Tuesday 01.01.13

3,2,1...Go!
Happy New Year!  Now get to work...

 Run 8 x 200m at 80% effort. Warm up well with several shorter stride-out accelerations.

Post range of split times (slowest, fastest) to comments.

Coach's Notes. 

Gym is closed for the holiday. Weather pending, recommended courses are the track, the straight stretch of the bowling alley road (marked at 100m intervals) or any non-snowy ground you can find.  RESIST THE URGE TO SUBSTITUTE!  Find a way to make it work.

Warmup -- "The shorter we go, the better the warmup needs to be..."  We are running short repeats at relatively high intensity, in the cold weather, and in many cases without a lot of recent run work.  Avoid a pulled hammy for New Year's...warm up with a light jog, some mobility exercises, and some running drills (strides & accelerations) before executing the WOD. Ideas in both videos below.

Pacing -- If you have a benchmark time for 200m, use it to calculate your target split time.  Otherwise, 80% effort means you should be running hard but consistent splits.  It should get progressively harder to maintain your times within +/- 1-2 seconds.

Rest -- Rest as needed, keep intervals under 2:00. Stay active, keep moving.  Dress smart...you won't overheat on sprint intervals, but if you're shivering between sprints you'll have a hard time staying loose.

Training Videos.
  • "Running Warm-up" - with Brian McKenzie, CrossFit Endurance.  Great overview (5:00) on the optimal way to prep for a run workout. Intended for endurance athletes, but lots of ideas that are universally applicable.
  • "Pacing" - from CrossfitHQ (4:00).  BMack coaches athletes through 400m repeats, with insights on warmup, pacing, and rest time.