ZRL Race 6 - Volcano and Supertuck

Week 6 of the ZRL saw us take on the volcano climb in Zwift's Watopia 3 teams...  more thoughrs below, but if you just want to watch the video for mg thoughts - here it is.

(If you are wondering why there was no report from race 5, its because I forgot to press record before the race start.)

Having ridden the route on Monday afternoon with a couple of the racers from the Chester Tri squad I wasn't that worried about the race...  other than it was a bit longer than I am used to riding.  (I normally ride for an hour or less - so never 100% sure when the racing will be at least an hour on how my legs will be.)  However, Monday night's sleep had been a bit disrupted.  An ambulance visiting a house nearby disturbed us - no complaints and I sincerely hope whomever it was visiting is OK.  And then, having gotten back to sleep, my youngest had a bad dream and wanted me to go and sit with him for a bit to help him get back to sleep.  So I was feeling a little bit more tired than normal, and during the warm-up was feeling less than perfect.

Anyway, the banner dropped, and I managed to stay in the main group, although an jnternet glitch meant I had to chase back on when I wouldn't have expected to.  Hitting the climb for the first time I tried to ride to numbers, and slipped back to my normal position in the field.  Most disappointingly mt climb was slower than on the recce.  The next two laps passed, with me managing to use the supertuck on the descents to keep with a small group - which at least led to the end of the race being more entertaining than just rolling over the line. 

I was pretty disappointed with the ride at the end, having felt that I should have been better at least up the first climb, which might have changed how the race played out.  I suspect my AS is not at its best as my back has been sore for the last few mornings, which since I've been on biologics is unusual, and my right leg has a bit of sciatic pain going on - which is another sign and I know can affect my power output.  However, looking at the data overall in ZwiftPower it was my best 20 min power for a long time, and has given me an FTP increase - so even if not as good as I wanted things are going in the right direction.  And if I can make an improvement when not 100%, hopefully that means more to come!

So - onwards to next week and the Libby Hill Afterparty.  Hope to see you there ☺