8th day of coronavirus lockdown in France. It is also my rest day, according to Zwift, the virtual training plan for cycling and running. For the past five days, I was virtually weaving through the streets of Yorkshire, UK, and then Innsbruck, Austria. My last stop was in New. York, USA before returning to France last night. I wondered where Zwift would take me tomorrow on my 50 minutes ride.
I stayed home most of the day, burning hardly any calories except for those that were required to take me from the bedroom to the bathroom, then to the kitchen cum dinning cum living room and then the study room. Do you now have an idea of my 75m2 apartment layout? Oh, I almost forgot: I managed to sneak a 500m stroll in my neighbourhood before entering the local supermarket. It seemed quite a while ago that everything was normal.
Our last outdoor run was nine days ago when we ventured out into the nearby woods, where there were much fewer people. At that time, the government confinement guidelines were not as clear and measures were not as strict. When the guidelines became more specific, we decided that it would be wiser not to pursue our training outdoor.
Long Forgotten Tacx Bike Trainer
On 18 March 2020, the second day of national lockdown in France, my husband brought out his bike and our Tacx bike trainer from the basement, dusted them and set them up in our living room. The idea was to use the trainer during the lockdown, which is for a minimum of two weeks. Looking at the current situation, the equipment would be in our living room for at least another month.
The last time I used Tacx bike trainer was at the beginning of 2018. I broke my of my left foot the summer before, and I could not run. We bought the trainer so that I could maintain my fitness during the recovery period. It was my best training mate two years ago, and its status has now been restored.
6-Week FTP Plan
I have signed up for a Zwift 6-week FTP (Functional Threshold Power) plan, which should correspond to the end of the confinement period. The weekly schedule consists of 4 to 5 daily sessions, lasting 45min to 82min each.
Spotify blasting in the background. Weaving through the different streets around the world. Riding and sometimes being jostled by the thousands of worldwide cyclists at any one time. Heart rate pumping. Drops of perspiration coursing down my body, This might be the highlight of each day.