The Downside Can Be the Upside

Webb: It being Thursday night and cold, perhaps 25F, with a forecast of snow, we all know what that means, right? I was headed to SEAC and Elle was headed indoors.

Elle: The weather wasn't horribly bad, and I could have bundled up and braved the cold. But with a brand, new Cervélo waiting for me in a warm, toasty living room, the call of The Sufferfest was too strong.

ELLE'S WORKOUT - Sufferfest: Downward Spiral
You can read Webb's original review of this workout here.
Seriously, once the video started, I actually felt a little like I was going home. The music, the races, the suffering, I think I'm starting to become addicted. But in a good way. The way that makes a big puddle of sweat form around you.

WEBB'S WORKOUT - SEAC Running Club (hill work)
w/u: jog/run to Boston Common
Main 1: Hill Repeats up historic Beacon Hill short (200m?), long (300m?), short, long
The short intervals were at a relatively high intensity, the long intervals at a less high intensity
Main 2: 3/4 mile run around (mostly flat) perimeter of Boston Common at 1.5 - 5k pace
c/d: jog back to SEAC
Total: approx. 5 miles

Webb: I was glad to hear we were headed for hill repeats tonight. I'm a little burned out on the track workout and was looking forward to a change. When Dan described the workout as 2 sets of short then long, I thought, "hmm, not much of workout tonight." Yeah, that was pretty dumb. Half way into the first short interval I knew I went out too hard. For the subsequent long interval, I held back to make sure I made it to the top with apparent dignity intact. I still struggled to finish. The downside was the upside: a long interval means a long downhill recovery.

For the second set, I figured I would have a better sense of what I could handle. That may have been true. What is also true is that I felt my diaphragm squeezing trying to force my lungs to cooperate in getting some oxygen into my system. I have no idea how well or bad I ran the 3/4 mile interval. I was glad to finish it without dying.

Back at the store, it was fun hanging with the crew. A few of us even started scheming to come up with some brutal February and March runs. Stay tuned ...