A Game to Play While You're Running

Did Wed/Thu/Fri as planned.

I thought I'd throw up a picture that my friend Greg took of 2007 Hawaii Ironman morning. Very good memories of that race, and I look forward to returning to Hawaii this year to spend the entire day with a Mai Tai or Margarita in hand, cheering on my friends and (hopefully) this year, 4 of the athletes that I coach (you know who you are!).

I ended up sticking to my injury rehab plan this week, and must say I am happy to have gotten in a two hour aerobic ride on the bike trainer (with a 20 minute "Zone 4" fast finish) and just returned from a 15 mile jaunt around Moscow, Idaho, during which I played a little game...try it out sometime (it really only works best on less busy roads):

-Settle into an aerobic pace, which, if you do Zone training, would be about Zone 2-3. Otherwise, take your threshold heart rate and subtract about 20 beats.

-Every time a car passes you *from behind*, you must pick up the pace to a comfortable stride-out (about high Zone 3, or threshold heart rate - 10) for 100 steps.

-If a "string" of cars passes, then you begin your stride after the last car goes by.

-If a car passes you during those 100 steps, you pick up the pace to maximum for however many steps you have left.

-Once you're done with the 100 step stride, you can settle in until the next car approaches.

***Optional Add-On Again For Less Busy Roads and Running During the Day***

-Every time a car passes you *from the front*, you switch sides of the road, whether "mid-stride" or not.

This game is basically Fartlek training with an unpredictable twist, and is good when you don't have a group to run with to do the pace-changing. Have fun.