A hamster is out-wheeling me. I’m an hour into another Sufferfest and leaning, heavy, forward into the bars. The soreness in my legs brings memories bubbling up of last Saturday’s ride. I’ll stay in that power zone, no problem. No extra effort here. But out on the road, I felt like a brand new me. A Peter Sagan me.
The first hill out, I turned to my riding buddy just as the slope curved upward, and I shifted to a harder gear. I wasn’t even hammering yet. He was chasing my shadow, which expanded behind me like the gap I was opening. I shifted again. An even harder gear. No hurt, no burn, no wind-sucking–only excellence and the satisfaction of generally laying the smack-down on the lycra clad figure disappearing behind me. Non-Sufferlandrian.
And just like we all know, pride never goes before any type of slap in the face.
Because today, I’m paying. Today The Sufferfest is telling me, “Great job hammering on the road ride, you idiot. Prepare to seriously pay for being an all-around terrible person over the weekend. Pride goeth before a video of a hamster outperforming you.”
OK, those aren’t the verbatim words on the screen, but who can read behind all this blinding pain?
I want to clip out and climb off the bike. But The Sufferfest won’t let me. Enigmatic is the draw to meet their challenges. Motivating is the tone. And even though post-ride chocolate milk beckons me from the chilled waves of the fridge, I’m going to finish this session. The time left: 40 minutes. I’ve got this. I am a Sufferlandrian.
It’s only week 2. By week 10, I shall be carbon. Or titanium. Or whatever kind of metal is way more awesome than all the other metals combined. Yah. This stuff is good.
My Thoughts So Far
I’m a busy person. I’ve got a job, two kids, and plenty of responsibilities to cover. After completing several training sessions, I’ve concluded that this is something of a perfect training plan for riders who don’t have a lot of time during the week to devote to their cycling–you really can fit this into your lifestyle even if you’re only able to get out on the road every Saturday. The Sufferfest training plans combine indoor, interval training videos with outdoor rides to maximize your fitness in a short amount of time. I’m only in week 2, and I already feel a marked difference in my endurance and performance. And for those of you who don’t think you can get motivated by riding a trainer, these videos will make you a convert, a Sufferlandrian.
If you want to keep watching me suffer (that sounds kinda not cool, but whatever) click here to read my other training diaries, and if you want to keep following my (and our other writer’s) progress through The Sufferfest, be sure to subscribe to SLO Cyclist.
What Exactly Am I Doing?
The Sufferfest Intermediate Road Training Plan – 10 Week with Training Videos
There are a few options to get you started. Grab the training plan (they also have plans for cyclocross and triathlon) for $29.99 and download the official app with all of the necessary videos at your fingertips for $10 per month (a great way to go if you don’t want to hassle with downloading all of the files and copying them over to your mobile devices for easy viewing).
You can also purchase each video separately for around $12.99 each–or get them all for $199. For this particular plan, you’ll need 13 videos.
You can also see more of what other Sufferlandrians are doing, and keep up with @TheSufferfest on their Facebook and Twitter pages.
Because I have chosen to suffer publicly, the kind (wait, I don’t think that’s the right word) Minions at The Sufferfest have set me, and a couple of others in our office, up with their road and triathlon training plans as well as their full complement of videos. Thanks, Minions!
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