I’m a distance runner—mostly trail ultras and road marathons—who has regularly visited Sufferlandria for vacations the past five years (aka: in order to cross-train and during the occasional period of injury.)
I have no major events on my race calendar until July. Given my current training stage and the five-year anniversary of my first visit to Sufferlandria on 3/4/21, I believe the time is right to storm the castle.
I am on a Keiser M3i cycle so all rides are in level mode. I have my nutrition, hydration, and gear planned and will set a timer for the breaks. I’ll ensure the workouts are downloaded and ready to go on both my laptop and tablet beforehand.
My draft plan (still subject to change):
Rue the Day – Racing, 45 minutes
The Rookie – Sustained Efforts, 53 minutes
14 Vise Grips – Speed, 55 minutes
Power Station – Climbing, 49 minutes
The Model – Speed, 59 minutes
The Bat – Mixed, 60 minutes
The Downward Spiral – Speed, 54 minutes
Do As You’re Told – Speed, 42 minutes
The Wretched – Climbing, 46 minutes
Who Dares – Mixed, 53 minutes
- Possible substitutions: Angels (Climbing, 55 minutes), Nine Hammers (Speed, 58 minutes), Hell Hath No Fury (Sustained Efforts, 64 minutes), and/or A Very Dark Place (Speed, 49 minutes.) I’m tempted by Nine Hammers for Coke Machine alone.
The goal is to be challenged yet still have a chance to Finish The Thing. I’d like to mix up the workouts in order to trick my legs and brain into forging ahead when things get rough. However, high cadence is my nemesis. During the On Location workouts when Mike Cotty says to rest by spinning out the legs at high cadence, that is not rest for me.
In honor of this occasion, I plan a donation to Live4Evan, which provides housing adjacent to Boston Children’s Hospital for families of pediatric cardiac patients. Boston offers pediatric cardiac care that’s available at few other facilities in the world, which means patients often must travel great distances. Boston hotels are expensive and the cost is not covered by health insurance. The Live4Evan apartments ease expenses for families during a stressful time and ensure parents can be nearby as their children undergo treatment.
I have no more superlatives to add that could properly express my excitement at another Sufferlandrian choosing to storm the castle and claim a part in the knighthood of this most celebrated mythical nation.
There are some worthwhile tips for dressing, fueling, creating an order for the videos you choose. Nine hours is a long time on a bike. I believe I speak for all of us when I say, “we want you to make it”. We can always make room for another Knight at the table. The tips might be scattered across various topics in the forum. We tend to offer suggestions to each person letting us know of their attempt.
Thank you! The info here is fantastic. I’ve saved several posts over the past few years when the suggestions resonated with me and read through them as prep. I’ll find out tomorrow how much I learned.
woot woot! I had PS at #7 as a fave and the new one is pretty good too. Love Love Love all the standy-uppy bits! Now, get back to work. You got a wee bit of sufferin’ ahead of you
You are doing well. Keep fueling and turning the pedals. As everyone has told you, video 7 is like halfway. From then on your mentality to finish has to be strong.
) Do.Not.Stop.Pedalling.
