. As me and the other four hundred riders sat in the pens, awaiting the start, I decided I was going to go for it. There was no soft start this time, I went at it from the gun. Despite falling back a little in the first half of the ride I was still much higher in the field than I've been of late. I'm not going to lie, it was hard work keeping the power up - and my legs knew it. I began to struggle on the box hill climb, the power slipping a little before redoubling my effort but once over the top it was, quite literally, all downhill - well almost....

Cue another 5 points on the FTP. Feels good.

Solid Ride

On Zwift in the 4th stage of the Tour de Zwift. Must admit I wasn't feeling it and set off slowly, just going through the motions. Not sure when the power crept up as I wasn't really concentrating but after a bit I found I was working quite hard. From there I started to chase.

On the main climb, towards the end, with the power as high as it's been of late, I was really puffing. Over the top, on the descent to the finish I kept the power on and was rewarded, at the finish, with a surprise FTP increase of 10 points. The second increase in 16 days, this one much larger than the first. Happy with that on a day when lethargy almost got me...

Decent Weeks Training

I've completed a good mix of training this week, split fifty fifty running and riding. I'm trying to alternate run and ride days not to mention putting a bit more focus on actually putting some effort into the riding - which I've been guilty of pootling. Last couple of rides have been good hard efforts. Forgot how good it feels to have really put some effort in - I won today's sprint for 611th place... 

Finally...

My FTP is back on the way up.... Not by much, mind, but every little counts so I'm glad I didn't bottle it. I wasn't far away from that though, as the sofa was alluringly comfy after a day sat at the desk. In the end I dragged myself free after twenty minutes relaxing with the Neighbours.

I opted for a 17k flat time trial and went at it workman like. I was focused on keeping as even a power throughout and despite a couple of moments of doubt, managed to keep it going all the way. So far so good on the new year's training, two runs, two rides - which, coincidently, is definitely not in any way a resolution.

Not Quite A Month Since the Last Exercise Post

I have been training but just in a somewhat uninspired fashion. It's all been very steady but I'm not settings any of those new year resolution bollocks. Just going to try and keep plugging away. Little by little and hopefully by the time we're back to some sort of normality I'll be ready to climb a hill - albeit slowly.

First Race For A While...

A Zwift one of course - have you seen the weather? A 17.5km flat. It was a mixed category race, so I was towards the back obviously. Riding at a steady power, in a small group of two or three. As we edged around the course we collected in a few riders to find ourselves in a group of eight with 5k to go. I decided to have a go for a break rather than wait on a sprint. With 2.5km, on a short incline, I went for it. A couple came with me. I kept the hammer down. My heart rate was up at 171-172 and I dropped them on the next little bump, continuing to keep the power going. It was like a 4min time trial effort on the edge. The group never fell totally by the wayside, so I had to keep the effort going all the way to the line. Haven't worked that hard for a while...