3 x (600,400,200)
I've been pretty tired of studying for finals, and I've finally got almost all of them out of the way, but I've been needing to get on the track and do a workout ever since the race on Saturday. I've just been a little anxious to get to work, the race definitely left me very hungry for track work. My past few workouts have been Tempos and a 5x600 workout last Tuesday at 1:41 each. I've been looking forward to some more track work.
I really like this workout, since (coach) John tries to get us to run the intervals faster each set.
I ran the workout with three freshmen; Chris Brown, Marc Boutin, and Alex Hulse.
3 sets of the 600,400,200 ladder. What I like about this workout is that the next interval forces you to adjust pace. Generally, I never feel settled when I'm doing this workout. I believe this is a good thing because each interval adds a different pace. Since the intervals are between 600 meters and 200 meters, each is run pretty quickly. So the workout, not leaving me settled, keeps me sharp to the point where at the end of the workout I feel like I can adjust to any pace and feel comfortable.
The 600s are run at somewhere in between 2 mile and mile pace, the 400s at mile pace, and the 200s at 800m pace.
Note: The intervals are not necessarily at GOAL target pace. We get faster as we go along the workout.
The rest is 2:30 between the 600 and 400, 2 minutes between the 400 and the 200, and 4 minutes in between sets. To give a basic impression of the times, we did the last set in, 600m: 1:40, 400m: 65, 200: 28.
John is constantly checking in to see if we're running controlled. He is cautious with his athletes, which I think is an excellent quality that a coach should have. With the injuries that some guys on the team have had, he likes to make sure we're ready to go and that we take time to recover when we need it. Also,he makes sure that his runners have one more interval in them after having completed the workout that he gives. Sometimes, if he sees that one if his athletes is struggling in a workout, he'll have them stop the workout without doing the final interval. I think this is pretty valuable.
Some runners run their workouts to the max and are completely physically and mentally drained afterward which I don't personally think is always effective.
Funny tangent story,
One time during cross country John had some of the guys on the team run 8x1000m
We completed 7 intervals, took our rest, and got to the line thinking we had one more interval to run. As we looked at John for the signal to start he says "Okay, you're done". We all look at each other as some ask "wait what?" while the veterans nod and say "Alright". As we head towards our bags someone says "I couldve run one more"
But that was his point, we left the workout feeling tired, but that we had one more in us. We definitely took positives from that workout and the season. The guys finished 4th at D3 Regionals, qualified for nationals, and finished 20th there.
The girls team makes fun of John when he does this to us; they made these baby blue shirts that say (in pink letters) on the front: "Jevan's girls",
on the back:
"Yahh done"
All in appreciation of his British accent and his intent.
The workout left me feeling pretty confident. I felt like I was holding a lot back during the last 200, and that was after 8 intervals of running, felt like no sweat. I love turnover, it's my favorite part of track running. The turnover that leaves you going anaerobic at the end of a race. It's a very intense and important part of track and field. I've only been training for a few weeks, so I intend to get some good base in over this winter break, meaning I'll start doubling and getting the mileage in with maybe 2 workouts per week. I have one more final tomorrow before heading home.
Pic: The group who ran the 3x 600,400,200 today: (from far left): Chris, Me, Marc, and Alex (In the sunglasses) all starting right next to each other.
The pic is from the start of the UAA Cross country championship meet. We ran in different uniforms, but later in the season decided to switch back to the classic blue/white stripes.
Gotta get to studying. Today was a satisfying day. nevertheless, I look forward to relaxing, getting back to some of my favorite runs at home, and seeing the ol south boys.
Good Health.
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