Continuous bounding intervals

One of the tougher workouts we do, very Scandinavian in style, effort and even setting. A set number of loops (5 for women, 7 for men) run continuously (no standing time) around a hilly 1.5-2k loop at Higley Flow. Mostly old logging roads and the trail we cut a few years ago...mossy, leaf-covered trails through pine trees with a setting sun in the background reminded me of Finland. Or pictures of it at least, since I've never been there.

I set up cones on all the uphills, the goal being to bound hard from cone to cone, with running recovery in between. There were four sections of bounding each loop, two longer ones at the beginning and end of each loop, and two shorter middle sections.

The first few laps are conservative. The team generally adheres to the policy of recovering in between bounds. After about 2 or 3 laps, however, rest becomes less and less effective. By the last few laps, the workout is simply a hard effort non-stop; hard running mixed with hard bounding. In a lot of cases, this is discouraged, but this is a good workout to put the hammer down and really see what you've got. Ethan took video, and I ran everywhere around the loop (another benefit of a set and circular course) jumping in with groups as they came by and trying to exaggerate powerful bounding to encourage explosiveness. Here's the footage: