Author Archive Bratwurst

Swift induces #TBQ

13 PAX, some with changes of shorts, launched from the Ballantyne AO at 0515 for something new on the 3rd Tuesday of the Month.

The THANG:

  • Warm-up 1.1 mi on the way to the Bull Ring.  Run about .75mi then 3 drills (high knees, B-skip, butt kicks) and 2 strides.
  • Count off – 13PAX.  No one starts alone this workout.
  • On the Bull Ring, run 800m at 2mile Race Pace, recover 200m with jog, start next 800m in opposite direction with someone else.
  • Keep starting 800m intervals until 0605.  Goal for 6.

The Moleskin:

  • 800m intervals are not normal at Swift.  We usually run by time, so this workout sets up to give you a measurement to keep coming back to.  We’ll repeat something like it once per month at least until the BRR.  You can thank Freeloader, Nash, Reddogs, and even Haggis for demanding a “standard” workout.
  • Even if your Mickey Mouse watch only has a minute hand, you can keep a pretty good record of your speed for each 800m on the Bull Ring – it’s just one time around.  Goal to finish 6 or more is to keep the last interval at the same speed as the first.  As in the Preblast video, 2mi Race Pace is also known as VO2Max.  The more time you can spend running at VO2Max in this workout, the better, so going out too fast in the first few intervals and then not being able to sustain over the 2nd half won’t do you as much good as finding that level and sustaining.  And that level when right will hurt pretty bad.
  • Finding a group to run with is key.  Trading the lead each interval gives each PAX a chance to find a pace and stick with it.  It’s easy to always trail.  Harder to learn how to push.  If you can find someone close to your speed, trade off every interval.  Run on their shoulder (to get some extra distance) or fall in single file.  Keeps each man sharp. #ISI
  • Intervals over a distance are much harder than intervals over a time.  With an interval over a distance, you have an easy comparison and can’t cheat the clock.  This often induces Earth Shattering Bowel movements known as Total Bowel Quiver #TBQ and #SpilledMerlot.  While not many PAX wanted to go near Frehley’s rolled up loin cloth in his hand, Mr. Bean was reported to have a clean delivery hanging off the edge of a dumpster.  All is takes is waking up a few minutes earlier to get the system moving.  It’s happened to all of us, but some of us weren’t as lucky as finding a dark corner to squat in.
  • #SpilledMerlot or near spillage is also a side effect of running at VO2Max and delivering as much oxygen you can to your body.  If it’s not getting in fast enough, the body revolts to force you.
  • Teddy was often confused by all of the Garmin watch beeping of Honeybee, so he tried to run as fast as he could to get away from it.  #MissionAccomplished, but Honeybee didn’t go down so easy.
  • Dear Abby and Silk were leading a big group of PAX through some fast recoveries.  No problem trying to get at least 2 minutes on each recovery.  It’s not a 1000m continuous sprint.
  • M. Tussauds regrets not having Soft Pretzel and his fellow Union County PAX Longhaul to chase down, but gave Silk a run for his money.
  • Champagne got the text from Honeybee just prior to the workout on the matching outfits, but Champagne took the calf condoms as his personal touch to differentiate from HB.  Oh, and the huge arms.
  • Not sure that Wing Man’s Strava records will stand much longer. Keeps knocking out his 1mile PR efforts – https://www.strava.com/activities/307487116.  Now if he can figure out the Lap button…
  • Next IronSharpensIron “Standard” workout is on June 16th.  Now you know what to expect…

#Preblast #IronSharpeningIron

Swift will launch at 0515 from the Vine Restaurant at the Ballantyne AO.  Since it’s the 3rd Tuesday of the month this week, we’ll be initiating a new once per month “measurement” workout.  With the BRR on the Horizon, we’re shooting for increasing the Aerobic Power.  It will certainly come into play on any race event, especially a Mud Run or a BRR.  Check the video link (also embedded above) for more info on increasing Aerobic Power.  This will use Interval Pace, so make sure you find a target here – http://runsmartproject.com/calculator

Plan calls for:

