Forum menu
Oooof.
jammers, did you get him ?
(you looked pretty well matched)
Went too soon, passed me on the line.
We’d been playing cat and mouse for a Lap and a half. I was trying to get my average down after a stupid first lap and a half...
Ah, bad luck - I seem to do that a lot (I don't have a sprint, so fair enough. It's just that I don't have a fast km in me either 😀 )
Yeh, you're looking pretty close to the Bs on the live page. Sounds like a hard rideI was trying to get my average down
Weeksy, so a few hours ago you were saying you needed a rest week. Then you try and race and wonder why it went wrong 😯 ❗ 😕
Totally baffling behaviour 😆
Got a bit carried away at the start sprint and found myself with the A/B group. Got dropped by them in the first dusty bit and waited for the main C group.
Settled in with them for another lap and was pretty comfortable until I got caught napping by a surge up the little hill before the volcano turn off and I just couldn’t close the gap. Eased right off and rode with that Canadian guy for the rest until the final sprint.
Edit: 5th by the looks of it
Weeksy, so a few hours ago you were saying you needed a rest week. Then you try and race and wonder why it went wrong
I didn't question the Why. I felt rubbish before the race, I debated several times even setting up turbo. But I was bored so went for it, I like to race, I enjoy it, but tonight was not the night.
weeksy, I know you're doing it for the general benefits (wt, health etc) as much as the results but maybe CH has a point - your last few weeks have been peppered with comments like that. I don't think racing or the equivalent in hard riding outdoors, multiple days every week (more, in your case 😆 ) is a goer unless you're massively well conditioned.
In June I had 2-3 DNFs in a row as well as feeling shit out in the real world - I'm not great in the heat but was pushing hard despite that as I had been improving.
A week after the last DNF I had a chest infection that took 2 weeks out of my summer. Rested up (then went on holiday, so no riding for a week even after "recovering", followed by fairly easy MTB week while still on holiday.
Back to the bikes at home after that. Back on zwift a month later and I'm going suspiciously well currently. I'm definitely going to make sure I rest up between bouts of daftness from here on. I know I'm older than you but I think the priciple stands for pretty much all of us lot
But you KNEW your legs were trashed? How did the thought of racing at your worst excite you??
If nothing else, you know what a DNF does to your CVR points 😉
ZSUN group ride would have given you 30+ miles with banter at a sustainable endurance pace and the time would have flown by.
Every spadeful deeper you dig this hole of bad form, the longer it will take to get out of!
Every spadeful deeper you dig this hole of bad form, the longer it will take to get out of
Bad form? I've been riding as well as ever since getting back on the Isaac.
I made a decision, it didn't work out, I don't see it being anything more than that.
I'm not denying I could do with some rest days though.
Can I just say, after hearing about it the other day, that CVR thing is weird - and a bit evil !
(I've done 2 days this week of 90 minutes or so at 120bpm - feel like wasted time but I'm beginning to see the point, or rather the value in not battering myself at 80-90% all the time (60, 100, 60, 100 works better for me - and as CH says, it seems to impress CVR too))
The last few races you've spoken about feeling like you needed days or a week off- i.e. High fatigue. Fatigue increases with fitness and creates negative (bad) form. The only way to get good form is to back off. Fitness drops a little, fatigue drops more so and boom, the form rises.
oh, and @ jam bo - great result!
I say keep racing. It's the only fun bit about Zwift.
Yeah, bailing out in a puddle of sweat and self loathing sounds great 😀
I have these weak moments every so often when I try and steer him towards getting quicker for less effort but I just need to remember I'm banging my head against a brick wall 😆
I do a race pretty much every second day and then do another 20-30 min at half pace, followed by a gentle (or zero) day the next day - that's more than enough for me
It depends on your fitness too. For many A Cat guys, sitting in the lead bunch is Sweetspot wattage for them. They can handle a LOT of that per week.
