Jus' Running Track Workout - In the Rain - Click to Watch Video
A few weeks ago I decided I’d go out for the first time and try one of the track workouts that Jus’ Running organizes on Tuesday evenings. I had heard about these workouts and my impression was that they were pretty tough. I checked out the description at the Jus’ Running website and here’s what it says …
Norm’s Maggots’ Tuesday night Track workout
Meet at 6:30 pm at Jus’ Running. The workout typically consists of a 1.5 warm up to the track, 5 miles of track intervals, and a 1.5 mile cool down back to the store. Not recommended for beginners, but all paces are welcomed.
I figured, “OK – I’ll give it a shot.” I showed up at the Jus’ Running store at about 6:15 and hung around outside. There were runners gathering inside and out. I saw plenty of people that I recognized (those that I had seen briefly at race starting lines and maybe on an out and back race when they were returning long before I made the turn) and talked to one person I knew from my age group in the track club.
At 6:30 we (about 35-40 runners) started to run over to the track at UNCA. It’s a loose group, more like many clumps of runners all generally headed in the same direction but no need to worry if you can’t keep up with a certain clump. Just start your own clump.
Eventually everyone shows up at the track (just keep someone in sight if you’re not sure where the track is). There were also runners that didn’t show up at Jus’ Running at all, but showed up at the track (skipping the 1.5 mile warm up run from the store to the track).
Norm Blair announced the workout after everyone was at the track. Then, as if on cue, it started raining.
Here’s what the workout was that day.
2 x 800 meters at better than 5k pace (200 meter recovery)
6 x 400 meters at better than 5k pace (200 meter recovery)
2 x 800 meters at better than 5k pace (200 meter recovery)
So you get the assigned workout then everyone just starts doing it. I wasn’t really on the same pace as anyone else so I was just doing my own thing at my own pace. The track is just full of people doing their workouts and you might be doing a recovery while someone else is doing their fast running. But the atmosphere is one that keeps you working hard. In fact, it’s not just this group out on the track. There are other individual runners out there who are also just making use of the track, although not specifically with the Jus’ Running group.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will make it a part of my weekly workout whenever I can. I returned again last week and we were put into three groups for our workout and here’s what we did.
5 x 200 meters with 60 second recovery
5 x 200 meters with 45 seconds recovery
5 x 200 meters with 30 seconds recovery
5 x 200 meters with 15 seconds recovery
Each 200 meter run was to be at 3k pace (needless to say I’ve never run a 3k so I figured this needs to be better than a 5k pace but not so fast that I run out of gas before the end of the workout). Norm said that our first 200 meter run should be about the same time as our last 200 meter run. So, pacing is important.
These are great workouts and the group makes everyone feel welcome. If you haven’t tried one of these, I encourage you to give it a shot.
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My Success with Yoga – Instructor Jane Grant – Wisdom Yoga – Asheville, NC
Jane Grant Helping a Yoga Student
I’d like to share my recent story of success with Yoga in helping to overcome a long stretch of painful and frustrating running-related ailments.
I’ve tried Yoga classes at a few different places over the past half a dozen years or so. I tried some private studios and a couple of YMCA locations. I never really “got it” for several reasons. First, I don’t think I went into it with an open mind. I was encouraged to go by others and thought of it as some “stretching meets meditation” exercise. I didn’t understand anything about the poses and spent most of my time looking around to see what the instructor and others were doing and unsuccessfully attempting to twist my body into a shape that looked similar.
Fast forward to 2012. I run 10-15 miles per week during colder weather and work up to 20-25 miles per week in warmer weather when I’m preparing for some of the longer races such as half marathons. I’ve always had a stronger right side than left and it’s become more accentuated over the past couple of years. I’m occasionally told that I appear to be “favoring” my left side or “limping” and even “wobbling” during the Biltmore Estate 15k this year. For a long six-month spell my hamstrings were tight as drums and it made it difficult to run. The pain and stiffness even made it difficult to walk quickly or with a long stride. I tried rest, plenty of different stretching routines, a foam roller, active release technique performed by a chiropractor who treats many athletes, traditional chiropractic adjustments, laser therapy, magnesium supplements, deep tissue massage and ibuprofen. Nothing worked for me.
My wife Nancy learned about a Yoga instructor named Jane Grant through her sister, who was acquainted with Jane. Jane provides private instruction in a studio in her home. Would I be interested in trying a session to see if it could help? Sure. Why not?
A little about Jane (download her brochure here):
We had our first session in September of 2012 in Jane’s private studio in her home studio in Biltmore Forest. I liked Jane because she wasn’t perfect (sorry Jane) and she appeared to be very interested in my ailments and how to increase my mobility and achieve pain-free running. The small setting and focused approach (Jane the instructor teaching Nancy and me specifically to address the parts of my body that were troublesome) provided me with hope and a sense of progress immediately. I “got it” this time. We learned important poses in-depth with personalized coaching and adjustment to make sure that we were executing the poses correctly and using the proper breathing techniques. I began to feel improvement after the second session. I could detect a difference in pain, mobility, flexibility and even strength. As I understood more poses and what they did for my body I was able to perform my own routines (or “practice”) at home in between our weekly sessions. I could also attend group classes at the YMCA since I was familiar with most of the poses that would be included in such classes.
Within about five weeks my “bad” pain was gone and my “good” pain returned (the soreness from running more and running better). It felt good to run again. My hips feel more open and flexible, my stride feels longer, my quadriceps feel stronger and my pre-race Yoga practice is far better than the previous pre-race stretching routine. What’s most important is that I have a clear understanding of how Yoga can help me achieve greater strength, balance, focus and relaxation as an integral component in my training routine. I can’t imagine NOT having Yoga as part of my daily routine.
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