REPEATING A REPEATED WORKOUT

My Favorite Workout???

The most common question that I am often asked is, "What is your favorite workout?"  As you will quickly learn from reviewing our workout history - I rarely repeat workouts because we have so many options to provide the same physiological stimulus.  However, tonight's workout has been performed more than any other.  In a perfect world, I would like all our athletes to perform this benchmark workout at least once a month.

Why?

300 meters is a manageable distance - mentally and physically.  The pace is based on your 400m PR time.  Therefore, the intensity is consistent from session to session and interval to interval.  This develops and maintains your speed.  It is a good hard workout but doesn't wreck the runner.  

Wednesday Workout:  

7pm at Foothill College Track

6 x 300 meters:  100m slow walking rest + an add'l 30 seconds rest

Pace Range:  I will provide each athlete their pace range which will be based on their 400m PR time.

Goal:  The finishing times will be consistent from start to finish.  This will require you to increase your perceived exertion on each interval to hold pace.  The final 300 will feel like a sprint.

THE YEAR OF ENDURANCE

2013 CrossFit Games Mens Overall Finish

Jason Khalipa:  2nd place

Garret Fisher:  5th place

Neal Maddox:  9th place

It was an amazing weekend for our Northern California CrossFit boys at the 2013 Games.  To have all three of our athletes finish in the top ten overall against the best in the world is a remarkable achievement.  I'm so incredibly proud of them.

Rich and Jason going head-to-head during Naughty Nancy.
Naughty Nancy included 2400 meters of hill running
Rich made multiple efforts to drop Jason.  Jason never let the elastic break
Garret finished Naught Nancy just behind Jason.

This past year our NorCal boys focused their training on developing their aerobic capacity and the payoff was huge.  Although the 2013 Games had many highlights, the Burden Run was my personal highlight.  This 4th Games event opened with a 2.1 mile run which gave our boys an opportunity to show the CrossFit world the importance of proper endurance training.  Garret took the lead from the opening gun and comfortably ran 5:35 and 5:45 minute miles.  And Jason evenly paced his run, finished in 16th out of 46 athletes, then quickly took the overall lead during the pig flip, and won the event.  Garret finished the Burden Run 5th overall by edging out Rich Froning on the sled pull.  

Monday July-29 @ 7pm

Track Workout:  Modified Naughty Nancy
4 x 600 with 100 yards of overhead walking lunges

1. Complete a 600 meter interval at the provided programed pace range. 
2. Walk to the football field end-zone, pick up your plate, and begin overhead walking lunges down the football field.  Drop plate after completing 25 yards. 
3. Rest 4 minutes
4. Repeat 4x

SPEEDPLAY

Wednesday Homework

30 sec ON

30 sec Rest

Run ON at 90+% effort. 

Do not accumulate distance during the OFF

Continue running until you accumulate 1 mile in total distance. 

THRESHOLD RUN

SLEDS and SHUTTLES

This morning we developed our strength power for those late pushes in a race or a CrossFit workout.  Runners can develop their power by doing hill repeats or pulling sleds.  

We started our morning with a long warm up, then walked the football field.  And not just any walk...we went the length of the field with heavy plates held overhead while performing walking lunges. Rest was 5 seconds every 10 yards.

We next broke into teams.  Four of the athletes ran a 200 yard shuttle sprint while the 5th pulled a heavy sled 100 yards.  We loaded the sled weight to match the shuttle time.  Rest was determined by sled pull transition time.

Please note that we will not have the NorCal Endurance classes this week because I will be at the CrossFit Games. The workouts will be homework.

For Monday, July-22 Threshold Run

Intermediate Distance
20 minute continuos effort on the track or the open road

• 0-5 min:  60% perceived exertion 
• 1 min ON: 1 min OFF for 5 rounds (or 10 min total time)
• 85-90% PE for the ON (this is a controlled and below race pace tempo)
• 65-70% PE for the OFF
• 15-20 min: 60% PE

Long Distance

30 minute continuos effort on the track or the open road

• 0-5 min:  60% perceived exertion 
• 2 min ON: 2 min OFF for 5 rounds (or 20 min total time)
• 85-90% PE for the ON  (this is a controlled and below race pace tempo)
• 65-70% PE for the OFF
• 25-30 min: 60% PE

SUNDAY TRACK WORKOUT

Today was an amazing experience.  The NorCal CrossFit Brodown was an overwhelming success.  Almost 300 NorCal members came out to throwing down, judge, and cheer in a benefit for CrossFit Hope.  I loved it.

