So it’s fall. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a calendar fall person or an equinox fall person, I’m a professor and for me the start of the University year is fall in the ways that matter.
I’m back at Zwift.
And if you’re a regular reader you might know that things aren’t going as well as I’d hoped.
So my plan? Last week I wrote, “It’s time for me to start on a Zwift training plan. Likely I’ll start with one of the FTP builder programs, which I’ll do along with the weekly ZRL races.”
Roughly I thought I’d race in the ZRL (Zwift Racing League) on Tuesdays and do a social ride during the week. Sometimes we do a casual course ride over a a team. The weekend would be time for a serious training plan.
But the weekend? OMG. I’m behind with class prep, behind with writing, the house is chaos, and I had a day of visiting with one of the adult kids. We pickled things, they did a mountain of laundry, we ate lunch with my mother, and they introduced me to Kong: Skull Island.
It was a relaxing day. I even napped. Likely I needed time away from work and a chance to just hang out. Thanks Gav!
But then Sunday rolled around and I still had a lot to do and a friend’s 50th birthday party to attend. Hey Joh!
There was no way I had time for one of Zwift’s workouts. I looked at the menu of training plans and the shorter options caught my eye. Maybe, to use Catherine’s recent term, I could have an exercise snack rather than a full meal.
Here’s the workout option I chose. It was tough but short.
In the end, it reminded me of that slogan about perfect being the enemy of the good. Or the best dissertation being a finished dissertation. In this case, it’s the best workout is the one you can actually squeeze in between all of the other things that also matter– families and friends and food and relaxation and class prep and writing. It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that the house is still chaos.
