#F3Swift – Carolina Cobra

#F3Swift – Carolina Cobra

8 PAX launched from the Vine Restaurant at the Ballantyne AO at 0515 on Tuesday, just as the Ballantyne Corporate Park was being turned into a winter wonderland.

The Thang:

• Warm-up 1mile, then about 5 100m drills with toe-walking, heel-walking, bounding, high knees, hot coals (butt kicks)
• At 2-mile race pace / I-pace / VO2max / Lactate Threshold (http://runsmartproject.com/calculator):
  • 5min Interval; 4min jog recovery
  • 4min Interval; 3min jog
  • 3min Interval; 2min jog
  • 2min Interval; 1min jog
• Mosey over to the bottom of a good sized hill for:
  • 5x30sec hill effort.  Try to make the same distance or further for each interval.  Jog back down the hill.
• Mosey on back to COT
• Total miles 5.5 to 6+
• Strava reports here: https://www.strava.com/activities/259206269 and https://www.strava.com/activities/259196699

The Moleskin:

• #CarolinaCobra is the Carowinds coaster that heads out over some loops and whirls and then does a 180 and repeats the same thing.  All of the 5/4/3/2 Intervals were done as out & back half-way through each, and each interval also invoked the hilliness of the area.  Definitely a challenge to finish the interval up a hill.  This gave each PAX the chance to employ pacing – you shouldn’t get caught from behind on the “back” portion if you are running even, there is a challenge to try and catch the PAX in front of you on the way back, and there is the challenge to be even by arriving back at the start point at the end of the interval.
• The PAX definitely got better at pacing as we progressed.  Frasier and YHC hard changed past all of the lot on the way back the first interval, but by the end of the next few, most were staying ahead and properly closing on the PAX they were chasing back to the start.  Frasier and YHC did have the advantage of turning around first (getting a jump on everyone at the turn) since we had the Garmin supercomputer chiming at half-way through each interval and the other PAX had to rely on feel or looking up into the blowing snow.
• Speaking of blowing snow – the “out” part was straight into the wind and goggles could have been appropriate as the snow picked up and ice crystals were like tiny daggers.  The “back” part was a quiet storm with just the breathing of PAX being heard.
• Goal for this pace is not lactic acid build-up like a 1mile race pace will accumulate.  The rest should allow less labored effort over the first half of the interval, but that will grow into being “breathless” over the second half.
• The 30sec hill sprints seemed to be the ticket to close out.  The hill and the distance weren’t too steep, so that allowed for each PAX to concentrate on form the whole way.  Don’t need to break form (i.e. knees dropping, arms tiring) on something so short.  Definitely seemed to be in the wheelhouse of Longhaul and Cheddar, and M. Tussauds was pushing for that “BRR (or was it Brrrr) shape” towards the end.
• If Wingman keeps coming out, maybe he can beat his M by more than 1 second next Half marathon (or perhaps that was just a lean at the line).
• Nice to have some decent recovery, there was no “Six” today, so good to mix and chat on the recoveries to not make it feel like it was TOO much work…
• Thank you for joining YHC on this adventure today.  It’s one of those memorable workouts that will stay in the memory banks for a long time, and it’s a pleasure to have done it with you all.