Ok attempted at 100% but the last set of intervals nearly killed me. Dont know if it fatigue or what but that was nothing short of brutal.
Sure those short high intensity efforts are my weakness but that was worse than Downward Spiral.
I think I have a new favorite session to hate 
9 Likes
Really struggled in the second set of intervals but the final two went pretty well. Just a horrible painful ride that required a great deal of focus so, yes, truly Sufferfestian!
7 Likes
I surprised myself in finding the first two sets of 30-second intervals harder than the third and fourth sets of 20-second intervals. I don’t understand it - I think is was more psychological than physical.
6 Likes
Ditto, coming in I was dreading the shorter rests on more fatigue but it was the first sets that had be in deep SUF. I realize now that I have the same expectation/performance drift on Blender’s pain shakes. Guess I need a dose of MTP to straighten out the head
7 Likes
That was incredible, one of the best workouts on the platform.
I would agree with those who said set one really really hurt, the break before the second effort was ominous. But mentally it turned, after the next 3 overs when I realised I wouldn’t see a 400+ target again for another 24 hours. Even managed to knock out a few level mode all out sprints in the final set.
Dig deep and suffer well everyone.
6 Likes
Try to re-download
1 Like
Lol. I had the same thought today. 
1 Like
I always knew it, but todays stage confirmed: chewing stem is a “beautiful” thing. 
Looking forward to AVDP, my fav (really)! I’m well ahead of schedule and taking a few nights out of town. I’ll be blessed to ride AVDP on fresh legs on Thursday. 
Happy Suffering to all! 
2 Likes
I just suffered “The Model” for the first time. It is another great addition to Sufferfest’s instruments of torture. I will be adding it to my list of regular beatdowns.
The time between the burst indicator that ten seconds were left in the sprint and the end of the sprint seemed to go on and on. Instead of interpreting the burst as “I’m almost done!” I have to think of it as “I still have ten more seconds to go.”
It didn’t feel as bad as Nine Hammers or Fight Club when I finished it, but I’m having a hard time recovering from it. Looking forward to a Very Dark Place…
Who remembers that time they rode really, really hard. So hard that the walls seemed to close in on you, the floor seemed to cave in underneath you, and the lights got dimmer, and dimmer, and dimmer until you couldn’t see anything anymore?
I can’t wait!
Ed
8 Likes
Get your ART HOUSE PHOTOS in! ART HOUSE PHOTO - Win $250!
2 Likes
Stage 4 completed, lunch from several hours ago tried to come back up, fought that off in the first set. Thanks to everyone involved in putting together ‘The Model’ video, love the finished product!
I need to stop death-gripping the handlebars during these Stages, sore arms and shoulders the next day. Bring on Stage 5! - I thinks.
5 Likes
I also started with a bit of dread over the task before me and seriously wondered if riding at 100% was doable. But by the finish, I was still riding strong and considered doing another set, like @frenata. I have a new favorite ride. Looking forward to some serious AVDP suffering tomorrow. Do the needful and recover well everyone!
4 Likes
Friends, enemies, and patriots, don’t believe the propaganda. The Model is insane. “It’s only a few 30 second sprints!” followed by maniacal laughter and maybe a bit of crying.
8 Likes
A wise fighter pilot once said “Eat bananas. They taste the same coming up as going down.”
6 Likes
This immediately became my favorite of the entire library. What a wallop.
3 Likes
Definitely crying. 
1 Like
I must be living in an alternate universe. Although The Model was challenging and hard, it was not that bad, even at 100%
I think half the battle in a workout such as this is your mental attitude. I did the Focus Exercise before I got on the trainer, and on the trainer, I did a short admission of gratitude for what I am not going through right now, before I started pedaling. I try to focus only on the interval I am on now. The vast majority of the time, I only had to focus on my form and breathing, or just experiencing the video. It was only on the last set of intervals that I had to use some positive self-talk to get me through.
This was one of the few videos where the action was actually motivating.
I may sound like a broken record by now, but I really think The Elements of Style helps in workouts such as this one. I have done it seven times now, and the improvements in form seem to help me generate more power, more comfortably. I also try to smile during hard intervals, and remember the breathing exercise from the end of Recharger.
Since beauty, art, and philosophy were included in the intro, I will cite one of my favorite quotes from Nietzsche:
“…just as little do we see a tree exactly and completely, in terms of leaves, twigs, color and form; it is so very much easier for us simply to improvise some approximation of a tree. Even in the midst of the strangest experiences we still do the same: we make up the major part of the experience, and can scarcely be forced not to contemplate some event as its “inventors”. All this means: from time immemorial we are – accustomed to lying. Or to put it more virtuously and hypocritically, in short, more pleasantly: one is much more of an artist than one knows.”
6 Likes
Amen to that. I’ve ran the exercises of that video in my head numerous times this week.
4 Likes
Rest? Seriously Garmin, it’s ToS stage 4! What a great session, and yeah, I felt really hot. Managed to meet the targets, tough though. Excellent video and music. I’ll return to this one another day
10 Likes
Totally agree with you. Mindset makes a difference. Akin to nutrition for the body, pre-, during and post- training/suffering is eased when filled correctly, even with the correct thoughts. And food.
I have a saying, somehow I either thought it/saw it/heard it back in ‘81 and it stuck with me as an impressionable 10 year old, that I have etched, as a tattoo, but also on my homemade rocker plate.
‘’Turn negative thoughts and emotions into positive action”.
A saying that can be applied across many avenues/instances/circumstances.
8 Likes