Catch up: April

It's been a while since I last posted.  In previous years my blogging has been directly proportional to my training.  So could this be some last minute cramming (too little, too late)?  However this year while my running commentary dropped off my training has still been moving in the right direction.

Stats for April (4wks):
Weight: 12-12.8. (Target 12-10.4). Loss: 2.4 lbs.
April Training: Hours: 35:09 (Target 40:00). Bike: 610.2km. TSS: 680/wk.

Training...
April started off with a week in Scotland and great expectations.  Then it snowed.  I have been to the Scottish Highlands in April three times over the last ten years, and each time it has snowed... That meant that good intentions turned into a session in the hotel gym and a circuits class.  [As an aside, why is it that I can cycle on a club run for 4 hrs, yet a 60 minute circuit class has me weeping for mercy, with my muscles in agony the next day].  All-in-all 3-hrs for the week.  Fortunately, the next three weeks were much more of the type of training I need to be doing (32hrs & 610k); including a 6hr ride to the cost Cobham-Arundel-Worthing-Cobham.

Progress...
The training process is seemingly working.  Train hard, train frequently, rest & recover = improved speed & endurance.  Not rocket science admittedly, but it is nice to see that it is having a positive effect.  In April I have also started to do get in more hours and more mileage.  On top of the Sunday club run that I had been doing throughout March, I have also started getting in more & faster group rides; with quicker groups on Sunday club runs and heading out on Saturday's with the Windsor Ride crew.

FTP...
Based on a number of rides analysed using Golden Cheetah, I have boosted my FTP from 260 in Feb to 270 in early April.  This certainly added some spice to my TrainerRoad turbo sessions as (rightly so) every time I raise my FTP my sessions go up a notch.  Onwards & upwards, really keen to get close to '300' for the end of June.  Why?  Just because I guess: "three hundred and a little' sounds so much more than "two hundred and a lot".

Weight...
Down below 13stone.  For me this is the benchmark where I start to look and feel like a cyclist. Also, 12st 12 is the weight I rode the Etape five years ago. Whilst I am striving to get closer to 12st than 13st and acknowledge that 'every little helps', anything under 13st is a go-er, and what's more, I have seven weeks to go to lose a few more pounds.