Week 1 is complete.
Summary: it was not as bad as I expected. Of course, online reviews say Week 1 is the easiest, so I'm not declaring victory just yet.
Surprises and other Notes:
- The training load didn't spike my HR the way that TdZwift or the zFondos do.
- Although the Calibration ride did "fit" all of the right descriptors (i.e. I think my FTP is set about right), I was running well below HR threshold in this weeks' rides.
- I actually thought my HR monitor was lying to me but then I had the "well duh' moment -- Week 1 is very much about building base, cadence, and getting noobs used to the workout interface vs. jumping straight to VO2MAX.
- I suppose that might change. And, building base and technique makes sense, really, given the name of the training plan.
- Quality of sleep improved marginally.
- Sleep and I have an adversarial relationship. I typically wake several times a night, starting around 2:30am and then every 30-60 minutes until it's time to get up.
- The past week, my first wakeup was typically more like 4am, and my ability to fall asleep quickly improved dramatically.
- Overall I feel pretty good.
- I wasn't overly sore.
- I wasn't dreading the bike or the workouts and looked forward to it.
- Week 1 weight didn't change much, but the normal oscillations tapered down. Not a new low, but close to it.
I've been picking routes for badge completion and trying to get some elevation - chipping away forever at the Tron. On Saturday I did the 2018 UCI Worlds Short Lap in Innsbruck, which is a badge I've had my eye on for awhile.
Typically I find cadence work to be annoying. Zwift is screaming SPIN FASTER or SPIN SLOWER and my oxygen deprived brain is saying DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO. My comfort zone is 85-95 rpm and holding outside of that, in either direction, is a real challenge. But I did my best to follow the guidance and for the most part have hit the marks - including the low cadence work in Red Unicorn.
The intent is to help, so I should shut up and listen.
The one thing I omitted was the out of the saddle instructions. I am not great at standing on the stationary rig and do not need crash sideways through the drywall.
I was initially scared of the 90 minute Red Unicorn - long segments over/under is exactly the kind of riding that I'm not good at - but found that the biggest challenge was just the saddle time. I should have paused the workout to stretch, but hindsight is 20/20.
So far, so good. Nine weeks to go.
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