I’ll call this the middle

So, where do I start…I will start now and do a bit of going forward and a bit of going back.

At the moment I am on leave. I’ve been on leave from the 1st of December and will be on leave up and until the 25th of December when I return to work on Christmas Day.

So for now…I am a full time athlete. I am Zwift’ing everyday. I am closer to the finish than I am to the start of the Zwift ‘Build Me Up’ program which runs 12 weeks in duration (I am doing it in around 8 weeks) and I am enjoying the hell out it. I am lucky to have a Wattbike Atom X that has seen little to no use this decade. So I am definitely putting it to use. I started with a session just getting it ‘set up’ as best I could and then did an FTP test (199W) and then started the program. Since starting I have done 968.5km, over 1 day, 18hrs and 19 mins climbing 8187m in the process having completed 33 of the 49 sessions in the program…there are 12 proper sessions to do…then a recovery session, a short primer session, a short technique session and then the FTP test again. We’ll get to see how much progress I have made them. I am going to plan it all and squeeze everything in with the objective of doing my FTP test on Christmas Eve before I head back to work on Christmas Day.

I am also integrating into my training schedule some easy calisthenics work…some push ups, KB rows, KB presses along with some bodyweight leg work and some core trunk work.

I have not really put any special thought into my diet or nutrition BUT I am drinking less and eating less garbage…the drinking and garbage eating tend to go hand in hand for me so no surprise there. My Aria Fitbit scales have me down just over 10kgs since I realised I was an absolute mess in June some time and started this ‘process’ that has seen me end up here. My Fitbit scales are also telling me that I have lost more than 1okgs of fat as my lean muscle mass is also up a bit…so I am happy with that. My blood pressure is down (it was high’ish) and back within the normal range. I have an appointment to see my GP next Monday and it will be time to get a full blood panel done as well so we’ll see where I am at with regards my blood markers and my health as well.

The plan now is to get this training program completed and then review based on my results and set a new goal…and that goal is going to involve racing regularly and I am going to plan a racing schedule around my days off. Also, when back at work from leave I am going to get back into my weights on rostered days along with some easy Zone 2/Recovery rides (30mins) and then Zwift’ing on non rostered days…training rides and racing…which in all likelihood could end up just being racing as I know that whatever category or race type I am in…I am going to get smashed and I am ok with that.

I will report back at the end of this training block with all my results.