Mandatory

Sorry, this is a little long and not terribly interesting but some people have asked me about it.

Sixteen minutes into my long run (just 6 miles) on Saturdays, I do a series of pickups (also known as surges, sprints, repeats, etc.) at 80% or so of my maximum pace.

I run a one-minute pickup, then jog for one minute, then run a two-minute pickup, followed by a two-minute jog, then similar 3- and 4-minute ones. Then I “back down the ladder” with 3-minute, 2-minute and three 1-minute pickups. I consider those three 1-minute pickups “mandatory”, because if I still have energy left, I do three more “extra credit” 1-minute pickups. If I still have energy left, I often do another 2-minute pickup and another 1-minute one.

The “mandatory” pickups make me think of my dance friend Steve, because he and I would always invite people (especially women) to go out for a bite to eat after our contra dances. If they resist, I jokingly say “It’s mandatory!”.

So as I start the mandatory pickups, I say (either in my head, or, if nobody is nearby, out loud), “okay, Steve, coming up – the first mandatory pickup”, then after the first, I’ll say, “okay, Steve, that was the first mandatory. Coming up, the second mandatory”. Then after that, “okay, Steve, that was the second mandatory. Coming up, the last mandatory”. Then sometimes after that, I’ll say, “okay, Steve, that was the last mandatory. Coming up, the first E.C. (Extra Credit)”.

Okay, running is boring, so sometimes it’s nice to do something to make it a little more interesting!

Jay