……Of completing the Etape du Tour in three weeks. It’s coming up fast and though i’ve done a fair bit of training it’s not anywhere near as much as I’d like to have done – many many reasons and excuses! Did a ride last week which at 63 miles and 6,500 feet of climbing was equivalent in terms of mileage and climbing to deliver me to the bottom of the final climb and I felt OK. But the thing is the final climb is 37km long at an average of 7%, so means a further 20 miles and 7k feet of climbing after on top of that. Going on a bigger ride tomorrow and another one next week and probably a third before I start tapering down hopefully getting to 100ish miles and 10k ish feet of climbing along with completing a Zwift training schedule and gym work.
Training has consisted of working through a Zwift training schedule for the Etape (focussing sweet spot stuff) and extending mileage and climbing on rides hunting out hills in the Peak District (so alot shorter, but alot steeper than the Alps), spin classes at the gym and a non-runner to half marathon in 5 months, which I completed last month. Not been too successful in losing weight…lost some, but not a huge amount. Definitely feel fitter and better for all the work, but it’s a big challenge with over 14k feet (5k metres) of climbing in total.
Ultimately irrelevant, I’m doing it anyway, but succeed or not i’ve had a blast with the training and having the goal etc. just struggled to balance everything with family, work (including business trips), crappy weather etc.
Anyone done the Etap or something similar? What’s lying in store for me?