It was a gray, rainy day at Endurance on Thursday. I got to the track a few minutes before 5:30 and only Maggie was standing on the infield of the track getting soaked. Eventually we would be joined by Coach Tim, John M, and Laura A. After two straight weeks of workouts where we did sprints preceded by longer runs, we were skipping all of that longer stuff (for the most part) and focusing on speed work today. We did an Indian Run for a lap to get warmed up. Then we went through a few stretches, a series of drills, and a couple striders before Tim revealed what was in store for us.
Endurance workout:
For each run, build up speed along the way until you reach the sprint, where it was time to go all out.
Two 100 meter runs (with a 40 meter sprint) - slow jog back to the starting line
Six 150 meter runs (with an 80 meter sprint) - slow jog back to the starting line
Three 300 meter runs (with a 100 meter sprint) - 50 meter walk, then 250 meter slow jog back to the starting line
Having to do 11 sprints didn't sound great, but it was those slow jog recoveries that really had me concerned. Maybe that is a recovery for some people, but it feels like work to me. I didn't think it would be a problem with the two 100 meter runs, but I could see myself struggling during that 150 meter portion.
When Tim explained that we would be building up from a moderate speed at the beginning of each run to a full-on sprint at the end, it sounded like something that I would enjoy. I'm a decent sprinter, but it takes me several strides before I get into high gear. Having that built into the start of each run would probably help me out. Early on, it did. When we did the 100 meter runs, it seemed like all four of us were together when we got to the point where we had to start sprinting and then it was just a mad dash to the finish line. I was convinced that in this scenario, I would finish first amongst our group. Boy was I wrong.
Last week, I didn't go all out on the first 200 meter sprint we did and Maggie passed me right before the finish line. I had no clue how far she started behind me on that sprint, but based on what happened in this workout, I'm guessing she could have been a solid 80 meters behind me and still caught me. She is probably the fastest sprinter in our gym, male or female. On that first 100 meter run, we got to Tim (he would always position himself where the sprint began) and I got up on my toes and started booking. I was mostly worried about John on my right, but there was a small blur on my left that went whizzing by me. Maggie 1, Dave 0. (Let's stop keeping score now.)
The second 100 meter run was no different despite the fact that I went all out again. There would be no break as we all began the slow jog to the 150 meter mark. I tried to jog as slow as I could and worked on controlling my breathing. Going through this 6 more times after longer sprints was probably not going to work out well for me.
That second 100 meter run would be the last time that John and I ran with the ladies for a while. Both Maggie and Laura did a better job of accelerating on the turn and hitting the start of the sprint at top speed. John and I were left to try and catch them on the sprint. The photo below will show you how well that went.
Girls are fast
The 150 meter run quickly became a battle of the sexes. Not a battle between the sexes. Laura and Maggie would take off and sprint against one another, while John and I took part in the undercard. After each sprint, we would have to jog back to the starting line. I learned during those jogs that I was the same speed as Maggie on recovery runs (yay?). Laura and John would always be the first two back to the starting line, while Maggie and I trailed behind. After the 2nd run of this middle set, we all started walking back and Tim didn't say anything until we were two-thirds of the way to the starting line. No one was more grateful for this 100 meter respite than me.
During the first four 150 meter runs, I believe Maggie edged out Laura and I edged out John. It was at this point that I hit the wall. I tried to keep it together for as long as I could, but I couldn't maintain the same intensity for that 5th run. I finished several seconds behind John. The slower "sprint" didn't help me recover much. It seemed very unlikely that I'd be keeping up with the rest of the group for this final 150 meter run. It was even more of a longshot that I'd keep up during the 300 meter runs.
This would be a good time for me to mention that John is the man. There is no one at our gym who pushes me to work harder than John. Every time I see him at the gym or at the track, he gives it everything he's got. Not only that, he finds the energy to yell me at half the time too. His devotion to working out definitely spurs me on to try harder. When the last 150 meter run began, I didn't have too much of a problem staying with the group up to the beginning of the sprint. The girls had edged ahead like they did every time, but John and I weren't too far behind them. When the sprint began, I was going to try my hardest, but I didn't think I'd keep up with the other three. John had other ideas. We started sprinting and almost immediately he yelled out "come on Dave!" How could I not try and find a little extra at that point?
