I've been meaning to try this session for a long time. I have only heard good things ('good' is the correct term if you are saddistic like most endurance athletes) about this workout - popularised by the legendary Australian distance runner Steve Moneghetti. On paper, the session sounds quite easy and basic. 2 sets of 90 seconds 'on,' 90 seconds 'float,' 4 sets of 60 seconds 'on,' 60 seconds 'float,' 4 sets of 30 seconds 'on,' 30 seconds 'float,' finishing with 15 seconds 'on,' 15 seconds 'float.' This accumulates to a total duration of 20 minutes. The trick to this session, however, is the term 'float' - which is definitely not 'recovery, rest or jog.' In fact, it is suggested that this should only be about 10-15 seconds per km slower than the efforts.
I headed out from home (now back at Manly) for an easy 3km warm-up to the top of North Head. I completed the session on the 5km undulating loop - getting a total of 6.02km with an average pace of 3:19min/km. Not really too impressed with the time or pace, but nevertheless established a baseline for which I can strive to improve on next time. The session itself is gold! After finishing the second 60 second effort, the legs went heavy and started protesting. I hung on for the back half of the session (psychologically it is slightly easier as the duration of the efforts decreases - but so too do the floats). I can definitely see why it was used on a weekly basis by Steve and his training group - as the session itself offers so many benefits. It teaches you how to respond to surges in races, how to recover between bouts, and a longer term adaptation should see a rise in lactate threshold.
Completed a nice 8km cool down along the Manly Beach front, and was again treated to another stunning morning. I have noted some marked pain on the top surface of the head of my fourth metatarsal on my right foot - so will keep a close eye on this. May have to ditch the 8km easy run this afternoon.
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