Day #5 Week #2 -- Gathering Momentum for the Next Upswing

 

"People conceptualize conditioning in different ways," he said. "Some think it's a ladder straight up. Others see plateaus, blockages, ceilings. I see it as a geometric spiraling upward, with each spin of the circle taking you a different distance upward. Some spins may even take you downward, just gathering momentum for the next upswing. Sometimes you will work your fanny off and see very little gain; other times you will amaze yourself and not really know why."

Once A Runner

Today's workout is a repeat of last week. 

6 Minutes Warm-up VERY FRESH; 3x5 Minutes FRESH (2 minute Recovery after each rep) [3:30 after the Set]; 1x1:30 GOOD; 5 minute Warm-down VERY FRESH

Here is what that means if you need the reminder:

Start your run with a 6 minute easy warm-up run at a VERY FRESH effort. Then immediately go into three repetitions of 5 minutes at a FRESH effort. After the 1st and 2nd repetition jog 2 minutes of recovery. After the 3rd 5 minute repetition take a 3 minute and 30 second recovery jog. Then do 1 repetition of 1 minute and 30 seconds at a GOOD effort. Finish with a 5 minute warm down run at a VERY FRESH effort. 

Here is some extra credit if you feel you are managing this workout well. You can do a 4th repetition of the 5 minute reps instead of just three repetitions. Keep the recovery between the 3rd and 4th rep at 2 minutes. And you can add a 2nd repetition of the 1:30 instead of just 1 repetition. Both at GOOD effort and take a 1 minute recovery jog between them. 

Today's quote is one of my favorites from Once a Runner and may be appropriate for our current heat wave. You may have had some tough workouts over the last couple of days. Just focus on the effort and try to put the time in. And remember when things aren't going well you are just gathering momentum for your next upswing. 

Today's picture is from Morning Madness at the GAIN conference about 7 years ago. There are so many GREAT coaches out there that are not always promoting themselves. Tracy Fober (AKA the Iron Maven) is one of them. Here she is leading a morning session -- it's in Houston Texas so you can bet its a hot and humid one -- so all of us can gather momentum and prepare for our next upswing! 

Enjoy the workout today!