A race win, riding with giants, virtual sunrise and power records! March was full of activity 🙂
Week 1
ZTR Race – 2nd!
As I have already stated before, this is how you begin a week; race in the ZTR-EB races. I broke away with two other riders in the second-half of the race, and working together, we stayed away from the chasing peloton. I managed to sprint to a respectable 2nd, which I was pretty pleased with considering my legs were acidifying in all the lactic acid I was producing 😀 Using the pulse technique, I managed to produce 310 watts (5.44w/kg) for just over 1 hour. 
Wednesday – 30 weighted squats…
Friday was pretty traumatic in perspective – 2 x 10 minutes @ 255 watts (4.47w/kg) and 1 x 5 minutes @ 300 watts (5.26 w/kg). 
Saturday was less traumatic in relation to Friday, but still tough nonetheless; almost 3 hours on the turbo. I managed to win the 1 lap race at the end of the WGR (Watopia Group Ride) spin, and I rode with a cool pro – Scottie Weiss – who was preparing for a big upcoming race in Belize! Holding the world record for ‘everesting’ (climbing the height of Mount Everest on a bicycle), Weiss was quick, and a good rider to draft 😉
Zwift definitely helps to kill the boredom of indoor training – Still, I can’t understand how I managed to do another 3 hour spin on the turbo the following day! I cruised with the ESS (European Sunday Spin) Crew as part of my endurance session 🙂
Mileage: 208.8 miles
Elevation gain: 6,539 ft
Time ridden: 8 hrs 17 mins
Cumulative mileage (since 1st January): 1,960.2 miles (London to Athens)
Cumulative elevation gain (since 1st January): 63,420 ft (4 x height of Mont Blanc)
Cumulative time ridden (since 1st January): 91 hrs 07 mins
Week 2
ZTR Race – 1st!
My first ZTR win – Using the pulse technique, I broke away with around 15 miles to go and won by 47 seconds! I averaged 185bpm (beats per minute) throughout the 75 minute race 🙂
Wednesday featured some flat-line (F-L) work + a cruise around with the WWR (Wednesday Watopia Ride) Crew. Flat-line work is simply trying to ride at a set power. I decided to try and hold 210 watts (tempo), and so I rode as close as I could to 210 watts for a good 45 minutes. Flat-line work will help you to hold a power output more steadily. 
Friday – A relatively short and steady spin (31 miles), I took it easy around the streets of Richmond until the RCL (Richmond Criterium League) guys flying past. I jumped onto the back for a while, just for fun 🙂
Saturday – Darley Moor Race – 5th
Cold, cloud and rain droplets, this was definitely March. I went into the race with a plan – To attack a couple of times to see if anyone would come with me. I executed my plan well; I broke away with another guy with 3 laps to go. Unfortunately, he seemed unwilling to work with me, and we were reeled in. Entering the final corner of the final lap, I initiated the sprint, with around 300m to go. I led everyone through the chicane, into a headwind, which was a little daft. I finished 5th. I reckon I finished 4th, but the officials claimed 5th. Oh well, until next time 🙂
30 explosive weighted squats (25kg) ended my week 🙂
Mileage: 147.7 miles
Elevation gain: 3,950 ft
Time ridden: 6 hrs 0 mins
Cumulative mileage (since 1st January): 2,107.9 miles (London (UK) to Ankara, Turkey)
Cumulative elevation gain (since 1st January): 67,370 ft (2.32 x height of Mt. Everest)
Cumulative time ridden (since 1st January): 97 hrs 07 mins
Week 3
Monday was a pretty intense day – 4 x maximum sprints + 1 V02 max effort. Rolling down Greetwell Hill, I wait until my speed has dropped to 25mph before sprinting as hard and as fast as I can. Averaging 21mph for the entire ride, I managed to clock 35.1 mph in a sprint along the flat 🙂
Thursday – KISS (A) Race – 2nd!
My first KISS race, I didn’t actually intend to participate in this race. Having done 16 miles involving some cadence drills and solid efforts prior to the start, I was most definitely warmed up. I couldn’t help myself but race. I guess I really wanted to wreck myself 😀 
THE DAY CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY
The Mountain Route was FINALLY open!! And it is epic – two incredible (and pretty long) climbs up to an icy summit marked by a radio tower. 30 minutes @ 250 watts (4.31w/kg) and 5 minutes @ 310 watts (5.34w/kg) were done up the climbs. I also watched a virtual sunrise, which was actually pretty cool. Amazing work Zwift! Well done 🙂
Co-leading the AWR!
I rode solo for the first hour before co-leading, with Frederic Jacquemin (a teammate), the AWR (Aussie Watopia Ride)! 90km and 5,000ft is not a bad way to start your weekend 🙂
Super Sunday – Solid USS spin + mountain summit! 4 x 30 second ‘teasers’ + a mountain climb with increasing intensity 🙂
Mileage: 201.2 miles
Elevation gain: 15,538 ft
Time ridden: 10 hrs 27 mins
Cumulative mileage (since 1st January): 2,309.1 miles (Santiago (Chile) to Rio de de Janeiro, Brazil)
Cumulative elevation gain (since 1st January): 82,908 ft (Where the protective ozone layer floats)
Cumulative time ridden (since 1st January): 107 hrs 34 mins
Week 4
I didn’t began riding this week until Wednesday, where I raced in our first dZi’s Nepalese Summit Race! I could only manage 40 minutes or so, due to art homework (sigh), lack of sleep and that I thought my heart was going to pop! I averaged 196bpm for the first 13 minutes! I also felt a little ill this week, so I decided to take things steady and recover 🙂
Saturday – Post illness spin – I chilled with the WGR (Watopia Group Ride) Crew, and won the 1 lap race at the end! I also threw in a 1 minute effort, and managed to reach 100km/h 🙂
Sunday – Circuit RSR – IT DIDN’T RAIN THIS TIME!
This Circuit RSR was focused on improving our attacking and sprinting – From technique to raw power, I practiced cornering, attacking, counter-attacking, sprinting and bunch work! Furthermore, it DIDN’T rain! There were some proper heavy clouds around the circuit, but none broke over the circuit! It was a great session. My maximum power recorded was 1,231 watts (21.2w/kg), and I set numerous power records from 24 seconds to 45 seconds!
Mileage: 204.3 miles
Elevation gain: 12,132 ft
Time ridden: 10 hrs 17 mins
Cumulative mileage (since 1st January): 2,513.4 miles (Perth to Sydney – Width of Australia)
Cumulative elevation gain (since 1st January): 95,040 ft (3.27 x height of Mt. Everest)
Cumulative time ridden (since 1st January): 117 hrs 51 mins
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Chris Durham - Cyclist 