Tour of Sufferlandia D.U.N! Day 9 recap

** I'll write an overall review of the tour when I have a bit more energy and have fully recovered from oxygen debt. Here is today's review. ***

As my legs cried out for mercy simply by standing in church this morning, I knew Revolver had really crushed my legs yesterday. Seriously, they hurt just standing there. And then I started hurting all over thinking about the hurt that was yet to come on this final stage of the Tour.

As Noah climbed into his toddler bed that he had climbed out of at 6:15am this morning (c'mon! It's SUNDAY, KID!), I dashed to finish this tour during his nap. It was going to be close. Local Hero is 1 hour 20 minutes, but I needed 1:45 or so to change over, get going, and then shower afterwards before Noah woke up.

This was going to be an anti-climatic BIG FINISH! I was too tired to really hit it. I just wanted to finish. And I had a sleeping toddler and a four-year old upstairs I was trying to pay attention to on the baby monitor.

Then I had trouble getting the video to roll inside TrainerRoad program. Plan B! Just sync it up with my media player. That worked!

Today, even the warm-up hurt!

I got into mentally during the TT section, which is probably my overall favorite section of workout in all of the Sufferfests, except maybe the climb in The Hunted.

The 3 minute laps were brutal! Nearly as brutal as intervals 8-13 yesterday. Mentally challenging for sure, on top of the physical challenge.

The final sprints were doable, but with not-so-great power numbers because there just wasn't any power left in my legs. I did them far above the FTP, but nowhere near the 600 watt sprint from the other day.

I really feel like I accomplished something in this tour. I honestly think my FTP has improved by at least 10%, judging from the perceived effort at 230 watts today versus last weekend at the start. I'll write more about my overall thoughts on the tour.

Before I get to the data file, it looks like the tour had a nearly 50% attrition rate. Wow! Almost as high as my Marine Corps Officer Candidate Class back in the day!

Here is the roll-up of all my tour rides.

And here is today's ride file.

Tour of Sufferlandia + TrainerRoad update

Woohoo! I completed the Tour of Sufferlandia Stage 1...Hell Hath No Fury. I haven't done that video in a long time, and I've probably only done it 4-5 times total. I forgot that it includes 2x20 minute efforts! That's exactly what I need to be working on. This online tour is kind of exciting, and my wife is tired about hearing about it!

So...what about the TrainerRoad? I like it! It's great software with really great feedback. And it can be used with any video?!?! I really like that! 

Bottom line: if you're a newbie wondering about the ANT+ and TrainerRoad, go ahead and dive right in. It's awesome!

I got my ANT+ speed/cadence sensor in the mail TODAY at noon! Just in time logistics, I say. It took me about 10 minutes at the very most to get the package from the mail, take it downstairs, open, put it on my bike using an old set of magnets I never took off, install the ANT+ USB stick, download the Garmin drivers, download TrainerRoad, and get a quick read on a basic workout to make sure it will work tonight. This was incredibly so easy to setup!  And..BAM!...all the videos and other workouts end up on your screen. Great stuff!

The only problem I had was that I was getting a very inconsistent reading on the power. Cadence was a good, steady read, though. The entire 75 minutes I told myself that the wireless USB mouse was causing the problem but I never turned it off. Turns out that is probably the cause, according to the support website of the TrainerRoad.com, and it makes sense. I'll get my chance to fix it tomorrow during Stage 2: The Hunted,  my personal favorite Sufferfest video.

Oh yeah, I should say that I didn't do the FTP test. I guessed at a 230 based on what I've been seeing on the Kurt Kinetic "power" computer the last two months.  If this workout is a true indication of what I should be doing in terms of watts at given effort levels, I think that I'm spot-on with 230 watts. 

The data below doesn't show that, but that's because of the inconsistent readings tonight caused by the USB mouse interference....I rode the expected effort level 95% of the time...and it dang near killed me! I don't know if I'll have anything left tomorrow, much less anytime after that.

Below is my data. Looking forward to tomorrow. 

 

Video Review: The Sufferfest - The Wretched

Alarm goes off at 5:12am. "I ain't gettin' up this morning."  Pause. "Oh yeah, I got that new Sufferfest vid last night, and it's waiting for me. Can't wait to see it!" Hop up out of bed, down to the pain cave, pour the coffee already-brewed-by-timer, and ready to go!

Yes, that's how my morning went. From that to a good workout out The Sufferfest - The Wretched video to writing this right now.

I have nearly all the Sufferfest videos. My favorites remain The Hunted and Local Hero, mostly because they feature some longer Time-Trial-like sections. And I really like the music.

The Wretched is a change of pace then. It has less formal structure and more of a let's-follow-the-race structure. It really puts you into the race and keeps you mentally engaged.

The timing on this workout is only 35 minutes of work, with 48 minutes overall. That's GREAT if you've become wretched and can't pull a full one-hour workout (like me right now!). It's also great if you're using this for a one-hour lunch workout.  This video fits into my schedule perfectly right now, but I can see that when I get into some longer workouts as my season moves along, I'll be going back to the staples The Hunted and Local Hero.

Certainly nothing is stopping you from doubling or tripling this with some of the other shorter vids to make a three hour workout. That would certainly be alot of suffering.

So what about the video? I'll just leave a few notes for everyone....suffice to say that you should get it; you can't go wrong even if you just pedal along to the music and watch the screen when you pull your head up enough.

1. The format of the workout is really cool. Follow along with what happened in the real race. Simple is good.

2. New graphics greatly enhance the production level. Nicely done!

3. Three climbs in this workout. The final climb has some great instrumental music to keep you pushing along.

4. Video is 48 minutes, with 35 minutes of  a "main set." Perfect for a short morning or one-hour lunch workout.

5. More fun and games with the "plot" of your second-you, the Sufferlandian.  Lotsa Fun!

6. The Wretched is simply another video in the long list of great stuff from Dave.  

I followed the Sufferfest closely for the last few years but got behind on the videos a bit this past summer. I was busy training for my first 70.3 triathlon, and I also put together my own bike trainer videos that put you on the road in Yellowstone National Park. Check them out at www.mountaincruises.com.  I will honestly say they are not as good as the Sufferfest videos, but when you need a break and some easy cruising,  push play for MountainCruises.com and you'll have some nice cruising scenery for the day...just watch out for the buffalo!

Another Sufferfest! 30 minute TT effort

I'm downloading another Sufferfest vid released last week.  It's a 30 minute TT effort. Nice add-on to whatever else you are doing.