Author Archive Bratwurst

#PreBlast – Threshold Pacing

PAX looking for Speedwork will assemble and depart the Vine Parking area in Ballantyne at 0515 on Tuesday morning.  We’ve been working up to the longer Interval pace (a.k.a. VO2Max) intervals of 3+ minutes (800m 3 weeks ago), Interval pace on short rest (2/1/30), and 4 minute Interval pace intervals last week.  These intervals were targeting to bring up your HR to Max or near max, so they feel “Hard”.  What were going to work on this week is “Comfortably Hard” or Threshold Pace intervals.

The THANG:

  • 0500 – extra credit 2nd F run for 1.25mi
  • 0515 – leave the Vine parking area for full Warm-up.  2nd F pace (go slow) with a buddy and slow enough to maintain a conversation.
  • 0525 – regroup at Rushmore and Harney.  Dynamic exercises / drills for warm-up
  • 0530 – rounds of 5 minutes Threshold Pace w/ 1 minute Rest (slight regrouping).
    • Threshold Pace – find yours here at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator.
    • Heart rate zone during intervals – 82-88% of Max
    • Route – odd intervals are a counterclockwise loop down Rushmore, cut left in front of AXA (last turn before Ballantyne Commons) and up slightly through parking lot, right then quick left to spill out onto Ballantyne Corporate Pl, left on Harney.  If you make it back to the start point, then you’re REALLY quick, for this is about a 0.95mi loop.
    • Even intervals are then run reverse direction back towards the start point on the route that you just came.  After Even intervals, you’ll be near the start point.
    • The short 1 minute Rest doesn’t have to be active recovery, but use it as an opportunity to at least regroup with one other PAX.
    • Be aware of traffic.  If you don’t use the sidewalk, run against traffic on the Left side of the road.
  • 0606 – Head back to COT.

Follow directions to save your shirt

20 PAX gathered at the Vine parking lot on Tuesday morning to see if the Site Q would actually show to the workout in June 2017.  Turns out he did show, so let’s head out for an Interval-pace workout with the 21 PAX in tow.

The THANG:

  • 0500 – many PAX in the parking area eager to run, so this was a faster 1.3mi warm-up loop than normal. We got back to a parking lot full of dudes looking for an excuse to run.
  • 0515 – Short disclaimer then gave 2 options on the warm-up – 1.0mile via the Hotel or 1.3mi via the Pond to meet up at the Metlife building on Ballantyne Commons.  PAX evenly split to choosing their own adventure.
  • 0526 – already a minute late due to deciding to shed a shirt or not, let’s do some warm-up exercises down towards N. Community House with heels, toes, high knees, and butt kicks.  Gotta make up some time, so that’s it!
  • 0531 – dispense the workout directions of run at Interval Pace (hard effort, follow 5K race pace effort if don’t have pace on your watch) for 4 minutes, 3 minute jog recovery to regroup.  Repeato for 5 sets.  Route is up N. Community House to Endhaven, back down to Ballantyne Commons, repeat loop.  Finish last one where we started at 0526.  Don’t cross loop until checking for traffic both ways.
  • 0606 – if everything goes right, we’ll head back to COT 1.0mile away by 9 minutes

Moleskin:

