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Written by Bwana Bwana

January 14, 2016

Winter came and went at a good clip over the last week. We went from warm last Thursday (warm enough for an outdoor workout in comfort) to “wintry mix” to brutal, then back to not so bad today. It was sunny and mild (in the high 30s) as Bob Cornwall, Tom Cali, Judd and Davis Michael, Lance Bland, Michael Goldfine, John Sheakoski, CJ Wagner, John Wilcock, Mark Lee, Andrew Maguire, Mike Renz, Jim Laudermilch, Mike Zimmerman, Kim Nelson, Mike Martin, Bob Shafer, Ryan and Callie Burke, Patrick Krispin, Rob Peterson, Alex Wouden, Adam Ilgen, David Lloyd, newcomer Matt Soroka, and Marty Mazur headed for the track.

Last week there was some discussion of pace and the concept of pushing it over emails after last week’s workout. Bwana doesn’t care what your pace is, as long as you’re pushing it. Kim Nelson wants to do just that. She’s an ultramarathon trail runner, but says she hangs out too much with “hikers” (nominal runners at the races she goes to who pretty much walk the whole thing). I’ve seen these people. Doing the Rothrock Challenege with dual walking sticks, enough water to drown a dromedary, saddlebags full or trail mix, mess kits, overnight packs…you name it. But Kim’s entered a race with a time cutoff, so she’ll have to abandon the birdwatching crew and get some turnover under her. She doesn’t need much, and luckily it’s something you can train yourself to do on the track a little at a time. Kim did laps of pick-ups to get the training going. Most of the rest of us were also trying to train the old neurons to a pace. Mile pace. Whatever that pace is, whatever your goal is at the Indoor Mile Series, it pays to train at that pace for some shorter reps. Today’s workout: 2-3-3-2 at mile pace. (It’s an easier version of the killer 3-4-4-3). Run 2 laps in lane 5 at race pace. After a slow lap rest, do 3 laps at the same time per lap. More distance at the same pace. Then move it out to lane 6 and do 3 laps at the same time per lap. More distance and faster pace. Finish it off with 2 laps in lane 6 as fast as you can do them. That would be your mile kick, if you’ve still got one!

Bwana backed off on the volume because of the Indoor Mile race on Saturday. Of course, people could always do more. Next week’s workout will be up to full volume since it’s a “bye week” for the Indoor Mile Series. And we’ll keep the pace strong!