  • Warm-up from the Vine over to the Bull Ring.  Drills and stuff at the Bull Ring.
  • The Workout – 800m at Interval-pace, 200m jog recovery.  As many Intervals as you can, but try for a minimum of 6.  Keep starting intervals until about 0605.
  • Since this is a measurement workout, we’re doing this in a format to keep the PAX in a known area that can be repeated without cones.  There will be natural splits among the PAX, so suggestions will be to have at least 2 PAX starting together in a pace group. Groups will likely form along 800m target times – 3:00 or under, 3:30 or under, 4:00 or under, etc.  Finish your 800m, jog slowly until your group rejoins, finish the 200m recovery, and start the next 800 together in the opposite direction.  Provide encouragement to PAX you see coming and going.
  • We’ll regroup and head back to the Vine by 0610.

#SearchParty at Swift

14 Swift PAX set off from the Vine Restaurant at 0515 this morning.  In for a lot of running, and a little bit of recon.  Who knew there would be more of a #SearchParty.

The THANG:

  • 1mi warm-up the “long” way to Ballantyne Commons (via Brixham Hill Ave and Ballantyne Corp Pl).
  • Regroup and do some drills with Toe-walking, heel-walking, high knees, butt kicks, and strides.  Stride it out up the hill on Ballantyne Commons, but stop just a tad short because it just goes on and on.
  • Regroup at the corner of the Met Life Building (N. Community House and Ballantyne Commons).  Workout explained as Intervals of 3min Hard (I-pace / 2mi race pace), 2min to recover to the Six.  Head “up” North Community house over I-485 for intervals 1 & 2.  Head back “down” North Community House for interval 3. Interval 4 was to stop back at the Met Life corner (distance about 0.3mi).
  • Progression Run back the route of the warm-up.  Each 0.25mi (there’s a cone that was dropped to help), pick up the pace about 0:20/mi (which equates to getting to each cone 5seconds faster than the previous).
  • Regroup for the Six, think the Six is back, search party for the Six, Six returns but search party is still out, begin COT without the search party, search party runs in or is shuttled back, COT complete.

The Moleskin:

  • The SIX at Swift is the responsibility of the Q, the PAX collective, and each PAX individually.  With recent events and sensitivity, we need to be aware that there is no man left behind.  If a PAX gets lost, has to pitstop / detour, or falls way behind, there needs to be some guidelines.
    • Falling behind should never be an issue at Swift, but it could happen with a wrong turn, injury, or it’s just not your day.  As much as you can, never leave the planned route.  If you go off-route, return to where you were last on-route.  This is critical for any search party that develops.
    • If you need to pitstop to take care of some business or modify due to an injury, tell a PAX about your plans (you’ll catch up, be delayed, turn back to the AO, etc.). We’ve all been there, but it’s critical for the PAX collective and Q to be aware of what is going on.  The Q will modify to keep the group together.
    • There are probably more helpful suggestions, so sound off in comments below.
  • Seriously, that’s the most important thing this week.  There were some strong performances out there, but let’s get serious about the SIX.

Announcements:

  • Swift next week will be the 1st installment of a new “tester” workout.  800m Hard with 200m recovery.  As many times as you can in a set time.  Course will be along North Community House and will keep all PAX together.  Workout will happen the 3rd Tuesday of every month.
  • 3rdF #F3Timekeeper meets at Einstein Bagels following every Swift workout.  No prep necessary (except perhaps a couple of bucks for coffee, towel/dry shirt as the weather turns warmer).
  • #F3DeathMarch – coming from Hill & Dale at the Booty Loop last Friday in May
  • NoDa Brewery 5K – evening 5K that is family friendly

 

#Commitment to the Run

A hearty 10 souls arrived to the Weddington HS campus at 0630 on Saturday to a large audience.  Apparently, there was a Yard Sale going on with sightings on campus of more than normal pedestrians.  With sights to explore the “HUGE AO”, we were off.

