I have completed 191 Systm rides. That includes 8 of the 11 ProRides. I just finished Tour de Suisse 1, at 100%.
I have to say that last 10 minute sustained effort to close out the ride is the most soul crushing 10 minutes I have done to date. You have just finished 1:25 minutes of a pretty rough ride and there it is, unrelenting.
At that point for me it wasn’t about the legs, they were screaming. It wasn’t about my mind, it was saying to shut t down. This was about sheer will and deception. Could I continue to turn the pedals for another 10 minutes at just below threshold and just not think about it. Zombie mode.
I would shut my eyes and try to think of something for one minute. Anything. After I was sure it was at least a minute, I would hang on for another five seconds just to be sure I hit the minute mark. I would open my eyes, check the timer…and 35 seconds had gone by.
Switch to something else immediately. Don’t let that time remaining sink in. Focus on my breathing. Count pedal strokes, first on the right and then on the left. Adjust my gloves. Anything to not let the time sink in.
And finally it is over.
This experience may be unique to me, but when I hit that spot with 10 minutes left, I felt beaten. But I just couldn’t let it do that to me. Now to stretch and go to bed!
This reminds me of so many of my efforts. I look up. I look down. I blur my eyes as I power away. I close my eyes. Finally I look up. I swear it’s been a minute or more. It’s been exactly 30 seconds. EVERY TIME! How does SUF do that?! The SUF time warp is alive and well!
@Critmark Congrats on completing! I have also done 8 of the 11 pro-rides but not the Tour de Susie so I am now forewarned that I am in for something when that video comes up. I try to use the same techniques as your - just 10 minutes, you can do anything for 10 minutes …. I am finding the Pro-Rides to be very challenging but also very fulfilling and closely parallel my own racing experiences where my heart rate stays up the whole race. Something must be coming from it as my FTP is up another 5% even after a 7% gain in 2021.
Mine must be as well because, as I stated, I intentionally do an extra 5 seconds to be sure I got to a minute. So my effort + 5 seconds must be the same as your 30. Now I am beginning to believe in this time warp stuff!
@JSampson awesome job on the gains. Keep up the good work.
On the ProRides you have done, have you tackled Hammer Climb 1 yet? Climbing is my weakness even though I like doing the workouts. That looks daunting to me.
Besides that one, I still have Strade Bianche 1 and Giro d’Italia Donna 1 left to complete.
@Critmark No - I haven’t done Hammer Climb, Giro 1 or TDS 1. My impression is that Hammer Climb is not as bad as Hammer Chase but that is just from looking at the workout graph. I did finish Strade Bianchi and that one was probably my favorite of the Pro Rides so I hope you enjoy that one as well!
@Critmark I finally did Tour de Suisse today. You are definitely right about the last 10 minutes to 12 minutes. No comfort in sight. I just kept pedaling. There was no way after getting through the rest of that workout that I was going to quit or even dial it down despite the hurt. I finished with lifetime 60 and 90 minute indoor power records in Training Peaks.
This was also my first workout with the Wahoo Climb which I just purchased yesterday. I was impressed. It really adds a different dimension to the workout - both the climbs as well as the descents. I felt like it really stretched the time that I could stay in the saddle comfortably and also helped minimize leg fatigue due to the different positions.
Holy cow, did this one kick my ass. I had to finish the final block at around 70%, and my cadence was dropping the whole time.
Having said that, I quite like it. All the quick kicks and then the freewheeling during the descent were interesting (though my Kickr Snap is def. too slow to match several of them), and I think I came out of the descent with a higher heart rate than I would have during a “normal” lower-intensity block, making the end that much harder.
I just did this again, after an unintended 6 days away from training. I also had one energy bottle, which I normally don‘t do on rides under 2 hours. That combination made it incredibly easy, which was nice, and an interesting illustration of how I handle consecutive days of training versus how I come into an effort after a „mini taper“.
Next week I‘ve got Half Monty on the calendar. Maybe I‘m due for a small FTP boost as well.
