Rest Day. Full Stop.

The week so far

FTP test. Yoga. Weights. Outdoor ride. Run. Four days. That's not a training week, that's a pile-on.

This morning I did four minutes of vinyasa flow, five times each side, and called it. That's the whole workout.

Why I stopped

The ab soreness showed up about 48 hours after weights. That's textbook DOMS, delayed onset muscle soreness. It means the work landed. It doesn't mean push harder.

The back tightness is almost certainly the same recovery wave, layered with posture from getting back on the bike outside for the first time this season. New position load, even on a familiar bike, adds up.

I've flared my calf before. I've flared my hip before. Both times in March. Both times cost me weeks, not days. I know what it feels like to talk myself into one more session and pay for it later.

Base 1, Week 1

I'm in the first week of Base 1 training toward TheBayRide on August 29th. The point of this phase is consistency. Not heroics. Missing one day in week one costs me nothing. Flaring something costs me the arc I'm trying to build.

That's the actual math.

What rest looks like

It's not glamorous. Four minutes of gentle movement. Maybe a 20-minute walk later. Sleep. Protein. That's the whole plan.

Tomorrow I'll check in on the soreness. If it's mostly cleared, I'll do an easy Z2 spin, 45 to 60 minutes at around 130 to 150 watts. Z2 means conversational pace, aerobic base work, nothing that spikes heart rate. If the soreness is still rough, I rest again and shift the week by a day. The schedule has room. The body gets the vote.

Current numbers, for context

FTP: 216W (tested this week)
Weight: 209.8 lbs
W/kg: 2.27
Peak FTP: 295W (July 2022)

There's a long way to go. That's fine. That's the point of starting now, four months out.

The 135-mile loop around the Bay doesn't care how brave I was on a sore Thursday in April. It cares whether I showed up trained in August.

Today, showing up meant stopping.

Ride on Strava ↗