In the third week of Boone’s 6-week training program we continued pushing hard in each of his 4 rides. With such a short training program, each workout has to count!
Our goal: to transform a 265-pound rookie rider with a tested 1.92w/kg FTP into a cat C Zwift racer (2.5w/kg+) in 6 weeks.
We aren’t entirely sure if the goal is attainable in that time, but Boone’s willing to take a leap and find out. Sort of like that time – many years ago – when we tied a rope around his foot so I could lower from a 20-foot tree branch. (It didn’t end well. In hindsight, it’s a miracle we survived childhood.)
The first week was mostly about orientation and baseline testing. The second week was about building endurance and improving form on the bike. And this third week was about pushing that endurance – now that Boone could ride for a full hour, let’s get those watts up!
The Plan
As a reminder, here’s the basic plan we’ve settled on for the 6 weeks. (Many thanks to Alan Dempsey of HPP Coaching for giving us solid advice that sets Boone up for success).
- Week 1: Benchmark testing + Endurance
FTP test, attempt first Zwift race, and get some time on the bike - Weeks 2-4: Endurance + Cadence Work
Lots of work from low zone 2 to mid zone 3, with some high-cadence drills to train the legs for efficient pedaling - Weeks 5-6: Endurance + Intensity, Finishing with Benchmark Testing
Start with similar rides as weeks 2-4, with some VO2 and threshold efforts included in short durations. Toward the end of week 6 we’ll do another FTP test and Zwift race, so we can compare progress from week 1.
We aren’t doing ERG workouts – rather, we’re doing free rides and Zwift events with particular goals in mind.
Ride #9: Breaking 20MPH
Boone had a simple goal for this ride: to average at least 20mph over an entire hour ride.
Before he got going, we popped into the Drop Shop and picked up a shiny new wheelset: the DT Swiss ARC 62’s. He had barely just enough drops to make the purchase!
In Zwift, wheel upgrades generally have 2-3x greater effect than frame upgrades. These wheels are about 25 seconds faster over an hourlong ride compared to the stock 32mm carbon wheels, so they would help Boone just a bit in achieving his goal.
See our wheel performance charts if you’re looking to upgrade >
We put him in with Dan Diesel, but after a short warmup and some quick math Boone realized hanging with Dan wasn’t going to get him a 20mph average. So off the front he went, keeping his watts up, sitting on wheels, and using powerups to keep his speed high on Watopia’s Flat Route.
And he did it, with 32 seconds to spare!
Starting off with Dan Sitting in, off the front of Dan’s group 20 miles in 59:28!
Boone got quite a few Ride Ons during this effort, and he wanted to make sure I mention in this post that 1) he’s grateful for the Ride Ons and 2) he wishes there was an easier way to reciprocate a Ride On someone gives you. Clicking around with your mouse or fumbling through rider lists is just too much hassle when you’re pushing hard!
Ride #10: First Outing with Cara Cadence
Since Boone had been consistently dropping Dan Diesel, I figured it was time to move up to Cara – the next-fastest Pace Partner. Cara’s group clips along around 40kph, while Dan’s group is closer to 30kph. We figured Boone wouldn’t be able to sit in with Cara for a full hour, but he could try to hang for a while, then do his own ride for a total of 45-60 minutes.
The Pace Partners join screen said Cara was riding on Tempus Fugit (nice and flat – exactly what Boone wanted) but that was just a cruel prank. When we dropped into the game Boone was with Cara’s group riding the Hilly Route… in the rain!
He hung in there for 15 minutes, but blew his legs up when he decided to randomly sprint on the descent. (He was trying to get the 50mph badge, you see). He didn’t quite hit 50mph, but he did unlock the badges for 40mph, holding 500W for over 10 seconds, and hitting 1000W!
We headed over to Fuego Flats after this, where he rode for 30 more minutes. He was tired (hadn’t eaten much of anything that day) and basically ran out of juice. But he did manage one more sprint effort, enough to earn the 1100 and 1200W badges. All seated sprints!
