BKool

Would a Velodrome Be Cool?

Now that we have the Alpe du Zwift, many have wondered if we will get our own velodrome on Zwift. Coming from a track background, I have been asking for a velodrome too. So when BKool invited me to train for a month on their platform, I wanted to see their version. I learned some positive and negative aspects. What can Zwift learn? How can they be original in their approach?

Bkool has two velodrome options, Luis Puig and the Galapagar Velodrome, both of which exist in Spain. You can opt for video mode or game screen. I prefer the game mode, especially to see other riders on screen. Watching a video of the track feels real. However, I think most riders new to a 250 meter track will find it to be a tight circle. It can feel dizzy and one can lose where they are on the track. Then you have to rely on the on-screen numbers. A 333 or even a 500 meter track like Robaix may work better for Zwift.

Bkool has several options. You can enter either your own program or one started by another rider. I started an hour ride. Here's the interesting part. If you wait and warm-up for ten minutes, others can join in and ride with you. It is definitely better with some company. I rode a twenty minute effort at my FTP. I also ran a 3 kilometer pursuit effort and a one kilometer effort as well. Speeds seemed realistic. I ran my FTP at 3.6 w/kg and averaged 40.6 kph. My pursuit at 4.6 w/kg averaged 43.9 kph. My kilo at 7 w/kg hit an average of 50.0 kph. When you race against other opponents, you earn points to purchase jerseys for your avatar. Interesting idea.

I did like having a speed that means something to me. 50 kph is the goal I was shooting for. All I need to do is figure out how to do that for another 59 minutes, and I'll be ecstatic. I like this aspect of flat track racing. What does a 14:00 lap of Watopia mean? The average watts tells you some part of how your ride went, but not the whole story. On the track, your numbers are simply more relevant.

Bkool has race options of Keirin, Pursuit, Team Pursuit, and an Elimination race. Sounds great? Guess what? None of those options are available to power meters, only smart trainers. This is unnecessary, there isn't any elevation changes as there would be in a long steep climb.

The worst part of my experiment with Bkool and its velodrome was a seven second lag. When a race started my avatar waited, waited, and then took off. In workout mode, the lag continued to grow from seven seconds to almost thirty seconds. This made intervals impossible to gauge. I have a very fast gaming computer that runs very smoothly with Zwift.

How would a race work? The number of riders must be limited. This may be the reason Zwift has not installed an open velodrome. Until Zwift is ready, I am willing to wait. Soon, we will have a volcano points race. It will be nine laps long with points each lap over the 40 km distance. The information will be at http://www.z-race.com/about/ If any organizer wants exciting sprint races, I would love to see sprinters line up at the London 1 KM banner sprinting one on one to the finish line. Definitely live, with Nathan shouting himself hoarse.

Alp d'Zwift

Had a lot of fun climbing so far. Had a full on effort at 47:45 but got beaten by Cassie Baldi. She is def. a better cyclist than me, esp over long distances. So, I missed out on the QOM. However, I set up the Double Alp and am, so far, the only woman challenger. Hopefully, I will make some other gals go through a lot of pain. Looking forward to doing the Alp a few more times. 25 seems a long way off.

Got my 25 after two months at the end of May. Beat Nathan to it too.

My Season of Racing

My video of three highlights

1. The only CVR race I won. This is the key moment when I finally caught my opponent and put in a huge 30 second attack starting on the staircase. I kept pushing until the finish even though my legs were screaming in pain. This was a bit of a revenge/rematch if you will, as I tried to break free the previous race, with big attacks before Box Hill and got schooled as I knew I would.

2. One of my KISS Crit series sprints from the pack. I love Nathan's enthusiasm. To me, I knew I couldn't stay with the A cat leaders in the race. But, I love to hit the sprint.

3. Another good finish in the KISS series. I finished 5th over the series which ran from early October 2017 through late February 2018. A long, tiring event.

Not pictured are two other great races for me. One was the London Classique course where I sprinted at 3 K to go to catch a dropped rider 8 seconds ahead. We traded a bit and I caught my breath slightly. When she seemed to fade on the climb, I saw the pack only six seconds back and attacked. It was the longest 2K/3minutes of my life. I think when I hit my aero p.u. and sprinted hard, they looked at each other and I managed to finish ahead of the charging pack.

The other race I loved was where I finally had a chance to match myself against the US East Coast KISS girls on a Thursday evening. I fought to stay in the main pack. They slowed a bit as we approached the final 2K. Someone started a fierce sprint at 700 to go. It took a few seconds all out to catch her wheel. I waited till her 30 seconds were running out on her aero p.u. Then I hit mine as I sprinted clear. Although two seconds ahead on my screen, I finished as winner only 0.5 seconds. Wow, that felt amazing.

