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. 

 

Get in a groove and go with it.

I had huge plans for a great winter training season beginning in early November. In the first week of December, I finally got going with some sort of consistent training doing weight-lifting and some bike riding....and little to no running.

But sometimes you have to find a groove and go with it to make sure you are having fun while staying fit in the winter.

Now here I am nearing the end of January. I have a good, consistent program going, but it looks nothing like my original plan. In short, I have found a groove, and I'm going with it. 

I am lifting weights and making great gains in true muscular endurance, in terms of moderate weight and several sets of 20 in the midst of a high-tempo routine of supersets.   I do that weight lifting routine and it completely wears me out in about 45 minutes because it is essentially a double of the 206040 triathlon routine.  Then I ride my bike in the evening for about 20 miles in 70 minutes at  a decent moderate tempo (HR of 140 against max HR of 180).

This routine is not going to help me at all for the Pocatello 50 run! And it won't get me first out of the water in any swim.  But I'm happy doing it right now because it's a nice break and I get excited about the opportunity to do my workouts. I don't dread anything about my workouts right now, and I think that is a key to getting a good foundation built.

I do think that my bike leg will benefit from this, and that is my weakest link anyway. I'm really busting it on the leg curls and leg press, and I can see the progress each in week in terms of being able to lift the previous weeks amount of weights and reps. 

And when I'm on the bike trainer, I am really focusing on a good smooth cadence rather than mashing, and I can often get a good, long series of that improved cadence that speeds me up at the same effort level, and I KNOW that if I can do that kind of pedaling for 24 or 56 miles, my bike leg will be much faster this summer.  And priority one for this winter training season was to improve my bike leg.

I guess I won't be getting to the other priorities, at least til it warms up a bit.

The Sufferfest + TrainerRoad = ???

I got the word about the Tour de Sufferlandia.  It sounds like way too much fun, so I wanted to sign up. You have to sign up at TrainerRoad.com, which I had found only about two weeks prior and thought was cool.

At TrainerRoad, you can use VirtualPower to train with power but not spend the big bucks on a powermeter (Hey, some of us have kids that cost LOTSA money!).

Anyway, I'll be signing up here shortly, I guess, because the whole system seems like it will be pretty cool. You get 30 free days with a sign-up, and that will run me through most of February, which is when I need to be very consistent on the bike trainer anyway.

And the TrainerRoad system works with any video that you use. You can also use the MountainCruises at www.mountaincruises.com! Nice how I got to work that in there! Or you can use them for a few days after the tour as a recovery ride.

The beauty of this whole thing is that you get to train with power if you have one of the listed devices, which Kinetic Road Trainer is listed. I'm not sure how it all will work yet, but I did order my ANT+ USB stick, and it shipped already.

Excited about the opportunities, that's for sure.

And remember that the tour starts January 26, and we'll have lotsa fun, I'm sure. :)

********************************************

Need a training challenge? Join the Tour of Sufferlandria 26 Jan - 3 Feb 

They say that the Tour of Qatar isn't hard enough. There are murmurs that the Tour Down Under, even though harder than before, still isn't terribly difficult. Rumor has it that the Tour de San Luis in Argentina is little more than a tourist trip and even Europe's early season races have become simple warm-ups for the rest of the season.

That's all changing thanks to a new race sponsored by the Sufferlandrian Tourist Bureau. Slotting in nicely to the UCI calender of early season races, the Tour of Sufferlandria was created to bring back the drama, agony and misery that the early season peloton deserves. Starting on January 26th, the 9 day event promises to turn even the softest rider into a true Sufferlandrian by the end, on Feb 3rd.

More details to come in the days and weeks ahead, but we wanted to give you a heads-up so you can slot it into your training plans (if you're tough enough, of course).