Ride #11: A Calorie Calculation Conundrum
I checked where Cara was actually riding before we joined her this time. She was in Fuego Flats (hurray!), so Boone hopped into the group to see how long he could keep up. He lasted 25 minutes, then spent the rest of his ride just trying to keep his power decently high until hitting the hour mark.
He ended up hitting new power bests across the 18-40 minute range. He also set a new hour distance record for himself: 22 miles! Nice gains.
Boone’s been dropping weight – we’ve been adjusting it on almost every ride! Riding with Cara Ah, that “new route badge” feeling!
Calories on Strava vs Calories on Zwift
Here’s a weird thing we discovered this week: Strava is showing a different calorie burn number than Zwift! (Boone is paying fairly close attention to this since he’s working on dropping weight while also consuming enough fuel for these training rides.)
Here are the numbers from some recent rides:
| Strava Calories | Zwift Calories |
| 829 | 710 |
| 614 | 526 |
| 834 | 715 |
| 313 | 295 |
If you’ve used more than one service to track fitness metrics, this may not surprise you one bit – each service has its own way of calculating calorie burn (learn more about how calorie burn calculations work). But the strange thing is, on my Strava account, the calories always match Zwift’s. Because Zwift passes those calories in via the .fit file, and Strava displays them. At least, that’s what this page leads me to believe. It says, “Strava shows Calories as they were provided to us from upload partners. If no value is sent, or you record with the Strava mobile app, we use our own calculations.”
So why do calories match on my Strava account, but not on Boone’s? All I can figure is it’s the difference between being a paying Strava subscriber and a free one. My theory is paying subscribers get Zwift’s number (calculated based on ~25% efficiency), while free ones get the number calculated by Strava (which appears to be calculated based on something like 21.3% efficiency). But I’d love to hear if you have a better idea!
Ride #12: Crit City D Race
Since we’re at the halfway mark, Boone thought it would be a fun to attempt the same Crit City race he tried the first week. In that first week, he got dropped from the front page 2.5 laps in. Could he last longer this time around? He was certainly stronger than the first week – and almost 15 pounds lighter. Plus he had the new faster wheels! But his result would also depend on the competition.
My buddy Zane came over once again to heckle and advise Boone – you can hear us alternatively cheering, jeering, and advising Boone in the video below.
13 riders joined this time around, compared to 17 in his first race. But right from the gun it was clear this would be a very different race. The front group thinned out more quickly, and the pace was higher. But Boone was hanging in there! At the 2.5 laps mark there were 5 riders in the front group, and several off the back who had been coned (no cones in Boone’s first race).
He was definitely on the rivet, but did a great job of sitting in the draft and conserving as much as possible. After the brick climb on the penultimate lap the pack strung out, and Boone couldn’t hang on, despite Zane yelling very loudly. He limped around the final lap as one of the lead riders got handed a green cone. He crossed the line in 4th. But 3rd on ZwiftPower!
Watch the Race Video:
Week #3 Takeaways
Boone’s 3rd place result in his second race (above) doesn’t look much better on paper than his 4th place result in his first race. But the difference in performance between the two races is striking:
| Race 1 | Race 2 | |
| Watts Avg | 216W | 256W |
| HR Avg | 179 | 182 |
| HR Max | 186 | 191 |
| Total 6-Lap Time | 21:45 | 19:31 |
Between weight loss and fitness gains his average wattage in these races went from 1.8w/kg to 2.3w/kg. Not bad for just three weeks!
For the next week we’ll be riding with Cara Cadence more, seeing if he can extend how long he can hang with her group. We’ll also be doing some cadence work to improve muscle efficiency, and sprints to see if we can find the top end of Boone’s power.
Support Boone
Thanks to everyone who followed Boone on Zwift and Strava and gave him lots of Ride Ons and Kudos. He’s loving it! If you haven’t done so yet, follow him on Zwift (name “Boone Bridges”) and Strava.
Your Thoughts
Got any tips for Boone? Comments on this week’s efforts? Share below!
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