@Derrek Sanks - I have many passport stamps in Sufferlandria...
Stage 6 - There is no try - rack it. The tour rolls on, and looking ahead without looking ahead, it is not going to get any easier... Stay the course everyone.
Stage 6 done! Not too bad, bearable and was kinda fun/challenging. Or maybe I have more energy in the mornings. Legs feel good...no need to wear my recovery tights today.
Just finished stage 6 and like Derrek I enjoyed it. Came in at .93. I am not sure if it was the 15minute warm-up I added at Z1 before the official start (find the warm-ups a tad short, okay actually nonexistent) or the extra sweet potato I had last night at dinner, but this girl was on fire. P.S. Last 3 rides were at .95% of my FTP. Felt 90% was just too easy. Also happy to report my undercarriage is surviving nicely. Can't believe there as been no mentioned of this????
@Brenda Ross - after 14 weeks of OS, my undercarriage is just fine. I also started adding 10' of Z1 and spin ups to better warm up...makes a big difference.
Yesterday's stage 6 was more manageable than 4 and 5, but that might be partly due to actually sleeping Wednesday night. Ran for about an hour off the bike as well, so we'll see how HHNF goes today (one of my favorites!).
Undercarriage is OK, but not perfect. OS has helped prepare it a little, as @Derrek Sanks says, but not quite to the point of daily riding...
I have found that a few nice pairs of cycling bibs to keep rotating are game changing for ride comfort. I really like the new EN ones.
Stage 6 is done, and I agree that it was more manageable even though the TSS was similar. It is starting to get to the point where a threshold set feels like a recovery after a VO2 set. I have stopped running and swimming for a couple of days. Assuming I survive tonight's Stage 7, I plan to sleep in tomorrow (as long as my dogs will allow) before doing stage 8 and then hopefully a manageable longer run.
@Bill Manard I see in your signature you are doing IMMT. I look forward to meeting you there!
Stage 7 Hell Hath No Fury is in the books. Couple of big stages left.
@Brian Hagan - I have found that is a key observation of the fitness gains the TOS offers - when you begin to "recover" at FTP. As the tour keeps throwing intervals at you, and the screen says a wattage goal that you know is pretty high to maintain, rather than complain about it, you just think "whatever", and keep turning the cranks, eventually finishing the prescribed workout. That physical and mental change represents the benefits these tough blocks offer. This is about the time in the tour that I also begin to make those observations.
Today's ride kicked my ass. I came nowhere near .97. I had to stop 3 times during the first interval. I mismanaged it and my legs and chest were on fire. My second interval was better, but those surges are killer. Give me steady over surging any day. I do not even want to look at tomorrow. Just realized my rides were not being shared on Strava, so they are all there now. I was supposed to do a snowshoe race tomorrow, but, notta! Just going to do my ride, eat and visit my son and his girlfriend. Stick a fork in me, I am almost done. I will do a video on the last day of the tour because I know you are all eagerly awaiting that. Glad everyone's under carriage is doing well. I agree., good shorts make the difference.
Stage 7 complete. I tweaked the intensity down after 15 minutes of the first and after 5 minutes of the second. My HR stayed in the targets, but the power was a bit lower. On to to stage 8 tomorrow!
Stage 7 yesterday was tougher than HHNF usually feels, but I also think I'm starting to get a little sick on top of the fatigue. Took the intensity down to 0.95 for the first 20' climb and 0.93 for the second. Still got nearly 100 TSS points for the ride, so it's not like it was easy.
We'll see how Stage 8, with all of the fast twitch work, goes today. Nose is pretty congested but I can still breathe right now.
Stage 7 was completed yesterday evening. That was tough! I had the intensity at 95%. Since I listened to my own music, I couldn't hear the video to keep up some of the surges and I was too busy looking down talking to my legs to focus on the video and text. So, a lot of the second 20 mins was at steady FTP watts.
I came into Stage 8 with sore/fatigue legs and didn't know how it would go. During my warm up the legs started to feel better so I kept the intensity at 100% and had a great muscle thrashing workout. That last Half is Easy was verrrrrrry tough! Now my glutes/butt is sore! I went for a 4 mile run about 30 mins later to flush out the muscles. I'm planning to do Stage 9 Sunday afternoon/evening to get more recovery.
@Derrek SanksGreat job getting it done! I'm with you today's stage was a complete butt kicker. The latter intervals I kept having to push further back on the saddle to grab any leverage I could just to hang on.
One more to go. Congrats to all for getting a tough week done and mad props to all the runners that kept all the running going too amazing work!
Stage 8 done earlier. Ended up being even harder than I expected, fighting some URI crud. Had planned on running afterwards, but felt like slightly warmed crap, so I bagged it.
Let's ride in to Agonia tomorrow, and join up to beat GvA with lava-hardened pain sticks...
Well stage 9 is done and dusted. That was my longest ride since October!
I am really glad I stumbled across this forum with enough time to take on the challenge. After completing 14 weeks of the November Outseason, this was a great way to top off all the hard work. I am going to take a couple days off riding (my running shoes miss me) and do an FTP test on Wednesday. 20 minutes off suffering sounds like a piece of cake!
It was great following you guys on Strava as well. There were several times that I wanted to quit, but I just could not face the flogging. Great job everyone and good luck with your 2017 season!
