I still use an old pre-race warmup from our training peak days 
unless @Coach_Theia gives me a new one i was trying to build it in FS a few weeks ago for @PJStone and hit a wall ill try again!
@Coach_Theia can add it to FS. Itās the same pre-race openers and long and short warmups. So nice
@bkolden do you have it saved in FS or Zwift?
Oh thatās right. I probably downloaded them to Zwift from TP back in the day. I have several different varieties of 360Velo ones but probably from TP. Sorry for the confusion.
I added an updated one to the Final Surge calendar - itās on May 4th - please save it to Zwift so you have it available whenever you need it.
This new version replaces the prior ones and an be use for Zwift races of any length.
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Oh this is great. May I have access as well?
@bkolden you do now 
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Thatās a great looking workout. Thank you!
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Thanks, Coach!
Hey friends, especially @PaleGail @bkolden @vivian.a.workman @Coach_Theia and anyone else who races. Iāve signed up for tomorrowās age group womenās race, but Iām very nervous. Iām not a strong climber and it looks like Volcano X2. I canāt decide if maybe I should sit this one out or if I should go for it but find a way to manage expectations and not be hard on myself. I welcome advice.
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@laurasibson what are some of the reasons that made you sign up for it? What are some of the things you were hoping to get out of it?
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I wanted to challenge myself. But Iām afraid that Iāll just end up disappointed that Iām not stronger. I also liked the idea of racing with women.
Maybe it would make more sense for me to challenge myself in other ways ā climbing and endurance ā as those would translate to my real life cyling better than racing.
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I would say to sit with @Coach_Theia questions and really do some reflecting. As far as racing with women, the FCC has alot of racing options for ladies only, your team should have ladies only series or events, or maybe we need to do some 360Velo meetups to do our workouts together and chat as we workout, maybe find a team that is doing the Ladder format racing. I am really enjoying Ladder and I am not really one to enjoy racing. These are just my thoughts from basically a ānon-racerā. I am sure @PaleGail @Covi @vivian.a.workman have even better advice.
I chose to not do the Zwift womenās series because even though the āold ladyā category is a small number, all the ladies in the pen I would race in are several categories stronger than me and I donāt enjoy that kind of racing. But I know others really like racing well above their ability.
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@laurasibson i signed up for tomorrows race but Iām thinking of not doing it. I like to race with my team. I like the tactics and cheering on my teammates.
I wanted to support this race but I feel like they are trying to pickup at a race slot thatās empty now. I too looked at the others in my group racing and I figured Iād be TT-ing solo which isnāt fun for me. (Iāll be doing that this fall in ZRL if I can find a team)
I race for fun and community. If it were a TT Iād do it. Iām glum currently and I also did to much at the gym Saturday and my glutes are killing me. 
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Thanks, Barb. I truly appreciate your thoughts. I donāt have a team at the moment. I was recently invited to join the Pink Cheetahs; they are a very welcoming group of women. And of course you and I chatted on Discord about Coalition.
And yes, @Gossimrr I hear what youāre saying about fun and community.
Iām sorry to hear youāre currently glum. I hope you feel better soon!
It seems maybe Iād benefit from giving more thought to what I want out of racing and what I mean when I say I want to be āstronger.ā
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Let me know if you want to chat more about the ladies of Coalition. There is always something going on in our ladies group.
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I looked at the pens for the age group womenās race (for Saturday, which is when I am signed up but probably wonāt do it because it will be a nice day outdoors, buy I digress) and the range of abilities is incredibly wide. The course is also one that would cause separation even if all racers were in the same cat/race score bracket. So that race is not a good one for someone more new to racing and/or picking up racing again after a hiatus @laurasibson . It will be a āyard saleā to use my favorite expression. The way to approach a race like this is to do a race within the race: expect separation and work hard to stay in a grupetto and/or hold a gap and not allow the racers behind to catch you.
The questions are indeed important ones that only you can answer.