The THANG (due to the passage of time, this may or may be accurate in counts and sequences – the “spirit” of the workout is in tact):

  • Mosey around to the “quiet” side of the school where nasty hairburner plates were laying in wait last week, but upon seeing no such thing, just circle up.  Disclaimer given.  Opening COP with SSH x 20 IC, IW x 20 IC, Good Mornings x 20 IC, Squats x 20 IC, Merkins x 10 IC
  • Mosey to back of school to railings leading to bridge.  Find a spot on the railings.  Incline Merkins x 20 OYO, Supine Pull-ups x 20 OYO.
  • Mosey across the bridge to the first ball field on the left.  Line up on the end line and note yardage lines marked off to about 40meters / yards.  Briefly discuss 3 phases of running stride and emphasize that we will be working on those in the next 3 exercises.  Perform all exercises OYO to last yardage line marked.  Mosey back to end line when complete.  Repeat same exercise 1x.
    • High Knees – raise thigh parallel to ground
    • B Skips – 1st movement is high knee, but extend lower leg as far as you can, snap foot to ground
    • Butt Kicks – have ankle aim to touch “bottom” of gluteus maximus instead of “back” of GM, quick feet
  • Stay at the field and perform next 3 exercises in same method (OYO, 40y, mosey back to end line)
    • Walking Lunge – don’t let knee extend past lead foot
    • Cone Hops – pretend there is a 1 foot cone to hop over, and about 1 meter apart
    • Diagonal Cone Hops – pretend there is a cone to move side-to-side between along the length of the 40yards.
  • Mosey to Concession stand.  Perform next exercises 20x OYO. 2x through each
    • Box Steps – 1st variation keep plant foot close to bottom of wall, 2nd variation step back one stride away from wall.
  • Mosey to track for 2 laps.
    • 1st lap 1st straightaway, do “turnover” strides focusing on raising your running cadence to faster than normal – not faster end to end, just more steps
    • Mosey through corner
    • 1st lap 2nd lap straightaway, turnover strides
    • Mosey through corner
    • 2nd lap 1st straightaway, normal stride
    • Backwards run through half of corner
    • 2nd lap 2nd straightaway, karaoke facing infield then switch to stands halfway down
    • Plank for the six
  • Mosey back to concession stand and circle up
    • Merkins 10x IC – keep elbows at sides
    • Freddy Mercury 20x IC
    • Toy Soldiers 20x IC – elbow plank with raising right foot then left foot IC
    • Flutter 1 legged – 10x IC, switch legs, 10x IC
    • Repeato the set
  • Mosey to covered awning directly in back of school.  Plank for the six.  Circle up
    • Lateral Lunge 10x IC
    • Calf Raises 30x OYO – 1st ten normal, 2nd ten toes out, 3rd ten toes in
    • Single Leg Bridge – get in position – flat on back, draw feet to butt, extend foot of one leg so quads are still parallel. Movement is raising the butt off the ground. 10x IC each leg
    • Repeato the set
  • 3 man grinders with position 1 at the awning, posiition 2 is down the stairs at the railings near the bridge, position 3 is on the move.  Exercises consist of:
    • Merkins, Supine pull-ups
    • Decline Merkins, LBCs
    • Jump Squats
  • Plank for the six and then mosey back towards front of school.  Detour to side courtyard.  Plank for the six. Circle up for.
    • Side plank (elbow or hand) with Lateral leg raises IC x10 each side
  • AYG back to COT.  Arrive at 0729, but YHC kept that silent.
  • Name-o-rama with 3 FNGs

The Moleskin:

  • With Site Qs Ice9 and Snowflake off to graze like GOATS on Metro grass, the Q was open. While the Yard Sale and extra traffic didn’t have too much of an impact, we kept the mileage lower than YHC had planned for, and had a lot of circle and IC.  Not many chances for #LarryBirds to shine.  More intimidating exercises (see Single Leg Bridge) done out of the glare of the audience.
  • A lot of new and fresh faces down at Commitment these days.  A clown car with 4 PAX arrived and it even appeared that they had a EH arrive solo.  Over half the PAX on Saturday are about 2 months in.  That’s about all of the observation that YHC recalls.  If your memory is better, post in comments.
  • As the summer gets closer and your older male 2.0s need some motivation (no school and not many sports), bring them out to Commitment.  Note that males only, and under 18 requires adult supervision.  While you need to assess the ability of your 2.0, they can modify their way through a 60 minute workout.  Campus is safe enough to let them dawdle / wander / get distracted.  YHC’s 2.0 Howie said he wanted to come back despite almost spilling merlot 3x.
  • Getting your other 2.0s (female or younger males who don’t fit a traditional workout) out to #F3Dads will be a highlight for the rest of the rug rats.  Look for more games oriented exercises and later morning options starting with #F3dads this summer at Col Beatty park.  Keep an eye out for details in the newsletter.

Announcements

  1. Monday #F3TheMatrix at 0530 at McKee Rd ES
  2. Tuesday #F3SkunkWorks is a gear workout at 0530 at Covenant Day HS
  3. Wednesday #F3Dromedary at 0530 at Marvin Ridge HS
  4. Thursday #F3Peak51 is a Moderate Intensity workout at 0530 at Matthews ES
  5. Friday #F3Overdrive at 0530 at Sun Valley MS

#Preblast – Setting up the course

Swift will launch at 0515 from the Ballantye AO at the Vine Restaurant.  We will be headed off-campus to do a little recon for the new upcoming “test”.

The idea is that following on the success of the 1 Mile Time Trial, create a more regular “test” workout that can accommodate various PAX and be run on a more regular basis.  Make the workout easy to follow, track, and compare month to month.  We’ll be starting the workout on the 3rd Tuesday of each month along with #F3SIB and any other F3 running workout that wants to “multicast” (meaning do it the same day, but in your own venue).  This week we’ll be doing some recon for the course on the new North Community House – one of the straightest and flattest sections of road around with a nice generous shoulder / bike lane.  Cones, chalk, and measuring wheel are optional.

The workout tomorrow will be run at Interval (I) -pace (just think “HARD” or find your personal specific pace at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator ) where the recovery is slightly less than the time of the interval.  For example, a 3minute interval has a recovery of 2minutes.  Or a 4/3.  Or a 5/4.  You get the idea.  Builds on the idea of the 2min Hard /1min rest, 1min/30sec, 30sec/30sec intervals from last week.

Come tomorrow, but everyone should get set for the test to begin next week!

Moonlit Tracking

At 0515 on Tuesday, 20 of Area51’s fleetest of foot took off into the gloom from 4 Mile Creek Greenway parking area and headed towards the South Charlotte Middle School track for the weekly #F3DevilsTurn.  Not only a few turns on the way there, but several loopty loops on the newly painted and moonlit track.

The THANG:

The Moleskin:

  • Always try to find a running mate (someone to chase, someone to push, or someone to chat with).  Makes the 1st F more tolerable, more of a challenge, and there’s safety in numbers from accidents and obstructions (speed bumps, directions, deer, school buses, etc.).  If a partner doesn’t formally develop, pick out a PAX faster than you and latch on for as long as you can. Kudos for Funky Cold for following Haggis, chatting it up, and still holding on to the pace for a long while.
  • Try to have a goal – average pace, number of laps run at the track, compare to previous results (use a free program like Strava), picking out a PAX to run with for some 2nd F, etc.  Otherwise, it’s just a slog and that’s not always fun.  Having a goal gives you something intermediate to fix your mind to other than just thinking about how much longer you have to run.  Kudos for Wing Man who seems to have a “go one lap further” each week.
  • Always a good pack for the 1st mile, but a big group held together this week while at the track. They were somewhat territorial and forced a toll for passing.  #sorrynowallet

Announcements:

  • June 6th – NoDa Brewing 5K in the evening on Saturday.  Great family friendly event.  Several PAX including Prohibition and HoneyBee have HC’d.
  • May 29th – #F3DeathMarch from Hill n Dale – F3’s new racing directors.  Check Twitter and Web site for details.
  • New High Visibility F3 #ISI running shirt with reflective accents out soon on Mud Gear.  Area 51 option will also be available.