Top B ranking 65th in women's rankings. Doesn't mean I am the best of B cat. But, I have more races and scored more ranking points.

OTS future Zwift article

Overtraining can be minor and brief, if you rest when symptoms first appear. Ignore the warnings and serious complications can besiege you. Train harder and you can develop overtraining syndrome or OTS. Don't think, "It can't happen to me," and dismiss these warnings Any athlete can fall into over training.

Over Training: The Hidden Dangers

Overtraining will definitely start to hamper your progress. Then your performance as a whole will suffer. Insomnia often is an early warning sign that you are pushing too hard, too often. Dieting or restricting calories to maintain race weight is another risk factor.(Guilty). The main complication or cause is related to our athletic nature. Not getting the results you expect? "Train harder, faster, longer" is often the path followed.(I'm guilty of this too.)

The Kuopio University of Finland published 'The Effects of Over Training' by PhD MD Uusitalo. It directly mentions some individuals with OTS got as little as 3 or 4 hours of sleep nightly. Many had recently increased their training or racing volume 100-200%. Major depression was common, even though it often went unrecognized or undiagnosed until they were in the study. Two other proven complications were bradycardia (changes in heart rate) and pollacisuria (changes in urination). This special testing used serotonin transporter imaging and discovered over training was directly responsible for "decreased abnormal serotonin reuptake". Basically, medically proven depression. However, this is not a test you can get through your doctor. The depression  showed as notable effects on the level of serotonin in the midbrain, anterior gingulus, the left frontal lobe and the temporo occipital lobe. They believed this was caused by disfunction in the hypothalamus from over training. They add that their is no exact criteria to identify or define over training syndrome itself.
(Article, How Much is Too Much?, Overtraining, Uusitalo PHD)

The Psychiatry department of the Miami University published research that showed over training syndrome can lead to Addison's disease also known as hypocortisolism. It was also shown to cause depression severe enough to lead to suicidal behavior. UMiamiHospital Report

A group of over trained athletes had an 80% rate of being diagnosed with clinical depression. Over training apparently led to their depression. Many surveys have found a change in attitude about workouts or practice, lack of motivation, and even anxiety are symptoms of OTS development.

The Mayo Clinic's study on over training syndrome reported that cortisol levels were effected as well as aldosterone levels, which regulate the balance of sodium and potassium in sync with the kidneys. These effects can last years even with treatment. If severe enough, the effects on the body can become "permanent".

Dr. Axe agrees that over training raises cortisol levels as do other kinds of stress you may experience. He likewise mentions the effect on your electrolyte levels (sodium/potassium). Often, these stress effects will trigger weight gain, although some suffer loss of appetite and weight loss. Too much stress can also result in damage to your heart. Athletes with several stressful events are more likely to develop OTS than athletes who have only the stress of training.(Link)

While you may think that only a Tour de France cyclist or an Ironman competitor could fall into this syndrome, it is believed that many individuals suffer various levels of over training. In a follow-up article, I will detail the story of a young college athlete, Madison Holloway. Her story may help change some of the athletic training ideas that are so commonly put forth as beneficial.

A few top athletes have had career ending conditions brought on by over training linked with severe iron deficiency. One passed several blood tests for iron. However, when another doctor tested his 'serum ferritin', the results showed nearly zero iron. Another athlete suffered similarly. Both began iron supplementation resulting in normal iron levels. Neither one came back though. "My endurance never came back," Doris Heritage said. "I never had the strength again."

Four months of Ironman training left another athlete exhausted. OTS was evident. His maximum heart rate would only go up to 122. Initial blood tests likewise revealed nothing abnormal. His doctor prescribed a detox, a change in diet, and supplementation with nutrients. While Alberto Salazar was treated solely with iron, Paul Thomas had a complete profile of nutrients to take. He became a successful athlete. The key is to determine the right levels of nutrients needed, vitamins and minerals. FDA supplement levels are not high enough for elite training. They might only be high enough for the average, mostly sedentary, person. Even with doing everything right, Paul said it took a year to fully regain his health. Prevention is obviously the key.

Avoiding over training is much, much easier than dealing with recovering from it. Don't make drastic changes in your training. Don't restrict calories during heavy training or when you are in a full racing schedule. If you are sore or have had little sleep, rest rather than doing a lengthy, intense workout. There's a difference in a special training camp week and a month of daily intense training two to six hours a day. Know your limits and don't cross that line. Your health is of more importance than the goal you may be seeking. Depression from over training is real and proven. Seek medical attention if your depression lasts more than a few days or if you have  any suicidal thoughts.

