That’s a Wrap on a Week of Training &  Rebuilding

As noted in the Intensity post, having a good training plan backed by meaningful, accurate data greatly improves one’s ability to monitor, track, and improve performance. For me after a few lost weeks due to illness (nasty sinus conditions), the all too common Business Travel (hotel trainers help mentally but are not intended to improve fitness/performance), and some wonderful family travel to see our grandchildren. ❤️ See Georgia. This week was about starting the fitness rebuilding process. 

Snap shot of weekly Intensity. This was all cycling. No gym days were planned but I will be back there tonight (Monday) despite not being fully recovered. 

If you recall the minimum recommended weekly intensity is 150. For many that is a stretch, goal, aspiration as let’s face it, life, work, family, stress, etc. often get in the way. 

For me the 700+ was right on target. I wasn’t doing any VO2 max intervals or Z5 efforts so the entire 700+ was at the normal 1x minute rate. Unfortunately I put in far more upper Z3 and lower Z4 than planned as my fitness / speed ratio was off. 

So next week it may only be a target of 650 but I want some quality time, maybe 5 hours of Z2 riding to build capillaries and the oxygen delivery network. 

A sidebar about alcohol and poor sleeping combined effect on performance. This was Not a deliberate experiment, I’ve done enough in the past to know better. But my best friend was throwing a birthday party for his wife Saturday night. And conveniently she is my wife’s best friend. So I deliberately planned a shorter distance, much more climbing ride for Sunday knowing going solo I could suffer through in relative peace. Trust me, I wasn’t drunk but the impact of an evening of drinking, Krispy Cream donuts(1), and some world class Bourbon did not have my legs feeling fresh for the ride. 🤦‍♂️

 Your training plans and intensity will vary. Trust me, alcohol, poor sleep, and dealing with stress induced back pain / muscle cramps from financial issues at work do not make for a good experience. 

Preparing for the RAAM2CC means getting up to six days in a row of riding with at least 350 miles. Most in Zone 2 & 3 for repeatability, recovery, and energy efficiency.