Saturday, December 15th
METCON:
For Time: 30 Power Snatches 800m Run 60 Thrusters 800m Run 30 Power Snatches
Rx - 75/55
If unable to run, complete:
1,000/800m Row
Stimulus today is a light and fast barbell. One that we are confident we could complete the first set of 30 power snatches with, unbroken. Inside of the workout, we may break that opening set up once with the larger strategy picture in mind, but it is truly a loading we feel confident cycling for large sets. So that, we can push our runs today.
In the center of the workout, we have the mile of running total, along with the 60 thrusters. This is the heart of the workout, truly. Although the opening and closing power snatches absolutely matter, the separation between athletes will take place with the running and thrusters. More specifically, in the second half of the thrusters and the second 800 meter run.
Given how our stimulus calls for a lighter load, we can start to visualize how to approach this thruster barbell. At 60 repetitions, we are looking to break 2-3 times. Not because we necessarily have to, but it's with the second run in mind. Although we can use the first 100 meters of that second run to recover from our efforts on the thruster barbell, we don't want to put ourselves in a situation where we become so lactic, that we fall dramatically off pace on the run. And this can happen to athletes, especially when the run works into this distance range. Instead of separation by ~15 seconds on a 400 meter effort, it's now 30+. We're aggressive on the barbell here with strong chunks, but let's keep that final run in mind.
On this final run, depending on our capacity on the barbell for the final power snatch repetitions, we can start our push here. Seconds can be made up very easily here… or lost. Knowing that it's a single, or at most two, sets inside the gym on the final 30 repetitions, let's aim to push this run early. And by early, the intention is to push our pace starting on the first 200 meters, and holding it for the final stretch. In running, we often find ourselves "saving" it for a final push in the last 100 meters… but we can only make up so much ground. It's often negligible, at only a handful of seconds. On the other hand however, if we aim to move 20% faster from the start of the 800 meters, 15+ of seconds can be had here. Start the push early, knowing we have what we need to finish inside the gym.