  • Check this Pre-blast for the purpose of these Interval-pace / VO2Max intervals.
  • It’s good to be back to be pushed by these PAX.  While YHC has been working out doing speedwork for the last month (at least for the most part), the push of a big group of PAX will keep you on your toes.  There’s usually someone faster to chase, there are the PAX that you normally run beside, and there are the PAX that are hungry to keep up and pass you.  All push you in different ways when you start suffering because you started too fast, the air is too thick, you have a respiratory infection, your muscles ache from previous workouts, or whatever other excuse is rattling around in your head.  In the end, it’s you vs. you on that workout and you’ll either be pleased or disappointed, not necessarily by the results when you look back at your split times or how you compared to where you fell in line of the PAX like normal, as much as your thoughts that will linger from you overcoming them or succumbing to them during the workout.
  • Regrouping worked great AFTER the first interval debacle recovery where the PAX scattered to all sides and directions of N. Community House.  On the recovery, since the point is to regroup the PAX, we should always try to stay on the route (which was all the way to Endhaven) because it’s difficult to communicate with traffic and separation if there is an alternative.  What YHC tried to communicate is that during the Work Interval, if you see the PAX leaders passing in the opposite direction on the other side of the loop (i.e. they already turned around), then you check traffic and cross over.  This is to try to keep the PAX as close together as possible.  However, if everyone scatters, not only does it confuse vehicles, PAX, and Udder’s M, but it’s harder to get regrouped again and call out the start of the next interval. On the Recovery Interval, find the Six and recover back while the Six keeps going in the same direction.
  • We ended in a different location than we started in an attempt to not have the Cooldown back to COT as rushed.  This was perhaps a little more ambitious due to the distance we were away from that back corner behind the Metlife building, for YHC barely ran out the last 4 minutes to arrive just in time, but fortunately we made it before the Ballantyne Corporate Park maintenance staff rode off with the shirts we had left scattered on the ground at the corner.  Apparently, we’ll need to either hide shirts or just leave them at the Vine next time.  Probably a good thing the maintenance staff is on the ball to keep the place looking nice, but several shirts almost ended up at Goodwill or the dumpster if YHC hadn’t rescue them from the garbage bag in the staff’s cart.
  • Great to meet some of the PAX like Woodson and Erector that have started showing up while YHC was out.  HoneyBee even made the longhaul from the northern lake to get some speedwork in. And there was even a Mr. Bean sighting!
  • The timeliness of this Backblast is sponsored by TigerRag.
  • Strava results all available at http://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#1023592340?c=7zzzzzzz&z=4&t=0 .  With 14 of the 21 PAX’s workouts synced to Strava (notables like Frasier don’t post results since they train in secret), it makes for a great opportunity to leave individual comments for others and see how your time/speed splits are tracking versus your targets.
  • Special thanks again to the substi-Qs Frasier, JRRTolkien, HoneyBee, WildTurkey, and ThinMint, for not only putting their own spins on workouts, but for getting out a BackBlast on time!

#PreBlast – new month, new Q

So the month of May was not a total loss.  While YHC had planned to be out at least a couple of weeks, fabulous Qs stepped in to fill all the gaps and provided some great workouts.  Many thanks to Frasier and his hills of fun, JRR Tolkien and his Chinese Fire Drill, Honey Bee’s out&backs over the bridge, Wild Turkey and his Bull Ring laps, and Thin Mint passing fartleks all over the Country Club.  In all, great leaders leading the PAX through a great month with a lot of variety.

The next several weeks will be a return to what Swift has been previously.  Your same Bratwursty Q and some familiar venues that lend themselves to starting consistent progress for the training cycles leading up to the BRR.

The THANG for tomorrow, Tuesday, June 6th:

  • 0500 – Early crew heads out to get in a little under 15 minutes of easy 2nd F running.
  • 0515 – Entire group leaves the Vine Restaurant Parking lot “disclaimed” and follows the Q to the rear entrance of the MetLife buildling at the corner of Ballantyne Commons and North Community House.  If going through the Ballantyne Hotel lot, you’ll have 10+ minutes to make it 0.98 mile.  If cutting down by the fitness trail, up Bagpipe Hill, and over Hwy 521 (all to avoid crossing 521 into the hotel lot), you’ll have 10 minutes to make it about 1.3miles.  Choose your appetite for warm-up, but make sure the warm-up is EASY and you can talk to your neighbor.
  • 0525 – Commence warm-up drills on the parking lot strip behind Metlife. Q will keep us on time.  We’ll end up at 0530 on the intersection at said strip and N. Community House directly across from the entrance to the Broken Egg / Brazwells shopping area.
  • 0530 – Start rounds of 4 minutes Hard (otherwise known as Interval-pace / 2mile race pace / VO2Max pace) and then 3 minutes of recovery back to the six. Find your Interval Pace here = http://runsmartproject.com/calculator
    • We’ll be running up North Community House, across 485, U turn at the traffic light at Endhaven, and then back all the way to Ballantyne Commons in roughly a continual loop (except for the regrouping of course).
    • Anytime you see PAX on the opposite side of the loop coming back towards your direction, AND TRAFFIC IS CLEAR, feel free to cross the median instead of going all the way to Endhaven or Ballantyne Commons.  This helps to keep the PAX a little bit tighter.  Regroup by still following good traffic rules as runners – meaning run in the roadway (there are bike lanes) in the opposite direction of traffic, or use the sidewalk in either direction.  Call out any pedestrians, cars, bikes, or cross-fitters for your fellow PAX.
  • Round 5 will finish AT THE BACK ENTRANCE of MetLife on Ballantyne Commons.
  • 0605 – Head for home – about 0.98-1.5miles away depending on your route.

