From Coach Toby……
A big shoutout to those who conquered the wet and wild Sunset District hills with us last week – you’re all rockstars!
This week, we’re back in the park and will be hitting a stretch of the car-free JFK Promenade for an interval workout.
If you’ve been joining us for Thursday night track or other training sessions, you might already be familiar with the dance of interval training. If not, here’s a little primer. I’ll also give direction and tips Tuesday night before we begin.
Interval Training
Definition: Interval training alternates between short bursts of higher-intensity running and periods of lower-intensity recovery.
Purpose: Boosts cardiovascular fitness, endurance, and running speed.
Our Workout
Meetup: 6:30pm at 7th Ave and MLK Jr Drive, Golden Gate Park
We’ll focus on two distinct paces – a comfortable and relaxed pace (active recovery), and a slightly more challenging pace (work).
The 800 meter begins at 10th Ave and JFK Promenade and heads west 1/2 mile to a pedestrian crosswalk just past the entrance to Stow Lake. You’ll then turn around and return to 10th and JFK to complete the mile.
You’ll run the first 800 meters at an active recovery pace and the second (return) at the controlled faster pace (work).
Repeat. Choose between 3 or 4 sets (3 or 4 miles)
Strava Links
800 workout (1m) https://www.strava.com/routes/3184282285696211584
Warm-up/Cooldown (.7M one way) https://www.strava.com/routes/3184308360158987862
Why Run Intervals?
With its changes in intensity, intervals challenge our cardiovascular system, leading to improved performance – better endurance, faster speed.
As a busy parent at home and work, I value intervals for their efficiency in boosting fitness in a short amount of time.
Intervals not only mimic race conditions, but also contributes to efficient calorie burning, a good aid for helping manage weight.
Intervals can be done anywhere, providing an easy way to add variety to our training.
Post Run: Given our team social got rained out last week, let’s give Crepevine another go. 624 Irving Street, between 7th and 8th Ave.