Gymboss Timer Revisited

Last May I wrote about a neat little timer gadget called the Gymboss. My in-laws bought me one for my birthday and I immediately started using it for timed workouts. I had recently attended a kettlebell clinic in Atlanta, which is the first place I ever saw one of these little timers in action, and I knew I had to have one. There's a popular workout in the kettlebell community designed to raise VO2Max. It is 30 seconds of work, followed by 30 seconds of rest, repeated for 20-40 minutes.

A bit of searching turned up some interesting research on this protocol. A good deal of it is summed up in this article, along with a sample interval workout.

After some playing around with the protocol, here's what I came up with.

The VO2Max To The Max Workout:

• 30 seconds running (about 90% effort)
• 30 seconds rest
• 30 seconds burpees
• 30 seconds rest
• Repeat for duration.

The first time we tried this workout we did it for 20 minutes and knew immediately it was a keeper. Yesterday we attempted it again, this time for 25 minutes. This is definitely a workout I plan to keep around. Some of my workout buddies have suggested mixing in other exercises instead of the burpees (jumping jacks, high knees, mtn climbers, etc.). I might consider that next time we do it. And of course, you could just run for the entire time, but I prefer to mix it up and get some full body work in there with the burpees.

The Gymboss timer takes the guesswork out of workouts like this, and it also keeps you honest. Set it to beep every 30 seconds, and to stop at 25 minutes or whatever duration you desire (or unlimited time if you just want to go till you drop). Setting the duration of the workout up front helps to keep me honest. I won't stop till the Gymboss says to stop.

Will Running Kill Me?

I've wondered about this since I had a heart scare in 2006, when I was in the best running shape of my life. Is "obsessive" running bad for the heart? When I heard about deaths in Detroit last week, it rekindled the question in my mind.

The docs over at Science of Sport have a long post about it. Their conclusion:

"The reality is that people who die during exercise have some underlying, probably undetected condition that predisposes them to a cardiac event during exercise.
...
So in the light of the latest events, and until toxicology reports are in, deciding on the cause is premature. Agreeing that it's sad for all involved, but recognizing that it's not running that killed them, is the way to go!"

Run hard out there...

Exploring the mountains

(all images from Google Earth. Click to zoom.)

Sometimes the best runs are those that are begun without thoughts of time or mileage. Thanks to tools like Google Earth and GPS, it is easy to find places to explore right in your own backyard. As long as you respect private property and Leave No Trace, the world is at your, um, toetips.

My running buddy Jay and I spent most of Saturday exploring Fort Lewis Mountain. This mountain runs from Bradshaw Rd in east Salem, VA all the way to Ironto, west of West Salem. Its ridge line runs about 13 miles, making it one of the longest continuous ridges in the Roanoke area. The highest point on the mountain is around 3300 feet, but we started our run at around 1250 feet on the valley floor. We climbed about a mile through the Forest Acres neighborhood (including the new construction which seems to be continuously encroaching higher and higher). At the end of the asphalt, we left civilization and started our adventure.

4.5 miles later we were at about 3100 feet and we begin exploring the ridge. First we checked out what we thought was the summit to our right. We found a radio tower and some interesting stuff that seemed to be weather station related. As we started along the ridge, Jay suggested that we try to get in 20 miles for the day. 20 miles would be my longest run since March, by several miles. So I told him I would let him know later if that was in the cards.


One of our goals for the day was to find what our map called a "lookout tower." We ran for miles along the ridge in search of, but never finding anything resembling a lookout tower. We were following what appeared to be an old power or phone line, so we kept on running. Just as we were about to give up and turn around, Jay spotted a tall radio tower just ahead. His discovery led us to a complex of FAA towers and radio towers. Pretty neat stuff.


We had come 12.5 miles out and we both had places to be and people to see later that evening. Our goal for the day was to get in a good run and explore this unfamiliar ridge. We reveled in success as we turned around and headed back. The "back" was about an hour faster than the "out," not hard to do when you consider how much of it was down hill.

What a great day to explore the mountains!

Run hard out there.

Cold and Miserable

I rode my bike to work this morning. It was dry and 51 degrees. Shorts and a long sleeve wind jacket proved to be too much and I had a good sweat going by the time I got to work (rarely a goal, given that I have no showers available in the morning). By lunchtime, it had dropped 10 degrees outside. It was windy and raining hard.

A few of us ignored the weather and went out for a quick run and a workout. All I could think was how happy I was that Hellgate weather was finally coming to town.

The workout?

1 mile jog to the park, then a prison workout (descending sets) starting at 10 of:
Burpees, push-ups, crunches
Run 50 yards,
repeat until done.

12 minutes later we were done with the workout, and continued for another couple miles back to downtown.

It was cold and miserable. I was in Heaven.

Run hard out there.

Fun with GPS

Last week I read an article in the NY Times about using GPS to create artwork. I discussed this with some friends a long time ago, and we never did it. I guess we missed out on an opportunity, so now if we do it, we are just being trendy.

(Michael Nagle of the New York Times)

There are two reasons why I sometimes wish I lived in a big city. 1) so I could ride my fixed-gear bike everywhere (also quite trendy I am told), and 2) so I could do neat art stuff like this.

Inspired by the article, I decided to make some artwork during my morning high intensity sprint/pushup workout.


The workout, in case you are interested was a "prison" workout with pushups.

• 25 pushups, sprint 100yards, walk 30 yards,
• 24 pushups, spring 100 yards, walk 30 yards,
• 23...
• 22...
• all the way down to 1.
  

Brutal. My arms are still a bit shaky as I type this.

Slightly disappointed by my first GPS art effort, I went out for a longer run and captured it for the sake of art. Here it is:



Ok, maybe not.

Run hard out there...

Blue Ridge Parkway Marathon

There's a buzz around Roanoke about a new marathon: The Blue Ridge Marathon. It's scheduled for April 24, 2010. I registered for it last week. It's going to be a doozie, climbing Mill Mountain twice, and running around the "4-mile loop" over Roanoke Mountain, which I've read is the steepest spur road off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Then at 24 miles, it hits one of the steepest hills in Roanoke City. Someone had an evil grin on his face when he designed this course.

I ran the 4-mile loop the other evening, and my quads are still sore from the 2+ mile, 1000' downhill pounding. People who sign up for this one had better train on that loop, or else they will be in for a big surprise.


I'm not sure why they say this one is "on the Parkway," although it does benefit Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Runners will be on the actual BRP for about a quarter of a mile. I guess relating it to one of the most famous drives in the southeast will bring in more runners.

This event is being put on by Ronny Angell of Odyssey Adventure Racing. Ronny knows how to put on races, so it is pretty much guaranteed to be a success.

Seriously, if you are thinking about running this one, make sure to test your legs on the 4-mile loop before race day.

Run hard out there.

Running Through The Wall

Amazon.com has lowered the price of my book to a bargain basement price of $10.98. It has been selling pretty good since it came out in 2003. In fact, sales have picked up in the last few years due to the increased popularity of our sport. Today it was ranked #16 in the "Exercise & Fitness: Marathons" category on Amazon. Note that they do not have an Ultramarathon category. Yet.

Post a comment or contact me via email if you want to order a personal autographed copy of Running Through the Wall for $11, shipping included.


When I started working on the book, I never thought I'd run more than 50 miles at one time. I thought those who ran hundreds were whacked. Ironically, a year and a half later, on the day I received the first shipment from the publisher, I was leaving to run my first hundred miler. Interviewing and writing about some of the best ultrarunners in the world motivated me to run like I never thought possible.

I hope Running Through the Wall will do the same for you.

Run hard out there.