Week 2= Fail

So, I was initially planning on writing about some great workouts I did this week...but then i pulled my hamstring right as I started a speed workout! What I was PLANNING on doing were four different workouts, all with different intervals and different time goals. I started off with one 300 meter sprint (this is where I pulled my hamstring) at 42 seconds. This is challenging and should really test your endurance, but finishing strong always pays off. After each interval is completed, slowly jog for three minutes. This slow jog is called an active recovery, where you force your body to keep moving instead of stopping to walk and therefore completely shutting your body down to the hard work you just accomplished. This jog  does get aggravating at times where all you want to do is walk, but it makes you that much stronger by the end. After those three minutes are up, a 250 meter sprint at 35 seconds is next. Since this is obviously a shorter distance than the 300 meter, more effort is required in the sprint in order for you to get anything beneficial out of it. In general, the shorter the distance, the more effort you put in. But that shouldn't mean to walk a whole mile when faced with long distance races. After this sprint, slowly jog for three minutes again. This jog can be at any pace you like, so long as it isn't too fast or you're not walking either. Next up after this is a 200 meter sprint at 32 seconds. This is where the workout starts to hurt. At this point, you've already exerted that much energy to get you halfway through the workout, so you kind of feel like dying right now. BUT, these are the sprints that count the most. When you're tired and forced to sprint again, keeping your body going strengthens you and builds up your endurance. In short, the harder you work as the more tired you become, the better results you will see when it comes to race day. So, once again, after this exhausting sprint, jog slowly for three minutes. Now is the last sprint: a 200 meter at 28 seconds. Frankly, this sprint will suck too, but it will pay off in the long run (no pun intended). Once again, jog slowly for three minutes, then do a ten minute cool down to wind down after the speed workout. Enjoy!