Recovery and Racing

My last post focused on the plan to use the Whoop device to track my recovery and sleep qty and quality. My Whoop band arrived yesterday and it is stashed for a grand opening on Christmas day. I am genuinely excited to see how tracking my recovery can enhance performance. For the longest time my focus has been on training volume, intensity, times, power. . . . .The list goes on. The point is, rarely has my focus been on recovery. My Tri buddies would no doubt verify that I tend to over-train. In my mind, I see tangible training activity with all the numbers, speeds, times etc. But my mind struggles when I am resting - it tells me that I am losing fitness, training=progress. Logically, I know the improvements and adaptation of training takes place when the body is in recovery and getting sufficient rest. But I ignore it - Doh!! The upshot is, the Whoop band looks to be a tool that resonates with the way my brain is wired. 

I am further reminded of the benefits of recovery and rest, following my performance in the Zwift WGT race yesterday. I have been racing for WhittleFit during his series. Last week I had to withdraw due to what was essentially exhaustion from lack of sleep and some over-training. The week leading up to the race yesterday was a very different week, compared to the previous exhaustion week. I had 2 rest days of no training (other than some light core work) and no real intense training. The result was really quite significant and I couldn't quite believe how strong I felt.

In previous races I had not done so well in my B Cat; mid-20s was my best result. Yesterday, I finished 6th and was in the mix on the final climb; at one point, I thought I had a chance of the win. I actually broke away on the climb and thought the elastic had broken as I had a 6 second lead.

However, some of those riders in the lead pack must have been keeping their powder dry! 2 guys pulled away near the top of the climb. I was in the mix for 3rd right up to the sprint. My poor sprinting ability showed again but what an improvement. The course did suit me well, with 2 long climbs. 

But the really valuable thing was that my heart rate was able to go high and the perceived effort was not as gasping as it had been. I was controlled with a HR of 170 and hit a max of 181. I cannot remember when I was last n the 180+ range.

So here's to a Whooping Christmas!