There was once a period at the gym when I introduced myself to everyone as the new guy. I'd say my name and quickly follow it up with "I'm new", as if I was trying to warn them in advance about how poorly I was going to do in the workout that we were about to begin. Prior to one class, we were doing some ice breaker and when it was my turn, I trotted out the "Hi, I'm Dave, I'm new..." line before the coach interrupted me and said "Dave, you've been here for 6 months, you're not new."
It's funny how quickly time flew by from actually being new to being told I could no longer say I was new to the point now where I feel like one of the elder statesmen at the gym. There are still a handful of people who have been at KOP much longer than I have. Some of them have been with the gym since Aimee started it. But the vast majority of people that I work out with have been there for less time than I have. It's definitely a bummer that many of the folks that I used to work out with day in and day out have moved on from KOP. And sadly, Thursday marked the departure of one more person who fell into that group.
Fellow Barbull and NC State fan Luke was taking a new job in Maryland and so continuing to drive all the way to KOP made very little sense. The fact that Luke had been doing it for this long was surprising since he lives in Delaware. He's still going to stop by for special events at the gym, but Endurance class on Thursday was going to mark the conclusion of his time as a full-time member of KOP. And he decided he was going out in style.
The Endurance workout was going to revolve around the final 400 meter time trial of the year. It is probably the one distance that everyone is comfortable with. The mile and the 800 meter run are on the longer side for some folks. The 100 and 200 meter runs are pure sprints and some people worry about being left in the dust. The 400 meter run is just long enough that you can't sprint the whole way, yet one lap around the track doesn't feel daunting in terms of distance. Plus, almost everyone at the gym has to run 400 meters at the start of our warmup each day. It's a familiar distance that everyone knows they can handle.
I showed up about 15 minutes early to class because I planned on doing my double under practice at the track. Flounder was among the group that had arrived early and he immediately gave me crap about my double unders. First, the whistling sound made during my double unders wasn't as fast as he was used to hearing, which meant I clearly wasn't whipping the rope quickly enough. Then he got on my case about how I was going to wear out my legs before the Endurance workout. That criticism sounded a bit more legitimate, so I stopped after doing several medium-sized sets (nothing more than 25 in a row).
We began with two laps of Indian Runs before going through a longer set of drills, stretches, and striders than we typically do at the beginning of a workout. Class began at 5:30, but it was almost 6:00 by the time our official warmup concluded. This was by design. Coach Tim wanted us very warm before we took on the 400 meter run. He described it as a max effort run. We weren't going to build into it like we did on the 800 meter and 1,600 meter runs. It was go hard and try to hold on for as long as you could. Or for the slow starters among us, it was go fast, then go even faster at the end.
I fell into that latter group. I've never been the fastest starter (oh how true that is in every aspect of my life!), but I eventually get up to speed. In a race this short, starting slow meant I'd likely be near the back of the pack, requiring me to try and loop around people at the end. The problem was that 13 people showed up to run the quarter-mile. I was envisioning having to go very wide on the final turn, probably riding that momentum into a sprint down an outer lane in an attempt to reel in the competition in the final strides. I expected people like Kevin, Joy, and John M to be out on the lead, with Mike R and Ashley just behind them. I thought Luke, Maggie, and Borden would be running a similar style as me. That's what I was envisioning. Here's what actually happened...
Tim's max effort comment definitely made people start faster. Mike R lined up to the outside at the starting line, but he had no plans to remain on the outside for long. He shot out to the lead with Kevin and Luke up pressing him. Behind that group were Joy, Maggie, and John. Ashley was just ahead of me, putting me in 8th early on. My initial impression was that the pace was too fast. Mike R hadn't been to many Endurance workouts, so he might not have gauged the pace appropriately. Luke and Maggie struck me as runners who tended to pour it on at the end because their kick was so good. Seeing them up front made me think they got caught up in the fast pace, which might dull their kick at the end. I was about where I thought I'd be. During the first 200 meters, I didn't feel like I was going all out to keep up. If I could unleash my kick on the back half of this lap, I should catch some of the people out in front of me.
That was a nice dream. When we hit the 200 meter mark, I got up on my toes and began to sprint. I did pass Ashley and I locked my eyes on John's back as my next potential target. But as I went around the turn, any ground I was gaining on him was minimal. That was bad. What was worse was that I heard someone coming up on my outside as we turned into the final straightaway. I thought it might be Ashley coming to reclaim 7th position, but it was Borden who had turned on the afterburners. Usually when I get up on my toes to sprint at Endurance, I don't get passed often. I was getting passed today. I tried to fight Borden off, but he was too fast for me. Back to 8th place I went. That's where I'd finish with a time of 1:13.
Definitely not what I was hoping for in my last time trial of the year. I desperately wanted to break 1:10 for the first time this year. If you had asked me at the 200 meter mark if I was going to get there, I probably would have still had faith that I could make it happen. But the acceleration that I thought would be there was nowhere to be found. I wasn't able to reel in those who were in front of me. Those who went out fast also finished fast, as the order up front changed very little. Mike R held off Kevin and Luke, running a time of 1:04 that got him on the leaderboard in the gym.