PreBlast – Brixham Green 800s

How many can you do?  How consistently can you do them?  Will you improve over time?

“If the purpose is to hurt, then go out real fast and be as miserable as you possibly can.”

It’s that time of the season where we set baselines for the months of training ahead.  In this case, it’s the BlueRidgeRelay (BRR), where most PAX will be putting forth multiple 10K type efforts over the course of a day.  That’s where the Interval pace (aka 2 mile race pace, aka VO2Max pace, aka what you were supposed to do last week) comes in. It’s a pace run at 97-100 percent of Maximum Heart Rate, and for more explanation see the linked video.

To do this workout, we’ll try be measured and consistent this week so we can compare to the same effort approximately every 4 weeks.  Like in year’s past when we’ve had SIB come to town or went to visit there, we’ll be doing this in 800 meter segments @ Interval Pace with about a 2 minute (or 200m) active but very slow jog recovery.  No need to program your watch because there will be cones, but if you do, program 800m Distance Interval and 2 minute rest.  Just be prepared to end your recovery early when you hit the cones that will be setup around the Brixham Green.

Some more helpful info:

  • Interval [Pace] Training = https://youtu.be/7dQEwJhHWXk?t=2m40s “If the purpose is to hurt, then go out real fast and be as miserable as you possibly can.”

  • Interval Pace

    Intensity: Generally in the range of 95-100% of VO2max or 98-100% of HRmax. Intervals are “hard” but not all-out running by any means. Usually at a pace that you could maintain for about 10-15 minutes in a serious race. Intervals are best if they involve runs of 3 to 5 minutes each (800m and 1000m workbouts are typical), with jog recoveries of similar duration (not necessarily, equal distance); relative to the runs they follow. If a workout calls for “hard” runs, then go by feel and imagine 5k race pace, as the intensity of each run.

    Purpose: Stress your aerobic power (VO2max). It takes about two minutes for you to gear up to functioning at VO2max so the ideal duration of an “Interval” is 3-5 minutes each. The reason not to go past 5-minutes is to prevent anaerobic involvement, which can result in blood-lactate build-up.

  • Pace Calculator to find your Interval Pace = http://runsmartproject.com/calculator
  • Pace Calculator Instructions = http://runsmartproject.com/calculator/instructions/

 

Practicing Agile Methodology

YHC led his Q #2 at Dromedary and hopefully the IC was more intelligible than the VQ, though that’s debatable with the twists and new exercises on the scrawled sheet of notes.  It’s a great day to wake up and be around others who are trying to improve themselves and the world around them.  Thank you for the opportunity. (posted on Behalf of Das Boot)

 

The THANG

  • Capri lap around the parking lot where we picked up three straggling PAX
  • COP (IC)
    • SSH x 20
    • Merkin x 20
    • Goofball x 20
    • Heisman x 14
    • Plank Jacks, aka “Dirty Grayson Allen” x 20
  • Scout Run around the school buses and the HVAC (?) building and down to the futbol field
  • PAX formed 2 lines and did the Caterpillar the length of the futbol field
  • To the sideline and a half-Blackjack beginning with low merkins and high LBCs (1/20) and ending at 11/10
  • Up to the middle school lunch benches with some semi-HIIT (IC)
    • o   Dips x 10
    • o   Short dip pulses x 10
    • o   Hold a dip x 10
    • o   Dips x 10
    • o   Squats x 10
    • o   Short squat pulses x 10
    • o   Hold a squat x 10
    • o   Carolina Dry Docks x 10
    • o   Short CDD pulses x 10
    • o   Plank x 10
  • Grab some wall for the people’s chair and air presses IC x 25
  • Back down to the futbol field and do a lap on the track with 1 exercise in each corner
    • o   Superman x 10
    • o   Merkin x 10
    • o   Pointer Dog x 10 for each leg
    • o   LBC x 10
    • Mosey back to the start for Rosalita IC x 25

Moleskin

Dromedary began with a bit of unease this morning as the pre-run group did not show up.  We considered sending a search party out for them but decided instead that a lost-while-running episode may put hair on their chest.

