Where have we been?

Elle: So, there's been a lot of down time for the past 6 months for me, my knee was getting really painful almost every day. I couldn't work out much, just some biking and swimming (with a pull buoy). It was really tough for me not to be able to workout, especially since all of the other triathletes were starting their training season, and all I could do was sit on the couch with my leg elevated, icing. Was it Runner's Knee, ITB Syndrome? More on that later. It kept me pretty badly sidelined. I did, however, get to catch up on my beer drinking...

Webb:  Meanwhile I have been indulging in some guilty training. I spent nearly every Tuesday night the last several months getting faster on the run. Our all-time favorite running store and sponsor of our Thursday and Saturday run club started offering small group run coaching in October: SEAC>Elite. So while Elle was frustrated with a non-cooperative knee, I was out on the track or in the hills with a handful of like-minded souls willing to push ourselves in pursuit of PRs.

I've always felt confident that I had the ability and will power to push myself to my limits without external pressure. SEAC>Elite taught me otherwise. Running with others, especially on a track or in a chase tempo, pushed me harder than I have ever pushed myself. It is not unlike joining a Masters Swim program/class. No matter how hard you think you can go, you can go harder. But going hard is not always ideal. In that way I and the other SEAC>Elite runners have benefited from Dan's extensive experience in putting together workouts that get the most out of us. Even though we each have different goals - I'm the only triathlete looking to improve my 5k and 10k times off the bike - it absolutely works. At the end of the day, whether you are working towards a 5k or marathon PR, you need to run fast to get fast.

Elle:  Even with the knee issue, I was able to do some training. And after much cajoling by head coach Abe Rogers, I finally faced my big fear and joined the Cambridge Masters Swim Club (CMSC) in the fall and started going twice a week. No lie, it was hard waking up on those dark, cold mornings at 5:45am. I convinced Nicole (swimmer extraordinaire) to join, so together we braved the winter mornings and swam. And since I always had to rush to get to work on time after swim practice, I never had time to dry my hair, thus I often sported some lovely haircicles* leaving the pool.

Going to Miami
Nicole, the big swimmer that she is, told me about this swim race in Miami that she was doing and it didn't take much for her to convince me to join her: Miami in April? Yes please! It was going to be a "girl's weekend," the two of us and Nicole's friend from high school, Veronica. This was my first trip to Miami, and I couldn't have been more excited. Nicole grew up there and acted as tour guide. To prepare, I watched several episodes of 'Burn Notice', so I was ready to go.

Snacking on Triscuits
at the house

So here's a crazy coincidence, I posted the race on Facebook after I registered, and soon after got an email from my dad - he & my step-mother (who live in California) were going to be in Miami that very same weekend for a wedding! Sadly I only get to see them about once a year, so this was really a pleasant surprise. I told them about the race, and they thought that was pretty cool. We decided that Nicole and I would meet them at the post-wedding brunch on Sunday at the famous and fabulous Biltmore Hotel. This trip just keeps getting better...

Nicole and I arrived in Miami on Thursday night and stayed at The James Royal Palm Hotel, right on South Beach. It was already pretty late, but we suited up and went out for a couple of late night drinks at the swankiest bar I've ever been to, The Rose Bar at The Delano Hotel. Holy expensive drinks, Batman! I won't go into all of the evenings events (because what happens in South Beach stays in South Beach), but I will say that at one point a couple sat down next to us and we started chatting - they weren't just from Boston, but they were literally our neighbors - fellow South Enders. I try to take a vacation from Boston, but it just keeps pulling me back in! The nightlife in Miami is just insane...

We did a good job of getting up fairly early on Friday and went out for an easy ~4-mile run on the boardwalk. It was so glorious to see the ocean - no one was out on the beach yet, but it was still a fantastic sight after suffering through the longest winter ever.
After a couple of post-run drinks at the hotel pool (maybe more than a couple...), we packed up and drove to Veronica's parents house, where we would spend the next two nights.

