Day 4: SufferFestukah: Earn your bike.

A festival of lights and suffering

THE WORKOUT: Hell Hath No Fury
A stage race. Four stages, with Stages #2 and #3 featured at 20:00 each. Stage #1 is more preface than Prologue and Stage #4 is a nifty Team Time Trial (TTT). Seventy-five minutes of race conditions: Peloton. Attack. Peloton. Chase Group. Peloton. Attack. Hills. Attack. Bridge-up. Peloton. Hill Sprint. Attack. Bunch sprint.

Webb: Brilliant! This may be my favorite SufferFest workout.

Elle: I have to say, it was really tough getting on the trainer today. I was tired and exhausted, physically and mentally. But there was no way that I was giving up on SufferFestukah, so I dragged my butt onto that bike and took a trip to Sufferlandria.

Webb: This video is the closest I have seen to actual race conditions. Granted, I have only been in a handful of cycling races, including an ill-fated attempt at a stage race. Still, it felt real enough to bring back some of the anxiety of being in the peloton. "Patience, patience, patience." "Is that attack for real? Why are we letting him go?" "Gawd, I hope no one attacks. I'm gassed from the last one; I'll be dropped if the peloton responds." "Is anyone here organized???" If you have never been in a cycling race before, I recommend doing this workout to help you prepare mentally.

Recovery is such sweet......recovery.

Elle: At one point, I turned to Webb and said, "Wow, how did people used to train without 'The Sufferfest'?????"

Webb: We need more coverage of women's cycling. There were some moments when I wondered if this is what it was like when The Cannibal was eating up his competition. I don't know why. I am not old enough to know much about it. It just seems that this is a pivotal moment in women's cycling and it would be a shame if we were missing out on some great sporting feats and story lines.

Elle: I had some trouble watching the screen near the end, with all of the sweat pouring into my eyes...

Webb: Whose idea was SufferFestukah??? It was supposed to be a stupid, crazy challenge for the Triathletes' Journey team. It now feels like a mini-camp. I am tired, yet, each time on the trainer I feel a bit stronger and definitely fitter. There are times my legs are numb to the point I am telling them to move. During the ride, after the ride, the numbers look better no matter how useless my legs feel.

Elle: I feel like I have earned my bike today.