Big props to the PAX today for working in Agile mode as we tried out a few less-common exercises and adjusted accordingly.  The Goofball quickly degenerated into a 1960s Funky Monkey dance – thanks to some of the more seasoned PAX (respect) – and the Heisman, which had the success of Eric Crouch in the NFL.  In the coming weeks we may also experiment with the Frug, the Mashed Potato, and the Watusi, along with the Ray Guy and Lou Groza.

Agile Mode continued as we opted for the Scout Run instead of the traditional Indian Run, which took a little explaining.  Then on to the Caterpillar which took some adaptations to recognize that spreading out the line helps to get through the jumps and down field more quickly.  Blackjack was cut in half because… we’re agile and open to pivoting.  However, this did create a heated discussion between Hollywood, Dasher and Doc about the validity of Doc’s merkins, as to whether they were merely pulses or deep, man-making merkins.  YHC and his soccer arms cannot comment on this.  The pulse discussion came in handy shortly afterwards, though, with the dip and squat pulses and elicited further laughs and questions as to what the difference between a dip and a dip pulse is, but the second round of dips effectively shut up that conversation due to the focus needed to make it through a fourth set of dip-like exercises without rest.  Hollywood proved most agile-friendly in converting his squat pulses to monkey humpers.

The rest of the THANG went fairly well, except for a good chunk of the PAX confusing sea turtles for Superman and minus complaining about a few more LBCs – it’s almost summer and we need to work on those six packs.  Apparently the pre-run crew conspired to fartsack it today.

 

Announcements

  • Among other new openings now within “The Bureau,” Aztec let the crew know about an Intelligence Research Specialist position in Wilmington, NC.  Doc McStuffins was disappointed that Aztec’s announcement was not about posting on a day other than Wednesday and Dasher is not convinced that any of the PAX in attendance (other than Landshark and Flipper) are adequately qualified to apply for a role with “Intelligence” in the title.
  • Abacus – Be on the lookout for convergence opportunities around the upcoming Memorial Day holiday
  • Old McDonald – Diversifying his portfolio and opening the farm to kids’ birthday parties with the farm experience of horses, goats, chickens, et al.  Also available for adult parties under the right circumstances.
  • Cool Runnings – New AO at Cuthbertson on Thursdays for running, 5:15 AMsharp!
  • Q here!  Sign up to Q Dromedary – if YHC can do it, you’ll have no trouble leading this motley band.  Sign-up link = http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4baeaf29a46-dromedary

Feel the Rhythm, Feel the Rhyme

14 PAX kicked off the newest Running workout on Thursday deep in Waxhaw.  Someone coined the term “Cool Runnings”, but without the Site Q present (at the very first workout), we’re not sure if it’s going to stick as a name.  The workout on the other hand, seems to show there is a desire for some run-specific training amongst the “Cuthbertson” PAX, and it is sure to stick no matter the name.

The THANG:

  • Mosey around the Middle School / High School campus to warm-up.  After about a 10 minute run (effort was directed to be as “one where you can talk to your neighbor”), we stopped in the main parking lot for some warm-up drills.
  • Getting through the toe-walking and heel-walking, there were the typical comments like, “so this is what runners do” and “do you do this in your neighborhood [with neighbors watching]”?
  • Then on to the 3 running form specific exercises with high knees, butt kicks, and B-skips (which apparently professional baseball players also do, so how about that for silliness…).
  • Now we mosey up and across Cuthbertson Rd to the Champion Forest neighborhood.  Directions given for the workout to run the “work” intervals at a Hard effort (about 5K race effort) and the “recovery” intervals at a very easy jog (easier than the warm-up) and to circle back to the Six each time during recovery to keep the group together.
  • Intervals are to be rounds of 2minutes Hard, 1minute recovery, 1minute Hard, 30second recovery, 30 seconds Hard, 30 seconds Easy.  Start the next round right away.
  • Using the ΙΧΘΥΣ route (Ichthys or Fish) in Champion Forest, we got in 5 rounds total with extending a couple of recoveries and running a couple segments in reverse to keep the PAX together.  Here’s the workout record (requires a free login to see details): https://www.strava.com/activities/970374515
  • Once 5 rounds were completed, regroup the PAX and head back to COT.  With a few minutes remaining, we did some cool-down dynamic stretching with standing high-knees, standing butt-kicks, and some stuff that looked like the Chorus Line.  Forgot the ankle rolls.
  • Stump Hugger took us out.