The last time trial of the year was in the books, but that didn't mean the workout was over. Tim wanted us to get some sprint work in to conclude the workout. Compared to a lot of the sprint work we've done, this was on the tamer side. It was still hard to figure out exactly how fast to run though. We had to do three 150 meter runs where we would begin with a "tempo run" (what's that?) until we reached Tim. He would be standing in a different spot for each of the three runs, shortening the final sprint as we progressed from one run to the next. The reason the sprint was shortening up was because Tim expected us to run faster each time: 80% for the first run, 90% for the second run, 100% for the third run. That last sprint had to be max effort (there's that phrase again!), which led to this exchange between me and Flounder:
Me: "100% isn't max effort. Everyone knows max effort is 110%."
Flounder: "110% is known as 'Max Max'."
Me: "Really?"
Flounder: "Really."
He might have made that up, but he had me convinced. I'd simply keep my effort to a singular max for run #3.
While I was disappointed in how the 400 meters turned out, I was happy with how I did on this short sprint section. On the first run, all 13 of us lined up and went at the same time. My tempo run was likely too slow as I really only have two speeds: way too slow and not as fast as I'd like to be. When we got to Tim, I broke into a strider the rest of the way. After all, Tim tends to use that 80% number when telling us how fast our striders should be during the warmup. Kevin led the way, but he wasn't too far ahead of me. I ran down the straightaway with John directly next to me on my right and with Flounder in his usual spot down in lane 1. Tim told us that we went too slow on the first run, but based on where I finished relative to Kevin, it seemed alright to me.
Tim might have felt that first run wasn't up to snuff, but do you know what was? My jog back to the starting line. I've mentioned on this blog how much I struggle with recovery and how the toughest part of Endurance for me sometimes is jogging back to the starting line. Not today. I finished the first run, turned around, and started jogging back. I didn't earn any style points on my jog though. Joy got a laugh out of my patented "jog back with your hands on your hips" technique, but the important part was that I was moving. Didn't need to walk like I usually do.
On run #2, I knew that not only did I need to go faster, I should expect the rest of the group to pour it on as well. We were supposed to go 10% faster on the sprint, but based on Tim's critique of our first run, it would probably be faster than that. I also changed up my tempo run. Based on how Tim described it, I thought the tempo run was one consistent speed. For this second run, I decided to use the tempo run as I build-up into the sprint. I was slow at the start, then began to accelerate as we approached Tim, before kicking into gear once we reached Tim. Kevin was out in front of me, but I didn't let him get too far away. I ended up just behind him and just ahead of John. I put my hands on my hips and began my jog back.
I suspected John was not going to let me off with anything less than my best sprint on the final run, so I got ready to put everything I had into this last 80 meters or so that Tim had marked off for run #3. The tempo run was going to be just like it was for the start of the second 150 meters. As we closed in on Tim, John was just ahead of me on my right, Kevin was just ahead of me on my left, and I saw a figure in lane 1 (that I assumed was Flounder) who was part of the top flight. We passed Tim and the race was on. I charged past John. I moved past Kevin, although he came right back at me after I passed him. We battled all the way down to the finish line, where I edged him out slightly. But John, Kevin, and I were no match for the guy down in lane 1. It wasn't Flounder taking up residence down on the inside. It was Luke. He had found a way to go Max Max. In fact, I think he may have gone directly to plaid.
I fell into that latter group. I've never been the fastest starter (oh how true that is in every aspect of my life!), but I eventually get up to speed. In a race this short, starting slow meant I'd likely be near the back of the pack, requiring me to try and loop around people at the end. The problem was that 13 people showed up to run the quarter-mile. I was envisioning having to go very wide on the final turn, probably riding that momentum into a sprint down an outer lane in an attempt to reel in the competition in the final strides. I expected people like Kevin, Joy, and John M to be out on the lead, with Mike R and Ashley just behind them. I thought Luke, Maggie, and Borden would be running a similar style as me. That's what I was envisioning. Here's what actually happened...
Tim's max effort comment definitely made people start faster. Mike R lined up to the outside at the starting line, but he had no plans to remain on the outside for long. He shot out to the lead with Kevin and Luke up pressing him. Behind that group were Joy, Maggie, and John. Ashley was just ahead of me, putting me in 8th early on. My initial impression was that the pace was too fast. Mike R hadn't been to many Endurance workouts, so he might not have gauged the pace appropriately. Luke and Maggie struck me as runners who tended to pour it on at the end because their kick was so good. Seeing them up front made me think they got caught up in the fast pace, which might dull their kick at the end. I was about where I thought I'd be. During the first 200 meters, I didn't feel like I was going all out to keep up. If I could unleash my kick on the back half of this lap, I should catch some of the people out in front of me.
