After the move in April I got back on the bike a little more regularly, starting over at about 6 hours a week and with no real structure. I was just trying to get my body used to being on the bike again. When I went riding with my friends, they would drop me on almost any climb. My natural gifts in sprinting helped me a little, but I was suffering a lot.
It's been 12 weeks since then and I've come a long way. I've gradually built up to about 10 hours a week of riding and added in little bits of structre. I've gained back a fair amount of fitness, but I'm nowhere near where I was.
According to my most recent test, I increased my 20-minute power from 225 to 256 watts. I managed to level off my weight at 179 pounds, or 1.43 watts/pound (3.14 w/kg). For comparison, when I'm racing I get in closer to 12 hours a week and my best 20-minute power test from 2013 was 309 watts at 164 pounds, or 1.88 watts/pound (4.13 w/kg).
Still, it's a great foundation for me to start structured training again.
This week was my first week back and it was rough. After today's ride, I'll have just over 10 hours of riding in, which is always a good week. I've also managed to lose a pound, down to 178.
On top of all this, the training software I use, TrainingPeaks WKO, just came out with a new version this week and it has all kinds of new ways of analyzing and planning my training. I'm looking forward to see what I can do with it.
