Last night I resurrected the Running Room's "Personal Best" Clinic, a program designed for anyone trying to improve their speed or build a base fitness level. It's great for marathon runners, because 1 night a week, you're doing speed work anyway. It's marketed towards the 10K group right now, so you should be able to run a 10K in around 50 minutes, without stopping. It's sort of a dual clinic you can do with any race.
The night started off pretty well. I had 4 participants, which makes for a small group, but for me, it's my first time being Mr Instructor, so I think it might be the perfect size for now, and I lucked out because everybody's super keen. They'll probably tell their friends. I talked to everyone to find out their personal goals and try to understand what motivates them. Lots of different stories. Turns out, not everyone is a marathon distance runner looking to finish well under 3 hours one day. Go figure!
After a quick warmup jog, we arrived at Brockton Oval in the heart of Stanley Park. 400 meters is the distance around the Oval, which is a gravel track, about 6 lanes perfectly level. My idea of Interval training involves starting out with a rest period just as long as the work period, until I can gradually cut down the resting period to say, half of the working time. To start off the group, I went with 1 to 1 work/rest ratio. Thus, it's a 400 meter fast run/sprint, followed by a 400 meter jog or walk. We'll get to 400/200 soon enough, but it was dang hot outside too. One of the clinic members told me he cycled 40 KM earlier the same day also. Yeah.
I explained a few items off the top, like track etiquette, giving the inside lap to fast people, etc.
Here is the key lesson from tonight's clinic:
Your Last Lap Is The One That Counts
I'm keeping a log book with everyone's names and their 400m times. Here's the thing, I write down your last lap in the book. I informed the group of this beforehand, and everyone who had a watch agreed to the honour system. One guy didn't have a watch, so I started alongside him and kept the clock running after I finished, until he crossed the line.
Bang. We all set off. I actually said, "Bang" too. Forgot my starter's pistol at home.
I could tell everyone's first lap was pretty fast. We're nervous. I paced myself around those sluggish corners, but used the straightaways to burn away; showing an example of efficient hard running. I kept an eye on my form and adjusted my stride a little bit to run alongside a member. As I leaned into the final turn, the last straightaway presented itself. It's time to go home now. Running Track & Releasing Adrenaline go hand in hand, apparently. I scorched that last straightaway and turned around, walking backwards as I watched the other members roll in. How sweet it is to see everybody finish hard. I make a mental note of everyone's time. Now a nice, easy jogging lap.
My next two fast laps were more maintenance runs, where I'd come in alongside another clinic member, talk to them, get them talking to me on the jog around, and then burn off at the start line. The 2nd, 3rd lap I didn't even keep time. After my last sprint, I just waited off to the side until everyone finished. It's time for one of my patented Braveheart speeches. Not really. I informed everyone that "This one's for all the marbles" in a Stallone-esque or MacGiver-ly tone. They didn't know I was serious. By the looks on the winded faces, and my own sweat-drenched shirt (Hey Nike, Dry Fit This!) these guys probably can't wait to finish.
Bang. We're off.
I'm not running with anybody this time. I want to challenge myself in the future, so my last lap today is going to be FAST! Off the blocks I'm working as hard as I can, lifting those knees, pumping the arms at a fixed yet relaxed 90% angle, digging in and using my low center of gravity. I'm leaning into the first corner like a motorcyclist, but there are two slow runners taking up the inside lane. Oh well, a little extra work never hurt anybody. I swerve to pass, and one of them gets into the second lane, yelling, "Move over" to the guy in front of him. I swerve over into the 3rd lane and put the setback behind me. burning into the last corner, I wasn't low enough, so I focused on lifting my knees. I know I take way more strides than I have to, especially when I'm holding my body upright as in distance running. When the corner ends, I can see a couple of people looking at me on the sidelines. Here we go!
I shift into low gear and take off with powerful explosive strides, not exactly gazelle-like. I'm pounding this track like a gumball machine that ate my quarter! Finally, I find my stride's sweet spot and a race through the finish line. 1:09. That's perfect. I can get that down to under a minute on my last lap. The others finished, with one runner netting an impressive 1:14. We're setting ourselves up for some hard work, plateauing, and then getting crazy. That's exactly how I like to train. If we hit the track and hit it hard, the last half of those longer runs will be a lot easier. I feel stronger after doing speed work. I can't wait to do another track workout. Perhaps Sunday?
If anyone would likes the sounds of this and would like to join this clinic, visit or send me a message.
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