An absolute classic of the Sufferlandrian library – A Very Dark Place. Nearly as uncomplicated as Revolver. Almost as classy as Angels. Who knew four minutes could last so very long? Stage 5 is OPEN!
(Vintage screen shot for vintage feels)
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I usually kind of like AVDP. But today that was a very different story. Dark it was. Very.
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Today it got Very, Very, Dark, Very, Very quickly🤪
Think the lights went out just after the warm up!
…who knew 4 mintues could last so long…
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That evil laugh in the last sprint of the last effort. 
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By then i cound nor hear or see anything🤣
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I’m going to avoid puns about 4 minutes efforts (ahem!) but the minions definitely seem to fiddle with the clock during each effort. 1st & 5th went by quicker than expected, 2nd & 4th about right but 3rd seemed to go on forever….
So much so my legs starting stalling, and had to flick from ERG to level to avoid death spiralling. I was riding “with” team mates so no way of pausing, but left the intensity dial firmly on pegged on Nuclear. Yes that was very dark in places, as always. But Team Cobra Strike still managed to light it up (up up). 
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Forgot just how damn fine a workout this was!
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In honor of todays ride I went and set up for effort at 5:30 AM, in the dark. I was going to start it then but my puppy decided she wanted to eat first and then be taken out.
All done at 100%. For some reason, the first sets always seem the hardest for me. I guess I need some additional warmup before the start.
Looking forward to tomorrow. NOT looking forward to Stage 7.
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This session was one of my biggest concerns at this stage in the tour when I first saw the schedule. VO2 efforts are my weakness and I struggle to get through this session with fresh legs. But this morning I did it. Five days in and still going nuclear. So painful. So beautiful.
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Awesome job. Keep it up. 
I planned to go nuclear but a week before the start I strained a quad muscle. Doctor held me back for a few days and wouldn’t let me do Stage 1 any harder than 80%. Gone 100% since. I am toying with a crazy idea though. If I get through Stage 7 on Friday and all at nuclear from Stage 2 on, I may redo Stage 1 at 100% on Saturday.
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@Critmark Thats just the type of crazy GvA would be so proud of. Do it! Glad you’re recovering well, injuries suck.
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Done it. And it is a classic in every sense. It is hard, no doubt. But for me the soundtrack and footage is not even close to “The Model”. It misses the change in music and the pushing you through the workout. I was not “pulled (can I say soaked!?!?) into the workout”.
The “A Very Dark Place” is kind of old school 80’s classic thing for me. I love the music of the 80s and movies and more, but not the clothes and the style (been there ;-P).
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Done, power targets reached-ish but I kept the cadence high throughout. If I grind now the next two days will be even worse.
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I’m really starting to hate yellow!
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VO2 is my weakness. This is my favourite workout. I don’t know why. Maybe it is because it pushes me so hard that the lights go out.
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I’ve figured out that the only way to survive workouts with longish yellow bits is to do them in Level mode.
The cadence changes in AVDP are so intense though, just keeping up with that is hard work.
I was surprised I managed to finish it at 
% this far in the ToS.
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If I turn off the light, will I see the darkness? 20 hours to ride nr5 for me. Garmin body battery 18 now. 
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Stage 5 completed. AVDP targets my 4DP weakness, so I am actually happy to spend time in Very Dark Place mode. Having said that, I did invoke “your momma”, and ignored the STAND prompts during the video. Not sure if there is a flogging station for that or not. Third set was the hardest for me. Can’t image doing this with a blindfold on, time would certainly/unfortunately seem to slow down, and I could see myself getting into a cadence death spiral quite easily. Bring on Stage 6!!
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