Suffering for One Goal

I'm into the home stretch for my Pelotonia training and I feel like I've been pushing myself pretty hard this year to ride strong in our pursuit of One Goal==>End Cancer.  Tonight was my last hard ride preparing for Pelotonia, the grass roots cycling event that funds life-saving cancer research at The James.  Normally, this weekend would include at least one, possibly two, long rides.  But my college roomie, lifelong buddy and key partner in shenanigans, The Wench (Debbie Mahr), will be in town from Florida and I will be tapping (pun intended) into my Celtic heritage at the Dublin Irish Fest.

So, I thought I'd do some analysis on my training stats for the year.  So far, I've ridden 1,098 miles and climbed 17,384 feet which is almost to the height of the 3rd highest mountain in the US.  That's Mt. Foraker in Alaska at 17,400 feet.  

This past Saturday, I enjoyed(?) a wonderful 67.3 mile ride with about 40 folks.  The ride was led by one of the Pelotonia teams, Team COPC and it was great.  We rode out to Buckeye Lake, had breakfast and rode back.  It was a great morning of cycling, friendship and fun...and all of it was to train for Pelotonia...so we could ride strong on August 8-9 and inspire folks to donate money to fund cancer research.  You can get a glimpse here--

https://vimeo.com/134572515

As some of you know, I've been struggling with my cardiovascular function over the last several weeks, at times feeling like I might faint if the climb is pretty hard.  My heart rate during exercise has been elevated since my treatment by about 20 beats per minute in both average and max.  My theory is that I've recovered my strength enough that it's just now starting to exceed my cardiovascular capacity.  Good news is I've had a stress test and everything is normal.  The worst thing that can happen is that I pass out from overexertion.  The tech did say that I have a tendency to underestimate my level of exertion compared to how hard my heart is working.  Well, imagine that.

I use an app called Strava when I ride which tracks my speed, elevation and heart rate.  I'm a little obsessed with it.  Some people seem to have an attitude that if a picture isn't taken, an event didn't happen.  Well, when it comes to my cycling, if Strava data isn't generated, a ride didn't happen.

At the end of each ride it creates what they call a "Suffer Score" which they say  "By tracking your heart rate through your workout and its level relative to your maximum heart rate, we attach a value to show exactly how hard you worked. The more time you spend going full gas and the longer your activity, the higher the score. Compare your Suffer Score with friends and pros, see if you can do a truly epic workout and motivate yourself to push that extra bit harder!"

My max Suffer Score this year was 278.  It was on the first day of TOSRV, the 2-day 210- mile bike ride I did in May.  We were riding fast, there was a bit of a headwind and the hills came later in the day when I was fatigued.  I've had two other rides over 200--Velvet Ice Cream and a Team Buckeye training ride in April.  My average suffer score this year is 107 and I've had 7 rides with a Suffer Score over 150. 

As I was researching the score, I came across a post on the Strava blog about a professional cyclist's Suffer Score . After stage 18 of the 2013 Tour de France, Laurens ten Dam , named his ride "suffered like a pig yesterday."  I'm assuming by the title that he found it exceptionally hard.  Looking at the profile of the 105 mile ride, I can understand why.

The interesting thing is, HIS SUFFER SCORE WAS ONLY 165!!  Looking through some of his Strava data, his Suffer Scores are usually below 120 as a professional cyclist in some of the toughest races in the world.  

I found other professional cyclists with Suffer Scores on Strava.   Paul Martens, a teammate of ten Dam, titled his ride in this year's stage 18 "18th stage glandon, what a mo... F...er".  Again, the title he gave it indicates he found it a little challenging.  His Suffer Score was 178.  Yeah, that's 100 suffer points or 45% below my max.  The profile of that 115 mile ride looks like this

So, I've learned that when I feel like I'm working hard on my rides, the data says my perception is right.  

And you know how I feel about data.

To all who have supported my ride, thank you.  I hope you see how hard I'm pushing myself in pursuit of this goal to end cancer.  Yes, my Suffer Scores are high but, as I say to myself on almost every ride, "Wow, this hurts but it's not as bad as a stem cell transplant."

Together with the researchers at The James, we're gaining on the targeted therapies that will ensure the pain in the future comes from the bike and not the cancer treatment.

Just know that in 15 days, there will be more than 7,700 folks riding to lower the Suffer Score for cancer patients across the globe.  Whether you're a long-term cancer survivor who's made peace with the enemy inside, someone who's currently in treatment, one who's newly diagnosed and still angry at your body for betraying you, or a friend or loved one of someone who's been touched by cancer...we are riding, and sometimes suffering, to inspire someone to make the donation that funds the grant that creates THE breakthrough that you've pinned your hopes on.  You know, that breakthrough you know you need but you're almost afraid to hope for.  

Yeah, we're riding for that and we're riding for you.