Webb: This is new one. The plot: After winning the Tour of Sufferlandria you garner the attention of Team Giant-Shimano who gives you the opportunity to make the team. The workout: Three "races" where you need to show you belong. Good luck.
Elle: I've made a huge mistake. Even though I tried not to be cocky and to start out the holiday conservatively, I clearly did not do that. Well, this morning my quads had a message for me:
"Too much! Too fast! And now you will pay!"
Oh the pain. But it was day 4, and the suffering must go on. So 'The Rookie' beat the hell out of me today. And at 80%, no less! I can't wait until I'm fresh to do this workout properly.
Webb: Meanwhile, I'm feeling tired and confident. This was my first full experience with The Rookie. I attempted it shortly after it was released when I was definitely out of shape and stupidly trying to hit my inflated FTP targets. I bailed after the first race. This time I once again set the effort at 80% and plodded along. The difference is that I made it to the end and hit all the targets. Confidence swells once again.
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| The Rookie literally cracked my dork disc! |
It's hard not to get caught up in the action during this workout, right in the middle of the peleton, all the action, all the yelling. So much excitement! So much suffering! It was all too much for my 'dork' disc, which I found in pieces on the floor when I got off my bike.
Next up: Nine Hammers (shudder!)
Day 5: Nine Hammers
Webb: Another new workout! Nine Hammers released just a few days ago. The Knights and Dames have been hotly anticipating it. One of the perks of gaining Knighthood is being mocked early.
Elle: There's always an air of excitement and anticipation whenever a new Sufferfest is released. What will the music be like? How many intervals will there be? How much climbing? How much sprinting? Only one thing is certain. There will be suffering.
Webb: Will you be the hammer or the nail? This one hour workout features nine intervals structured as three sets of threshold, V02max and V02max with recoveries between each. I'm not gonna lie, I was intimidated and now that I'm done, I'm still intimidated. Once again I set TrainerRoad to 80% and took the workout one pedal stroke at a time. The time will come (next month) when I'll ride this correctly at 100%. It will hurt badly. I will feel like the nail. But I will succeed and in so doing feel kinda like the hammer too.
Elle: There's a nice sense of humor sprinkled into this workout amidst the suffering, which is nice. It's always fun to watch pro cyclists push each other around. What I really wanted to do was hand that BMC rider a drink - seriously, how long did that dude have his hand up? I especially enjoyed all of the comments by the cyclists and motorists on the cols during the rest intervals (oh, that pesky hamster!).
Oh, and something that both Webb and I have been doing for pre-workout nutrition are these super tasty stropwafels from Rip van Wafels. I highly recommend getting your hands on some. In bulk. Seriously. Webb has a subscription with them.
Webb: Next week I am going to plan out the first three months of my training. Right now, I think I will put Angels, The Hunted, ISLAGIATT, Blender and Nine Hammers in the rotation. Hills and endurance with that nasty threshold and V02max workout.
Next up: ISLAGIATT (ugh.)
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