Pointy end of B is threshold on the flats and balls out up every climb for me and that's at least 48hrs recovery personally until I can replicate the balls out efforts. And if I can't, then I wouldn't want to race. Where's the fun in getting dropped by folk you usually beat?
Yeah CH but you're a bit more focussed on actual racing than many of us (and you're on some formal trainng plan anyway, aren't you ?)
I'm doing it really to get/stay healthy after being put on the diabetic naughty step (and several other markers of middle-age decrepitude). I see weeksy's point of view but I also think he's pushing it a bit far; I didn't realise how knackered I was in the summer until I stopped. Races now are just my "hard days", except for the occasional workout if race fields are too thin or I can't make a start time
Well, I've been focussed on one race for 7 weeks now which has curtailed my Zwift racing.
Interestingly, Weeksy commented on how many hours I was training and how he respected my dedication. A quick look on Strava showed we had in fact both averaged 7hrs06mins in the previous four weeks.
Even if general fitness is your goal then I don't see how adding a bit of structure to ensure you get the best results for your time invested is any harder than thrashing yourself flat out every ride?
To run Zwift, you already have the means for films, music, ebooks, podcasts and YouTube at your disposal so there really is no excuse to be bored at a lower intensity for a couple of your weekly rides.
Hard rides hard, easy rides easy. Avoid the grey!!!
Oh, I agree about not mashing everywhere - though admittedly it's a fairly recent change for me. I reckon around 60% of my time is now at 120 bpm or so, despite me finding it pretty boring (I'm just bimbling up the big hill, logging the climbing to get one of those fancy bikes like you 😉 )
Mostly it's the radio for me - or cycling on eurosport but that tends to make me go too fast as I get carried away (I once nearly fell off a treadmill in a hotel gym while watching a footy match - jumped for a header 😀 ). Should do some podcasts though, you're right about that
OOooh, it's KISS 2nd base tonight 🙂
I always like that one.
😀
SMASH IT !
I know this has probably been asked before, but how do zwift categories translate to real world?
At the moment I’m bouncing along at the top of C. Could I stay with the bunch in a cat 4 race or would I get dropped first lap?
jam bo - Member
I know this has probably been asked before, but how do zwift categories translate to real world?At the moment I’m bouncing along at the top of C. Could I stay with the bunch in a cat 4 race or would I get dropped first lap?
POSTED 6 MINUTES AGO #
CH is the main person to answer this, but for me, pointy end of C can JUST about hang in for a Cat4. With the correct riding skills/technique i think you could hang in the bunch, but that technique requires tweaking, watching, sitting, learning... etc. I don't think CH changed that much between 3-4 races in a power output back when he started racing, but his position improved greatly over that time, but it seemed to me, that was more to his riding style/position etc.
I was doing well in C when i tried a race in Cat4 with CH and Nath... I lasted 2 laps... but i think C now is harder than C then slightly.... But i do question whether if i had a better technique of pack riding i'd have hung in longer....
Yeah, that's pretty much it for Criteriums. Top end of C is plenty to get started. Technique will then decide how far you get.
My first race was -4 laps on the leaders and I averaged about 295w for 21mph 😆
A few months later, the same race would have been around 230w average and I'd have been feeling like I could contest the sprint.
My hunch is that most people who get their Cat 3 points are very close to 4w/kg or have a really strong 1minute power.
Wattsboard.com gives you a crude appraisal of your power profile.
[img] 
[/img]
Zwift isn't friendly to outliers though, I'll try and find the blog post later but there's a guy who's Crit videos I love. He's capable of 35mph sprints and was up to Cat2 US I think.
But as a tiny Asian guy, he's only a D on Zwift!! His wattages are relatively tiny and the Zwift draft doesn't compensate!!!
[quote=jam bo ]Got a bit carried away at the start sprint and found myself with the A/B group. Got dropped by them in the first dusty bit and waited for the main C group.
Settled in with them for another lap and was pretty comfortable until I got caught napping by a surge up the little hill before the volcano turn off and I just couldn’t close the gap. Eased right off and rode with that Canadian guy for the rest until the final sprint.
