I have officially entered the fray. I have scheduled the six week prep for a Knighthood attempt on Fathers Day, June 19, 2022. After a few year hiatus I came back to cycling last August. I have been picking up challenges to keep me going hard.
I did the Rapha 500 in Dec, the Tos (nuclear mode) in Feb and just finished an Everesting challenge this month. I have been wanting to storm the castle for 5 or 6 years now, ever since Sufferfest was offered at our gym.
When I finished the Everesting challenge my wife ask “what’s next”. Well, this is it. I haven’t set my schedule yet but am working through the list. I picked out about half of the rides and eliminated about that many as well. I will post it when I have finalized it. I have been reading with interest the other posts on the topic and all the helpful suggestions. More to follow.
I am going to attempt this with as much of a systematic approach as I can. Being a numbers geek, that how I roll. I have 8 weeks before the attempt. The six-week prep plan starts in just over two weeks. While I am still working out the ride list, I am planning out as much as I can.
Shoes - I have two pairs of shoes for the event. Given the time of year, it will be warm. I will plan on switching out every two rides. Setting the shoes outside in the sun they will be dry at the switch. I will have plenty of powder on hand. If it is so hot that they need to be changed ever ride, we do have a boot dryer that I can use, but I doubt that will be necessary.
Socks – plenty at whatever weight the temp demands.
Jerseys – plenty again. I will change out every ride. The plan will be to take the one off during the cool down and get a cool towel. I will likely put the next one on during the warm-up of the next video.
Shorts/bibs – I have enough to change lout every ride if necessary. My plan in every two rides. I am logging now how each pair feels after two hours. Some have poorly placed seams, and an hour is long enough. It looks like I do have enough that still feel good after two hours but can change out after each ride if necessary.
As these issues go, as a triathlete I am quite comfortable with quick transitions. Maybe a tiny advantage over those who just ride.
Nutrition – I have done a few Half Ironman events and many imperial century rides. But for those I was confined to what I could carry or what was available on the course. I have more options available to me here. I am trying a few new things now on some longer rides to see how I handle them.
I have a dedicated laptop but will download all rides on a second just in case.
Now with all that said, NOTHING ever goes exactly as planned. When I did my first HIM I found out I was allergic to cottonwood trees. Messed up my stomach and my whole race. I finished but it was miserable.
The other thing I am doing is meeting with someone this week as a possible charity to raise money for. More on that and my ride line-up to follow.
@Critmark -You’ve certainly done your fair share of endurance homework, an impressive list of accomplishments! Any of the approved videos you choose as 1-5 are all about your training that is in the bank. Selected videos 6-10 are more about “up-stairs”, mental toughness, than training in the bank. Best wishes on Storming the Castle!
General question on setting the proper intensity. My plan was to stay in ERG mode and dial down the intensity. I was thinking of starting at 75% and adjust based on how I was feeling. As I was looking at the settings I noticed a check box for “Don’t Change Recovery Sections”. For this quest do you recommend I leave that checked or uncheck it?
pretty sure I left it as “don’t change recovery sections” but admittedly, it’s been awhile. You can always change that on the fly too if you find the recovery sections are not providing enough recovery as the day wears on.
Hey @Critmark! I have decided to pop by your thread here too to land some mental support!
After reading your opening post, you are definitely much more accomplished than I am.
This is something that’s been often said in the MTP too. It’s too naive to say nothing will go wrong with all the meticulous planning because everything can and will go wrong even if things all planned right to the minute. Been there and done that too just like you have.
All the best in the planning!
My fateful day is just a week from yours
All the best to you too mate! I am not sure what else I could offer at the moment from my end of preparations. But I reckon, at least my planning is more or less done.
With 2 weeks until I start the official KoS prep plan I decided I want to knock out a few rides I have been meaning to do.
Yesterday I did Team Scream. Today Cobbler. That just leaves Kitchen Sink Mash-up to finish off all the Sufferfest rides. I am doing that one on Saturday.
Tomorrow I will do Med. Coast: Massif de l’Esterel which will complete all the On Location rides. I have a few of the new Inspiration rides to wrap up. I will finish this off before I start the prep plan.
Then after the KoS attempt, it’s half dozen of the Split Bricks and 40-50 No Vids that I have not yet attempted. Always keep a goal out there.
I am giving serious consideration to switching from the 6 week prep plan to the 4 week plan. Looking at two really long weekend rides seems a like a bit of an overkill. I won’t change the date, just the prep plan. Any comments, questions or suggestions? TIA
@Critmark A lot of people consider that and just go for it during the 1st weekend of long rides. If the day works for you just go for it but be sure you go over all of your pre-event checklists.
I think you definitely want to do one of the long rides in preparation - it’s a great chance to test the 10 minute changeover between videos, and a lot of the other logistics of your setup. When I did mine, I did one long session (5 workouts) and one longish session (3 workouts) in preparation. I did follow the KoS preparation plan, but I don’t recall there being four and six week options.
I did mine all at 70% on fresh 4DP numbers. It felt relatively easy at the start, and then really difficult at the end!
I’m not sure how I would have gone at 75%, but starting there and adjusting seems reasonable - just adjust early rather than when you’re starting to feel seriously fatigued.
Good luck with the preparations! Sounds like you’ve got a really good plan together.
Did Kitchen Sink Mash-Up today to finish off all of the Sufferfest vids. I thought it was 3 hours but glad to see that when I put it on the calendar it was only 2 hours and 60 minutes??? Anyway, did the first 2 hours and 15 minutes at 100% and for the last 45 I kept moving around the 75% - 85% range.
I tried to get in 890 calories and 124 carbs in the three hours but fell a bit short. Some of the breaks between efforts just didn’t lend themselves to eating much. I did manage 740 calories and 104 carbs though. I also had 4 bottles; 2 plain water and 2 with electrolytes. Finished almost all the plain water and 75% of the electrolyte water.
@Critmark Here is what I planned pre-KOS: (1-3 @ 80%, 4-6 @ 75%, 7-9 @ 70%, 10 @ 65%). I didn’t stick to the plan and stayed at 80% through #5. That was a mistake. I ended up finishing the last video at 60% and was hurting.
Keep in mind that if you went out for a 10 hour ride your IF would probably average around .65. Obviously it isn’t the same as the intensity within the videos jump around but hopefully that gives you a reference point.
