I guess I’m a class C rider now. Indoors, at least.
That’s according to the recommended race suggestions on a Zwift, presumably off the back of progress made in training to over the past month and yesterday’s ramp test producing a bump in FTP to 245w.
Having started this process at 188w, nudging to 203w a month or two back I thought these were some good gains. Jumping to 245w shifts zones entirely for me.
Now, instead of the 195w mark being a nice sub-threshold Z4 spin, it’s the tempo marker, and I can still break 180w in Z2.
All of that made for interesting reading on Thursday night as I took part in my first Zwift 10th anniversary ride (sticking it out to the end and nabbing the 10th anniversary kit too) while at the same time stepping up in pace to Class C.
The group ride, hosted by USMeS over the Big Flat 8 in Watopia started in the Desert Pens (also a first experience, giving me a chance to spin the legs for 10 minutes before we got moving), with the pace set at an average 2.2w/kg. Given I’m still in the high 80s, this left me with an average power output of 194w for the 45-minute route.
More to that, the step up in pace means that
- My best 30min power was produced at 201w
- My best 20min power was produced at 204w
- My best 8min power was produced at 264w
Yesterday’s ramp test set a new five minute bar at 293w with one minute at 322w.
On the power front, it’s been a good week for results. On the physical front, the jump in pace was a good test last night. Not enough to kill me off, but by the 35-minute mark I was really starting to feel it, especially having sustained the pace to that point.
It may not have helped that the event I had registered for – a last-minute decision – wasn’t getting underway until 11pm.
While I’m not interested in heading racing just yet, even on a social front, I’ll be jumping into more of those group rides this Saturday and Sunday. The class C jump was testing, but welcome. How else do you measure your progress and chart your abilities unless you’re able to step up challenges along the way?
Ride by 6 October as part of the Big Birthday Bash events and you’ve a chance of nabbing at least one new kit for your garage.
You’ll spot me somewhere in Watopia…