Rest Day, According to Zwift
Day 8 of the coronavirus lockdown in France. It is also my rest day, according to Zwift, the virtual training app for cycling and running. For the past five days, I have been weaving virtually through the streets of Yorkshire, UK, and then Innsbruck, Austria. My last stop was New York, USA, before I returned to France last night. I wonder where Zwift will take me tomorrow on my 50-minute ride.
I stayed home most of the day, burning hardly any calories beyond the walk from the bedroom to the bathroom, then to the kitchen-cum-dining-cum-living room, and then to the study. Do you have an idea of my 75 m2 apartment layout now? Oh, I almost forgot: I did sneak a 500 m stroll around my neighbourhood before going into the local supermarket. It already feels like a long time since everything was normal.
Our last outdoor run was nine days ago, when we ventured into the nearby woods, where there were far fewer people. At that time, the government’s confinement guidelines were not as clear and the measures were not as strict. Once the guidelines became more specific, we decided it would be wiser to stop training outdoors.
Up From the Basement, After Two Years
On 18 March 2020, the second day of the national lockdown in France, my husband hauled his bike and our Tacx bike trainer up from the basement, dusted them off and set them up in our living room. The idea was to use the trainer during the lockdown, which was meant to last a minimum of two weeks. Looking at the current situation, though, the equipment will be in our living room for at least another month.
The last time I used the Tacx bike trainer was at the beginning of 2018. I had broken the fifth metatarsal in my left foot the summer before, and I could not run. We bought the trainer so that I could keep my fitness up during the recovery period. It was my best training mate two years ago, and it has just taken the title back.
Six Weeks of Zwift Virtual Training
I have signed up for Zwift’s six-week FTP (Functional Threshold Power) plan, which should finish right around the end of the confinement period. Six weeks of Zwift virtual training: four or five sessions a week, lasting 45 to 82 minutes each.
The Highlight of My Day
Spotify blasting in the background. Weaving through streets on the other side of the world. Riding shoulder to shoulder with thousands of cyclists online, all of us jostling for space. Heart rate climbing. Drops of perspiration coursing down my body. This might just be the highlight of my day.