The Sufferfest: There Is No Try

     In honour of the Tour de France starting today I wanted to do a Sufferfest workout that features footage from the Tour. So my two options were There Is No Try and The Wretched. I decided on TINT since it wasn’t part of the Tour of Sufferlandria 2014 and, according to my log, I’ve only done it once and I couldn’t remember anything about it. Perhaps the evil minions wiped my memory after I did it the first time…

     The workout, of course, takes its title from the words of a wise little creature from one of my favourite movies.

      As the Ministry of Sufferlandria reminds you during the intro, Sufferlandrians do not try. Sufferlandrians DO.

Length: 55 minutes

Format: TINT consists of intervals. Lots and lots of intervals. And then some more intervals.  And they’re accelerating intervals, meaning that you get faster with each interval--which is the complete opposite of what usually happens in a race. It’s a special kind of suffering. Interval 1 is 4 x 15 second sets, Interval 2 is 4 x 30 second sets, Interval 3 is 4 x 45 second sets and Interval 5 is 4 x 60 second sets. The minions are kind enough to give you 1-1:30 recovery time between each interval. Interval 5 is a time trial. When I reached Interval 5, I actually thought, “oh good. I can recover a bit during the time trial.” Silly me. The time trials are accelerating, as well. It’s 4 sets of 2:00 minute intervals, with each interval getting faster. Then you repeat Intervals 1-4, in reverse order, before a sprint to the finish. Brutal.

Music: fun dance and electronica, but not as memorable as the music in most of the Sufferfest workouts

Footage: THE TOUR DE FRANCE!

Difficulty: this one was hard for me to gauge today. It’s been a busy week and I didn’t get in as many workouts as I usually do. Usually this works to my advantage for a spin workout, as it means that my muscles aren’t tired. But today I felt tired and weak from the starting gun and just pushed through. I’m giving it an 8.5/10 for difficulty but I plan to revisit it again on a day when I feel stronger.

Other Random Thoughts: I didn’t enjoy TINT as much as I do most Sufferfests.  Maybe it was just because I felt off today but I didn’t really enjoy the format. I probably would have been OK with Intervals 1-5 but repeating the intervals for the second half of the workout just made it feel too repetitive, which is something the other Sufferfest workouts are definitely not. They’re usually filled with so much variety that the time just flies by. But this one just felt predictable. I actually felt my focus wandering towards the end, which never happens with Sufferfest workouts. 

      On a positive note, I loved the Tour de France footage. For some reason, I really noticed the strategy in this one more than I have with other Sufferfests. I especially enjoyed watching the Sky team work together and seeing the peleton moving in waves. I also loved that there seemed to be lots of spectators in white shirts covered in maple leafs cheering me on from the road sides. Towards the end, I realized that they weren't maple leafs--they were red polka dots. (No matter--denial isn't just a river in Egypt.) I loved the ending—the final interval has you sprinting down the Champs Elysee towards the finish line, just like the real Tour. 

      Overall, I’m giving TINT a 7.5/10. It’s not my favourite Sufferfest. (But don't tell the minions I said so. TINT makes a point of highlighting the shadowy fort high on a cliff where people who “try” are sent... I get the feeling that people who criticize the Ministry of Sufferlandria get sent there, too.) 

                                                 

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       In other related news, The Sufferfest is releasing a new workout on July 11 :) It's called Half Is Easy. I'm not too enamoured with the trailer but it's a new Sufferfest so I'm excited nonetheless :)