I started with the first session at 80% which I have done a number of times now on my double days. But decided to play around with my second session.
I wondered what the workout would feel like if, rather than lowering all stats the same percent, I only lowered FTP intensity to 90% and lowered MAP intensity to 70%. Would it be easier or harder or just different?
Well, after 58 minutes and 13 seconds i had my answer. it was just as hard, but in a different way. Same exact average power. Total distance was just .02 miles further for the second effort. So, essentially it was statistically the same.
I have completed more hammers than the number remaining and am now officially over halfway to the end! Although the light at the end is still hammer-shaped.
And I’m getting a little bit better with my mental hammer maths.
I wonder what Peter, Paul and Mary would do with all those hammers?
If I had a hammer
I’d hammer in the morning
I’d hammer in the evening
All over this land
I’d hammer out danger
I’d hammer out a warning
I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land
I hammered this morning. Or maybe I got hammered? Either way it was brutal. Today was a single 9H session again, so i decided it was time to get back 100% intensity.
That was worse than any of the sessions I have don’t yet this month. I swore during each hammer (while also swearing during each hammer) that I was going to break on the next one. After just two hammers I was sure I would break during hammers 4, 5, 6, 8, or 9 - if I even made it that far. I had to use every mental training technique I could remember while under stress to stop thinking ahead and complete each hammer as it came.
After catching my breath, standing in front of my fan, doing some stretches, and bottling up all the SUF holy water to send to the minions… I recovered with a very easy back recovery yoga session… where I struggled to keep my eyes open and kept dropping my simple poses as I kept zoning out and threatening to fall asleep.
Now almost 4 hours later I’m still trying to stay awake. Glad I have a rest day tomorrow for my son’s birthday. I’ve now completed 17 sessions of Nine Hammers in 14 days!
Thursday it’ll be back to the hammers, but for the rest of today and tomorrow I can focus on some must-needed recovery.
I can’t say enough what an inspiration you are, Sir Sixpack! My little contribution to our great nation’s suffering was HM today. Coughed up a lung for honour, glory and victory. First cycling workout of any kind since around the Ides of March.
Okay, so it’s past 3pm and I’m finally getting around to posting today’s update. It’s been a busy day. Made up for yesterday’s recovery day when I actually had a nap!
That makes 3 completed implements with just 2 left. The Shovel comes up this Saturday leaving just Blender to go in the tool dept. Tomorrow is a single hammer days before Saturday’s longer day.
Only a Sufferlandrian like Sir Sixpack would create a challenge for himself like a month of Nine Hammers, many with more than one, and think , hmmmm, how can I make this harder?
Looking at the day with Blender sandwiched by Nine Hammers just boggles me
Bribed or Enticed? Only GvA knows. Speaking of which…
I just hit myself with nine more hammers and boy am I tired….. Wahoo and Zwift, etc, all put me into overtraining after my 100% session on Monday and I’ve been feeling it all week.
It’s another semi-big day tomorrow with Hammers and Shovels. Join in with the Wahoominati on Zwift if you want to ride along. Link is in the Knight Rides Thread.
144 hammers done
135 hammers remaining
, hmmmm, how can I make this harder?
