@F3Swift – Traffic on the Perimeter

@F3Swift – Traffic on the Perimeter

At 0515 this morning, 9 PAX launched from the Vine Restaurant for the weekly dose of Speed known as Swift.

The THANG:

• 1mi warm-up to the Bull Ring.  6 running form drills and dynamic stretching.
• 5 rounds of 2 minutes Hard (a.k.a. “I” or Interval pace or your 2 mile race pace from the pace calculator at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator), 1 minute recovery to the six, 1 minute Hard, 30 sec recovery, 30 sec Hard, 30 sec Recovery
• 1mi cooldown.  Plank for the six.

The Moleskin:

• Ahh, the good ole 2/1/30.  Simple (once you get the hang of it or can program your watch easily) but gruesome in its ability to make 2 minutes seem like an eternity #timeslowingdown.  Going out too hard on the first two 2min interval, the PAX, including YHC, paid for it on the next 3.  The 1min Hard and 30sec Hard intervals are welcome recovery, but the last 30sec before 2min goes again is the quickest 30 seconds on record #timespeedingup
• MTussauds informed YHC that Bagpipe would be using the Bull Ring this morning, so we welcomed them and only threw them a couple of curveballs – use the outside lanes when stationary (check), run counter-clockwise (well, Swift did most of the time, but to show how many times we go round and round and that Bagpipe stands still a lot, we had to run the clockwise direction at least some of the time #noheadoncollisions), and at least try to run a mile (we caught them running once, on one of their two laps of the 1/2 mile ring #missionaccomplished).
• Frasier at Swift for 2 weeks in a row… starting a streak #wasstreakingtoday and FastTwitch may be losing its grip on this stud.
• Strange Brew, fresh off a 13.1 Thunder Road finish, was actually dressed for the occasion with tank top in the mild temps.  This would be the last day of the year for most PAX wearing sleeveless, but you’ll find Strange Brew just donning a hat at the temps dip to below freezing.
• Haggis, stubborn to shake off recovery post 26.2 Thunder Road PR just over a week ago, was trying to make sure he started his extra-intensive-plus-over-the-top-maximum training for his next event. #weird but #whymesswithagoodthing
• Spinner, fresh off duties following around a Tomato for 13.1 miles on his bike at Thunder Road, paid his respects to Swift today.  Tapering to race his 2.0 at the Turkey Trot on Thursday, he has started the week off right.
• Honeybee, also in a family battle for a Turkey Trot victory this week, was probably one of the few PAX that actually knew we were pushing too hard on some intervals.  Always the voice of reason, but do as he says, not as he does…
• Abacus, with the most distinct running gait in all of Area51 (per the PAX this morning), does not apparently like the cold.  Therefore, we expect to see him again next week when a warm 45 degrees is expected on Tuesday morning.
• Mr. Bean, ramping up to break down some personal running barriers, is on the the right track for whatever lies ahead.  This guy has been Swifting just as much as most, and will show the improvement during the next run challenge.
• LongHaul, his multi-hour drive in from the East apparently was a few minutes late, for he had to locate us around the 1 mile mark.  Popping out of the gloom in a bright running shirt, it was either Swift’s first HC-in-motion or LongHaul. #justintimeforskipping