Here We Go Again
Plan #2
Week 2.
10 Weeks To Go.
Welcome back, weary traveler.
I trust that you may have wondered about my decision about which training plan to pursue having completed a 12-week program on 12.10.2019.
You may have lost sleep, bitten your fingernails, pulled hair, and felt generally anxious and edgy. That's common, expected, and you're healthy - it's ok.
More realistically though (and Google Analytics doesn't lie) I, the composer of these digital scrolls, is the sole soul reading these lines anyway, so, like the rest of it, no one cares, right? But I keep at it nonetheless.
Remembering Why. That's why.
I had, at the time, contemplated another 12-week plan, an eSport/vRacing plan, or a Knighthood attempt.
Virtual Racing, I must admit, was most tempting because keeping a tight plan prevents me from hammering away on Zwift, which I genuinely enjoy.
As for the Knighthood attempt, I can always do that, and I'm quite confident I don't need five weeks to prep for it as I've ridden 10+ hours several times, and the weather will undoubtedly be better on my Tacx Neo than in the Swiss Alps, any day.
The decisive element, as it surprisingly turned out, was Strength Training.
The Sufferfest Strength Training Program is 24 weeks long, while the cycling plans (Advanced) are 12 weeks long.
The other plans do not include strength training, and I had no intention of "losing" 12 weeks of progress.
So the best decision was to do another 12-weeks plan back-to-back.
The Strength plan is already on the calendar, so adding the cycling/Yoga/MTP will slot right in with seamless progression.
The Strength training is phased over 6 blocks, so I will be moving on to blocks 4-6 for these next 12 weeks.
Right, so back at it with The Sufferfest 12-Week Advanced General Road Cycling Training Program, Indoor Only, With Strength, Yoga, and Mental Toughness.
My focus, again, is MAP (Maximal Aerobic Power - 'VO2max') as it is still a weakness.
A few things had changed, though, and are fascinating to note:
The plan I applied to my TrainingPeaks calendar had changed since the last time I had used it.
The Sufferfest, in another step towards an autonomous training app, have introduced their own built-in calendar and training plan builder.
Firstly, how has the plan changed since 12 weeks ago?
Primarily in better intensity targets for workouts that are not meant to be at 100% effort level.
For example, a workout may have a reduced target of 80%, so it becomes "sub-threshold" rather than a threshold workout.
On the first run of the 12-week plan (let's just call it "the plan" from now on, ok?) such workouts had a broad reduction expressed in percentages. For example, "The Hunted 70%".
This time around, though, I noticed this right away, the targets are relative to the 4DP and will specify the level according to the zone.
For example:
Reductions for INTENDED ENDURANCE targets:
NM@100%
AC@55%
MAP@62%
FTP@70%
(phew!)
So presumably, you're getting a better-tailored experience this way than with a broad intensity reduction.
(I haven't noticed any targets of over 100% - and I think that these are indeed called for on the 2nd half of the plan, on occasion.)
Even though this following insight is obsolete with the new SUF training calendar, the plans in your TrainingPeaks Plan Library will update if the author makes changes. Once you apply a plan in TrainingPeaks' calendar, it will remain fixed. So you don't need to repurchase the plan - it gets automatically updated in the background for the next calendar application.
All nice considering that with The Sufferfest launching their integral training plan generator and calendar in the app, you don't need TrainingPeaks (or Final Surge for that matter) any longer.
Which brings up point 2 from above.
The New Calendar and Sufferfest Training Plans...
The direction is clear: The Sufferfest App is heading towards the goal of being a true "one app, everything you need."
From now, you don't need TrainingPeaks to contain your workout calendar, nor FinalSurge.
Sure, you can still upload your workouts there and track everything else you do / eat / sleep / over-self-quantify - but The Sufferfest App is your new Home.
I'm not going to burden you with instructions or details; it's pretty much straightforward:
There are a few small issues that will resolve with time, like any new software feature, but the overall experience is excellent.
You have your plan directly in your app's calendar, and you can start a workout instantly by clicking it.
No need to check your "other" app to see what you need to do today.
Also, very useful, is the intensity will match the requirement without having to fiddle with the workout settings each time:
So here we go again.
My original goal was to do three 12-week plans back to back, and I'm now into the second week of the 2nd plan.
I've already begun planning for the Summer of 2020 with several targets to aim for as I make progress.
It remains to be seen if I will compete again IRL (Nationals in June?) or target something like the Alpen Brevet again in August. Maybe just keep Zwifting... It doesn't really matter as my commitment is to the System and Method, not the "end event," at least for now. A good 4DP Full Frontal Test is just as good as a podium; I'm only racing against myself anyway.
