Zwift racing during a Rest week

Training Training Plans
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I am currently in a rest week that is part of my Threshold Block plan.

Normally I do a 35-38min zwift race each Thursday.

I really enjoy them and don’t fancy missing it. Is it going to make a noticeable to my rest week recovery?

Thanks

Pat

2

depends on how badly you need the rest week! Effectively you’re cutting your rest week short, or at least interrupting it.

If you feel good by Thursday, go for it. There’s no reason a rest “week” needs to be exactly a week (unless of course it does).

But if you’re super tired, better to err on the side of caution. Nothing worse than a rest week–where you are by definition not advancing your training–that doesn’t actually get you enough “rest”. Because in that case, what was the point?

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@MunkiiYebee Hello and great question! Training is a balancing act. You need to do things you enjoy for fun and mental health, just as much as the training is for physical gains. Recovery is actually the most important phase of the training cycle. Without recovery we would not reap the full potential of our training time. I do not recommend racing during a recovery week as the intensity level is likely to halt or even cease the adaptation process which begins 3 days after intensity has consistently been lowered. I know it’s tempting when you start to feel good during a recovery week but you really need to lay low and allow your body to complete the adaptation process. Much better to rest, show up next week and blow them all away! During a recovery week, you should feel more lethargic with heavy legs in the first half of the week, before everything begins to come around towards the end of the week. In the second half of the week, rest is super important as your body is using additional energy to complete the process, which will allow you to crush your next training block!

Happy Training!

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FWIW I stayed away from the Race yesterday. I felt tired anyway. Thanks everyone for the advice

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TBH as I sit here now and look back at the week the thing I have missed the most are my recovery shakes. They taste so good!