I'm done. I'm done. The last two days were my strongest. Who would of thunk it. Maybe I am a cyclist and not a triathlete. Bah, nah. Anyway, I forgot to get a #8 pic as I was short on time so I shot a pic this AM before #9 and then the #9 pic is of me and friend Shelley. It was her first year. She did great. So much so that she thinks she has a new FTP so she will be testing on Wednesday. I am taking 3 full days off and then will restart DecOS again. Getting lots of new snow as I type this, so maybe I might go out tomorrow on my new snowshoes, but just for a test *wink*
Damn glad Stage 9 is done! That last 40 min climb...OMG...had to take a 20-30 second break with about 8 mins left. The way I feel right now, I'll need about 4-6 days off to recover physically and mentally. I'm glad I did SoF. One thing I learned was you never know for sure how much is left in the well...don't assume it's empty, just keep drawing from the well and you'll be surprised. I'll continue with week 2 of swim camp on Monday, then roll into Get Faster Plan and switch from my road to my TT bike. Thanks for all the mojo! Good luck with your training and race season!
Glad it's done as well, but glad I did it. I had to take several short breaks during that 40' climb at the end, so I hear you @Derrek Sanks . I'm pretty sure, though, I now know what an empty well feels like...
Off to continue HIM training leading up to 70.3 Florida. Hopefully the bike work will pay dividends.
Great work, everyone! I don't think I'd have made it through this weekend without knowing I had the team backing me up!
I'm going to miss you all. TY for playing. Just a little plug. We have a February challenge going to celebrate our 10 Year anniversary. Everyone who plays gets their name in a draw for a Trirudy gift bag. After the tour this challenge will feel like a warm-up. Deets can be found on the dashboard. Just look for the bday balloons.
Because I was independent of the app, I did ISLAGLIATT through the 15, 20, 20, and 8-minute intervals, and then reset the video to begin before the 2nd 20 min interval, and carried that through to the end in an attempt to mimic ISLTA. Ended up being about 2:40 total, but the final "40 min" climb was broken into segments, but at a higher IF.
I did manage to scrape 50.2 miles running this week to keep the streak alive, but I am admittedly pretty tarred..
Many proud sufferlandrians in this group. Well done!
Great job everyone!!! Super strong riding and running. It was extra motivation having a whole group suffer together so thanks for keeping me going for 9 days!
Comments
@Phil Mills - Damn! Loco, but still impressive!
@Brenda Ross - Nice footage and props!
@Derrek Sanks - I have many passport stamps in Sufferlandria...
Stage 6 - There is no try - rack it. The tour rolls on, and looking ahead without looking ahead, it is not going to get any easier... Stay the course everyone.
Undercarriage is OK, but not perfect. OS has helped prepare it a little, as @Derrek Sanks says, but not quite to the point of daily riding...
Stage 6 is done, and I agree that it was more manageable even though the TSS was similar. It is starting to get to the point where a threshold set feels like a recovery after a VO2 set. I have stopped running and swimming for a couple of days. Assuming I survive tonight's Stage 7, I plan to sleep in tomorrow (as long as my dogs will allow) before doing stage 8 and then hopefully a manageable longer run.
@Bill Manard I see in your signature you are doing IMMT. I look forward to meeting you there!
@Brian Hagan - I have found that is a key observation of the fitness gains the TOS offers - when you begin to "recover" at FTP. As the tour keeps throwing intervals at you, and the screen says a wattage goal that you know is pretty high to maintain, rather than complain about it, you just think "whatever", and keep turning the cranks, eventually finishing the prescribed workout. That physical and mental change represents the benefits these tough blocks offer. This is about the time in the tour that I also begin to make those observations.
Keep grinding everyone.
Looks like everyone is doing an awesome job and many still running daily as well that is some great stuff. Just a few more days and we're home.
We'll see how Stage 8, with all of the fast twitch work, goes today. Nose is pretty congested but I can still breathe right now.
I came into Stage 8 with sore/fatigue legs and didn't know how it would go. During my warm up the legs started to feel better so I kept the intensity at 100% and had a great muscle thrashing workout. That last Half is Easy was verrrrrrry tough! Now my glutes/butt is sore! I went for a 4 mile run about 30 mins later to flush out the muscles. I'm planning to do Stage 9 Sunday afternoon/evening to get more recovery.
Congrats to all getting it done!
One more to go. Congrats to all for getting a tough week done and mad props to all the runners that kept all the running going too amazing work!
The banners are flying in Agonia, awaiting our triumphant arrival. Great job everyone- bring it home tomorrow.
Let's ride in to Agonia tomorrow, and join up to beat GvA with lava-hardened pain sticks...
I am really glad I stumbled across this forum with enough time to take on the challenge. After completing 14 weeks of the November Outseason, this was a great way to top off all the hard work. I am going to take a couple days off riding (my running shoes miss me) and do an FTP test on Wednesday. 20 minutes off suffering sounds like a piece of cake!
It was great following you guys on Strava as well. There were several times that I wanted to quit, but I just could not face the flogging. Great job everyone and good luck with your 2017 season!
I'll continue with week 2 of swim camp on Monday, then roll into Get Faster Plan and switch from my road to my TT bike.
Thanks for all the mojo! Good luck with your training and race season!
Off to continue HIM training leading up to 70.3 Florida. Hopefully the bike work will pay dividends.
Great work, everyone! I don't think I'd have made it through this weekend without knowing I had the team backing me up!
Because I was independent of the app, I did ISLAGLIATT through the 15, 20, 20, and 8-minute intervals, and then reset the video to begin before the 2nd 20 min interval, and carried that through to the end in an attempt to mimic ISLTA. Ended up being about 2:40 total, but the final "40 min" climb was broken into segments, but at a higher IF.
I did manage to scrape 50.2 miles running this week to keep the streak alive, but I am admittedly pretty tarred..
Many proud sufferlandrians in this group. Well done!