merlinextraligh

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, December is a hard time to train, and a good time to get fatter, between shorter, colder days, and the holidays.

CTS has observed that their athletes log fewer hours of training in December than any other month.

So to offset this and provide a little motivation, the 40 hour challenge. Complete 40 hours of training in December, and post the proof here as you go.

I'll post my afternoon ride here in a bit.


Edit: And we need documentation. Strava file; Garmin Connect, Training Peaks, etc, or just a cell phone pic of your cyclecomputer screen.

mcours2006

Great idea. I'll start.

mcours2006________________0 hr 57 minutes (will update after I get home)

Seattle Forrest

Do running and cross country skiing count as "training?" Both are better cardio workouts than a long Z2 ride.

Birthday is in December and we're deciding between renting a cabin in a mountain town, or doing a ski tour from cabin to cabin along the trail system.

Adrianinkc

Good thread. Commute to work this morning 40minutes.

Marcus_Ti

Nice, just got some rollers in the mail as after only a month cooped up due to ice and sickness and ice I was going trainer-crazy.

plodderslusk

Does cycling to work count ? If so 20 minutes to and a nice longer ride of 90 minutes home should add up to 110 minutes today.

mcours2006

Hey, I thought we were going to compile a list, in descending order. That way we can all see who's in what place, not that we want to make this a competition or anything.

Fly2High

OK but does inside training count or this is about outside training only???

BoSoxYacht

Actual riding outdoors only

corrado33

Can we get an adjustable multiplier for when the temperature is below -10F? (-10F time x 1.2: -15F time x 1.4: etc)

merlinextraligh

It's really to motivate yourself, so count whatever you want. Personally I train by time and intensity, so I'd count indoors, but hope to avoid that as much as possible.

Drew Eckhardt 

Total: 28:13
Week 1 10:16 easy recovery from over-training
12/01 1:50 starting at sunrise + 28 minutes and 41 degrees, cold and cloudy
12/02 1:45 starting at sunrise + 2 minutes and 46 degrees, pleasant
12/03 1:43 starting at sunrise -1 minute and 57 degrees, warm and windy
12/04 1:49 starting at sunrise +13 minutes and 45 degrees, pleasant
12/05 3:09 starting at sunrise + 1:27 and 46 degrees, temperate and cloudy

Week 2 12:02 more of the same
12/07 1:47 starting at sunrise -38 minutes and 55 degrees, warm and foggy
12/08 1:51 starting at sunrise +24 minutes and 55 degrees, temperate and overcast
12/09 1:48 starting at sunrise +24 minutes and 57 degrees,warm and sunny
12/10 1:18 trainer ride starting at sunrise +71 minutes - it didn't stop raining soon enough for my liking
12/11 1:22 trainer ride starting at sunrise +68 minutes - more morning rain
12/11 26 minutes commuting
12/12 3:30 starting at sunrise + 27 minutes and 41 degrees, cold but sunny

Week 3 4:55
12/14 1:51 starting at sunrise + 28 minutes and and 41 degrees, cold but sunny
12/15 1:48 starting at sunrise + 32 minutes and 36 degrees, frigid and sunny
12/15 29 minutes commuting
12/16 1:47 starting at sunrise + 37 minutes and 34 degrees, frigid and sunny

merlinextraligh

Again purpose is motivation, so whatever works with your training plan.

merlinextraligh

2 hours down, 38 to go.

Activity | TrainingPeaks

Machka 

A few questions:

1) Can Southern Hemisphere people participate too.

2) Is this 40 hours of exercise (i.e. walking + swimming + weightlifting + cycling ... ) or 40 hours of cycling?

3) Assuming cycling will be included in the 40 hours ... indoors? Or just outdoors?

4) And what if the only proof we have is our log on MyFitnessPal?

Adrianinkc

Commute home 46min

Total 1:26

StanSeven

It rained all day here so I didn't go out. I didn't drink any beer though. So that equates to what? Two hours?

mcours2006

Sorry, I got none of those things. Guess y'all just have to take my word for it.

1'50" so far.

merlinextraligh

Everyone can participate, the Northern Hemisphere point was just we need some motivation with the shorter days.

Given that the point is motivation, any exercise that fits your plan works.

As for proof, posting files, screen shots, if you have them will make it more fun. But given that there's no prize, there's really no need for proof.

DrIsotope

I'm all for it.

December the 1st 31.0 miles, 1,096ft, 1:49:03

I have a pre-set goal of 639 miles for the month to make an even 7,000 for the year, so this should work out pretty well. I need all the motivation I can get.

FLvector

Dang, I forgot my Garmin today which is a rare event, so no proof of the ride. Guess I'll "officially" begin tomorrow. Unless you trust me 1.5 hrs.

BoSoxYacht

Fleeting daylight hours only affects those that actually exercise outdoors, and this is a cycling forum.

My mom plays golf almost everyday, so the rest of us don't stand a chance.

silversx80

With a toddler at home I don't think I'll manage 40 hours this month, but 30-35 shouldn't be a problem.

1 Dec. 1:21 this morning on Zwift, 1,065 kJ https://www.strava.com/activities/442431479. Not too bad considering the plan was to sleep in today (the kid's fussing woke me up. She fell back to sleep, but not me).

2 Dec. 1:40 on Zwift, 1234 kJ https://www.strava.com/activities/443012507. Found a good workout buried in one of the FTP builders, then tacked on another 25'.

3 Dec. Rest day. Lots of people at work getting sick. Training load was getting pretty high, so I slept in until 7:15a (usually up at 4:30a) to recover a bit. I may spend 20 min on the rollers to warm up and stretch, but the goal is to allow my body a day. Tomorrow morning will be back to business as usual, and Saturday should be really nice for an afternoon ride (I still haven't had a 'road discovery' ride since moving here last year).