The Moleskin:

  • Thanks for the motivation of Legal Zoom to put this together (and then not show up), tweak the schedule, and then get some guest Qs to help kick things off.  It will be a fun few weeks introducing some run workout ideas to the PAX before they are able to get some things moving on their own.
  • The Hard effort is actually a pace that Jack Daniels, PhD and running guru calls the “Interval pace” and is about the pace you would run a 2mile race in.  So some PAX, like Transporter that went out and soloed a 2mile race recently, might have a good idea of what that could be and put that into a Run Pace calculator like http://runsmartproject.com/calculator, but others will need to run a race to get more precise.  I’ve signed up to Q Commitment on 5/20, and there’s a nice open track there, so guess what we’re going to do?  That’s right, set a 1mile baseline at the Weddington HS track on 5/20 at the beginning of the Commitment workout.
  • I will drop some more of the few things I know into these future backblasts, but for now, let’s just focus on staying healthy, getting plenty of rest, and trying to be honest with your effort.  There’s all kind of science behind this run stuff, but if your effort is either too intense or too easy for a given workout, you can lead yourself to injury or won’t see the potential gains.  Today’s “Hard” effort probably seemed easy through one round.  And then it always gets real after the second 2 minute interval with such short rest.  And then it never lets up.  Typically, for this effort of “Hard” / Interval Pace / 2 mile Race Pace, the Work intervals will be 2-5 minutes and then no more than an equal time recovery to 1 minute less recovery.  For example, 2 minutes Hard, 1 minute recovery.  Or 4 minutes Hard, 3 minutes recovery.  The recovery is important to actually recover.  It’s the “Work” intervals where you will get the gains, so make sure you are running recovery easy enough.  At first, it may seem based on past experiences that the recovery isn’t hard enough and should be pushing through it, but that won’t let you get to your full potential during the work interval.  And if you are running the Work intervals too hard, you may just be wasting the effort or purpose of that workout design, for there is definitely a point of diminishing returns that leads more to injury / exhaustion than improvement. There’s a definite balance.
  • Had some requests for “proper run form” and here are some resources that I’ve seen recently.  There is a lot of stuff out there on the Internet, so it’s probably best to stick with the professionals and exercise sports guys versus the general “Youtubers”.
  • Next week, we’ll be running faster, but shorter intervals.  Staying on campus, so no headlamps needed and no worries about waking the neighbors (though some may hear Moneyball from a mile away).
  • Most of the trash talking has already been put out there on the Cuthbertson GroupMe, so why duplicate it here?  If they wanted to expose themselves to a larger audience, they would be on Slack http://f3sclt.slack.com and take it to another level…

Announcements:

  • Transporter’s mother-in-law is doing better and recovering at home.
  • JRR Tolkien has a passion for Team Hoyt / The Hoyt Foundation, and has raised some money to buy some running chairs for PAX to push participants in local races.  Please look out for a Posting soon on how you can get involved, but feel free to contact him in the meantime.

The Great War

21 PAX were present at Dromedary for my first Q. Was a little haphazard, but everyone was able to bear with me (posted on behalf of LegalZoom).

Warmup:
SSHx30
Merkinsx20
LBCx25
Potato Pickersx15

THANG:
We moseyed to the end up the parking lot for 5 exercises with partners:

  • 150 merkins with partner running up the hill doing 10 WWI sit-ups at the top, flapjack
  • 150 squats with partner bear crawling up the hill doing 10 SSH at the top, flapjack
  • 200 LBC with partner running up the hill doing 10 merkins at the top, flapjack
  • 100 Burpees with partner bear crawling up the hill and crab walking down the hill, flapjack
  • 100 flutter kicks with partner running up the hill doing 10 LBCs at the top, flapjack

The pax then formed up 2 lines and we did two Indian run laps around the parking lot

The last ten minutes of the workout devolved into a rather eclectic request show involving
merkins, watercraft and a debate of which world war sit-ups were from (hint: only one was called
The Great War).

