Sunday before the start of a rest week, and my numbers all point to perhaps overdoing the training recently. Nicer weather coupled with COVID craziness have found me on the bike and the trainer more than before. The rest week will be appreciated.

I am finding that Zwift racing is good training. Though it is not real, it tricks my brain just enough that I do much more work and during a regular workout or training ride. That, coupled with the inability to crash (unless I tip my trainer over) and the fact that I don’t have to travel for hours to join a race are appealing.

Excitedly, I noticed in the activity list today, a sprint race. Only about 9km and relatively flat. Though the race was scheduled in Innsbruck and their definition of flat and mine are different. The course seemed to stay in the town for the most part with only a big climb up to a church. Once I got everything set up I still had about 15 minutes for warm-up. I spun on my trainer, and little avatar man spun on his trainer as other racers entered the holding pen. All told there were almost 30 in the D category. At 2.4w/kg I’m at the upper limit of the D’s. Soon enough I’ll have to join the Cs and will suffer in new ways.

As we began, the race categories all merged together. Thinking of IRL racing I stood on my pedals for the first minute or so. This caused me to wind up in the middle of the Cs with only one or two of the Ds. The main D peleton was behind. A nifty thing about Zwift, is that you know all of these things; time splits, maps, elevation profiles, power output, etc. I could tell that I was going to blow up if I tried to stay with the Cs. So, I waited for a relatively flat space and sat up a little to let Ds catch me so I could draft and ride in the group.

As the first group came up from behind, I mis-timed my acceleration and didn’t quite grab on. However, as the second bunch approached, I was able to catch on and ride in the group. On the big climb up to the Neue Höttinger Pfarrkirche our big group split up and a little group of three remained. Now down the big hill and back along the river.

The little group of three stayed together for the remainder of the race. I could feel my trainer adjusting the load as I took different positions in our group. It was never a big change, but it was enough that I could catch my breath a little. We had lost contact with anyone ahead and I didn’t see anyone about to overtake us from behind.

Our little group crossed the finish in 10, 11 12th places. I learned afterwards that I had been riding with a 43 year old woman from St Lucia and a 67 year old man from the UK. I “friended” both of them and sent them little thumbs up emojis. Over at the zwift power results site the standings were adjusted to toss out the people who weren’t wearing heart monitors, or didn’t have real time power numbers or who had somehow, magically been able to put out 5+ w/kg while racing with the Ds and I moved up to second. A podium spot! Right behind my new friend from St Lucia.

I rode the course a second time, at a much lower rate, to cool down and to enjoy the scenery and the (for this time at least) far off mountains. I will enjoy this next week of rest.