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:

Higley Digley Doublepole Derby 2012

Ethan and I tested out a new TT yesterday: The Fist Annual Higley Digley Doublepole Derby!

While the Doublepole test is a good indicator of fitness and strength, it does little to simulate the kind of double-poling situations found in an actual race. So what better way to achieve that than by holding a longer-format, mass-start double-pole race? It's incredible how fortunate we are to have Higley Flow State Park at our disposal...the hills may not be too steep while descending on snow, but the twisty camp loops make for a perfect rollerski course: good pavement, varied terrain and no cars (which allows for the mass-start format). The women raced 5k, the men 7k, roughly.

I arrived at the park early and swept the pine needles off the side loops, and the race went off with only one broken rollerski tip for damages. Obviously rollerski speed varies, and especially comes into play more on a course such as this with substantial sections of gradual downhill, but the benefits outweigh the negatives in this case: A good chance to practice skiing in a group in a race setting, navigating tricky turns and descents, and a difficult effort that also has specific-strength benefits.

The men's race was led out most of the way by a pack composed of Reed, Eric, Austin (Meng) and Will. Near the very end Meng and Eric broke away to sprint for the line, with Eric just taking the win. Will lost a pole tip but still hung on for third with Reed close behind.

Kate led the women's race from start to finish, but never really pulled away from Cassidy, who was on the hunt the entire time just out of contact a few seconds back. A few of the girls skied together in pairs: Sienna and Margot worked together for the majority of the race, as did Melanie and Kelsey. Kate held her slim lead to the finish over Cass, and Lauren took the bronze. Here's the results and a quick video I put together. I was filming from a bike and obviously need a little practice with the technique of it, but I'll get the hang of it soon.

MEN
Lustgarten 21:33
Meng 21:34
Frielinghaus 21:43
Reed 21:52
Hart 23:42
Dier 24:2-

WOMEN
Mulcahy 17:40
Cichowicz 17:48
Olson 18:45
Searles 19:34
Margot 19:35
Perryman 20:28
Nichols 21:05
Swick 21:10