Zwift, TR, Sufferfest etc

[bennymac]

Yes nice work! With an injury to manage at the same time too

[huckbucket]

Stage 8 this evening. Damn if that London course isn't the toughest one. Just nowhere to rest.

[VTskibum]

Well done Dee! Not sure I'm joining this week.

I knocked out Stage 7 yesterday as a super easy Cat C spin at 6am before skiing powder w/ my little girl, made for an early bed-time during a relatively boring superbowl. I missed Stage 2 so will have to get that one on the makeup days. I've bounced between A, B, and C depending on route, available time, and mood. Hardest one I did was the big mountains in the B category I think up Epic KOM, ended up basically turning that one into an FTP test rewarded w/ my highest 20 min power in over a year.

[Dee Hubbs]

The TDZ stage races really pushed me. I constantly topped up my record power numbers, and had a top 20 finish in 3 races (when there were 1000+ riders) I wished I could have really raced the last 2 stages, I think I'll try to re-ride them at full race pace.

[huckbucket]

Stage 6 is a standout of course. TdZ has been a great way to build fitness.

[buttahflake]

Stage 7 was brutal, 4 laps in the jungle. No real rest on that parcour.
Managed to hold 3.4w/kg for 1:05:33, after skiing all day. Legs were smoked!

[VTskibum]

I did a mix of A/B/C, ended up 18th in A on Stage 6/Innsbruck @ 3.6w/kg average. Figure these rides definitely helped that result.

[huckbucket]

Not finished all of the stages yet, but I've also been doing A and B rides. Definitely getting my racing legs back although I've plateaued at the moment.

[Dee Hubbs]

6 riders tonight.

Dee Hubbs
jamal (P.L.)
justcuz (K.R.)(late joiner)
Wendigo
EWG (F.T.)
F.Trucker

See ya Thursday at 6:00 EST or next Tuesday at 6:00 MST.
(That’s meant for the new comers or seldom showers.)

just cuz was late (or had technical issues), so when he joined late Zwift put him in the middle of the pack, at pack speed and pack power and Zwift gave him 15 seconds to get his pedals up to speed. (He would have gotten a message up on the screen “pedal assist ending in 14 seconds...”)
Easy to join late, no catch up, no being left behind. We (the pack) will even slow to let you get comfortably up to speed in the pack.
D.H.

[Sandbox]

I did 3 laps of the TGR course today as I knew I wouldn’t make the ride tonight. That’s a fun little loop, really enjoyed it actually. Crushed the sprint but that’s my thing... short bursts!

[wendigo]

nice ride tonight - continue to be amazed at the power that a few folks can put out, damn impressive.
in other news, went to shower after our ride - frozen pipes and drain, fun...

was thinking it might be fun to hit reverse at the beginning one of these rides

[Full Trucker]

Great ride as usual, gents. Also amazed at the power I see showing up from some of y'all.

Thanks to Dee for the tow at the end of Lap 2 / beginning of Lap 3, and for the rest of y'all for waiting up for me. Those Lap 3s seem to be getting a little faster each week, and it's definitely helping me to be in that mix and push it some.

Oh, and Zwift informed me I increased my FTP a bit as well... I should have a look at that!

[Dee Hubbs]

was thinking it might be fun to hit reverse at the beginning one of these rides

Cant U-turn in a meet up, you leave the meet up and rejoin the rest of the virtual world.
I’ve been looking for a different ride similar to this one, but haven’t found one that checks all the boxes.
I don’t like the climb being right at the end, I like that our climb is the jumping off point to race.
I like the distance for 3 laps in 45 mins (under 1hr (with warm up/cool down)
So many <10km courses have have a stupid long run in to the beginning of the first lap.

[Full Trucker]

QUESTION: Have any of you followed any of the Zwift training plans? I'm looking at the "Dirt Detroyer" plan and thinking about givin'er a go.

[VTskibum]

Tried to join tonight a few times, but my work phones VPN was on and was preventing it from joining thought as able to ride a lap up the big climb in Innsbruck while watching a movie. Should be back for next Tuesday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jamal]

QUESTION: Have any of you followed any of the Zwift training plans? I'm looking at the "Dirt Detroyer" plan and thinking about givin'er a go.

This time of year I'm mostly just trying to ride a reasonable amount to keep some base fitness and keeping the high intensity stuff down to like once a week, just because I feei like I still need a bit of a break. Although it's kind of weird, all of my racing has been this winter on zwift, and I'm not optimistic about real racing until, like, late summer or cx in the fall. But I suppose there will be some more "individual" type events in the spring at least.

So yeah, I haven't really looked at the plans on zwift but have browsed the workouts a bit and there is a lot of fairly "elaborate" stuff. Which is fine, doing a plan is better than no plan and a bunch of different workouts makes it more engaging. Personally my plan is to mostly do ftp oriented workouts plus some vo2 stuff for the next month or two and then i'll be able to start getting some good outdoor miles. We also have another local zwift race series going so that's kind of my one really hard, intense day a week.

