I did the entire 5.5 hours of this Spinerval. Luckily, Coach Troy put in several water bottle refill/feed/bathroom breaks (2-3 mins each), so it wasn't an all out plod. The really tough going--big gear work--was during the final 2-hour disk. While I was worried that I wouldn't be able to survive that last bit, the sets are shorter and the breaks are longer, so it isn't really that bad. Thank goodness I paced myself, kept hydrated/nurished, and had some good tunes playing. I manage to log almost 74 miles, but I complied with Coach Troy's gear instructions. To be honest, I'm just happy that I completed it and that I actually feel pretty good.

I believe Tough Love is more difficult because there's big gear work early on and some of the individual sets are long (30 mins, 20 mins, etc.). Hardcore's sets seemed easier and less of a grind, maybe because it felt like there was more variety.