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I firmly believe that any manās finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.
~ Vince Lombardi
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Soā¦ in the last half of Defender and while I was doing Cobbler, even tho my power was well into Z3 and sometimes close to Z4, my heart rate was still on the border of Z2/Z3. And in Cobbler my HR rarely came out of Z2, occasionally flirting with lower Z3. And when my legs got really tired and I lowered the power to middle/upper Z2 my HR was in low Z2.
Frankly, I was expecting cardiac drift to make it run higher rather than lower, but it seems my HR trending lower means I am highly fatigued? Iām assuming thatās the likely reason. Especially since when I was doing the long recovery sections my HR still stayed well into Z2ā¦
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Cobbler is likely to produce a low HR due to the low cadence.
Keep a close eye on the fatigue though, digging yourself a massive hole in February isnāt a great way to start the season.
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True. Tho I did notice it being low in the second half of Defender (which I did first) when my cadence was higher. I was well into middle Z3 and my HR was in upper Z2.
Yes, for sure. This is going to be a difficult tightrope to walk. 
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Correct.
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Iād be concerned if you werenāt fatigued.
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And if anyone following me questions why I donāt post a ride tomorrow itās because Iām riding ādailyā according to the official Sufferlandrian 50 hour time window. I wonāt have more than 47 hours between rides. And in the end I will actually have 32 Defender sessions rather than 28. Just in case anyone asksā¦
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No one would dare! Wellā¦.maybe someone.
#twaaw
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Defender for Dan #6 Day 6
Back at it today. That early morning dead-eye stare is only getting worse. 
Started to play with the intensities a bit. Began at 100% for the first full interval. Then mismatched the initial 2 minute MAP intensity from the remaining 8 minutes FTP intensity. Considered keeping the MAP at 100 for all 4 intervals and only lowering the FTP. Decided that wasnāt going to work after the 2nd interval.
MAP/FTP intensity:
1: 100/100
2: 100/90
3: 90/80
4:80/80
#HaveYouSufferedToday? #MoreThanYou
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Thatās me doing Defender once. On a good day. Feeling fresh.
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Amazing Suffering Sir @emacdoug !! Keep at it!
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Glorious. Can I ask how youāre managing your recovery between sessions?
Yoga in the evening? Activation session beforehand? Extra scoop of protein? Staying off your feet as much as possible during the day? Managing stress by avoiding all conflict with work/family/children? 
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I read that as āavoiding all contact withā¦ā 
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Yeah same here, I read the exact same thing
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I do extra spinning after most sessions and I do yoga 2-3 times during the week. I probably should do yoga almost every day, but on some days Iām pressed for time. But I do a bit of stretching almost every time I get off the bike and before bed, too.
Iām already following macros so Iām getting plenty of protein, but I am eating extra calories to ensure I am well fueled.
I have a standing desk, but Iām sitting more than usual. Iām also trying to get to bed earlier to ensure Iām getting decent sleep.
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Defender for Dan #7 & #8 - Day 7
Plumbing the depths of my small cycling jersey collection. This was the first jersey I ever purchased for myself.
Today was the second double Defender day. 80% straight through the first session. Second session split MAP 90%/FTP 70%.
Iāve now ridden Defender 16 times - half of those in the past 7 days. Soā¦ how is it that I just now noticed that in the third interval when the rider from the IAM team attacksā¦ the song that then plays is āDo You Know Who I Amā?! Sir @David.McQuillen.KoS, surely thatās no coincidence, right? #SUFhumor
#HaveYouSufferedToday? #MoreThanYou
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Excellent Sir. Dad joke warning But you better put some meat on the bones.
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Defender for Dan #9 - Day 8
Had a little fun with my pre-ride photo shoot.
Back to just one Defender today, but did have a 30 minute prep-ride to get my legs properly warmed up. 80% intensity feels like a proper workout and Iām only on day 8. I have 20 more days to go? 
#HaveYouSufferedToday? #MoreThanYou
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