I see these as two separate things.
- Racing
Racing is not simply about being stronger and often times not even a good proxy for determining how āstrongā someone is. Racing is a craft. It involves skills (pedaling, cadence, positioning in the peloton at key sections of the course, acceleration, knowing the course, knowing how to draftā¦), mindset, and power. Someone can be strong and still perform poorly for lack of the other skills. And the skills needed in Zwift are not the same as the ones we use outdoors. I saw this first hand when I competed at the USAC Esports Nationals. Some racers that entered have National titles outdoors and yet, they get dropped quickly in Zwift or end up getting beat in the last kms. Even Peter Sagan came out publicly and said he has no interest in Esports because he doesnāt want to sprint for 40th as he would get beat every time. Are you going to tell me Peter Sagan is not āstrongā?
So Iād say, race for the sake of learning how to race. It takes time- a lot of time. You would not expect to line up at a cyclocross race or MTB race and do well, let alone podium. So why would you in Zwift? The only way through is to be willing to suck. Be willing to get dropped like a bad habit, sometimes within the first 5 minutes of a race. Be willing to be DFL. If you are not willing to completely suck, donāt do it.
Also check in with yourself how much of your fear is related to caring about what other people think/what will show up on Strava. If that is a factor, you can always race and keep your activity private.
Racing is excellent for challenging yourself. Good races to practice the skills are the Fearless Beginner Races and other women-only races that are not long or have climbs of thatās not your strength. I donāt think the ages races are a good starting point.
- Challenging yourself with the intent of gauging how strong you are
Here itās important to decide how you will measure strength/progress. Comparing yourself against others is a complete waste of time. Chasing someone elseās level only drives you away from your own. Plus, you know absolutely nothing about the other personsā personal life, routines, training, mindset, nutrition, history, abilities and in Zwift, if their numbers are even real.
A better approach is always tracking your own progress. One way of doing this is choosing a favorite course/segment and using that as a way to measure progress by how much faster you can complete it, for example. Revisiting that segment every couple of months under the same conditions (e.g., well rested, well fueled, after a good night of sleep, etc.)
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Coach, this is amazing food for thought/advice. I might need to download this post and save it. Thank you for giving thought to this race in particular and helping me consider what makes the most sense for me both in terms of potentially racing and in terms of gauging progress.
I love the bold on āThe only way through is to be willing to suckā and I admit that Iām not very willing to be DFL (lol, btw). When I first started racing ZRL it was because I had made an intention in my life to say yes to things that made me uncomfortable. Racing on Zwift was one such thing and it sure did make me uncomfortable. But I also found that I enjoyed being on a team. I loved the feeling in my body and mind after a race was over. Iād missed that ever since Iād stopped running distance.
Soā¦Iāll continue to give all of this more thought. Again, thank you so much for your generous and thoughtful response.
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Agreedā¦ I have a rather large collection of word documents of @Coach_Theia wise words of wisdom that I print and save. This is added to the pile! lol Thanks so much Coach. Iām still working on being willing to suck but getting better.
Good luck with your continued improvements!! We are all in this together!
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Iām a little late to the discussion and almost everything has been said but I wanted to give you my experience about Zwift racing @laurasibson .
Iāve been on Zwift for 10+ years but I was using it primarily to do my workouts. Racing on Zwift was never appealing to me even though I love racing IRL.
However, I started having curiosity about ZRL so last year, I decided to join a team at the end of the summer. I have to say itās been so great that I encourage everyone to try it. There are many great teams so itās a matter of choosing the one that you think will be the best fit for you. And if after joining you donāt like the team or racing, no big deal!
What I can tell you is that the women community is amazing and extremely supportive.
We donāt do this for a living so results in a race donāt really matter. I have learned so much about Zwift racing, strategy and myself that at this point I just want to race with my team because everyone is so supportive and it is so much fun that even if I come DFL I donāt care!
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask here or DM me 
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