The first weekend of August means it’s time for the Zwift Norseman cycling race. It’s an indoor hammerfest along one of Watopia’s toughest courses, the Uber pretzel. Eighty miles (128km) of almost every part of the mythical island’s tarmac – and a lovely 7,600 ft (2,335m) of climbing. If you want to punish yourself on an innocent Saturday, this is one of the best methods.

I’d completed the race in 2019 in 4 hours, 19 minutes – and it destroyed me. I laid on the ground next to my bike after I finished for 20 minutes completely spent. I’d finished 8 out of 31 finishers with an average of 236w (3.2 w/kg). (Strava - https://www.strava.com/activities/2587505205, ZwiftPower - https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=207625)

Well, why not do it again?

I took it fairly easy on Thursday (two days out), and very easy on Friday. By Saturday, I was feeling very strong and eager to go.

The best part of Zwift racing is the ability to schedule them around life. My wife had Zumba at 9AM, so I signed up for the 10AM race (I had kid duty until 9:45). This gave me time to get all my nutrition set up, good music on the boom box, and three high-powered fans blasting on me. Game time and I felt fantastic.

I stayed with the front group for the first bit until 10 minutes in when we hit the first climb. The epic KOM saw three people shoot out in front. I hit a PR up the mountain, and found two others to ride with for the next three hours. My legs felt fantastic – if this was the bike leg of a flat 70.3, I felt I could definitely PR.

The trouble comes at the final mountain, Alpe du Zwift. I was in 4^th place at the bottom of the hill with a two-minute lead on everyone behind me. I’d been chugging drink and pounding calories throughout the ride – just to the point where I started to burp – which means my stomach couldn’t take much more.

I slogged up the hill, and watched in agony as one-by-one 4 different people caught up and passed me, putting me back in 8^th place for the finish. Once again, I rolled off my bike and laid next to it for only 15 minute this time, completely destroyed and spent.

I was 8 out of 79 – so same place in a field almost three times bigger. My finishing time was 4:10 – a nine minute improvement. Average watts were 274w, or 3.5w/kg – so a nice 38 watt improvement on my 4-hour power. (Strava - https://www.strava.com/activities/3849657726, ZwiftPower - https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=973942)

Moral of the story #1 – Zwift Norseman will destroy you (in a fun way) - do it in 2021
Moral of the story #2 – Stick with Purple Patch and see year-over-year bike power improvements of 38+ watts over four hours!

Finished - whew!

Just before I hit the mountain of pain...

Afterward I had salt all over my skin like sand - good thing I was pounding sodium throughout!