Angels & Demons

I rode my bike today in what I hope is the first pedal on a road back to fitness and full recovery.

Having so much time off the bike (2 months) has not only damaged by fitness but affected my state of mind about it too. This moment has plagued me for the past week or so since I saw a physio for some deep massage on my back. The elbows in my glutes kind of deep. The outcome of that session seemed to help me turn a corner by massively loosening my back on my left side and helped straighten me up.

That planted the seeds of riding again but waves of ethusiasm have been tempered by worry and doubt I might be riding too soon and risking injury. Last weekend I convinced myself this weekend was it, the start. I even announced it to try and put a bit of light pressure on myself as my head was still telling me to wait.

Yesterday I just wanted to get on with it and today I sat in front of MyWhoosh for 30 mins debating getting changed while I procrastinated looking at darts FFS. I did get changed and as soon as I was back in the saddle all that worry went away and I flicked into the zone you get when you are about to embark on a training session and you’re just thinking about getting it done. All of sudden it felt very familiar. The demons had gone.

I opted for a 2.1w/kg bot ride (based on my old FTP @ approx 160w) on MyWhoosh. It’s where a group ride at a prescribed pace. The power isn’t fixed so you feel the ups and downs you just ride to that average. I began to pedal and joined in the group. Initially it felt just right but as I warmed up I did leave them without really trying. I continued at around 175-180w, slightly out of breath and breaking a sweat to complete 20 mins. I could have done more but I made myself stop. Then I did 20 situps on my bench and called it a day. Overall, no issues apart some minor niggles when I stooped to take my shoes off. I hope these eventually go too but if they’re permanent I can live with them.

It’s been a long time since I was off a bike for so long. My arse felt delicate and my strength and stamina are not zero as I expected but it will take some time and commitment to get it back in the next few weeks.

For now I’m happy with session #1. Today was the warmup. Tomorrow I go again + 5 mins, +2 situps #rockymontage

Adios