Full Schedule:

• Saturday, Jan 26th: Hell Hath No Fury
• Sunday, Jan 27th: The Hunted
• Monday, Jan 28th: Extra Shot + Fight Club
• Tuesday, Jan 29th: A Very Dark Place
• Wednesday, Jan 30th: Angels
• Thursday, Jan 31st: The Wretched + The Long Scream
• Friday, Feb 1st: The Downward Spiral
• Saturday, Feb 2nd: There is No Try + Revolver
• Sunday, Feb 3rd: Local Hero

According to Grunter von Agony, race director, "The course is carefully balanced between agony, misery and despair. So, yes, the Tour of Sufferlandria is a worthwhile target for anybody looking for an early season goal. You really ought to have some solid training behind you before you start it, and you'll surely go through a roasting in hell during the race. 

When you come out the other side? With a solid 9 days of effort behind you, you will be able to take an ox, tie him to your bike, drag him up and over Mt. Sufferlandria while he tries to run the other way, and drink a flagon of ale made from the bikes of all t

hose you crushed on your way to a glorious victory. Or the Minions will eat you for lunch. But, whatever."

To Participate:

As we said, we'll send you more details in the near future and also post them on our Facebook page here. But, in short, to join the ToS, you must simply commit to following the schedule above and ride yourself into the ground each day. Join the community on our Facebook page for inspiration in those dark moments between stages to hear and share stories of HONOR GLORY AND VICTORY.

Although you can do it on your own, those who complete and register their 9 days with our partner, TrainerRoad.com, will be be eligible for daily prizes and thrown into a pool of prizes from the 'fest, TrainerRoad and others at the end of the event. (A subscription is necessary for TrainerRoad.com, however they have a 30-day no-questions asked refund policy so if you're not happy after doing the Tour of Sufferlandria with them, you can get your money back.)

Twitter #TourofSufferlandria

IWBMATTKYT,

David McQuillen, Founder
Sufferfest Studios
Official training videos of the Continental OCBC-Singapore Cycling Team
http://www.thesufferfest.com

Good luck to Luke Nelson in skimo race this weekend!

When it comes to aerobic fitness, I think ski mountainerring (skimo) is probably the most demanding sport aerobically and certainly breeds a different kind of athlete than marathon running or triathlon racing.  The combination of basically running up a hill and then bombing down in a sustained squat is incredibly challenging.

This weekend is the US Ski Mountaineering Association race at Grand Targhee. Every year, I want to do this race just to see what would happen, and again I'm behind the ball in remembering to find out when it is (it just started snowing here in Pocatello!).  This is definitely on my "some-day" list.

Ski mountaineering, in it's basic sense, is hiking uphill with skis on ("skins" give you traction) and then bombing back down to the bottom and then doing another "lap.'  Sometimes, a bootpack is included, which is when you take off your skis and hike in your boots.  And you can win alot of time in transition by being quick about getting your skins on and off, so there is not much of a break between the uphill and downhill portions. 

Overall, it is INCREDIBLY DEMANDING on the aerobic side.  I love to go backcountry skiing (the recreational equivalent of skimo) for the aerobic aspect!

Luke Nelson is racing in it this year, and I wish him the best of luck in his adventures. About 5 or 6 years ago, we ran together in a local trail race, and he was really fast (and I was really slow). In any case, that's when I first met him, and he's a great guy. Since then, he has become a truly world-class skimo and trail race / ultramarathon guy. Check out his blog.  And he lives right here in Pocatello.

So....good luck out there, Luke! And stay safe!

Three reasons and more why Short workouts ARE worth it!

Until last year, I had a bad habit of ditching a workout if I figured only had 30 minutes or so. This was especially true on the cold mornings when I wanted to sleep in and kept resetting my alarm!

But there are good reasons to do a 30 minute workout, many of them outlined in the Triathlete.com article "Twenty Minute Workouts" at http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/04/training/20-minute-workouts_24024

I think the most meaningful reason to do a 20-30 minute workout, especially if it's the only thing your going to do for the day. Specifically...

