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
Four weeks to go and I’m super excited to complete my first ever Prudential Ride London! I’ve had a much better week training this week, being able to fit the majority of sessions in with three on Zwift and two out on the road. It’s amazing how quickly the legs start to come around. Muscle memory–it’s a great thing. I felt strong on the bike this week–I think the forced rest last week did me good.
As stated countless times–consistency really is the key to progression!
In addition to cycling-specific sessions, I also do some core stability work in the gym or garden. This enables me to put all my power through the pedals instead of waisting it rocking and rolling in my upper body. Plus, a strong core is good for everyday life–being sat in a chair or on a sofa, a strong core helps ensure a good posture, reducing risk of injury now or later in life.
My favourite session this week was Extensive Anaerobic x 6 which consisted of 6 x 45-second efforts. The aim was to fully recover between efforts but inevitably my max heart rate still increased throughout the efforts. I felt I could really commit to each effort knowing I would get a 5-minute recovery to get my body and mind ready for the next one. These workouts are as much a mental challenge as a physical one and that’s why I love Zwift. It gives you a specific focus, interval timers, and the ‘in-game’ routes to take your mind off the pain.
These next few weeks are key–keep up the training, as we will be tapering before we know it!
Ride On!
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