Edit: 5th by the looks of it
just looked at strava.
lap 1: 280 W average
lap 2: 265 W average
lap 3: 240 W average
Was admittedly a little downhearted after last night I admit, but the reasons of course were fairly clear.
I thought about the 2nd base race tonight for a revenge attack, but instead, I went out on the Parkwood. Trails were too wet but the back lanes were all good, so 50km later and I'm chilling in the bath before consuming a tonne of pasta!
Was a really nice ride, took it really easy and didn't push myself,but was lovely being out just pushing the pedals around.
Gun to my head I'd say:
3.0w/kg for sticking with the bunch in 4s only race.
3.5w/kg for sticking with the bunch in 3/4s race or a clever win in 4s only.
4.0w/kg is clever points territory in a 3/4.
4.5w/kg+ control of the pack.
When I turned up with 4.3w/kg (but thinking I had 5.0w/kg) I was able to control the front of a 4s only, once I eventually made my way up there. I found racing mentally harder when I found out I didn't have 5.0w/kg.
Hope that helps folks 🙂
Well if I could just drop 15kg I’d be in contention....
Well this looks interesting....
[img] 
[/img]
I don't think you actually die if you fall off though 🙂
I might get half way across then have a panic attack and stop. I'm not great with heights 🙂
I think nathb would be about right. Last two Zwift races have been 4.5 and 4.4 W/kg for me. In a 3/4 I'm normally able to make an attack, often one that sticks and I can take the odd prime.I can stay in the bunch easy enough on a 2/3/4 and if it is uphill at any point do something.
Other than the output at the end of rides what are people using to look at data. Zwift Power gives minimal info. Std Strava also gives some. I'd like to see things like power curves as after I stop dicking around I was going to start using it as part of a winter training plan. Anything free or cheap?
Strava premium has lots of extra data, including power curves, none of which makes any sense to me
Muggomagic - was that you riding and if so which course is that? I have no update showing on my ipad.
Not me, I saw it on the Club WBR facebook group.
Just sneaked in a wbr 4 lap london classique and it was pretty good. I think i am coming down with something (slight sore throat and headache) and just that tiny ailment doesnt half make a difference, HR was pretty high and i was struggling to get it down plus doing it indoors when its 20c as opposed to a cold garage was also making it tougher. Quite a large field meant a decent size group at the pointy end so it was quite brisk. I managed to hang on until the last little climb but i think a few got away and it strung out a bit. Sprint finish at the end which i did pretty well and for the millionth time or feels like it i came 4th in cat B. It turns out i and 10 others all finished within 13 secs of the overall winner.
Wondering if there's anything in the legs for today, short flat layout being Richmond, so possibly suited to what i can likely manage today. Questioning it though, which is rarely a good thing.
I am lining up the SZR autumn race at 6. Looks like a decent turnout. I did this same race a month ago (my first ever race) so will be interesting to compare performances.
oh font of all Zwift knowledge... has anyone encountered an issue on Apple Mac's where you start zwift and it immediately crashes with an apple message saying it has crashed unexpectedly?
I have removed reinstalled, updated Mac etc and still can't get it working from a clean install, always crashes before even the login or ride button is presented. 🙁
I have also resorted to logging a ticket with Zwift which is now at their 2nd tier of support but there have been no resolutions offered yet.
I am lining up the SZR autumn race at 6. Looks like a decent turnout. I did this same race a month ago (my first ever race) so will be interesting to compare performances.
Last SZR I did had a 140 strong peloton in the C's...planning to join as well tonight, never done Richmond before though...
If you are unsure about riding Weeksy then i think that actually answers the question for you. Its clear your body is telling you to rest but your brain is telling you to crack on, unfortunately you dont use your brain to turbo so listen to the body. I decided after yesterdays ride at 98% full health that i need to take a few more days off as that tiny 2% ailing health meant i felt really drained and lethargic in the evening. Feel a little better today but still have a sore throat so clearly fighting some small virus so no riding for me.