Week 2.
10 Weeks To Go.
Welcome back, weary traveler.
I trust that you may have wondered about my decision about which training plan to pursue having completed a 12-week program on 12.10.2019.
You may have lost sleep, bitten your fingernails, pulled hair, and felt generally anxious and edgy. That's common, expected, and you're healthy - it's ok.
More realistically though (and Google Analytics doesn't lie) I, the composer of these digital scrolls, is the sole soul reading these lines anyway, so, like the rest of it, no one cares, right? But I keep at it nonetheless.
Remembering Why. That's why.
I had, at the time, contemplated another 12-week plan, an eSport/vRacing plan, or a Knighthood attempt.
Virtual Racing, I must admit, was most tempting because keeping a tight plan prevents me from hammering away on Zwift, which I genuinely enjoy.
As for the Knighthood attempt, I can always do that, and I'm quite confident I don't need five weeks to prep for it as I've ridden 10+ hours several times, and the weather will undoubtedly be better on my Tacx Neo than in the Swiss Alps, any day.
The decisive element, as it surprisingly turned out, was Strength Training.
The Sufferfest Strength Training Program is 24 weeks long, while the cycling plans (Advanced) are 12 weeks long.
The other plans do not include strength training, and I had no intention of "losing" 12 weeks of progress.
So the best decision was to do another 12-weeks plan back-to-back.
The Strength plan is already on the calendar, so adding the cycling/Yoga/MTP will slot right in with seamless progression.
The Strength training is phased over 6 blocks, so I will be moving on to blocks 4-6 for these next 12 weeks.
Right, so back at it with The Sufferfest 12-Week Advanced General Road Cycling Training Program, Indoor Only, With Strength, Yoga, and Mental Toughness.
My focus, again, is MAP (Maximal Aerobic Power - 'VO2max') as it is still a weakness.
A few things had changed, though, and are fascinating to note:
The plan I applied to my TrainingPeaks calendar had changed since the last time I had used it.
The Sufferfest, in another step towards an autonomous training app, have introduced their own built-in calendar and training plan builder.
Firstly, how has the plan changed since 12 weeks ago?
Primarily in better intensity targets for workouts that are not meant to be at 100% effort level.
For example, a workout may have a reduced target of 80%, so it becomes "sub-threshold" rather than a threshold workout.
On the first run of the 12-week plan (let's just call it "the plan" from now on, ok?) such workouts had a broad reduction expressed in percentages. For example, "The Hunted 70%".
This time around, though, I noticed this right away, the targets are relative to the 4DP and will specify the level according to the zone.
For example:
Reductions for INTENDED ENDURANCE targets:
NM@100%
AC@55%
MAP@62%
FTP@70%
(phew!)
So presumably, you're getting a better-tailored experience this way than with a broad intensity reduction.
(I haven't noticed any targets of over 100% - and I think that these are indeed called for on the 2nd half of the plan, on occasion.)
Even though this following insight is obsolete with the new SUF training calendar, the plans in your TrainingPeaks Plan Library will update if the author makes changes. Once you apply a plan in TrainingPeaks' calendar, it will remain fixed. So you don't need to repurchase the plan - it gets automatically updated in the background for the next calendar application.
All nice considering that with The Sufferfest launching their integral training plan generator and calendar in the app, you don't need TrainingPeaks (or Final Surge for that matter) any longer.
Which brings up point 2 from above.
The New Calendar and Sufferfest Training Plans...
The direction is clear: The Sufferfest App is heading towards the goal of being a true "one app, everything you need."
From now, you don't need TrainingPeaks to contain your workout calendar, nor FinalSurge.
Sure, you can still upload your workouts there and track everything else you do / eat / sleep / over-self-quantify - but The Sufferfest App is your new Home.
I'm not going to burden you with instructions or details; it's pretty much straightforward:
There are a few small issues that will resolve with time, like any new software feature, but the overall experience is excellent.
You have your plan directly in your app's calendar, and you can start a workout instantly by clicking it.
No need to check your "other" app to see what you need to do today.
Also, very useful, is the intensity will match the requirement without having to fiddle with the workout settings each time:
So here we go again.
My original goal was to do three 12-week plans back to back, and I'm now into the second week of the 2nd plan.
I've already begun planning for the Summer of 2020 with several targets to aim for as I make progress.
It remains to be seen if I will compete again IRL (Nationals in June?) or target something like the Alpen Brevet again in August. Maybe just keep Zwifting... It doesn't really matter as my commitment is to the System and Method, not the "end event," at least for now. A good 4DP Full Frontal Test is just as good as a podium; I'm only racing against myself anyway.
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