Next week the NorCal Endurance workouts will be homework.  Most of the NorCal coaches, including myself, will be down at the CrossFit Games.

9AM at the Foothill College Track

Shuttle sprints, and sled pulls, and overhead walking lunges, O- My

Shuttle sprints, and sled pulls, and overhead walking lunges, O- My

Shuttle sprints, and sled pulls, and overhead walking lunges, O- My

SPRINT NIGHT

Short Sprint

4 x 50 yard sprints then 

4 x 70 yard sprints then

4 x 90 yard sprint

All performed on the football field

100 yard job between efforts plus 2 min rest between rounds

OLYMPIC GAMES or CROSSFIT GAMES

Olympic Games Workout

Mo Farah - 2012 Olympic gold medalist in the 5000m & 10000m

Galen Rupp - 2012 Olympic silver medalist in the 10000m

Mo Farah and Galen Rupp ran the following inverted ladder six days before the 2012 London Olympic Games                                                                                                           

3 x 600-meter sprints in 1:36.

Then, 400 meters in 61sec

Then, 300 meters in 44sec

Then, 200 meters in 27sec

Then, a blazing 300 in 37sec

Then they finished the workout with an all-out 400 in 51 seconds

So....you guessed it, we are running the same workout six days prior to the 2013 CrossFit Games 

Middle Distance

1 x 600m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 300m, 400m

Long Distance

3 x 600m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 300m, 400m

ACCELERATION WORKOUT

Speed Work Night
Wednesday, July-10, 7pm

Monday was an amazing day on the track.  Thanks to our aerobic conditioning, we ran distances that pushed everyone to their personal endurance limit.  

Tonight, we will have an active recovery workout that includes some accelerations drills.

Workout:  Acceleration to Maximum Speed on the Football Field

2 rounds (40 yards, 50 yards, 60 yards, 80 yards, 100 yards)

Gotta love that the Park City boys are hitting
the same workouts as the NorCal CFE class.

YASSO's 800s

Monday, July 8 Aerobic-Endurance WorkoutFoothill College Track at 7pm

"I WILL PREPARE AND SOME DAY MY CHANCE WILL COME"
                                                  - Abraham Lincoln

Workout:

Yasso's 800:  10 x 800m with 1:1 work to rest. 

The theory behind Yasso 800s is that your time in minutes and seconds for a workout of 10 x 800m with equal recovery time is the same as the hours and minutes of your marathon time.  For example, if you can run 10 x 800m averaging 3 minutes and 20 seconds with 3 minutes and 20 seconds recovery, then this predicts that you can run 3 hours and 20 minutes for your marathon.  Run 2:55 for the 800s and you can run 2:55 for the marathon.  

See Runners World article:  http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/yasso-800s

I will scale this workout based on your typical (weekly & max) running volume.  I will also provide pace ranges for each athlete.  Everyone will be running individually (not as a group) unless your running times perfectly match.  

BRING YOUR WATCH!! 

SLED NIGHT

Foothill College
July-3 @7pm
Sprint Strength and Power Workout

Back by popular demand, we are going to be pulling sleds tonight.  

Runners often use hill repeats to develop strength and power.  Tonight we will be accomplishing the same objective by pulling weighted sleds on the football field.  The sled weight and pull distance will vary.  However, the time and reps will be equal for all athletes.

3 x 12 seconds with 100 yard slow jog between efforts plus

3 x 10 seconds with 100 yard slow jog between efforts plus

3 x 8 seconds with 100 yard slow jog between efforts

I love this picture taken yesterday.  Jason took this picture after everyone completing one of the gnarliest track workouts of the year.  

6 x 1000m on 7 minutes followed 3 x 400m sprints.  The programed pace ranges for athlete during the 1000s was just below their anaerobic thresholds.  Very tough and very challenging....so I thought.  They cut through this workout like a hot knife through butter.

Even sweeter was the NorCal CFE athletes did a very similar workout last week.  Awesome.