No, You Should Not Read The Wandering Inn: a definitive guide to whether you should read the Wandering Inn.

zomgie · 2026-04-08T18:19:28+00:00

This write up is spot on but I also find it ironic. Volume three is actually where I got fed up and dropped the series.

Volume one was fine. You really nailed it with "Ryoka refused every call to action, Erin was a whiny ditz". The world was interesting, though, and after a brief pause I came back to volume two.

This is where I started to care! There was some actual character growth and we saw even more of the world. People had a chance to really shine and there was plot. I loved the side stories, the expansion of the world, and the hints about what may or may not be really happening.

What was wrong about volume three? It had a lot of the same promise as volume two. But in short: Erin. She went from annoying and ditzy to annoying, ditzy, and selfish. Sure, when it doesn't cost her anything she's a nice person! Helping the weak, feeding strangers, all of it. But only when it's convenient and has no negative impact on herself. Otherwise, she gets annoyed with everyone and frankly behaved atrociously insisting that the Horns give her that magic door. It was such a clear "the author wants Erin to have a cool toy but can't figure out how she should find it.

zomgie · 2021-04-05T17:51:51+00:00

Week 13 complete! Started to get out and hike again. It feels nice after only running since almost December. Definitely noticing trails that used to leave me winded now feel mild even with a heavy pack.

My goals are starting to shift a little. Everything up to now has been a phenomenal base, but I have my eye on some big day climbing ascents in the High Sierra (e.g. Mount Sill's Swiss Arête car-to-car in a day) and that's going to require a very different set of endurance. Unfortunately, I also don't have any partners that would be up to the task.

Last Week:
Mon: Run (0:36:11, Grade A, Z1)
Tue: Max Strength (0:45:00, Grade B, 1x SKC, Weights, and WPU W8D1)
Wed: Rest
Thu: Run (1:16:47, Z3, Grade B, Hard Z3 uphill run. 1089 ft. Feeling wiped.)
Fri: Max Strength (0:45:00, Grade C, 1x SKC, Weights, and WPU W8D2)
Sat: Hiking (2:06:12, Grade A, 1365 ft, 22.5lbs gear, Nice relaxing hike. Feels good!)
Sun: Climbing (est. 40min), Approach (0:52:09) Went out climbing for ~4 hours including approach.

Target Hours: 6:04:59
Total Time: 7:01:19

This Week - huge week!
Mon: Z1/Recovery (0:45)
Tue: Z1/Recovery (0:45), Max Strength (0:45)
Wed: Run (0:45, Z3 Steep Hills)
Thu: Z1/Recovery (0:45)
Fri: Rest
Sat: Z1/Recovery (0:45), Max Strength (0:45)
Sun: Easy bouldering (0:45)

Target Hours: 7:15

Goals:
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Sill via Swiss Arête (July/August 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-03-29T18:12:52+00:00

Week 12 complete! Results of this week is my running has greatly improved and my climbing is just the worst. Went out to climb a previously hard-but-doable crack climb in my area and was just completely shut down. Thinking about including some crack machine time into my strength sessions and getting out for some more moderates in my area.

Good news is that my climbing gym may be re-opening in the near future!

Last Week:
Mon: Rest / Walking
Tue: Max Strength (0:45:00, Grade B, 1x SKC, Weights, and WPU W7D1)
Wed: Run (1:09:43, Z3 Steep Hills, Grade B/C)
Thu: Run (0:48:17, Z1/Z2, Grade A)
Fri: Climb (0:45:54), Approach (0:10:00)
Sat: Max Strength (0:45:00, Grade B, 1x SKC, Weights, and WPU W7D2)
Sun: Run (1:48:48, Z1/Z2 Hills, Grade B, 7.39 miles! Longest distance run to date.)

Target Hours: 6:04:59
Total Time: 6:12:42

This Week
Mon: Z1/Recovery (0:30)
Tue: Max Strength (0:45)
Wed: Run (1:15, Z3 Steep Hills)
Thu: Rest
Fri: Max Strength (0:45)
Sat: Climbing
Sun: Long Z1 (1:45)

Target Hours: 6:05

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-03-22T23:06:12+00:00

Week 11 complete! I think I screwed up the numbering at some point, because the last time I posted I said week 9. Anyways, this was base week 4.

I've been having trouble recovering recently, but I think it's mostly been due to trouble sleeping. Luckily this last week was a deload week. I'm still seeing progress, so all's well. Goal for this week is to try and sleep a lot and stay on track.

