A Knight To Be

Week 5 When I first started with The Sufferfest Training Plan, I had to pay attention to planning the upcoming weeks carefully. Going from Xert, which is "dynamic," meaning you can find the right workout for your goal on any given day, SUF Plans are pre-fixed. Let's dwell on that for a moment: Pre-fixed training plans are a "given." You get the workout schedule for the next ~12 weeks and follow it. Sick child? Holiday? Business trip? Tough luck. Yes, life always gets in the way, but you more or less have to make up for missed sessions somehow. The Sufferfest makes it easy to figure out what to do in such a case: https://thesufferfest.com/blogs/training-resources/skip-a-workout-dont-panic . But as a whole, you're committed and inflexible. It's the same with training plans on Zwift and Today's Plan. Zwift will give you a short window to complete workouts, but if you miss the train, you're in trouble. Dynamic/Flexible training pla...

As the burning haze engulfed me, blurring my vision and scorching my lungs, I recalled the mystical counterspell: "You. Can. Do. This." It was still more than forty-five minutes to the end of the session, and my inner thighs began to cramp up. I don't remember if this was on Mt. Sufferlandria, Mt. apocalypse, or some other Col du-know, but I hurt, and I had to keep going. I knew that with these cramps - pure physical pain, almost mechanical, like someone or something literally and visibly pulling ligaments and muscle - I had to go on. To Stop is to Die. No soft-pedaling, no taking-it-easy. Just keep pushing. 1:52:34 elapsed... cramps are gone, but they'll be back, I know they will. It Seemed Like Thin Air is a Sufferfest video that has "tempo" climbs at various lengths. The shortest is 8 minutes, the longest is, um, 40 minutes. Now "tempo" is a relative thing. Yes, it can be constrained in Power Zones or HR zones, but when you...

Week 3. It's rather odd to have DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness) after so many years on the bike, but I always embrace it with joy. DOMS means something is working. Pain, as I've learned, is one of the best indicators: It will let you know that you need to make a change. It will alert you to something new or odd. Pain will guide you and provide limits, borders, and frames. Steering way clear of any cliches, but you know the one. For example, foot pain in the form of plantar fasciitis will let you know that you need to work on your gait, flexibility, and foot strength. Pain in your back will force you do work on your core strength, posture, and balance. And the sweetest of all, muscle pain from good old hard work and suffering tells the tale of growth and gainz ;) So yeah, I ❤ DOMS. Yesterday was a day focused on pure power. The drill on the bike is called " standing starts " and, as the name suggests, means sprinting with a super-heavy gear from a standstill. Yo...

You. Can. Do. This. The final words on the "Positive Self-Talk" MTP session (The Sufferfect Mental Training Program). It's not the first time I've completed this little exercise, and the value keeps coming back with interest. In this session, you'll learn about the types of self-talk: Motivational: "you can do this!" Instructional: "Keep spinning those legs at 100rpm." Reward: "You did it, you crazy SOaB." And get some pointers on how to listen to your self-talk and direct it to the Positive, so the outcome is in your favor. If you've ever pushed hard enough, you know it works. A few months ago, I decided it was time to ride the Uber pretzel on Zwift .  I ventured outside the Torture Chamber and set up a mobile Pain Infliction Unit outside on my porch. T'was a lovely day, and I felt oddly positive. 4 hours later, and rather loudly, while shredding chamois up the Alpe du Zwift's +10% grades, a...

A couple of days ago, we reviewed the first two weeks of the Journey. Yesterday was a Rest Day flavored with some Yoga and the MTP session named "Relaxing to Recover." It's rather enjoyable. About 20 minutes in which you flow through a contraction-relaxation routine from head to toe. Some background music adds a lot, and, if you are lucky enough to find 25 minutes of uninterrupted stillness (i.e., no kids screaming in the background that they don't want to take a shower, no SO on the phone, no doors opening and closing, no people coming in and out because your torture chamber also happens to be their playroom...etc) then it's wonderfully meditating. Today is just a Strength session with a recovery spin — nothing to write home about. So instead, let's paint the background picture with details of the torture chamber set up: Trainer : Tacx Neo (1st. Gen) Smart as they get. This trainer is by far the best thing I've spent money on this decade, ...

This is no ordinary post. As you may learn, Couchlandrian Tendencies are a deadly omnipresent danger. We can fall prey to laziness, slackery, oh and donuts, with ease. So, as easy as it could have been to abandon a 0-view blog about my personal experience on the Quest, I have learned and applied mental strength. You see, The Sufferfest has you working on all fronts: cycling (duh), strength, maintenance (Yoga), and Mental.  The last Mental Training workout I completed had a drill about forming habits that support the Quest. Keeping the focus on the "Why." Using a simple set of daily reminders and actions creates consistency. For me, and you, the fruit of my actions, to support my Quest, is what you're reading now. So while this is just another post, it is the first post written with a purpose that paves the Journey. Right, so what have you missed? Today I completed the first two weeks of the SUF training plan. To recap, my plan is: 12 weeks Adva...

Yes, you will bleed from your eyes. I used to be fearful of the annual ramp test done for the medical checks. I'd get anxious about it weeks in advance, each winter. But now, it seems like a cake walk. I spent a week prepping for the Full Frontal. The notorious 1-hour all inclusive fitness test. It's so hard, it has a training plan of its own. This essentially follows a short Sufferfest plan which includes some drills, openers, and mental preparation. The latter made a big difference and I'm surprised how effective it is. I will definitely adopt it moving forward. The countdown started yesterday with carb loading and setting the schedule for the test. I used the Sufferfest nutrition guide and supplemented as suggested. Twenty grams of sodium bicarbonate had me visiting the porcelain a few times, but hey. Beets, beta-alanine, caffeine, and isotonics on the menu with some honey, a banana, and yogurt for breakfast. The air conditioning was at full gas, all compute...

Today marks the end of an eight-month training period on Xert. I started using the dynamic software, with great success I might add, reaching new highs and breakthroughs consistently. Racing in Zwift, I won some races and PRed on an ongoing basis. Yet, something was missing. Xert, being "dynamic" will let you slack off. You can indicate your fatigue level and remain stuck in Endurance training for the entire program, or have only a handful of quality, high-intensity workouts. Also, Xert will ask you "what type of rider do you want to be..." playing to strengths rather than focusing, or clearly identifying, weaknesses to improve. Other than that, which can be solved with a strong will and headstrong obedience, the biggest missing element is Strength.  By Strength, I mean weights and (lean) muscle building, integrated with a cycling training plan. I could never get both to sync even though I can train anyone on the bike, and have years of experience in t...