Allez allez allez!
I think weāre all aiming for survival.
I stopped (a mess of a man) two hours in, but will be back again next week to try and complete the whole thing. Lessons I learned:
- Iām not in good enough shape to complete this at 100%. Going to dial it down to 90% next week.
- I made it through the four 10 minute threshold intervals at the beginning, but made a big mistake - I ground them out as big gear intervals in an attempt to keep my heart rate down. It utterly destroyed my quads. The next section (the 45 minute interval around 70% of FTP) was a nightmare! Even though my heart rate was top of zone 2, my legs were screaming. Normally, thatād be a cinch. Iād really recommend a higher cadence for those four 10 minuters.
- I probably need to improve my mental strength in the coming week!
This is a HARD challenge at 100% of FTP. Really hard. Best of luck, everyone!
Great effort, Conor! I found the same challenge during the The Nate (the unofficial name for the 1/2 Disaster) about a month ago, so Iām going to dial it back 10% next week.
Mission accomplished!
Had to do it a week earlier than the big day due to work commitments.
What an insane way to spend a Sunday morning
Up at 05:00 (GMT).
Breakfast: 100g porridge.
Made up 3 x 750ml bottles with 30g carbs and a Zero tablet in each one.
Made up a fruit and protein smoothie for recovery at the finish.
Started workout at 08:00.
Gel at 48 minutes.
10 minute break at 1hr 42m. Had a gel, took on my second bottle.
10 minute break at 2hr 35m. Had a couple of fig rolls and a double espresso.
10 minute break at 3hr 4m. Had a gel, took on my third bottle.
10 minute break at 3hr 46m.
I took a couple more breaks than Iād scheduled but I have no shame in doing so! When needs must.
Tips: Plan your nutrition and hydration ahead of the workout. Schedule some breaks, and be prepared to take more if you need them - I scheduled two 10 minute breaks and ended up taking four ten minutes. Spotify is your friend!
Surreal moment #1: The Velvet Undergroundās āHeroinā playing mid-way through the VO2 max intervals (itās on one of my playlists).
Delirious moment: singing along to Country Joe and the Fishās āI Feel Like Iām Fixinā To Dieā (āwhoopee, weāre all going to die!ā) midway through the workout.
Surreal moment #2: The Velvet Undergroundās āVenus in Fursā playing during the cool down (āI am tired, I am weary, I could sleep for a thousand yearsā).
Good luck, to everyone whoās got this insanity to come
Chapeau! First finisher!
Count me in. Planning to start at 9am MST which works out to 4:00pm GMT. Guess I should start tapering.
Kudos! Excellent work there fella!
Great planning there around the breaks and nutrition. The only bit I would add to that list is
Best pair of bib shorts, comfiest saddle and plenty of chamois cream
Chapeau!
Epic!!
Yes, itās a tough workout, thereās no doubting that. However, if you distil it to itās constituent parts, itās basically just four separate workouts joined together - sweet spot/tempo/threshold, endurance, VO2 max, and anaerobic, with a good deal of time spent in active recovery. In other words, thereās nothing in there that most of us havenāt done before.
If you approach it for what it is - four separate workouts - and take a short (10-15 minute) break after each section, youāll not go far wrong.
Got you added.
Tentatively planning to give it a shotā¦do I need a specific time? Also, if I complete can I order the shirt still? Iād feel like a poser if I failed lolā¦
Iām in TN so central time. Schedule is clear, just not sure what time in the morning Iāll be ready.
Of course!
Iām in. Starting at 10:00 eet in Finland.
Thereās no specific time but a lot of guys are giving one so thereās a sense of community suffering. The shirt supports World Bicycle Relief, so feel free to order.
Done with the half. I cut back the intensity of one of the threshold intervals, but otherwise stuck to the plan. Not bad, coming off 7 consecutive weeks of travel.
Itās actually a pretty enjoyable workout. I may only be up for the 3/4ths Disaster next week though; weāll see.
No need for serving a time. Weāre just posting them to help people know they arenāt alone.
You can use the Chat app for live discussion during as well.
Yo, I finally made it over here from Facebook. Iām still in on this, for sure. I live in North Carolina, so my time zone is GMT -5 I believe. I get off work late, usually 12 am to 3 am local time, so I should probably get some decent sleep before hopping on (especially considering I havenāt done ANY bike rides in like two months or more). Iāll definitely do the workout though, but probably not until at least 1 pm local time, so 6 pm GMT or later. I see there is somebody starting it at 7 pm GMT, so maybe put me down for that time so heās not all alone! So glad to see this event has gotten so much interest!