Please, listen to cautions from your family and friends. Everyone wants you to be both happy and healthy. Keep your health and you will be rewarded greatly.

SWISS CHAMPION

I have to recognize that as someone told me, "You know, it isn't real" Get outside and do something real." I have been thinking about a lot lately, trying to overcome a few issues. But, this was a great challenge. I didn't know it would get such support on Zwift. Hundreds raced.
My race was fairly small, 8 of us plus a French rider that I later thought might be there to assist a friend or team mate.

The race started fairly well. I pushed the start to see if everyone was going to race and the group stayed together. After the climb out of the tunnel which I again dropped everyone (just wanted to see who had the legs to pull the rest back). I was breathing hard trying to slow my heart back. It was 162 and not going down. it had froze. I kind of paniced. I tried tapping it and pulling it out but still not changing. I should have unsnapped it and dried it off. Instead I grabbed my backup, the Tickr and had to pair it. The group was on the flat and not pushing hard. However, when I had it back I was 13 seconds back, then 10 and I realized I would have to sprint to catch them. You can see it on the graph.

Onto the volcano climb, I started to hit on the rise before exiting the volcano. I opened up a 4 second lead. Wanted to break off before the climb so nobody could draft me. Went at a good pace and watched them split up on the rise. I think there were four almost together. But then it became two and two. They started to fall back. I saw them under the banner as I made the turn onto the downhill. With my weight and a few digs, I opened up a one minute gap. That is doable over two people. The pair behind them were 20-30 seconds back. Would they regroup and work together to pull me in?

As the gap held, I kept my pace up, forcing myself to go hard on the rises. The French girl behind seemed pretty strong. I was fading a. Still, it was 2 minutes as we approached the volcano. Their time behind was mostly unseen. I was only seeing myself on the right side. Near the top, I had lost 30 seconds. I finished the climb but my legs were numb so I used my feather power up to get back a little speed and got an aero at the banner. I rested on the downhill, just working on the rises and the flat through the volcano. By the bottom, I had regained my legs and felt i could run. They seemed to be doing 3 - 3.5. Once i was at the 700m to go, I knew I could finish hard. Dig for speed and just try to survive until the finish line. A lot of the time in this race, the gap and riders behind didn't show up. I was guessing I might be up a minute but maybe 30 seconds as the 1 km mark came up.

I had turned off the live broadcast and just had my music. This was the culmination of two months of hard racing (although the crit series started in October?) It has been tough. I felt really tired lately. Skipped the gym the last two weeks. Overslept tuesday, rode recovery thursday. I couldn't sleep last night. Probably over-training (edit: yep exactly). As far as I know, a fellow Swiss Zwifter who is faster than me, had to work today. So, I am not the greatest in my mind. And it wouldn't be fun if the others hadn't kept working to make it a tough effort. So, I won despite a fairly foolish attack that somehow worked.

ZwiftOff Workouts

Want something different on Zwift? Have you had a long winter full of long races and workouts? Try some of this action...

Get some fun in before Spring.


ZwiftOff Workouts can now be yours. I know many are not able to join our group workouts. Others have enjoyed them and want to do them more often. Thanks to WhatsonZwift.com, you can now download our workouts. There is even a new one, Titan, which has a bit of a HIIT to it. Basically, a few sprints thrown in the mix to stir your heart a bit. they are all designed to help burn fat.

Here's the link: ZwiftOff Workouts

The State of the Union

Zwift racing may seem like a testosterone-fueled world. But, women's racing is coming out of the shadows. You won't find a 'You don't belong here' attitude. In fact, you'll find friends and teams eagerly seeking new recruits. Find out more...

Women's Racing - The State of the Union Address

We are into the thickest part of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the peak indoor racing season. Women's racing is still short of full participation. Sure, there aren't as many women as men on Zwift. But, did you know how much is being done to promote women's racing?

Certainly, the 2017 Zwift women's Academy attracted a lot of female riders. The women's only races were suddenly full. Group rides were large packs. But, completing all of the requirements for the Academy was less than desired. Was it the eight workouts or the five mandatory group rides? I would like to see group ride requirements reduced. I also think one of the races could be a time trial event or a roll-out start to keep new racers from dropping out. It can be a lonely ride if you aren't prepared to have heavy combat for the first few minutes of a race. Integrate, not isolate. Time trials are an even effort that compliments 'from the gun' races.

The September 2018 Academy is a ways away. So, what's on tap now?

