I did a race yesterday and was well described and the classes made sense. Today wanted a zone 2 ride for like 40 miles and this race advertised it as this and it was an all out effort. I finished fine enough but paying for it now.
Someone should be checking these race setups and no power ups.
In this case I believe the zones were time zones, this stage series was raced in two separate time zones per stage.
Edit: from the description
Time zones!!! lol! I feel like an idiot.
I have to remember this.GOD I am such a noob.
Why do you chose a RACE for Z2 ride?
Any suggestions on how to name 2 time zone races to avoid this confusion.
Time zone X at …
Time zone Y at …
Perfect. It is just everyone is talking about Zone 2 training so much that less you read the description would not even know about the the 2 time zones are even possible or even means.
What happen and I will try and keep it understandable.
I wanted to start structured training so took off 2 days prior to Saturday. Watched too many races on youtube, felt good and let me see what it would feel like as I never did one, did plenty of group rides and they seem too easy honestly especially with fences. I chose the Vegan as was the right time for me and length in Richmond one in the 0-180 score and it was perfect, felt like a coffee ride in many parts and the other riders were perfect for my level and I finished on the podium, gold actually.
Came in Sunday a little beat up, too cold to run and I hate treadmills so I said instead of doing a usual SST session, let me do a longer Z2 so I saw the title, my score now was a 183 so I joined as was 38 miles saw Zone 2 and thought maybe since longer with 38 miles they meant most of the race is Zone 2 with ending being a race. I am really new to zwift.
This happens to me lot now where I may fall off lead group or in the lead and the group behind me is more than a minute off like 4 minutes (lol) and the lead group is maybe a 1 minute or more ahead. I am stubborn so I keep riding till I see people in lead group fall off hoping to build the third group but instead most DNF which is annoying and later painful (LOL). Lucky in a small way one rider I caught did stay with me till the last 5 miles and than fell off from me.
Anyway my pride got the best of me so I finished pretty well considering but it kicked my sciatica into gear and now have to wait again for it to cool off.
Just call them anything. eg. Series 1 vs Series 2 ? Option 1, 2, etc? I don’t know which event though is being referred to, but it sounds like time zones isn’t really correct anyway, as anyone from any time zone could enter any series.
What you experienced was a common zone 2 mistake.
Zone 2 training is not easy.
Oh, it’s not too physically taxing but it takes constant attention to stay zone 2.
Zone 2 Group Rides are a trap.
It is very easy to stay with the group and slip into low tempo.
You have to decide are you riding zone 2 power or HR.
I believe zone 2 training is a HR defined work out but that is a different argument but people do both, both are good and both take a lot of discipline.
Zone 2 can be long and boring and hard not to speed up.
I recommend trainer diff 0 and watch a non Zwift program.
The name was
Race: VirtuSlo 4Endurance League - Zone 2 (E) on Big Flat 8 in Watopia
I think the wording of Endurance and Zone 2 made me think not so bad.
Effort/zones is all relative of course. I came across the “Cheesecake for Breakfast” event, where they describe the easier C cat option at ~3w/kg (there’s also a B pen option) as relaxed and social and suited for casual conversations (over its 100km length). If you might consider relaxed and social to be zone 2 power, this puts this ride’s entrants all having ~5 w/kg ftps.
Guys it’s a Race…we are Organizing this League for 3 years and no one mentioned that Zone 1 or 2 would not be OK. If it was a Group Ride i would understand.
Join us next week when we start a fresh 4Endurance Holiday League
The wording of Zone 2 is very different when I rode in the past on a CT and cyclingforums and Coggan actually posted on the forums, no one and I mean no one did Zone 2.
Right now it would seem to me that Zone 2 is now Zone 3 (tempo)?? But I am going back to old school and SST (2x20 or 3x20) and hope to get back to my old 220 for two hours and hold an average of 260 (not regularly) for an hour. It is best for time in the saddle I think as I really can not do any longer 3 hours on the trainer. I want to look into a rocker plate and see if really easier on the joints.
I always used a combo of HR and Watts even when HR was considered not valid any longer as we all train as too variable person to person. Anyway I need a couple days off now from the trainer and do some upper body and walking today.
I will look into the trainer diff as I just left at default.
Thanks response.
Sorry for being the noob but I would stay away from language of Zone. I was not the only one who felt this way, I saw a couple messages of this is ZONE 2? One guy joked about it as well.
You can’t do structured training in races. Found you in ZCA - if it’s you, 59 years old - buy and read this one
Yes I am 59. Probably me. What is ZCA? I will go to SST for now as what I know but always interested to learn.
Thank you for advice.
Zwift Companion App
Yes they are! And now I know. For me the watts/kg is pretty much how I tell I will do. When I was at the 30 minute point already past my current best hour, not good and should have DNF or just fall off but I did not and my stubbornness took over as I always felt you never DNF.
The old me from past experience is forget all FTP tests and just ride, you will know your FTP over time and always train your SST with 5% increase in mind so if I am 195 than I train like I have a 200 of it and start at 80% of that and keep moving it up to 85%…
I’m kind of not following.
220 for 2 hours does not sound like zone 2 for an amateur.
I think Tagej Pogacar said his was around 300.
