I had the most amazing workout!

The night started like any other. I got home, looked outside and really really didn't want to get on my bike. (we're having a really 'un-california' like spring - windy, cold and threats of rain).

So, like many a night I told myself "I'll get on the trainer instead". 

As the night wore on I found myself putting off my ride. Trying to keep myself focused on training while inside 'spinning' is really hard, and I usually end up giving up within 30 minutes or less if I even manage to force myself on it at all. So, I decided to scan the internet to try to find something to make my indoor rides a little more interesting.

Podcasts to the rescue! Since I use podcasts to run with I thought I would do a little search over at iTunes and see if anyone else had the indoor training issues I have had and whether someone had filled that need with a podcast. Low and behold, someone (a few someones) had! After searching and reading and reviewing I finally found one that sounded promising, 'subscribed' and downloaded the first workout. It was called The SufferFest And trust me, it's aptly named (in a good way)

The Sufferfest #5 started easy enough. And then things heated up! Here's the description per the website...

5 minute warm up – Get the legs going while watching some 1987 Paris Roubaix, 1988 Gavia Pass Giro D’Italia (truly, truly horrific what they had to do that day) and 1987 Tour of Switzerland (Bob Roll in his early, timelessly classic days).

1minute interval – Crank it up and climb with Hampsten in the 1987 Tour of Switzerland as he tries to limit the damage to Winnen on the climb to Laax.

2 minutes tempo – Tempo along with the front group in the 1987 World Championships as Stephan Roche takes the win.

2×25 second sprints with 30 seconds rest – Winnen wants the sprint, but Kiefel wants it more. Sprint hard for 25 seconds and then recover while the pack returns to Zurich velodrome.

3×10 minute over/under slogs – Now it gets seriously hard. Here is how it works…you’ll do this three times. The first time you’ll follow Lemond and Hinault in the 1986 Tour de France Alpe d’Huez stage (stand up when Lemond stands up), then Lemond and Fignon in the 1989 Paris time trial, then Argentin and Kelly in the 1992 Milan San Remo final.

• 2minutes “Over” – Get your effort just barely above your anaerobic threshold. If you don’t know what that is, then find the point where you just about can’t talk anymore and really wish the pain would end. Then go a bit harder.
  
• 2minutes “Under” - Get your effort just below that threshold. It should be pretty damn hard, but you should be able to recover just barely enough to make the big effort again.
• 2minutes “Over”
• 2 minutes “Under”
• 2 minutes “Over”
• 4mins rest - Recovery pace between each slog (If you do these right, you’ll thank me for every second of this recovery). Follow Sven Nys, the cyclocross cannibal, during a snow covered 2008 world cup race (sorry, no 80s cyclocross footage…). Don’t let your heart rate drop too much though…keep it just in the aerobic zone.
  

4×40 second heavy resistance climbs with 20 sec recovery - Here, with Paris Roubaix 87 and Tour de France 86, you get 20 seconds of moderate resistance and then 40 seconds of heavy, heavy, heavy resistance while standing.

5 minute(ish) warm down – Take it easy. You deserve it after that misery. Some more cyclocross, then some classic quotes from 89 Tour and 87 Tour of Switzerland.

-------------------

I seriously couldn't believe I did the whole thing, but I did. Yes, it was hard and yes I wanted to quit a few times, but I did it and MAN do I feel great.

Uh-better get some sleep now!

'night all!

P.S. -- Can someone help me up the stairs now?