I’m going to move my shenanigans to its own thread since it seems they will now long outlast the end of the 2026 Tour.
I did something weird to my knee that isn’t obvious. It seems like maybe a mild ACL strain. I’m not sure. I’ve been taking some time off since the Tour ended to rest and ice it in hopes that it will be sufficiently healed by the beginning of April. That is when I plan to begin my 2026 Tour shenanigans.
If by some stroke of misfortune my knee is not yet fully healed enough, I will push back my shenanigans by a month or two. I may be insane or crazy or demented or some combination of them all, but I think (that’s a relative term) that I am at least intelligent enough NOT to intentionally harm myself physically.
So, if all goes well I will begin my first 9 of 279 hammers on April 1.
I’m concerned that by committing to your shenanigans, your malfunction may be above the shoulders and not limited to your knee.
Apparently you still have some capacity for rational thought as evidenced by your decision to delay things. Hold onto that… and good luck with the knee.
I’m still debating as to my current physical state.
My knee is improving, tho it is not at 100%. But now that I’ve turned 50 will it ever really get back to 100%?
I had been trying to alternate workout days by doing strength and yoga one day and then cycling and yoga the next. And took off a full week before that. The rest week (mixed with lots of ice and ibuprofen) seems to have helped my knee a lot - and I got a lot more sleep - but combined with my birthday celebrating left a lot be desired on the rest of the my body which got about 10lbs heavier than I like and also dangerously close to the level that usually causes my back and restless leg to flare up. I have a lot of tightness in my left leg, but I’m not sure if that’s because of my knee and actual tight muscles, or because of my weight, back, and restless leg.
So, this week I’ve been continuing my ice and ibuprofen while focusing on better eating, along with strength, yoga, and trying to mix my cycling between zone 1/2 days with a couple of days of mixed efforts to test out my mechanics. But not overdoing it. I’ve already dropped a couple pounds, so hoping I can hit April 1 with improvements all around and a reasonable idea of where my body is at so I can make a final decision.
My work has decided that April is going to be the month for our annual fitness challenge month, so it would line up perfectly if I am able to complete my shenanigans and use it as a great foundation for the challenge as well as a springboard back into decent fitness.
I’ve mostly filled out my SYSTM calendar will all my promised rides. I will likely end up needing to tweak things a bit here and there, but nothing ever goes fully to plan and I just to need to get in the proper number of hammers - no matter where exactly they fall.
So, if all goes well then there’s just 5 more days until the first hammer falls. No foolin’.
I know you’re motivated but proceed carefully. You don’t want to mess yourself up such that you end up with chronic suffering. Suffering is supposed to be acute and glorious… not drawn out and simmering like what you get with inflamed tendons and joints.
For my first KOS in Nov 2020, I started to get some posteior knee tightness at the end of my 6th video. I finished all 10, but ended up with knee tendonitis for at least 3 months. I could barely ride and took many weeks off either fully or with only very light exercise. For the 2021 TOS I had to be very careful. I don’t think I got back to complete full-effort riding again until March or April.
So, yes. I would rather take it easy and put it off for a month or two (or 3) than end up with 3-5 months of forced recovery.
On the other hand, I already have it all in my schedule and with other things on my busy future schedule I know I won’t be able to do it in May and probably not in June or July either. So if I don’t do it in April then I likely won’t be able to do it until ant least August.
I will likely just give it a go the first couple days in April and see how it goes. And know that if at some point I need to shut it down I can try again another month.
Sir Sixpack, I will NEVER stop laughing at the idea of finishing 270+81 Hammers with Revolver! It’s so freakin’ ridiculously absurdly hilariously painfully funny.
Did you get the new Kickr Earth to help with the indoor engagement?
I like VO2 efforts. I like shorter power efforts but not NM sprints. In 4DP tests my MAP has always been higher than average in relation to my FTP. But my AC and ability to do repeated hard efforts isn’t that great. So i enjoy them better in moderation. And they come thick and fast in Nine Hammers which really hammers my low AC.
I completed Day One at 100% intensity which is actually pretty rare for me. I was right on the edge for hammers 8 and 9, but was able to fight thru.
Whether I can repeat that feat remains to be seen. Tomorrow I’ll be doing a double day at lowered intensity for more of an endurance day. With so many repetitions I like to fiddle with the intensities to see how different they feel at the different levels.
Here’s my calendar for tracking my 279 Hammers Shenanigans. 31 versions in 30 days. It’s front-loaded to help with planning in case I need any rescheduling. It also shows planned days for all 5 additional implements that are also included (14 Vice Grips, Blender, The Chores, The Shovel, and The Tool Shed).
for all of the Suf-nanigans?
9 hammers done
270 hammers remaining