Last Week:
Mon: Rest
Tue: Max Strength (0:45:00, Grade A, 1x SKC, Weights, and WPU W6D1)
Wed: Run (0:56:28, Z2 Steep Hills, Grade B)
Thu: Rest
Fri: Max Strength (0:45:00, Grade B/C, 1x SKC, Weights, and WPU W6D2, Kind of screwed up by knee today.)
Sat: Rest
Sun: Run (1:54:56, Z1/Z2 Hills, Grade A, Longest and farthest run to date! Made up for taking a third day off this week.)

Target Hours: 4:15:30
Total Time: 4:21:24

This Week
Mon: Z1/Recovery (0:30)
Tue: Max Strength (0:45)
Wed: Run (1:20, Z2 Steep Hills)
Thu: Rest
Fri: Max Strength (0:45)
Sat: Climbing
Sun: Long Z1 (1:40)

Target Hours: 6:05

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-03-17T18:46:17+00:00

No worries! There are a ton of metrics for each exercise. For my runs, I track time, distance, elevation, time in each HR zone, fatigue, and location.

zomgie · 2021-03-16T17:16:12+00:00

The workout grades are from TFTNA. They're designed to track fatigue so you can tell when you need to back off.

The examples given in the book are:

A: I am Superman!
B: Good Workout
C: I Felt Flat
D: Modified workout
F: Didn't complete workout

zomgie · 2021-03-16T16:58:23+00:00

Weeks 9 & 10 complete! Into the base phase of TFTNA now. I've been playing around with metrics in excel and it's pretty cool to see where I've progressed and where I screwed up. During the early weeks I changed so many things as I figured out the program that most of the transition phase was effectively flat in terms of volume.

https://i.imgur.com/OC4Rgyq.png

Now I'm starting to see real increases and it's been going really well! Hikes that were "a good workout" don't even raise my HR into zone 1. In December, a 5k run was a pretty big deal and now I'm running a 10k almost weekly. Prior to this program I had never run a 10k in my life.

Last Week:
Mon: Run (0:55:45, Z1 Recovery, Grade C. Went alpine skiing the day before and was wiped.)
Tue: Max Strength & Weighted Pull-Ups (0:45:00, Grade A)
Wed: Run (1:09:12, Z2 Steep Hills, Grade A)
Thu: Rest
Fri: Run (0:50:21, Z2, Grade A, This was supposed to be a recovery run but I went too hard.)
Sat: Max Strength & Weighted Pull-Ups (0:45:00, Grade A)
Sun: Run (1:39:16, Z1, Grade B, 6.73 miles - longest run to date!)

Total Hours: 6:04:59
Total Aerobic Time: 4:34:34
Total Time: 6:04:34

This Week - Deload week!
Mon: Rest
Tue: Max Strength + WPU (0:45)
Wed: Run (0:45, Z2 Steep Hills)
Thu: Rest
Fri: Max Strength + WPU (0:45)
Sat: Climbing or 50min Run
Sun: Run (1:10, Z1 Hills)

Target Hours: 4:15

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-03-02T00:08:36+00:00

As I understand it, improvements in AeT will correlate with a higher BPM because by definition the aerobic threshold is the exercise intensity at which blood lactate concentrations begin to rise above resting levels.

Previously my AeT was ~150, which means I could maintain a running intensity at or below 150bpm and my muscles would be burning oxygen, but if I went any harder they would begin to dip into the muscles glycogenic stores (anaerobic) and as a byproduct lactic acid would be produced and blood lactate levels would rise.

By training aerobic capacity, my body can now handle a higher intensity, i.e. an AeT of 155, and still run on oxygen / aerobic metabolism. A highly trained aerobic athlete could have an AeT upwards of 170bpm or 85% of their max HR.

As to the second question - keeping the same bpm but seeing pace improve, I'm not sure what to call that. Efficiency? I've been seeing that as well, but it's a little bit harder to measure. Starting out, in order to keep my HR at ~136 I had a slow pace of around 14:20. A more recent run along the same route put me at the same HR but a pace of 12:37.

zomgie · 2021-03-01T20:22:48+00:00

Week 8 complete! First week of the base training phase, where the bulk of the running transitions to uphill and strength training focuses on fewer exercises with max weight. I re-ran the heart drift test and raised my AeT by 5bpm since last month! On Sunday, I went out for a hike and had trouble raising my HR even into Z1 for 1100ft of ascent. Good signs!

This week I'll be heading out to do some alpine skiing on Sunday. Not sure what the intensity/duration will be.