4 Dec. 1:45 on Zwift, 1,393 kJ https://www.strava.com/activities/444087492. Legs felt good this morning, especially considering I was feeling sick last night with clogged sinuses, headache, and pretty wicked nausea. Really looking forward to riding tomorrow afternoon. I'm reserved, though, since the toddler rules the house my fun depends on nap time, and my wife's desire to stay at home while I get to escape.

5 Dec. The toddler had different plans, as did my wife. A late nap, followed by being weaseled into putting up Christmas decorations led to an unintended rest day.

6 Dec. ~1:25 and 1,240 kJ on CycleOps Virtual Training. https://www.strava.com/activities/445693130, https://www.strava.com/activities/445693318, https://www.strava.com/activities/445728324, https://www.strava.com/activities/445728179. Late nap again and the Sun was low on the horizon. After being hit by a truck at a time the Sun was low I'm still a bit skittish riding at those times. Indoor trainer it was. Also noticed that CVT resistance ratios on the Wahoo Kickr are way too high... no reason I should be in the small ring for 300W and a 1.5% grade.

7 Dec. 1:25 and 1,184 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/445927690. Another morning ride indoors. Legs felt heavy after yesterday's effort, since it was only about 12 hours earlier.

8 Dec. 2:00 and a Strava estimated 1,401 kJ. https://www.strava.com/activities/446824669. Brought the bike into work and got in a really nice ride outside. A little chilly with just a thin base layer.

9 Dec. Nothing. Woke up at 4:45a, but my legs felt dead before I even attempted to get out of bed. Yesterday, I thought Strava had overestimated the ride, but today I'm pretty certain those numbers are low... or I'm getting sick. Either way, I think I have to suck it up and put a power meter on this bike (I thought I could get away with just measuring power indoors).

10 Dec. 2:10 and 1,839 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/447686911. Felt good, and this is the first time I've been able to do the SST (Long) since re-testing my FTP. All before breakfast too. 250 Cal per hour? Pfffft. How about 0 Cal for 8 hrs before ride, then another 2 hrs at 0 Cal/hr.

11 Dec. 1:35 and 1,202 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/448190178. VO2 Max intervals followed by 35 min of Z2 average. Legs felt good, and the 5X5' intervals weren't as difficult as last time.

12 Dec. Rest.

13 Dec. 4:00 Christmas shopping with wife. My feet hurt.

14 Dec. 2:10 and 1,849 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/450001322. Another long Sweet Spot Training session. Legs felt good, but my HR seemed a little high with its peaks. Average was normal at 153 bpm.

15 Dec. 1:31 and 1,185 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/450514746. More VO2 Max intervals with Z2 average following. I also threw in a few sprint efforts near the end. Would have put in more time, but I got to bed late and let myself sleep in a little.

16 Dec. 2:00 and 1,582 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/451065221. Did one of the 30 min programmed workouts prior to joining with the FinKraft group. Had a glitch which threw me off the mountain and into the ocean. Couldn't get back on afterward.

17 Dec. 1:20 and 927 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/451603233. Needed something around 80 min, had structure, and would be relatively easy to allow my legs a small break.

18 Dec. 1:45 and 1,381 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/452115201. 3X15' at 100%... tough after this week.

19 and 20 Dec. were rest days and Christmas shopping.

21 Dec. 2:24 and 2,049 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/453895153. Good 'ole sweet spot training. These sessions are getting a bit easier to manage, so it's almost time to test FTP again.

22 Dec. 2:05 and 1,554 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/454387572/overview. Ended up doing one of the FTP builder workouts for the first 1:30, with the intent to keep everything below threshold while focusing on cadence. Tried to keep it at 100 RPM on average, but only managed 97. Also worked in a decent 30s seated sprint effort near the end.

23 Dec. 1:57 and 1,472 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/454917070. Tried to hang with the FinKraft group again and made it 2 laps. Training stress from the last 2 days took over, and I decided I couldn't hang. Ended up going no structure to today, put in some VO2 efforts, and a couple sprints.

24 Dec. 2:10 and 1,620 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/455498656. Created my own workout to put some intervals in high Z3 efforts with mid/upper Z2 rests.

26 and 26 Dec... obvious rest days.

27 Dec. 2:01 and 1,567 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/457231696. High Intensity Recovery workout with 40 min added. Threw in a good sprint and a VO2 effort.

28 Dec. 2:33 and 1,852 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/457941950. Happy Birthday to me. Unstructured workout to spin as my legs felt. Pretty pedestrian effort, but threw in a few seated sprints for good measure.

29 Dec. 1:29 and 1,224 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/458578398. Slept in a little, so I only had an hour and a half to work with. The Medium Sweet Spot Training workout on Zwift is 1:25, so a perfect fit. Felt good, but the training load is starting to catch up with me. Three more days left in the year, and three more hours to reach 40.

30 Dec. 3:00 and 2,200 kJ on Zwift. https://www.strava.com/activities/459323362. First Zwift metric, relatively easy effort. Just made it to 40 with one day to spare.

Carbonfiberboy 

Here's the link to the CTS Cycling Challenge:
CTS December Cycling Challenge! Are you up for it? - CTS

which should answer a lot of questions about what counts. It says specifically and only "riding," by which I assume bicycle riding is meant. So indoor, outdoor, but it has to be done on a bike.

Machka 

OK, this was November ... hoping to do more in December ...


Nov Cycling Outside: 544.11 km (1726 min)
Nov Cycling Inside: 45 min
Nov Walking: 116.1 km (1400 min)
Nov Stairs: 640 flights (470 min)

Nov Time Total: 3641 = 60 hours 41 min
Nov Distance Total: 660.21 km = 410.23 miles