CVR Series CVR info here

It is pretty simple to get involved. There are the basic four levels of A,B,C, D. Each week, the race is held in 8 different time zones. You get to pick which one will work with your schedule. Then, you race and receive points. You get points for 3 of 4 races each month, with your total of six races. A season is eight weeks long. There are prizes and a grand annual World Cup Final. The second and third overall from each season race head to head and can qualify for the next season finals. Pretty good deal. Did I mention cash prizes? This years final will be held in Los Angeles March 24 and 25. This competition features paid travel and over $100,000 in total prize money. Insane.

Currently, the season is wrapping up Feb 25. After the championship, there will be four annual series. Spring - March 26-May 20. Summer June 18 - Aug 12. Fall Sept 10 - Nov 4. and Winter not announced, but likely Jan 1 2019 again and not before Dec 9, 2018.

Also right now, CVR holds training classes for those who want to get a taste of racing and prepare for the next season. Women's participation is still low. Big credit to CVR for stepping up with men's and women's racing. They have set up these races for the long haul. Participation should rise annually.

You might like their series XRS races. One is coming up Thursday Feb. 8. See Zwiftpower or Zwift events.

The down side of a women's league? Some zones are small, with women and men sharing the course. In larger zones, CVR has a separate start for the women in their own module. Which is harder? Competing against 20 other women or competing with four other women in a sea of a hundred men?

KISS Europe and North American Series

KISS Wonen's Euro Crit Series  KISS NA Women's Crit Series
This series was born from the Australian Zwift Crit Series. Kudos to KISS who stepped in and took up the responsibility after Zwift started the competition. Race modules were problematic in the early part of the season (almost always with the women being unable to log in). Once resolved, the series started anew in December 2017 and has a few weeks left. The final races are in April, the 14th for Europe sponsored by Tacx and the 21st for North America sponsored by Cycleops.

KISS has done great things for racing on Zwift. They are at the forefront, presenting several races each week live on Zwift Community Live (Facebook and YouTube).They have a 100 km race on Sundays (if you dare) and a four part 2 km race series on Saturdays (which I love).

ODivaZ Women's Races
ODZ has had a few races for women in the Diva series. I've done their Saturday race a few times. You might love the start, a fairly easy roll-out for a few kilometers. A nice change of pace. In the 'A' group, expect a sprint at the end of the warm-up. The ODivaZ Race is generally held twice a month.

Zwift Team Racing
There are a number of brave gals running the show as race team captains and team group administrators. You'll find most teams on Facebook. The best location for a list is at ZwiftPower; see Zwift Race Teams. Look at the women's race results and you will see a list of teams that the riders are associated with. I ride for Team Fearless. Some teams also ride and train using DISCORD. It's the best way Zwifters have found to communicate on a specific channel. It has been used by gamers since May 2015.


Jump In
Watch our events. they are sure to be broadcast live. CVR weekly races can be seen here every Tuesday on live streams every 3 hours starting at 2 am EST. KISS broadcasts their Thursday races at 2 pm and 8 pm EST races. Broadcasts appear at Youtube Zwift Community Live and you can comment live at Facebook Zwift community Live. By watching, you may get the 'bug' and start racing too. 

My Plans
As an impatient person, I would rather start building what I want rather than writing posts about what I wish would happen. To that end, I am starting a Powerhouse Series of 4 or 5 segments to race. Points are awarded for each stage. It will run on Strava League just like the Smackdown Series Eric ran here last year. It isn't perfect. The system pulls your best time out of Strava for a given period of time. I love short powerful tests like these and I want to see how many other people, men and women, want to have a whack at it. I will run that in March. I will post a specific link but here's their site. If you want to test your best time on The Pretzel Course or 25 laps of the Volcano Circuit, you'll have to find someone else.

I am also trying to find an organizer for a Match Sprint Race. Sprinters would have to qualify on a time trial bike sprint with a screenshot of their sprint time. The top 16 will be invited to live matches just like a real track meet. Racers will line up on the London 1 km banner and go off by pairs using the Classique course finish line. I'm still not sure how we can handle the finish, short of a race module. We could just use the 'live sprint results', which means if you do a 1 km flyer that only your 200 meter time would count. Obviously, drafting will be crucial. No power-ups. First night would have the round of 16 and round of 8 settled in single matches. #1 and # 16 race, then #2 and #15, just like real track races. Next night, Semi-finals and Medal Finals to be best of three sprints.


I have been looking at the smart Trainers. I will do more research and put out an article. We all know the Neo is the best race model. But, for fitness and price value, I want to look at the Direto, Hammer, Flux, and Kickr. So far, you can't beat the look of the Elite Pink Giro version. Barbie's Trainer for sure.