On the other hand I can't say for sure that my plans are any good. Usually I just ride a lot, but having a smart trainer that reads power has motivated me to add some actual structure and set some rough power goals. Which, for all I know I'll hit just doing my normal things outside (or, will never reach no matter how well I train). I got this thing at the end of october and had been slacking for like 2 months up to that point. Also, did no workouts or races last year, just rode a lot.

[wendigo]

Cant U-turn in a meet up, you leave the meet up and rejoin the rest of the virtual world.
I’ve been looking for a different ride similar to this one, but haven’t found one that checks all the boxes.
I don’t like the climb being right at the end, I like that our climb is the jumping off point to race.
I like the distance for 3 laps in 45 mins (under 1hr (with warm up/cool down)
So many <10km courses have have a stupid long run in to the beginning of the first lap.
]

Didn’t know that about the uturn kicking out. Thanks again for setting this up!

[carpathian]

I officially reached a burn out phase this week while juggling working construction in damned 3 deg f and then skiing hard on the weekends and then TDZ efforts in the mix. This is the first winter in many where I have managed to prioritize a skiing a bit and it is real interesting seeing the counter effect it has on my 'endurance training stuff'. A good problem to have for sure!

I like hearing other people's training block plans and seeing what the objectives are. That is why I love endurance stuff because is like owning a car and slowly building out parts and making it faster and faster. I had a good running block through the fall and into first week of new year than changed gears to zwifting solid through the winter in prep for more Strava racing next summer, as to Jamal's point about there being no real races.

I threw the Big Island bike thing out there more as excuse to have something to train hard for in the spring and then have nice spring board into summer. Then I was thinking about just doing a 10 staycation instead, and slaying some lines!

Also to Jamal's point, I have never followed a 'real' training plan other than getting X amount of miles or hours on the week with a blend of 80-20 along the way. I will build hours and miles through a block as it peaks to a big race or something but never followed a plan plan. I can follow big trend but am too finicky on day to day basis as to whether I want to do long run or speed work or whatever, as prescribed.

[bennymac]

I’ve only been zwifting about a month so definitely a rookie here - but I signed up for the “FTP builder” training plan right away. The first couple workouts were good as it helped me build a bit of a foundation of fitness (I live on planet hoth so other than the odd fatbike outing I hadn’t been on a bike since September)

But it’s a bit annoying being on a plan because it wants you to do each session within a certain time frame (window is a few days) and then it just locks you out of that session and moves you to the next. I’d rather be able to fit these sessions in on my own schedule (working around group rides, races, alp climbs, other non zwift activities, real life commitments etc)

I think what might work better (for me) is to just make a custom workout anytime I want a training session - and then sort of design each session with the idea of mixing in different styles of workouts.

[Dee Hubbs]

"Zwift has 2 different structures: "Workouts" and "Plans"
"Workouts" are a bunch of single sessions that you can follow on your own schedule, where as "Plans" have set days to complete the next session, and only unlocks the next session once you have completed (or missed) them.
So in "Workouts" you can choose something like the 4wk FTP Booster or 8wk Rase Day Prep, and just click through the sessions at your own pace. Monday, Tuesday Thursday, or Monday 3 Mondays from now. If you want to repeat a session or skip a session, you can do that.

[bennymac]

"Zwift has 2 different structures: "Workouts" and "Plans"
"Workouts" are a bunch of single sessions that you can follow on your own schedule, where as "Plans" have set days to complete the next session, and only unlocks the next session once you have completed (or missed) them.
So in "Workouts" you can choose something like the 4wk FTP Booster or 8wk Rase Day Prep, and just click through the sessions at your own pace. Monday, Tuesday Thursday, or Monday 3 Mondays from now. If you want to repeat a session or skip a session, you can do that.

Good beta!

[huckbucket]

Cant U-turn in a meet up, you leave the meet up and rejoin the rest of the virtual world.
I’ve been looking for a different ride similar to this one, but haven’t found one that checks all the boxes.

Something longer is of interest to me. For example, two laps of Ocean Lava Cliffside Loop where the second time up the climb things kick off. That route should take us an just about an hour (22 miles).

[buttahflake]

I’m a big fan of that new route in Watopia. Climb is hard but not too hard, great loop.

[huckbucket]

I’m a big fan of that new route in Watopia. Climb is hard but not too hard, great loop.

Only problem is that for a group our size the hill is a wee bit longer than ideal. We'll be ones and twos by a third of a way up that hill.

[Flounder]

QUESTION: Have any of you followed any of the Zwift training plans? I'm looking at the "Dirt Detroyer" plan and thinking about givin'er a go.

I started that way in January hoping not to over do it. Got boring after a month. Started just riding routes which was a lot more fun. Sure enough, over did it last week and skiing on the weekend left me barely able to walk my knees were so sore. Back at it tonight and I’ll try and pace myself better. Going to start lapping the Innsbruck ring so I can learn to pace myself in that and hopefully join a group ride next month.