There's a difference in how fast you sprint on your toes and how fast you sprint when you're not up on your toes. When you aren't on your toes, you can still go fast, but you're probably only going 85-90% of how fast you can really go. You need to be up on your toes to hit top speed. As soon as I heard John bark at me, I knew I had to get up on my toes. The two of us sprinted side by side for about 60 of the 80 meters before John slowed up a little. I had found a little extra to edge John out again.
Was emptying the tank there worth it? It didn't seem like it when we began the 300 meter runs. To transition to the 300 meter run, we would walk 50 meters from the finish line and then slowly jog the remaining 250 meters to the starting line. If it seems like I'm not a big fan of the 150 meter jog, you can imagine how warm and fuzzy I felt about the 250 meter jog. I was hurting from that last sprint, but with a 200 meter buildup before the 100 meter sprint at the end, I thought I'd be able to start very slow on this longer run before trying to kick it into high gear. That was not the case. We hadn't yet completed 100 meters of the buildup and I was way behind the other three. I tried to pick it up on the turn, but there was a huge gust of wind in our faces that prevented me from accelerating successfully. Even when I came off the turn, I couldn't find the motivation to try and catch the three runners off in the distance. I completed that run a good 7-8 seconds behind John and Maggie, who were several seconds behind Laura.
One of my worst habits is performing well at both the beginning of a workout and at the end of a workout, but falling apart in the middle. Even though the first 300 meter run didn't go well, some part of me believed I'd pull it together for the third run. I wanted to change that. As I slowly jogged back to the starting line with Maggie, I decided I was treating this next 300 meters like it was the end of the workout. Was it possible that my final run would be awful as a result of this decision? Oh yes. I'd say it was more probable than possible. But this was something I needed to fix from a mental perspective when I work out. I needed to improve the middle section and not think about how it might affect the end.
Tim gave us a small breather when we returned to the starting line, but soon his hand was back in the air. I learned from the last run that I couldn't go really slow at the beginning, so I got ready to go faster during the initial 100 meters. I might have been too eager as I jumped out to the lead for a short time, but order was soon restored as Laura passed me and John did as well. Laura had these longer distances down and motored on ahead, but I pressed on the turn to stay just behind John as we came up to the 100 meter sprint. When we hit the sprint, John and I were side by side. I wasn't sure where Maggie was, but I was terrified she was going to come blazing past both of us. About halfway through the sprint, I began to edge away from John. After getting crushed on the first 300 meter run, I managed to finish second on this one. That's how I need to push the middle sections of workouts.
Only one 300 meter run to go and it was everything I could do to control my breathing on my way back to the starting line. I was certainly going to put whatever remaining energy I had left into this last run, but I was expecting it to play out like the first 300 meter run rather than the second 300 meter run. There was another small breather before Tim sent us on our way. My pacing on the first 100 meters was much better this time around. Laura took off again and I was trailing behind John a little more than I had on the second run. As we hit the turn, another gust of wind came, which seemed like an omen that this was going to turn out like the first run. It was tough to accelerate, but I stayed right off of John's left shoulder, a stride or two behind him. As we came off the turn, it was time for the final sprint. I was going to be happy if I could stay this same distance behind John on the last straightaway, but once again, he went out of his way to push me. We started to sprint and John took a moment to look back at me. He wanted one last battle down the lane. I got up on my toes and pumped my arms like crazy. Wasn't sure how long I'd be able to stay up on my toes, but the answer turned out to be "as long as I needed to". I moved alongside of John and then began to edge in front of him like I had done at the end of the last sprint. That's when John found another gear. All of a sudden he was right beside me. We continued that way almost all of the way to the finish line. I think John came down off of his toes about 20 meters before the finish line, allowing me to finish just ahead of him. How did he take it? The first words out of his mouth were "yeah Dave!" (Part of me thinks he prefers to lose these sprints as long as he forces me to give everything I've got. Like I said, John's the man.)
During the cool down lap, John and I were talking with Tim about how some people need to be pushed. I wouldn't have been able to find that extra resolve during this workout if John hadn't pushed me over and over again. I'm just not able to manufacture that on my own. Guess that's what separates the better athletes from the not-so-good ones. The better athletes can get to that place by themselves. Add it to the list as one more thing that I need to work on. In the meantime, I'm incredibly grateful to have someone like John helping me out.
Friday preview: It's the Beat the Streets annual fundraiser. A partner WOD of front squats (not bad) and burpees (very bad). Oh yeah, and the partner who isn't "working" must hold a plate over their head. At least there is no penalty for putting it down.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.