1. CONSISTENCY factor plays a role.

2. Maybe you need to have an active recovery day.

3. Maybe you are just having scheduling problems but want to do something.

In any case, it is indeed worth it to put your gear on and do a 20 - 30 minute workout.

A few additional types of workouts are included in the Triathlete.com article I mentioned.

But what kind of workouts can you do in 20-30 minutes? Here's what  Triathlete.com has to say...

The Filler – Simply swim, ride, or run at an easy tempo for 20 minutes. This is a great workout to do when you want to avoid the guilt of doing nothing but you’re not mentally or physically ready for anything challenging.
Tabata Intervals – Swim, ride, or run at an easy tempo for 16 minutes, then complete 8 x 20-second all-out sprints with 10-second passive recoveries between sprints.
Fartlek Intervals – Sprinkle 5 to 10 fast 30-second efforts throughout an otherwise moderate, steady-pace workout.
Threshold Session – Warm up for five minutes at a comfortable tempo, then go for 15 minutes at anaerobic threshold intensity (the fastest pace you could hold for one hour in a race).
Progression Workout – Swim, ride, or run for 15 minutes at a steady, moderate pace, then blast the last five minutes.
Time Trial – Swimming: Warm up, then swim 800 meters (875 yards) as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes. Cycling: Warm up, then ride 5 km as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes. Running: Warm up, then run 1 mile as fast as you can. Cool down as long as necessary to make the total workout 20 minutes.

They left out a basic weight-lifting session, which should normally NOT be done on a single-time-only basis, so I can see why it didn't make their list. One 20-minute routine I use the weight-lifting routine the 20-60-40 Weight Training Routine for Olympic and Sprint Triathlon. Full disclosure that I wrote that book. But I really do use that routine for a 20-minute workout at lunch. It is fast and easy and provides consistency during the winter, no matter what the southeast Idaho mountain weather will bring.

Another option is to take a look at some of the Yellowstone Time Trials videos that are about 25 minutes long. I made these specifically for those cold mornings that I didn't want to get up and get on the trainer. I have an additional advantage that I get to relive the awesome warm, sunny days that I did the video capture, but I think anyone will appreciate the beautiful weather I had on at least one day (the other day was quite smoky from fires).

Signed up for Pocatello 50 - 20miler

First off, Happy New Year everyone!  I'm sure you have great plans and goals for the year. And I wish you every good vibe possible to make those great things happen.

For me, part of those great plans and goals is to once again run part of the Pocatello 50 race. I'm doing the 20-miler course, starting at Valve House and going to the south side of Scout Mountain, across the ridgeline, and then back down. In fact, I just skied the first few miles of the course last week.

It's an awesome race here in Pocatello, and from what I hear it is getting some really good comments across the nation as a great race.

I ran this same course a few years ago as part of a relay. The race has matured a bit, and it doesn't have a relay anymore. Instead, there are a couple different individual-effort options. I'm excited about the opportunity to do this course again, as I normally do things better the more I do them.

So check out the Pocatello 50 if you are thinking about a nice, long trail run somewhere this year.

Pocatello 50 sign-up DONE!

First off, Happy New Year everyone!  I'm sure you have great plans and goals for the year. And I wish you every good vibe possible to make those great things happen.

For me, part of those great plans and goals is to once again run part of the Pocatello 50 race. I'm doing the 20-miler course, starting at Valve House and going to the south side of Scout Mountain, across the ridgeline, and then back down. In fact, I just skied the first few miles of the course last week.

It's an awesome race here in Pocatello, and from what I hear it is getting some really good comments across the nation as a great race.

I ran this same course a few years ago as part of a relay. The race has matured a bit, and it doesn't have a relay anymore. Instead, there are a couple different individual-effort options. I'm excited about the opportunity to do this course again, as I normally do things better the more I do them.

So check out the Pocatello 50 if you are thinking about a nice, long trail run somewhere this year.