Old Fashioned Bootcamp

6 hearty souls posted at Dromedary this morning for some old fashioned bootcamp work.  Here is what we did.
The Thang:
Mosey to warm-up area for: 20 SSH, 10 merkins, 20 squats, 10 diamond merkins, 10 windmills, and 10 wide arm merkins (all IC).
Head to the small hill for 2 sets of backward, up hill bear crawls with 10 jump squats at the top.  After set 1: 20 flutters IC.  After set 2: 20 dollies IC.
Mosey up to the cafeteria spot.  5 burpees/peoples’ chair, 10 donkey kicks/peoples’ chair, 10 burpees/peoples’ chair.  Hold PC for about 30 seconds each time.
Then 10 decline merkins and 20 dips IC, run one lap around the track.  Rinse and repeat.
Mosey to back wall and partner up.  P1 hops the wall and runs while P2 does called exercise, then flapjack until you reach the combined total of reps.  Set 1 = 100 LBCs, Set 2 = 50 peter parker merkins.
Mosey back to the warm-up area to finish with Mary and Merkins.  15 dying cockroaches, 20 Fred Mercury’s IC, 20 merkins OYO.  Mosey back to launch point.
COT: Welcome to FNG Donatello.  Nice job out there!  Special recognition to Bratwurst (running 1.5 miles each way to the workout), Bananas (bringing an FNG), and Snowflake (great take out as always).  Grease Monkey has become a regular post and shows up to work hard every time – glad to have you brother.  Continue to pray for M of Ice 9 as she undergoes treatments… Ice we missed you out there today and hope everything went well.
No new announcements.  Honor to lead the PAX as always.  Thanks boys.
Posted on behalf of Soft Pretzel.

#Preblast – Taking the streets back

Swift will launch from the Vine Restaurant at the Ballantyne AO at 0515 on Tuesday.  3rd F at the Einstein Bagels at 0630.

After several weeks of track, Bull Ring, and streets nearby, it’s time to venture back into the great wild known as Ballantyne Country Club.  The workout will be a 2/1/30 over the following course – https://www.strava.com/routes/1578212.  Don’t let the 5.8 distance ward you off from posting – we’ll cover this in an hour and adjustments will be made to keep the PAX together.

What’s the 2/1/30?

  • 2 minutes at I-pace (a.k.a. comfortably hard / 2 mile race pace / find yours at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator)
  • 1 minute easy jog recovery
  • 1 minute at I-pace
  • 30 seconds easy jog recovery
  • 30 seconds I-pace
  • 30 seconds easy jog recovery
  • Rinse and repeat…

#Preblast – Mile Speed Challenge

Link to submit your 1 Mile PR and Goal = http://goo.gl/forms/Jsq5M4TUVg

At 0515, Swift and Fast Twitch will converge at Community House Middle School for a 1600m Time Trial and workout.  Any PAX or FNG are welcome to attend.  The track is on the north side of the school located at 9500 Community House Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277.  Park in the bus lot (look for a small sign).

The festivities will kick off with a warm-up led by Swift, a 1600m timed run (1 lap of track = 400m, 4x400m = 1600m, 1mile = 1609m), recovery, a team relay, and a Fast-Twitch led workout if time remains.

Come prepared to confirm a 1600m / 1mile Personal Best and/or Goal before the event tomorrow.  Link to submit your 1 Mile PR and Goal = http://goo.gl/forms/Jsq5M4TUVg

#Preblast – More Mile Prep

Swift will launch at 0515 on Tuesday from the Vine Restaurant at the Ballantyne AO.  With the 1 mile time trial (ok, it’s really 1600m) coming up next week on 4/28, be prepared for a 1 mile race pace workout to get you in the mood.  Have a target 1 mile race pace in mind and know the 200m and 400m splits.  For example:

  • if your goal is a 6:00 mile, then your 200m split is 0:45 and your 400m split is 1:30.
  • if your goal is a 7:00 mile, then 200m = 0:52.5 and 400m = 1:45.

Here is a link to help you find your 1 mile race pace based on recent race performances – http://runsmartproject.com/calculator

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