Prudential RideLondon Training With Dani Rowe: Week 10

About this Series

Welsh-born Dani Rowe is a former pro road cyclist and three-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist in the women’s team pursuit with Great Britain.

Each week she is sharing her story preparing for the 2019 Prudential RideLondon 100 using the “Prudential RideLondon 100” Zwift Training Plan. See her full list of stories, or learn more about Zwift’s Prudential RideLondon Training Plans

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As I mentioned in my last blog I’ve been super busy recently and this week has been no different. I got to attend a few different corporate rides and chat to the clients about my career while helping them with training advice and guidance–it’s a passion of mine.

One of my rides was organised by Vox Women who do an amazing job of promoting women’s cycling and have links with Zwift. We completed a 65km ride and with a wide difference of ability, it was amazing to see people push themselves out of their comfort zones. I am used to being well inside my comfort zone in my chosen sport, but swimming a few weeks ago out in Mallorca gave me a nice perspective and appreciation for novice cyclists.

The ride with Vox Women was in my home town of Southampton, which was a perfect opportunity to see my dad on Father’s Day.

My whole family are hooked on Zwift–so much so that my dad has taken inspiration from the Zwift setup in my house to create his own ‘Zwift Den’ in his garage. He cleared a big space and found some of his Olympic kit. Did I mention my Dad is a two-time winter Olympian in the sport of biathlon? You would never know it as our family house doesn’t have anything on display, all being tucked away in storage. However, seeing his old skis and 1984/88 Great Britain tracksuit always brings a smile to my face.

Anyway, on Father’s Day, I talked my dad through one of the PRL workouts: the 4 x 3min VO2 increasing session! This included 4 x 3-minute efforts increasing in power each time. Over the 4 efforts the power only increased by 15 watts, however because of the residual fatigue the perceived effort felt much harder on each progressive effort. This is where the benefit of having someone to motivate and cheer you on really helps get the job done. I was sat in my dad’s garage with my sister cheering my dad through the session on Father’s Day!

I’m hoping to get a good week of training in on Zwift this week as I have a lot more time at home. I’ve had a quick look and am really looking forward to the SST #3 session as it will be a great chance to compare how I felt in this session a few weeks ago. I’m hoping to feel stronger as a result of following the training plan and am starting to really look forward to the event itself!

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