Takeout from ShopDog (or is it ShopDawg).

Announcements:

  • Please pray for Transporter’s mother who is currently recovering from surgery at the moment.
  • New running / interval workout in Waxhaw starts on Thursday, May 4th 0515-0615 at Cuthbertson Middle School.  Bratwurst on Q first 2 weeks.  Format is similar to Swift / Mountain Goat.
  • Sign up to Q at Dromedary = http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4baeaf29a46-dromedary
  • Pre-run at Dromedary each week being Preblasted on “#_the_haw” Slack channel – http://f3sclt.slack.com.  Good numbers each week with 7-8 PAX. Join Slack if you want the details!

Swift like Eagles

Isaiah 40:31- but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

The PreBlasted THANG:

http://f3nation.com/2017/04/24/preblast-swift-3year-anniversary/

What we actually did:

  • 19 men took a tour of the Ballantyne Corporate Park to locales that we’ve used over the last 3 years.  Along the way, we did some :30 second sprints and 1:00 sprints (some longer or shorter depending on the challenge) with at least 2x recovery (1:00 or 2:00) after each.
    • 1) The Bull Ring – the roughly 800m circular parking lot ring around 3 buildings where there are conveniently landmarked 200m intervals.
    • 2) Bagpipe Hill – now easily the busiest street in the park with the opening of the new Y, it’s on Ballantyne Corporate Place running from the fitness trail, past Chiquita, TIAA, and BofA up to the bridge over 521.  It holds a sought after challenge of being a Segment that several men want to try to fly up a very challenging hill.
    • 3) Rushmore Dr – a mostly flat and long quiet street that borders the park on the northside from the Bullring to Ballantyne Commons past Lending Tree and ESPN.
    • 4) Ben Nevis – the steepest hill in the land, and while technically outside the corporate park, it’s the most challenging hill for length and steepness in the area.  Over 1/4 mile long.
    • 5) The Brixham Green – another roughly 800m semi oval around two buildings and a nice fountain that is pretty quiet, well lit, and mostly flat (watch dem bumps!)
  • Even though we didn’t get to the strip in front of SPX (love that out and back starting from the bridge), to the “landing strip” of North Community House (generally the widest and most well lit of any street in the area), or anywhere into Ballantyne Country Club, we got in a full tour of the places we normally go that are nearest to our starting point with everything within a 5 minute jog away.
  • Challenges included the Bagpipe Hill (trying to beat Frasier’s 0:36 course record – which all gave great effort to, but no one came close – must have been the wet streets?) and Ben Nevis (which is a whole lot worse to do later in the workout because the country club entrance never seems to get closer) to do as All You Got.  Otherwise, :30 and 1:00 segments done at your 1mile race pace.
  • In all, we got in about 5ish rounds of the 30/30/1:00 intervals.

Moleskin:

