Saturday, December 29, 2012

Sufferfestukah 2012: Day 7

"A Very Dark Place" (AVDP)

Webb: This is my favorite video. There is no question about it. It gets more out of me than any other. And there is no better ending. (Although, I think Elle may make an argument for "Angels" on that bit.) The main thrust of the workout is 5 x 4:00 above threshold intervals with 3:00 recovery. I'm tempted to describe them as fairly classic power intervals, except that is probably not entirely true. These are not lock-into-a-gear-and-cadence intervals. Each has a character that sees changes in resistance and RPMs. I prefer my power intervals this way, because it is rare to be in a race where you can truly settle in to a steady-state effort. There will be hills, wind or both.

Unfortunately, I just didn't have it for Day #7. I may have put in too many consecutive hard efforts over the preceding six days. I made a valiant attempt in the first interval but knew straightaway it wasn't there. For intervals two and three, I tried to give it a moderate-hard effort. Still, it was a struggle. Interval #4 is the one that usually gets me to dig deeper than I think I can. It is something about riding with Spartacus that motivates me. I had nothing left.

Elle: Ugh, it just doesn't get any easier! And at this point there is NO spot on the saddle that doesn't equal pain. We've already spoken much about this workout, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Just when I think I've pushed as much as I can, I look up to see Thor, or Spartacus, or Cadel, and I just can't hold back. And if the Schlecks only knew how much time I've spent on my bike trainer looking at their back-sides...

Webb: Later that night I had a planned track session with the SEAC run club. The weather was cold with a 25F wind chill and intermittent freezing rain. The workout was designed to keep us moving (i.e., staying warm). Instead of hard hard efforts with easy recoveries, we did a fast pacing workout. Into my first 200m, my legs felt heavy. It was then I accepted the fact that Sufferfestukah was winning. I pulled back the effort and went through the motions rather than running myself in to injury or illness. (Remember the Rules of Triathlon.)

Elle: Back to AVDP. One of the most emotional feelings you will have is the warm-down for this workout. You've been beaten down - all the way, to a really, very, dark, dark place. And then it's over. You're done. And the best possible song comes on - Romina Arena's Ricordi. A song that musically expresses all the feelings that you can't, because you're so freaking exhausted. It's just something you have to experience.

Webb: Funny story. This past summer I purchased Ricordi on iTunes and didn't mention it to Elle. Several weeks later I played the song for her while were hanging out in the apartment. Elle's superpower is that she can hear a song and tell you what movie it was in and sometimes even name the scene. So I asked her, "Do you recognize this song?" She definitely recognized it but was having a hard time nailing it down. She then asked, "It's after something violent right?" I laughed. Yeah, you could say that.

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