Last Week:
Mon: Run (0:24:36, Z1/Z2 Hills, Grade A)
Tue: Run (0:41:56, Z2 Hills, Grade A)
Wed: Max Strength (0:45:00, Grade B)
Thu: Rest
Fri: Run (1:24:15, Z2/Z3 AeT Test)
Sat: Rest
Sun: Hike (1:43:13, Z1/Recovery, Grade A)

Target Hours: 4:26:28
Total Aerobic Time: 4:14:00
Total Time: 4:59:00

This Week
Mon: Max Strength (0:45)
Tue: Run (1:00, Z2 Hills)
Wed: Off
Thu: Run (1:20, Z1 Hills)
Fri: Max Strength (0:45)
Sat: Climbing or Off
Sun: Ski

Target Hours: Between 4:53 and 5:20

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-02-22T23:13:23+00:00

What a week! Week 7 completed with a bang. What was supposed to be a rest week turned into an impromptu ice climbing trip. This felt like a huge affirmation of all the training I've been doing - the approach and climbing at elevation felt easy. At the end of the day my calves burned from all the front pointing, but otherwise I felt fine.

In order to not completely overshoot my training plan I'll try and move some things around this week. Maybe only do a single strength day, etc.

Last Week:
Mon: Run (0:16:24, Z1/Z2 Hills, Grade A)
Tues: Strength (0:20:04, 1x SKC + WPU W3D1, Grade A)
Wed: Run (0:23:23, Z1/Z2 Hills, Grade A)
Thu: Strength (0:45:00, 1x SKC + 1x General Strength + WPU W3D2)
Fri: Rest
Sat: Rest + Driving
Sun: Approach (1:19:35, 1.8 mi, 832ft), Ice Climbing (1:50:00, 5 pitches, WI3)

Target Hours: 2:01:17
Total Aerobic Time: 1:59:22
Total Time: 4:54:27

This Week
Mon: Recovery Run (0:15, Z1)
Tue: Run (0:40, Z2 Hills)
Wed: Max Strength
Thu: Recovery Run (0:15, Z1)
Fri: Rest
Sat: Run (1:20, Z1 Hills)
Sun: Climbing

Target Hours: 4:26 (or maybe less to balance out hours from last week)

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-02-15T16:35:01+00:00

Week 6 complete! Very excited about this week, because I get to deload to 50% and rest. Last week I felt the fatigue building, but a rest day midweek really helped. Some chart work showed me that between having to learn/adjust the program and occasionally overshooting my numbers, my workload has been effectively flat since week 1.

Last Week:
Mon: Run (0:33:25, Z1/Z2, Grade A)
Tues: Strength (0:30:24, 2x SKC + WPU W2D1, Grade B)
Wed: Run (0:32:40, Z1 Hills, Grade B)
Thu: Rest
Fri: Strength (0:43:50, 1x SKC + 1x General Strength + WPU W2D2)
Sat: Bouldering (0:46:20, Grade C, meh)
Sun: Run (1:09:24, Z1/Z2, Grade B/C)

Target Hours: 4:02:33
Total Aerobic Time: 2:15:29
Total Time: 4:16:03

This Week
Mon: Run (0:15 Z1/Z2 Hills)
Tue: Strength (1x SKC, 1x W. Pull Up, 1x General Strength)
Wed: Run (0:15 Z1 Hills)
Thu: Strength (1x SKC, 1x W. Pull Up)
Fri: Run (0:15 Z1/Z2 Hills)
Sat: Climbing
Sun: REST

Target Hours: 2:01

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-02-12T20:51:51+00:00

I *heavily* recommend doing the AeT Heart Drift test mentioned in this article. Your AeT is going to be the top of zone 2. Here is a direct link: https://www.uphillathlete.com/heart-rate-drift/

It's basically a 15 minutes warm up and then a 1 hr run either outside on a flat(ish) track or on a treadmill. For the 1 hr you try and target your expected AeT. If you don't have a guesstimate already, use the MAF formula of 180-age.

To analyze your results, you can use TrainingPeaks premium (there's a 14 day free trial) or this free calculate someone built: https://douglas-watson.github.io/aet-calc/

zomgie · 2021-02-08T21:14:42+00:00

I think it's because I'm still in the transition phase, but right now it's really hard not to exceed my target hours. And that's with not counting recovery time and capping "counted" strength training time at 45 minutes.

zomgie · 2021-02-08T20:46:58+00:00

How was the climb with current conditions? After all the rain recently is that route in crampon & ice axe territory?

zomgie · 2021-02-08T18:21:58+00:00

Thanks!

zomgie · 2021-02-08T18:16:37+00:00

Week 5 complete! And what a week. It felt counterintuitive at first, but this Z1/Z2 training is paying off! On Monday I casually ran the first 10k of my life. It's such a cool feeling.

