Watts Up in Watopia: ZA Tri Is Back

Zwift Academy Tri started yesterday, October 24th, and concludes November 20th.

This year’s academy includes a tighter program that features six key structured workouts (three cycling and three running). The workouts can be completed during scheduled events or as standalone workouts selected from the workout menu.

Once registered, you can use the Workout Overview to schedule your workouts as events within the following date ranges:

Bike Workout 1: LOW CADENCE INTERVALS
Run Workout 1: STRENGTH AND RESILIENCY (Short/Long)
October 24 @4p UTC- October 30 @ 3p UTC

Bike Workout 2: FULL-DISTANCE BUILD
Run Workout 2: TEMPO (Short/Long)
October 31 @4p UTC – November 6 @3p UTC

Bike Workout 3: FTP GAINS
Run Workout 3: OVER UNDER INTERVALS (Short/Long)
November 7 @4p UTC – November 13 @3p UTC

Finish Line Ride: 5 MINUTE POWER TEST
Finish Line Run Short: 15 MIN TEST
Finish Line Run Long: 30 MIN TEST
November 7 @4p UTC – November 21 @8a UTC

The short and long run workouts options are new for this year. The Short Run Workouts are between 25–30 minutes and are a condensed version of the Long workouts. The short Workouts are ideal for new triathletes, less experienced runners, or anyone who wants to do a brief run workout. The Long Run Workouts are 45 minutes and offer increased intervals and tempo durations. These workouts are ideal for more experienced triathletes looking to improve their speed and endurance.

This year, there will be a single Finish Line Ride for bike and either a 15-minute Short or 30-minute Long run. Both the Finish Line Run and Finish Line Ride are required to graduate.

However, the longer run workouts and the longer Finish Line Run is required for Zwifters who are aiming to make the ZA Tri Team.

To be eligible for ZA Tri Team selection, athletes must:

• Graduate the Zwift Academy Tri program
• Complete the Finish Line Ride and the longer, 30-minute Finish Line Run, plus all longer run workouts
• For bike events, athletes must use a smart trainer (or heart rate monitor and cadence sensor)
• For run events, athletes must use a cadence sensor, heart rate monitor, and complete the Long Run workouts
• Must be an amateur athlete

Hub Update

We had a chance to ask our friends at Zwift HQ about the availability of the Zwift Hub Trainer.

They said Zwift is receiving Hubs weekly. However, their shipments are limited for the next few weeks. If you're looking for one, best to hop on the waitlist. Zwift anticipates being able to catch-up to demand around mid-December.

See Dan’s initial review of the Zwift Hub Trainer.

Here’s what we at Slowtwitch have planned for the rest of the week.

Guest World Schedule

Here’s this week’s guest worlds, so you can plan to earn some of the route badges you are missing:

Monday: Makuri Islands & New York
Tuesday: Makuri Islands & New York
Wednesday: Makuri Islands & New York
Thursday: Richmond & London
Friday: Richmond & London
Saturday: London & Yorkshire
Sunday: London & Yorkshire

Slowtwich Indoors Event Preview (All Times Eastern)

Go to Zwift Events to sign up for these rides and runs.

Monday 100/100 Group Run, 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM
Join us for a group run on the virtual track of May Field that will kick start your week. Don’t forget that each of the five ride workouts and five run workouts have a short and long option. Rather than canceling a workout when you are crunched for time, you can complete the short version and still reap the benefits of the program.

Tuesday Ride of the Valkryies Workout (Women Only), 6:00 AM
This event is by and for women. It’s an almost no-drop, rubber-banded Structured Training workout, featuring a warm-up, set of intervals, and a cool-down.

Tuesday Structured Training, 7:00 PM
Our Tuesday ride features triathlon-focused cycling workouts written by coaches and pro athletes affiliated with Slowtwitch. The workouts last 60 minutes and will help add variety and interest to your weekly training schedule.

Wednesday Group Run, 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM
A more scenic group run on the Quatch Quest course.

Thursday Rise & Grind, 5:35 AM
This workout is an early morning bracer for the East Coast crowd. Get your work done before heading off to work.

Thursday SWIFT Ride, 6:55 PM
The newest ride to the Slowtwitch Indoors family, Slowtwitch SWIFT (Strong Women, It's Fun Together!) is here to bring another women's only ride to a slightly friendlier time slot. This ride will focus slightly more on strength-based work so bring those climbing legs. But even if you're feeling more like Mark Cavendish in the mountains of the Tour de France, so long as you keep the pedals moving, you'll stay with our group.

Friday Festina Lente, 9:00 AM
This structured training workout is designed to get you geared up for the weekend. Roughly translated as “make haste, slowly,” Festina Lente features a workout that will get your engine running but still leave some in the tank for the big rides and races you have planned for the weekend. This ride is led by members of the Kanberra Cycling Team as lead beacon.

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