  • One of the very first Swift workouts was PreBlasted with, “If you are looking for a little more cardio in your weekly workout with a break from boot camp style, give Swift a shot.”  In reality, it may have started as a way for Haggis to get back at the “Twits” (a.k.a. the Fast Twitch PAX) after a beatdown they gave the SOBs at a Mile showdown, but it also coincided with YHC changing jobs and leaving the SouthPark area SIB (Speedwork in a Bag) workout in capable hands. The first three Swift workouts were billed as “extra credit” for Bagpipe PAX, but in subsequent weeks the Swift crew broke off and did their own thing at 0515 while still pulling back into a joint COT with Bagpipe at 0615.  Two of the first Backblasts http://f3nation.com/2014/04/29/f3swift-entrance-to-entrance/ and http://f3nation.com/2014/05/06/f3swift-conquering-ben-nevis/
  • This week, as a tribute this week to some of the “feeling sillier” warm-up drills we have done in the past, we reinstated “flapping wings like eagles” borrowed from the Rhythm Skip drill at http://runcoach.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=category&id=8:training-videos&Itemid=105
  • This workout would have continued solo if it wasn’t for the PAX like Haggis, StumpHugger, Frasier, and Madame Tussauds, who were at the very first few of the Swift workouts and are still posting at Swift even today.  Honeybee is another longtime attendee, but the fartsack must have gripped him today.
    • Newer PAX to the Swift workout there today that have kept the momentum are DepthCharge, Bunker, ThinMint, Chipotle, Hairball, TigerRag, Gumbo, FireHazard, DasBoot, Teddy, and JRR Tolkien.
    • And the newest PAX to join us that continually bring new community like Rebar, Birdcage, Picasso, and Tuck.
    • Other Swift PAX regulars (and semi-regulars) we missed today that may or may not have had valid excuses are Outback (Qing Bagpipe today), Cheddar (coming off the Smokey Mtn Relay), WildTurkey, OneNiner, Ringer, NardDog, Fahvra, LongHaul, Citgo, Tootie, and General_.
    • Thank you to you all for helping me not run alone on Tuesday mornings.
  • Eric Liddell, the Scotsman for whom we thought of when naming this workout (after all, Haggis lived in a dorm named after him in college), was the inspiration behind “Chariots of Fire”.  If you’re a “hate” or “hate hate”, then you probably never saw the movie, but can still gain inspiration from the running story and the post-Olympics life of Eric Liddell.  Here’s a short summary.  Eric Liddell was a champion sprinter who specialized in the 100meters.  He was a favorite going into the 1924 Olympic games to win the gold medal, but when he found out the 100m event finals would fall on a Sunday, a day on which Liddell had religious convictions against competition, he pulled out of the event and decided instead to run the 400meters.  The video linked above is a record of that race where Liddell, who was known also for a wild running style (we all can’t be as picturesque as Fahvra), went out very fast but ended up winning the race in an event he wasn’t expected to be competitive in (does Usain Bolt run the 400m?  Uh, no) and setting a new world record.  After Olympics life, Liddell went on the mission field in China where he ultimately died in a Japanese prison camp, but his impact on China was lasting and there is now a plaque bearing his name with the verse from Isaiah 40:31: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  From that verse and eagles, we got “Swift” like an eagle.

Announcements:

  • Tuck, WildTurkey, and JRR Tolkien were thankful for the assistance at the Brolympics.  Here’s the Backblast with links to Videos and Pictures from the event – http://f3nation.com/2017/03/03/f3-brolympics-sat-april-22/
  • Richard Sheltra 5K/10K in Pineville this Saturday.
  • Frasier is on Q next week 5/2.  Q spot still open for 5/9.  Let me know if interested.

#PreBlast – Swift 3year Anniversary

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 3 years and over 100 workouts of Interval running in SOB land, but it’s time to recognize it and move on.  We’ll have a less structured workout this week in that it won’t be PreBlasted, but come prepared for the shorter stuff of 0:30 and 1:00 intervals.  In particular, one interval that better be faster than 0:36 (but not Frasier)…

Let’s take a second to talk about the weather.  If you are on your feet and running when it’s raining and above 50 degrees, wearing a long sleeved shirt, and perhaps have a visor or hat to keep the rain out of your eyes, you’ll be pretty comfortable.  No excuses for the weather on this one.

Timeline:

  • 0500 – Easy running to get in more raindrops and more 2nd F.
  • 0515 – Depart the Vine Restaurant parking lot for warm-up running and drills.
  • 0530 – Begin interval workout
  • 0615 – COT
  • 0630 – 3rd F Timekeeper at Einstein Bros bagels. Topic this week is “What does it mean to show Love to your spouse with Acts of Service?”

 

Race Week – Oval style

18 PAX took on the Oval of the Brixham Green for some 1 mile Brolympics race practice.  Don’t forget to post on Saturday at the Brolympics to make all of this hard work pay off!