Best race number ever!
1234

RACE REPORT: The Miami Mile Swim Race
It was a bit chilly in the morning when we got up and headed to the Yacht Club - the location of the race. Both Veronica and I did the 1-mile, and I have to say, it was one of the toughest swims I've done. It wasn't so much the crowd of swimmers, I'm pretty used to that mash-up, but the super choppy conditions resulted in mouthfuls of salt water and a feeling of nausea that just wouldn't go away. Plus I couldn't see any of the turn buoys, so I just had to follow the swimmers in front of me. I never really felt like I was able to get into a smooth swim groove. By the end, I was totally ready to be done with this race, and practically sprinted onto the shore. I couldn't imagine doing 5 more laps, which is what Nicole did, since she was swimming the 10K!
When I came out of the water, I crossed the finish line and bee-lined it to the fresh water pool to rinse off and get some of that gross salty water out of my mouth. I finally got out of the pool, and then a huge surprise: Who do I see walking towards me from the crowd? My dad! He had come to watch the race and take some photos. It was an awesome surprise. We hung out for a bit and chatted before I had to head to the feed station to pass Nicole her nutrition.

Nicole chats up the women at the 10K swim start

The way that worked was that I carefully headed out on a narrow wooden boardwalk that jutted out into the water. I sat at the end, ready to hand electrolite drink/water and a gel to Nicole. She didn't take anything after the first lap, but stopped by for something to drink for the second, and requested her gel on the 5th. After 3 hours, 20 minutes Nicole finished the marathon of swim races. And she rocked it, coming in 16th out of 33 total swimmers.

The MiamiMile swim start

After a lovely Sunday morning run in the neighborhood where Nicole grew up, we packed up and headed over to The Biltmore for an incredible brunch with my dad and step-mother. After fully taking advantage of the luxurious, abundant brunch spread, we headed down to the pool for some rest and relaxation. If sitting poolside at the Biltmore, sipping on a Vanilla-Mango daiquiri isn't heaven, then I don't know what is. But before we knew it, it was time to drive to the airport, and soon enough we were heading back to the hinterland Boston.

Poolside at the Miami Biltmore

This was a great trip. It was so nice to see the Miami sun and take in some of the night life. I was glad that I faced my fear and swam the Miami Mile. And the added bonus of seeing family really made the trip special. Fyi, the Nautica Oly Triathlon was on Sunday on Miami Beach. There are already plans in the works for next year: Miami Mile swim on Saturday, Nautica Tri on Sunday...who's in???

*Haircicles: What you get when your hair is wet and you go outside in freezing cold temperatures. Basically frozen chunks of hair. Very attractive...

Chatting with my dad on the feed station boardwalk

"We chamois dance."

THE TOUR OF SUFFERLANDRIA is on!!!

The Dictator of the Federation has put together a race to rival all of the great stage races around the world: The Tour of Sufferlandria (ToS).
Nine stages.
Twelve sufferfests.
Day 1 began on 26 January. There is no official sign-up, unless you want to win prizes. There are daily prizes and then some special one reserved for those minions who complete the entire ToS. To sign up officially you must go to TrainerRoad.com.

Stage 1: Hell Hath No Fury (HHNF)

Elle: I didn't think The Sufferfest workout could get any better. Enter TrainerRoad. This seriously takes the workout to a whole new level. No more guessing what effort you should be putting out there, no more slacking off. All the numbers are right there in front of you, telling you if you should work harder, or back off. And you can see everything that is ahead of you. I'll say it. I love TrainerRoad.

Webb: Yep. I gotta say we owe another big thanks to the Dictator. We would not have come across TrainerRoad had it not been for the ToS. TrainerRoad.com displays your workout on your computer, including your cadence, your HR, your power (more on that soon) and the time remaining of your interval. With the display on your computer (or TV if you have a way to transfer/share/mirror), you can watch movies while you do your workout. You'll need the normal assortment of ANT+ devices, but you can check that out. What we LOVE about TrainerRoad.com is that it provides us with virtual power. We have yet to breakdown and buy a power meter. TrainerRoad uses some algorithm calculating speed and cadence to determine your virtual power. I'm sure it is not as accurate as using an actual meter, but for now, it kicks ass. And when we finally do make the move to power, it will read that too.

It changes the workout. It makes TheSufferfest workouts that much more cool.

Elle: I totally forgot that the cyclists were women. I guess it doesn't matter when they're kicking my ass.

Webb: Indeed. The tactics may be different between the men and women in the pro peloton but when it comes down to it, cycling is suffering, no matter who you are.

Elle: After the workout was over I got right on the foam roller - I didn't want to regress in my knee injury recovery program. I rolled out my knotty quads and ITB and then did a number of stretches. When I stood up I literally felt a wave of endorphins wash over me.

Webb: I'm looking forward to the rest of the ToS. Unfortunately I will miss at least two days since I will be traveling for work.

Sufferfestukah 2012: Day 10!

Sufferfestukah Day 10 at last!

