Today's quick track workout!

15 min warm up:
1600m easy warm up
30 mtn climbers/20 burpees/20 jump squats/20 pushups/30 crunches x 1 round
50m x 6 striders

Main set:
100m sprint x 10:  (10 push ups, 30 jumping jacks after each 100m sprint)

NO REST

Pace: <5k

Rest 60 seconds after entire set complete

400m x 4: run 400m, then do 15 burpees, 30 crunches
Rest 90 sec after complete set

pace: (5k pace)

800m x 4:  

run 800m, then 90 sec active recovery

Pace: 10k to 5k pace. 

Attempted negative splits: 7:06/6:48/6:36/ (all out)- 6:06 pace

 

cooldown

Outdoor track-bike trainer BRICK workout

The Demarest Sprint Triathlon on June 3rd is our next Team Maven race, so I dialed in the distances and pace of today's workout for a sprint tri. A constant work in progress, we've been refining/testing out/tweaking some training variables to effectively combine an anaerobic and aerobic conditioning program for the endurance athlete.  In essence, we want to see what activities work best during practice to excel at a given tri distance (mixing science with experience).  

The emphases of today's workout were to perform a short interval, high intensity bike-run workout, aka, "BRICK" (hence, the comical pic above), incorporate some cross-training, and sharpen the T2 transition (clipping in/out bike shoes to sneakers) of the triathlon. Oh, what fun!

Bike trainers were set up on the track.

Warm-up: ~20 minutes (VERY important to get warmed up sufficiently for injury prevention)
-10 min mile
-One round of 50 jumping jax, 20 burpees, 50 mountain climbers.
-Striders (50m x 6)

Brick workout:
Bike: 5 min moderate pace spin, then-
-1:1 min (work:active rest ratio) interval bike training x5 rounds

Intensity: 80% HR max (~160 bpm).

Clip out/switch shoes
Run: 400m. Attempted 5k pace**- (actual- 1:32-1:38/400m).
Intensity: 85-92% HR max, REPEAT ENTIRE CIRCUIT X 4 ROUNDS

Rest 3 minutes, then:
Run: 100m, followed by 15 push ups, 15 squats, 20 burpees, 30 crunches
Repeat entire circuit x 4 rounds. NO REST
Intensity: 88-90% HR max
Rest 1 minute, then:
Run: 200m, 2 min complete rest

Repeat circuit x 4 rounds
Pace: under 5k (~40 sec/200m)
Intensity: 89-90% HR max

Run: 400m, then active recovery jog, 100m

Repeat x 4 rounds
Pace: 5k (1:30/400m)
Intensity: 91-92% HR max

Total running- 4+ miles.  Done!

** 5k pace refers to goal time to complete a 5k race. My 5k goal this season is to complete it in ~18-19 min; during training today, I aimed for a 6 min/mile or less.  Take the desired goal pace and divide it according to distances (400m, 100m, 200m, etc) you're training during a particular workout (e.g., if you look above at the workout, I completed 400m in 1.5 min. If I multiply this x 4 = 6 min/1 mile). Still confused? email me at jerrymaven@gmail.com

Behold, The Maven Green Juice Recipe...

Too bad I don't have a patent on this, BUT, out of the kindness of my generous heart, I've listed the elements of this concocted "Maven Green Juice".  Notice how the green hue strangely matches the green in our Maven logo...discuss this amongst yourselves....

My first recommendation- Get the Blendtec or Vitamix blender. Totally worth the investment.  Honestly, not sure how well this mix will taste with a traditional blender.  Blending these veggies has been really beneficial for my general health, fitness, and endurance performance (down to ~10% BF range and race weight of 152 lbs).  

I drink this twice a day along with the MAVENSHAKE after my workouts, and I'm ready to conquer the day...

2 leaves Kale

1 cucumber

1 celery stalk

handful of baby carrots

1 collard green leaf (optional)

1/2 cup almond milk

handful of sliced apples

handful parsley

1 scoop raw honey

3 cups water

Try it out and send feedback or ask questions!

Pose Running- using the pool to understand how to "fall" during pose

So, there I was, recovering from a fresh groin injury while fielding a few softballs with my 7 year old last week, wondering how the heck I was going to compete in the upcoming Brooklyn "Bun" (Bike-Run). Obviously, I knew I would have to relatively rest the area (gotta practice what I preach). Thankfully, I have access to a pool, and having some gravity eliminated would be a better alternative to terrestrial running with this injury. I headed over to the Y to review some of the Pose Method running drills I had been incorporating into my triathlon training over the past few months...and what a great experience it was to bring land-based training into the water.

The concept of "falling", which is a central tenet to the Pose method, felt foreign/awkward to me as I was learning the method. The way to advance the body in space using the Pose Method is to "fall" forward (with the whole body) while picking up the feet at a given cadence depending on the desired speed.

So, I went to the shallow end of the pool, and did a few warm-up drills in place and against the wall. First observation, I noticed quickly whenever I overengaged my hip flexors or my hamstrings (neither is good), since the water provided me with immediate, tangible feedback. I was also able to "slo-mo" my running in the water to get better feel for the impact of my ball-of-foot-to-heel on the pool bottom. Now, for the fall...

In the water, I was able to easily position my body in the correct posture for falling, as I was being "pushed back" in a controlled, steady fashion by the resistance of a fluid medium. I then progressed the running drills to the deep end using the buoy belt and also became that much more aware of falling forward since the only way to properly advance in the deep end was also a forward lean of the entire body.

The transfer of performance from water to land worked well for me as I raced last Sunday and placed 20th/~200 contenders...not too shabby for a season opener training race. I can only imagine what the rest of the multi-sport season will be like especially as we increase the frequency of the MAVENACTION workouts.

Anyway, for those of you Pose newbies (like myself) who are struggling with the "falling" forward concept, try the Pose drills in shallow water and then progress to the deep end with the buoy belt. You'll be surprised by the transfer of your running technique when you get back on land.

Happy running!