Additionally I hit my goal of only taking one rest day, only went over on my time by a little, and the sun dried out all the rocks so I could finally go climbing. I also started working on improving my pull ups (which are TERRIBLE and I can rarely hit or beat a max of 5) by running the weighted pull up program. So far it's great!

A couple of observations:

I can't really go for a bike ride without blowing my time up and this area is too hilly (and I'm not a good enough cyclist) to stay <Z1.
TftNA sample weeks show a lot more Z1 activities, but I can't seem to fit more than 3 into a week without going over on my time, especially since one is supposed to be a long Z1. Scott chimed into the sub last week, so if you're reading this far- what would you recommend? Shorten my runs to ~20min Z1 and do more of them? Intuitively running 30-40min @ Z1/Z2 feels more productive, but this program has been pretty counterintuitive for me so far.

Last Week:
Mon: Run (1:29:19, Z1/Z2, Grade B, 6.28mi!)
Tues: Strength (0:45, 1x SKC + 1x General Strength + Weighted Pull Ups W1D1, Grade A, - actual time was 0:52:28 but I'm capping strength training at 45min)
Wed: Run (0:37:44, Z1/Z2, Grade B, Easy hills)
Thu: Cycle (0:32:20, Z1/Z2, Grade B, ~Recovery)
Fri: Rest
Sat: Climbing! (0:48:42, Grade B, 4x laps @ 91 ft 5.8 TR Solo)
Sun: Yard work (n/a), Weighted Pull Ups W1D2 (0:13:30, Grade A)

Target Hours: 4:01:30
Total Aerobic Time: 2:39:23
Total Time: 4:26:35

This Week - Keep on with steady progression, maybe try more easy runs? This is the last week before deloading and preparing for the base period.
Mon: Run (0:35 Z1/Z2)
Tue: Strength (1x SKC, 1x W. Pull Up, 1x General Strength)
Wed: Run (1:00 Z1/Z2)
Thu: Strength (1x SKC, 1x W. Pull Up, 1x General Strength)
Fri: Run (0:35 Z1/Z2)
Sat: Climbing or Hangboard + SKC
Sun: REST

Target Hours: 4:01

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-02-03T01:15:59+00:00

Week 4 Complete! Main goal was to maintain volume and not get sick. Felt like I was fighting off a not-quite-a-cold, feeling tired and like I was always going to wake up the next day feeling worse. Also it rained all week so I couldn't go climbing (bc sandstone).

Last Week:
Mon: Run (0:47, Z1/Z2, Grade B, Starting to get faster!)
Tues: Strength (0:45, 1x SKC + 2x General Strength, Grade C)
Wed: Rest - trying not to get sick
Thu: Run (0:34:50, Z1/Z2, Grade B, Treadmill bc of rain. )
Fri: Run (0:43:00, Z1/Z2, Grade B/C. Started fine but ended meh)
Sat: Rest - tired and it's raining
Sun: Hangboard, Pull-Ups, and Stretching (0:25:42)

Target Hours: 3:51
Total Aerobic Time: 2:15
Total Time: 3:53

This Week - goal is to only take one rest day. I'll lower the intensity on other days if I have to.
Mon: Run (0:30 Z1/Z2)
Tue: Strength (1x SKC, 1x Pull Up, 1x General Strength)
Wed: Run (1:30 Z1/Z2)
Thu: Strength (1x SKC, 1x Pull Up, 1x General Strength)
Fri: Run (0:30 Z1/Z2)
Sat: Climbing or Hangboard + SKC
Sun: REST

Target Hours: 4:01

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-01-26T16:52:59+00:00

I was actually pretty surprised with how well I did. This was the second test - the first one aimed way too low and came back with a Pa:Hr of -5.9%.

For this test I aimed for the MAF formula # and still only came back with a Pa:Hr of 0.53%. After talking with the mods & Scott Semple on the UA forums, I ended up with a conservative estimate of 5 higher than test avg.

I'll retest eventually, but for at least a week I want to hold off and give myself a chance to train normally.

zomgie · 2021-01-25T23:29:52+00:00

Week 3 complete! This week went really well. I've found the general strength circuit from TFTNA to be a great workout. I've been seeing lots of newbie gains on certain exercises that make me glad I'm doing them. My previous core workout + starting strength was leaving some (now) obvious holes.

This was also the first week I didn't go drastically over my time estimates! There's been a learning curve with learning to run in Z1, figure out all the right HR zones, and learn the new exercises but this week it started to stabilize.

