Showing posts with label the hunted. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the hunted. Show all posts

Thursday 7 February 2013

The Hunted

I was going to do a roller session yesterday but after 20 minutes I stopped. Just didn't feel like doing it and I wasn't going to get much out of it. I've been feeling a bit throaty for the last couple of days coinciding with a selfish b'stard at work coughing and spluttering at an adjacent desk.

So today I planned a Sufferfest 'The Hunted' session which I found challenging and unachievable last time I did it. However, being an idiot I forgot that I was just unable to get to the end of the middle 20 minute session and had to back off. In a way this was actually a good thing because I went into the workout expecting to be able to compete it and probably tried harder as a result.



So, it went well through the first taster and then all the way through the 'middle 20' until I got to the section marked with the big red A (for Aaaaaaarrrgh!). With a high HR my body just said NO! and I had to stop, feeling quite miffed because I thought that I had completed this bit last time.

The last session was achievable, but I was really suffering on the 5x350W+ intervals at the end and was very pleased to stop and when I did I realised how hard I had been working; gasping for breath and my throat slightly constricted. I'm not asthmatic, but I think it was the same feeling.

So, I probably won't do this again for a long while. There are 2 hard bits that are too hard and the rest is too easy and really just foreplay waiting for the pain. It's quite like a race in that respect, but racing isn't necessarily the best way to increase fitness.

Saturday 29 December 2012

Sufferfest: The Hunted

After yesterday's shortish session I decided that Sufferfest's The Hunted would be interesting and challenging, but also achievable with my slightly tired legs from yesterday. I last did this on 20 Dec and struggled at the end of the 20 minute interval that makes up the middle of the work out. During that workout I just ran out of energy and I backed-off. I did exactly the same again today but ran out of energy slightly earlier today. Both times my Heart Rate was at 172 BPM (near my lactic threshold) and my legs were burning so, I don't know why, but this workout is a lot harder than it looks. As a result, it's something I'm determined to master.

After a decent warm-up the first interval was quite straightforward. The second (25-45 mins) went well until I struggled at around 42 mins and then the last interval (50-62 mins) was fine. I even had enough energy for an all-out blast after the last interval, but I wasn't able to sustain the 400W+ for long.

So, after 5 days off for Christmas I've managed to squeeze in 3 hours on the turbo into the last 3 days. The attrocious Yorkshire weather is starting to get me down and I don't even feel like going out on the MTB because it is just so wet everywhere.

Thursday 20 December 2012

The Hunted - partial

I like the Sufferfest videos, so when I was struggling for motivation today I thought I'd do the first two thirds of The Hunted as it manages to hide some hard work within an interesting profile. I'm planning a hard session tomorrow so I decided before the start that I wouldn't do it all.

Everything was going well until the very last interval (2.5 mins at 340W) when I got the quits and backed off. I immediately felt like I'd let myself down and kicked in again to complete the interval. If I wasn't saving something for tomorrow I think I would have been able to complete the whole work-out.