That was a nice dream. When we hit the 200 meter mark, I got up on my toes and began to sprint. I did pass Ashley and I locked my eyes on John's back as my next potential target. But as I went around the turn, any ground I was gaining on him was minimal. That was bad. What was worse was that I heard someone coming up on my outside as we turned into the final straightaway. I thought it might be Ashley coming to reclaim 7th position, but it was Borden who had turned on the afterburners. Usually when I get up on my toes to sprint at Endurance, I don't get passed often. I was getting passed today. I tried to fight Borden off, but he was too fast for me. Back to 8th place I went. That's where I'd finish with a time of 1:13.
Definitely not what I was hoping for in my last time trial of the year. I desperately wanted to break 1:10 for the first time this year. If you had asked me at the 200 meter mark if I was going to get there, I probably would have still had faith that I could make it happen. But the acceleration that I thought would be there was nowhere to be found. I wasn't able to reel in those who were in front of me. Those who went out fast also finished fast, as the order up front changed very little. Mike R held off Kevin and Luke, running a time of 1:04 that got him on the leaderboard in the gym.
The last time trial of the year was in the books, but that didn't mean the workout was over. Tim wanted us to get some sprint work in to conclude the workout. Compared to a lot of the sprint work we've done, this was on the tamer side. It was still hard to figure out exactly how fast to run though. We had to do three 150 meter runs where we would begin with a "tempo run" (what's that?) until we reached Tim. He would be standing in a different spot for each of the three runs, shortening the final sprint as we progressed from one run to the next. The reason the sprint was shortening up was because Tim expected us to run faster each time: 80% for the first run, 90% for the second run, 100% for the third run. That last sprint had to be max effort (there's that phrase again!), which led to this exchange between me and Flounder:
Me: "100% isn't max effort. Everyone knows max effort is 110%."
Flounder: "110% is known as 'Max Max'."
Me: "Really?"
Flounder: "Really."
He might have made that up, but he had me convinced. I'd simply keep my effort to a singular max for run #3.
While I was disappointed in how the 400 meters turned out, I was happy with how I did on this short sprint section. On the first run, all 13 of us lined up and went at the same time. My tempo run was likely too slow as I really only have two speeds: way too slow and not as fast as I'd like to be. When we got to Tim, I broke into a strider the rest of the way. After all, Tim tends to use that 80% number when telling us how fast our striders should be during the warmup. Kevin led the way, but he wasn't too far ahead of me. I ran down the straightaway with John directly next to me on my right and with Flounder in his usual spot down in lane 1. Tim told us that we went too slow on the first run, but based on where I finished relative to Kevin, it seemed alright to me.
Tim might have felt that first run wasn't up to snuff, but do you know what was? My jog back to the starting line. I've mentioned on this blog how much I struggle with recovery and how the toughest part of Endurance for me sometimes is jogging back to the starting line. Not today. I finished the first run, turned around, and started jogging back. I didn't earn any style points on my jog though. Joy got a laugh out of my patented "jog back with your hands on your hips" technique, but the important part was that I was moving. Didn't need to walk like I usually do.
On run #2, I knew that not only did I need to go faster, I should expect the rest of the group to pour it on as well. We were supposed to go 10% faster on the sprint, but based on Tim's critique of our first run, it would probably be faster than that. I also changed up my tempo run. Based on how Tim described it, I thought the tempo run was one consistent speed. For this second run, I decided to use the tempo run as I build-up into the sprint. I was slow at the start, then began to accelerate as we approached Tim, before kicking into gear once we reached Tim. Kevin was out in front of me, but I didn't let him get too far away. I ended up just behind him and just ahead of John. I put my hands on my hips and began my jog back.
I suspected John was not going to let me off with anything less than my best sprint on the final run, so I got ready to put everything I had into this last 80 meters or so that Tim had marked off for run #3. The tempo run was going to be just like it was for the start of the second 150 meters. As we closed in on Tim, John was just ahead of me on my right, Kevin was just ahead of me on my left, and I saw a figure in lane 1 (that I assumed was Flounder) who was part of the top flight. We passed Tim and the race was on. I charged past John. I moved past Kevin, although he came right back at me after I passed him. We battled all the way down to the finish line, where I edged him out slightly. But John, Kevin, and I were no match for the guy down in lane 1. It wasn't Flounder taking up residence down on the inside. It was Luke. He had found a way to go Max Max. In fact, I think he may have gone directly to plaid.
I've often seen Luke do some 100 meter sprints after Endurance, but I had never seen him move as fast as he did on his final run as a member of KOP. It was impressive stuff.
Afterwards, a group of us took a field trip to Champps to raise a glass to Luke. I'm glad that I had an opportunity to work out with him over the last three years or so and I look forward to seeing him at the bigger KOP events down the line. Oh, and I'm happy that I won't have to chase him at Endurance any more because I am simply not that fast! Best of luck to Luke on his new job and his upcoming nuptials!
Weekend preview: A workout from home that doesn't go exactly as I would have wanted. A recap of my weekend away and an update on my weight.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.