John Keyes

It felt good to get back out on the road today where I did two big gear intervals. Not that I was expecting it to be easy, but the changing winds were a right pain today.

I’m definitely generating more power now (albeit still not that much) and it was noticeable on some sections of road. There were a couple of times when I felt like I was standing still, but my heart rate showed I was putting in the right amount of effort.

Tomorrow is a rest day, and then back on the road on Sunday. Fingers crossed I’ll get out nice and early and have another week in the bag.

Back in the saddle tonight, and able to pushed harder than two weeks ago. Nice to feel a little bit of progress.

I was bet-out by the end of it. Glad when the finish came.

I did a wee 3km jog today, my first in a couple of months, and it took it’s toll on my calf muscles (I’m a forefoot first kinda guy). I bet I’ll be feeling that before, during, and after tomorrow’s turbo session too.

A decent turbo session tonight to keep me on track in Week 5.

There was some great news for women’s cycling today when The Sufferfest’s sponsorship of the UCI Women’s World Cup was announced. Aptly The Sufferfest video I was using for tonight’s session was Extra Shot.

Extra Shot:20

An uneventful hour spin today. Grey skies and blustery winds weren’t exactly good conditions, but it wasn’t too bad at all.

My legs were feeling the affects of yesterday’s late night turbo session, but they grew into it as the spin progressed. They’ve earned their rest tomorrow.

Started listening to the Human Invent Cycling Podcast today. Not bad at all. My listening discipline for podcasts is poor, but I’ll see if I can keep abreast of this one for a while.

wet fish slap

I’ve been undisciplined in my progress posting but that was due to circumstances that I wouldn’t bore anybody with. Trust me, it’s really boring.

Week 4 was an easy week to let the legs absorb the work from the previous weeks. I stuck very loosely to the plan, as I only had time to fit in turbo sessions. I wedged them into my schedule when I could.

Tomorrow is the start of week five. I remember at the start of this process I was wondering if I’d stick to the entire ten weeks of effort. I’ll probably regret this in a couple of weeks but right now I’m looking forward to the next six to see where it takes me.

My legs are getting stronger, and the muscles are slowly regaining the definition I had in them prior to my injury at the end of last year. I am still carrying seven or eight kilos of extra weight and I’m hoping the increase in intensity over the next few weeks will help me shed that.

I haven’t made any conscious effort to shed the weight yet this year. My diet hasn’t changed too much though, and that is partly why I am surprised it hasn’t been reduced too much just yet, considering I had almost three months of inactivity (my own fault I know).

I coordinated my wee session today with the last twenty kilometers of Gent-Wevelgem. It was great to see another fine effort from Sam Bennett who finished in 15th.