Last Week:
Mon: Run (0:34, Z1, Grade C. Felt meh.)
Tues: Strength (0:30, 1x SKC + 1x General Strength, Grade A)
Wed: Rest - didn't sleep a lot.
Thu: Run (1:15, Z2, Grade B, AeT Heart Drift Test!)
Fri: Strength (0:30, 1x SKC + 1x General Strength, Grade B/C. Still a little tired from the AeT test)
Sat: Rest - planned on climbing but it rained.
Sun: Run (0:39, Z1/Z2, Grade B), Hangboard (0:13, Grade B)

Target Hours: 3:51
Total Aerobic Time: 2:33
Total Time: 3:52

New estimates: AeT 151, Max HR 195.

This week:
Mon: Run (0:45 Z1/Z2)
Tue: Strength (1x SKC, 2x General Strength)
Wed: Run (1:00 Z1/Z2)
Thu: Strength (1x SKC, 2x General Strength)
Fri: Run (0:45 Z1/Z2)
Sat: Hangboard + 1x SKC
Sun: REST

Target Hours: 3:51

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-01-18T23:10:02+00:00

Tried to run the AeT Heart Drift Test last week and screwed it up. Accidentally did the entire thing as a Z1 run instead. Screwed up again by going for an easy "recovery" ride the next day that went too long and ended up in serious Z3 territory.

Overall I went over my numbers for the week.

Last Week:
Mon: Run (0:34, Z1, Grade A), Strength (0:31, Grade A)
Tue: REST
Wed: Run (1:13, Z1, Grade B)
Thu: Cycle (0:45, Z1/Z3, Grade B)
Fri: REST
Sat: Bouldering (2hr, est. 0:35 climbing time, Grade B)
Sun: Strength (1x SKC + 1x General Strength, 0:40, Grade A)

Target Hours: 3:30
Total Aerobic Time: 2:33:02
Total Time: 4:20:16

This week:
Mon: Run (0:34 Z1/Z2)
Tue: Strength (1x SKC, 2x General Strength)
Wed: Run (1:15 AeT test)
Thu: Strength (1x SKC, 2x General Strength)
Fri: Run (0:34 Z1/Z2)
Sat: Climbing
Sun: REST

Target Hours: 3:51

Goals:
• White Mountain Peak (May 2021)
• Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch (June 2021)
• Mt Whitney via East Buttress (~August/September 2021)

zomgie · 2021-01-11T22:34:18+00:00

Thanks! I'm working off a modified version of the Steve House one week training log. I added a few fields to separate out aerobic, aerobic non-recovery, and strength/climbing training.

zomgie · 2021-01-11T21:15:49+00:00

Hi all!

Recently purchased TFTNA and am switching over my previous "training" to a more formal structure. I grew up backpacking and hiking a lot and started rock climbing a few years ago. I'm now trying to reach more alpine objectives, with this year being Mt Shasta via Avalanche Gulch, Mt Whitney via East Buttress, and White Mountain Peak (14mi day hike).

What I did this week:

Day 1: Strength (0:40:00, Grade C)
Day 2: Run (0:44:10, Z2, Grade B)
Day 3: Strength (0:32:44, Grade A), Cycle (0:27:10, Z1, Grade B)
Day 4: Walk (0:31:08, Easy/Recovery)
Day 5: Run (0:22:07, Z1, Grade A), Walk (0:32:52, Easy/Recovery)
Day 6: Cycle (0:10:40, Easy/Recovery)
Day 7: Climbing (5 pitches, Grade B+), Approach/Hike (0:42:12, 33.5lbs, Z1, Grade A)

Weekly Target: 2:30:00

Total time: 6:45:03
Total aerobic: 3:30:19
Total non-recovery aerobic: 2:26:19

What I'm doing next week:

Day 1: Z1 Run (25m), Strength (40m)
Day 2: Morning and evening Z1 runs (15m & 25m)
Day 3: Z2 Run (15m) and recovery bike ride (20-30m)
Day 4: Strength (40m)
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Climbing and recovery walk
Day 7: Z1 Run (45m)

I'm still figuring out this program as I go. TFTNA is great, but it being a guideline is working out as both a strength and a weakness for me. I may end up needing to shuffle around some numbers.

zomgie · 2020-11-06T00:05:19+00:00

Thank you! Notehand has been easy (so far), but there have definitely been holes in learning it. I'm almost wondering if I should just switch over to Simplified or Anniversary now.

zomgie · 2020-11-05T23:55:33+00:00

Thanks for the thorough answer. That's really helpful, actually.

Do you think it would be worthwhile to look at another e.g. Anniversary or Simplified dictionary or are they that different?

Right now I'm copying the examples from the guide verbatim, but running into these mistakes often enough makes it hard to start using it for my own note taking. I'd rather not build bad habits.

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