Running coach wants to incorporate Survival Workout for his runners

Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Though a misty, cold rain was falling, Nathan joined me for our Survival Workout.  I’d been experiencing some more mild dizziness and was interested in determining whether I was losing any strength or if it was unbalanced to one side or the other.  A visit to the doctor’s was imminent and I wanted to give them as much useful information as I could.  To date, I’d been having extreme pain in the back of my head which radiated down the neck and into the shoulders.  Holly was of the opinion I already had reason enough for the visit...but I’m slow to take action for my own benefit.

I knocked out 80 push-ups for my first set and completed as many log lifts and dips as I would normally.  No problems here.  We headed down the trail to the first rock lift station where I again met or exceeded previous efforts.  The rest of the workout progressed in this fashion.  In fact, I managed a three set total of 236 push-ups, my second best effort ever.

Holly and I celebrated our 36^th anniversary at a Chinese restaurant where I ordered two egg rolls and pork fried rice.  There is very little Paleo in a Chinese restaurant though I didn’t have any dessert or drink any calories.  We celebrated with a couple also married on the same day 36 years ago.  Dennis is the head track and cross country coach at Wickliffe High School and so we were off talking in our running world while the ladies were talking lady stuff.  I told Dennis about the Survival Workout and he immediately asked about bringing the team to the park to meet me for a workout.  “Absolutely.  I think you ought to come and try it first so you can see the emphasis...but I can tell you it’s designed more to improve speed and power than it is for cardiovascular improvement,” I told him.  He knows me well and understands the premium I place on off-season training as it relates to a runner’s ability to succeed during their competitive season and wants whatever advantage I can offer his runners.  What good coach wouldn’t?  We agreed to meet on Thursday so he could go through the paces.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.
Calories burned:  600.