March progress, volume up and unexpected Vo2Max improvement

My March Zone 2 project metrics show some good progress, with training volume up on February. You can find the details of my training plan here, my goals and metrics here.

• My volume increased on February. I did my first endurance event which is the most important element pf progress. I found that in the week running up to the event the I tapered reducing volume as expected but I needed more recovery time afterwards, reducing my volume to very little in that week and affecting my average, but it was still a big month in terms of total miles and a big step up.
• My Zone 2 settled in at 175 watts in March. with a slight decrease in heart rate at a steady output. It also really helped with my endurance event as I could control my heart rate and knew I’d be able to keep going as long as I kept myself fuelled.
• My VO2Max increased in March, this was unexpected. I settled on 4 x 4 min at 110% of FTP for Vo2Max training, this seems to have helped. The measurement is based on the estimate in Garmin Connect, so not completely scientific. I’m still confident that I can increase this more as I move in to the next phase in April when I expect to increase the number of harder, high intensity sessions.
• I didn’t do as much strength training as planned in March due to circumstances. I did make some gains in terms of volume, but feel this is an area I haven’t fully figured out. My estimated 1 rep max’s have reduced as I’ve reduced weight and increased the reps per set.
• My weight has increased a little to 94 Kg. Again, I’m speculating as I don’t have accurate measurements for body fat or muscle density.

March was a good month overall. I increased total volume for mileage and hours. My Zone 2 performance was stable at a higher power than previous months and I increased my Vo2Max unexpectedly. All in all a good month and good progress for me.

In April I have my first 300 km endurance ride. I’ll be reducing volume in the week before and allowing myself to recover fully afterwards to make sure I resume training in good shape.