Webb: Day 10 promised to be a big one. One-hour and 45 minutes of "Hell Hath No Fury" and "The Long Scream." The titles alone should have told you to stay under the covers and keep the trainer hidden away. But wait, what's this, no "HHNF?" 

Technical what?

It wouldn't be Sufferfestukah in our household without some technical difficulties. For some reason, our "HHNF" file would not play on this occasion. I'm not getting into it now. I'm saving my energy for a long talk with Apple. (In other news, I recently have had music files stop playing partially through the song. My guess is this the same problem. So when you buy something on iTunes and it says you should back-up your purchase, well, yeah, back it up.) We've done HHNF several times and were more than just a little disappointed that it was not going to happen.

Being good minions that we are, the next step was choosing a replacement video. There could be only one other option: "Local Hero." The purpose of the workout after all was to be on the trainer a long time. "Local Hero" plus "The Long Scream" would give us nearly10 minutes more than the original plan. After a frustrating delay, we were back on task.

Pulling out the racing kit for
Day 10 of Sufferfestukah

Elle: Wouldn't you know the one video that would be a problem would be the last one, and of course, one of my favorites. Wait, I say that about all the videos... At least this year it wasn't due to Sufferlandrian error. Since we've already done Local Hero this Sufferfestukah, I won't re-hash, but you can read all about it here.

Webb: I felt good today. My fatigue and overtraining were behind me and I was ready to take this workout head-on. I did a good job of following the instructions, Suffer, Obey, all the way through the sprints at the end, momentarily forgetting what lay ahead. 

"The Long Scream" is brutal, especially after nearly an hour and twenty minutes of racing. Imagine being in a race and breaking away early on, then getting caught by a chase group and working together to keep the peloton off your backs. Then you start taking longer pulls up front only to be attacked again and again even though there is lots of road between your lead group and the finish line. Tired of these shenanigans, you attempt to breakaway and solo the final 30 minutes of the course. That is about as close as I can get to describing what it is like to do these two videos back-to-back. 

Celebratory ice cream with
hot fudge - yummmmm

I suffered a great deal during the first 20 minutes of "The Long Scream." I stayed with Phinney. I hung onto Sir Wiggo. But it was Cancellara who proved too much. It took a monumental effort to remain relaxed and stay in time trial mode. Sufferlandrians do not simply drop back, so I soldiered on. With no Day 11 tomorrow, I left it all on the bike. There could be no better way to end Sufferfestukah. 

All in all, in nine out of 10 days, I rode almost 185 miles over more than 10 hours and drank at least  274 oz. Not a bad way to end 2012. 

Elle: Holy saddle pain, Batman! I nearly emptied my Chamois Butt'r tube during this year's Sufferfestukah, but apparently it wasn't enough. My body is ready to take a break from the bike for awhile. I need to get back in the pool anyway. And I'm ready to embark on my 2013 back-to-running program. It's a pretty conservative plan, designed by SEAC running club leader, Dan. But I guess that's what it takes to come back after an injury. But I digress...

We survived Sufferfestukah 2012!

Thanks again to TheSufferfest, Marion, The Rat Snake and Scott for joining us. To all you lurking minions, the Festival of Suffering will return in 2013. We hope you join us next year. In the meantime, The Tour of Sufferlandria will begin in late January. Visit TheSufferfest's Facebook page for details.

Sufferfestukah Day 9: There is No Try

Day 9??? Didn't we only do eight days last year? What is wrong with us? It doesn't matter because "There Is No Try."

Inside the SMOD

Webb: Sufferlandrians do not tire as the race goes on, they get stronger and faster. That is the essence of "There Is No Try." Each interval is a four-step progression building from threshold to all-out effort. Not only does each interval progress in effort, each interval is longer than the previous up to  an 8:00 interval (4x 2:00). After that bit of hurt, then intervals descend. Oh no, they still progress in effort, they just reverse order in terms of length. By this point you are so burnt, while you are thankful for the shorter intervals, you can't really say they are easy.

Elle: This was my first time doing this workout and it was a special treat for me because this year (like last year), I watched the Tour de France live, every day. I'd get to work, put on my headphones, and watch the live, streaming feed on my huge, studio display monitor. And after every stage I posted a photo of the stage winner up on the wall in my office. So doing this workout was a crazy, cool experience, since I remember watching it all go down: Wiggo's inspired TT, Froome pulling Wiggo up the mountain, Sagan's victory celebrations, Jensy on the Champs Elysee, and who could forget...... TACK-GATE!!!!!!! The only thing missing was that big, black dog that tried to take out Philippe Gilbert (they had to hold him back when he started yelling at the dog owner, it was crazy). Oh, the drama of the 2012 Tour de France!

