Throwing my Hands Up...

...and giving in to the idea that this week is just gonna be a shit-weather week also meant my plans for the week are changing.  Bea and I walked out this morning to temps in the 60's, wet & soaked roads... which means the trails are still soaked as well.  "It's supposed to clear up" was what my brain was telling me but after scoping out Accuweather, nope... the rain is supposed to keep coming til mid-afternoon.  "Can I get in those rides on the Zwift bike?" was the question I did not want to answer... 'cause sitting in the garage is never as fun as being outside.  Might be more productive, but it's never as fun.

Looking through the rest of week, the wind is gonna be miserable Friday & Saturday.  The ONE day that looks good is Thursday, the day that is already committed to taking Bea to the vet for annual x-rays.  While I could head somewhere local to get in a long ride, I don't like not being available in case something happens while she is sedated.  Our puppy is 12 years old... and healthy but I still won't stray too far.

So... Week 2 of this Base 1 period will get fast-forwarded to a Week 4, thus ending this Base 1 period.  That means there will be even more recovery (that isn't necessarily needed) but I will likely spend some time testing.  Long rides like I had planned originally just aren't gonna fit this week.

The plan is to get in two tests:

Tomorrow, I will roll down to South Mountain for the first time since May '24.  The plan is pretty simple:  roll down San Juan Road, open up my legs climbing back out but rest enough so when I turn onto the main road, I can hammer for the next 2.6 miles.  The last time in May it took me just under 20 minutes, pushing 234 watts with an average heart rate of 158 bpm.  

Saturday, assuming I get enough rest and the wind is still whipping hard as predicted, I will do the FTP Test on Zwift.  20 minutes of as-much-as-I-can-push (with a decent warm-up before and a cooldown after).  I have not completed a FTP Test on Zwift since July of LAST year.  (I haven't actually completed a full FTP Test since that one.  The last one was on McDowell Mountain Road and was a semi-failure with a botched computer workout cutting off at 15 mins.)

My only concern with the Saturday test is how well will I recover from tomorrow.  I would like to think I will be good... but I really won't know until I try.


Sunday will be a simple mountain bike ride.  I signed up for a "social" ride outta Fraesfield with a group heading out to inspect the fire damage from the last few years' wildfires (and not-so-wild fires).  The plan is to take the singlespeed.  It will be slow.  There will be lotsa stopping and talking... but it'll be fun to hear the information.

Later.



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