The THANG:

http://f3nation.com/2017/04/03/preblast-4-weeks-to-brolympics-1-mile/

If you don’t like to click, then just know that the plan was:

3 Rounds of ( 2 x 200m at Repetition Pace with 200m jog recovery, 5 minute Threshold Pace, 400m jog recovery). Run Paces = http://runsmartproject.com/calculator. Location = Brixham Green One & Two. Cones will mark 200m intervals along the straightaways around Brixham Green.  Recovery will be on the corners.  For the 5min Threshold Pace segments, we’ll turn at 2:30 into each, so you may want to program your watch. Pace for the 200m intervals is your 1mile race pace target.

The Moleskin:

  • After YHC’s legs recovered after last week, it was awful even if no Backblast was posted so we could wipe away the memory, it was decided to take a race week prep workout from Jack Daniels going into the 1600m race this Saturday morning at the Brolympics.  With some time to spare this morning (it pays to have a good 1st quarter at work, but still gotta build the funnel), there was careful analysis of the results.  So, we get some results below for those that had Lap times posted on Strava or Garmin Connect.  Those that didn’t post results should consider using that as a training and accountability tool, but I digress…
  • The results that were posted (these are all average interval paces per mile):

 

Bratwurst Enron Gumbo Citgo FireHazard Bunker TigerRag
200m 1-mile Pace 4:58 5:19 5:22  N/A 6:10 5:37 5:28
200m 1-mile Pace 4:50 5:30 5:30  N/A 5:52 5:46 5:48
5:00 Threshold pace 5:53 6:49 7:23 5:47 7:14 6:32 6:45
200m 1-mile Pace 5:06 5:38 5:14 4:38 6:01 5:32 5:32
200m 1-mile Pace 5:14 5:51 5:54 5:01 6:34 5:46 6:20
5:00 Threshold pace 6:00 6:45 7:03 5:44 7:07 6:35 6:32
200m 1-mile Pace 4:50 5:39 5:30 4:39 6:03 5:39 5:26
200m 1-mile Pace 4:58 5:19 5:06 4:47 5:34 5:06 5:13
5:00 Threshold pace 5:54  N/A 6:36 5:45 6:56 6:28 6:32
200m average 4:59 5:32 5:26 4:46 6:02 5:34 5:37
5:00 average 5:56 6:47 7:00 5:45 7:05 6:31 6:36

 

  • The goal was to run the 5:00 interval at 1:00/mi or less of pace slower than the 200m (which was to be run at your 1-mile race goal pace).  Of the results available, most PAX did this very well.  Sure was nice to have a mostly downhill last 200m to make everyone seem like they were faster – or they just were.
  • Enron – pyramid pacing (down-up-down) on 200m segments and hiding last 5:00 because he didn’t want to show ALL of his cards heading into Brolympics.
  • Gumbo – progressively faster on 5:00, so likely holding back in the beginning on the other two 5:00.  Would actually like to see this progression rather than a slow slide the other way.
  • Citgo – blazing fast and consistent. Continually passed most of the PAX on the “& back” because he frankly isn’t used to looking at the backside of most of the PAX (that’s a good thing).
  • FireHazard – progressively faster the whole workout, which sure helps being healthy and not injured!  Glad you are back.
  • Bunker – silent and strong even after trying to take a Segment yesterday and failing (better luck next time, though YHC will now attempt to rerun that segment and put it out of reach).
  • TigerRag – started closing the gap to the runners ahead as time went on, but we think he either stopped for pee break on 200m #4, stopped to roll his monstrous calves, or check on Haggis.
  • For those that didn’t have results available, but were still there and running hard:
    • No Lap Data (find the lap button) = “freed from the” Birdcage, “who moved my” Cheddar, Out “and” back “is better than go the distance”
    • No Posted Data (sync your watch) = “Dead” Ringer “for an assassin”, Honey “run like a Jacket, sting like a” Bee, Madame “crawling out from under the tax rock” Tussaud, “Left Half a lung in Scotland” Haggis
    • No Strava or Garmin account (turn on a computer) =  Rebar “makes concrete and middle aged men stronger”, “stealth” DepthCharge “with a big boom”, “not a Chippy teacup it’s” Chipotle , “not as foulmouthed as his older cousin Ted”-dy
  • Can’t believe it’s almost been 3 years at Swift.  Anniversary workout next week!  Should be interesting.  Thanks for following today, and even finding the warm-up spot OYO…

SYITG,

Bratwurst

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