Webb: Even with yesterday's no-show behind me, I had no plans of jumping right back into the fray. I'm saving myself for the final day's 105 minutes, including what could end up being the most painful 30 minutes of all of Sufferfestukah. Day 9 was about getting the legs back. So I reduced my effort by at least a factor of one for each interval. That was a good idea. In fact, on one of the final intervals (i.e., 2:00, or 4x :30) I attempted it as prescribed and was pretty gassed after it. That told me I was not quite ready for another hard day.

Elle: This is a tough workout, lots of good, hard suffering. And I'm starting to wonder if 10 days of Sufferfestukah is too many...

Next up:  Hold tight to your self-esteem boys, you're about to get chicked in "Hell Hath No Fury" followed immediately by the torturous "The Long Scream."

Sufferfestukah 2012: Day 8

FIGHT CLUB

Elle: Ok, so this one has my favorite warm-up - there are the cool bridges, the best warm up song ever (Italo Surfing), stopping to look at the cool graffiti, and of course, the bicycle with the basket on the front.

Elle time trialing

If you love relentless attacks that just keep coming and coming and coming, you'll love Fight Club. And oh, the time trial - you just have to go deep inside yourself for this one. And just when you want to quit, there's Sparatucs. Then Cadel Evans. And you just have to dig deep. But you are rewarded at the end with two women on bikes who defy gravity and physics. Gawd, this is a good workout.

Webb: <heavy sigh> I sat this one out. I had about four symptoms of being sick without actually feeling ill, other than the general sense of being rundown. All day long I rested and relaxed with hopes I'd have energy by the time Elle came home from work. Once home she looked at me and told me I need to lie down. When I woke from an hour nap I realized I was dangerously close to breaking The Rules.

New swim gear

In retrospect - as in, I literally reviewed my numbers - I increased my average speed over each of the days of Sufferfestukah. So I didn't follow my own recommendation to scale the workouts. This is the price I must pay for being an idiot.

Elle: Meanwhile, my SwimOutlet.com order came in, woohoo! Can't wait to show up at the pool with this sweet ensemble....

Next up: "There Is No Try", there is only getting faster.

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.

Sufferfestukah 2012: Day 6

Day 6: We all admire the soloist, the breakaway artist, the fearless cyclist who tries to escape the peloton because whoever they are, whenever they attempt it, they become "The Hunted." 

Webb: What a wonderful piece of work this is. The first 20:00 fly by with a warm-up and tempo ride where you free yourself from the pack to ride alone. What follows is 20:00 of big gear above-tempo riding. You are hunted, yet you are also chasing Robert Gesink. At the 15:00 mark, I swear I felt the need to pop my ears from the altitude gain. A fast descent greets you on the other side of the summit with RPMs over 110.  I made a point not to relax as this segment is not a recovery, it is merely a reduced effort.

As tired as I am, I have been happy with my numbers. I think all the pelvic and lumbar posturing exercises I have been doing have allowed me to be more efficient with my pedal stroke, putting out more power even though my overall fitness is not where it was in October.  Do the little things, they pay off.

Elle: So by this time in the Sufferfestukah celebrations I find myself running low on Chamois Butt'r. Because when you do 10 back-to-back days of trainer rides like this, you need lots of Chamois Butt'r, trust me. "The Hunted" is a good workout (aren't they all?), you get to ride with the ever-so-controversial Lance Armstrong - and be on the lookout for Hincapie's cool U.S. National Champion kit.

Webb: Once you recover from the descent, it is back to being prey. You must tempo ride for 10:00. Well, 5:00, then 5:00 of maybe what TheSufferfest.com has to offer. I don't even know who to describe the madness the final 5:00 entails. I'll put it this way: Those 5:00 minutes are broken down into 5 x 1:00 segments (intervals would be too kind a word). I did four of them. I honestly had nothing left for the fifth. I nearly had enough lunch left over to leave it all over my front wheel though. No joke. No hyperbole. Just the hard, nauseous truth.

Elle: I always get a kick out of the cyclists getting stopped by the train. Even though I know it's going to happen...and be prepared for a Schleck to launch an attack up the climb. As usual....

Next up: Grab your teddy bears Sufferlandrians, we're going to "A Very Dark Place."