Just One Loop

Just One Loop

17 PAX at Swift posted last Tuesday with the threat of rain, with reading the PreBlast that there would be no cover in a parking deck, and knowing (well most at least) that the proposed workout was one of the sneaky hardest workouts to get done without feeling it later in the day.

The THANG:

http://f3nation.com/2017/03/12/preblast-back-to-max/

The Moleskin:

• Upon stepping out of the StoneMobile this morning, we remarked to Haggis about the cold mist with threat of rain that he should know and love this weather.  His response was perfect in his Scottish accent, “I’m familiar with it but that doesn’t mean I like it!”
• After some inquiry on Slack from TigerRag about programming of how many rounds there would be, the single loop of Ballantyne Country Club East proved to be just a hair under 5 loops with the group this morning.  One final set starting the second lap around gave us a total of 6 rounds – that’s 21 minutes of running at your 2 mile race pace, albeit over the hills and speedhumps of Ballantyne Country Club.
• The regrouping on the 1:00 and :30 recoveries worked fairly well.  Just as the PAX bunched back up, it was time to head off again.  There is usually some jostling at the beginning of each interval to elbow Hairball and make sure he doesn’t take off like a rocket.  And for the most part, Hairball was held in check until Round #5 (that was just after Mr. Bean’s hill – no broken bones this time even though Chipotle swung at Cheddar) when he crushed the PAX on the uphill.  Check the Strava replay – it’s clear that Hairball was getting some distance to relieve some gas or was just tired of doing most of the other 2 minute intervals downhill.  Hairball on the uphills and TurkeyLeg (not present, just a hypothetical) on the downhills would make a pretty mean relay team.
• Swift relative newcomers Picasso, Doc McStuffins, and Meatloaf helped us push the numbers today.  If any of them had decided that the parking deck or the fartsack (i.e. Honeybee) had been a more conducive environment for gloomy weather, we wouldn’t have had such big numbers and the bigger half of the AO this morning.
• TigerRag already gigged me on Tuesday at Timekeeper that there wouldn’t be a BackBlast for this workout, and there almost wasn’t if the site Q hadn’t reminded me.  He had said the more terrible workouts don’t actually get a Backblast or the more mundane ones don’t.  Not sure the one for today falls in, but what I do realize every time, and several PAX pointed it out today, that first round of 2/1/30 seems pretty easy.  Then that 2:00 comes right after a :30 recovery and smacks you in the face again.  And then does it over and over.
• By Strava’s estimation, we seemed to only get positive elevation change on 6 of the 18 intervals.  Sure didn’t feel like that.  Probably because the 5th round was completely up that awful hill, but that’s how the BRR is going to feel men.  They never seem to put the hills in the right place, so let’s make sure we’re ready when they do come.

SYITG,

Bratwurst