"I want you to feel kung fu, I don't want you to think kung fu."

In and Out 200s. A classic workout that goes by many names, but perhaps the most famous is 30-40s. 30-40s is the old Oregon workout where you would run a 200 in 30s, followed by one in 40s, and continue repeating that trend until you could no longer do it. The record, 24 laps, is held by Galen Rupp. He established the standard this past fall. It’s a tough workout because of the constant shifting of pace. Obviously it’s not always this drastic of a shift in an actual race, but it does a great job simulating a radical change. If you have ever raced, you know about the dramatic shift in pace I am referring to. You are running at an even pace, then BOOM! everything changes, the pace just drops like a rock, and the race is on. Many times it is about fighting through the pain for 200-400m at the increased pace, until your body settles in at the new effort. It generally breaks the race wide open and puts the stretch on the field. That’s a little different from this workout because it’s a constant shift. Every lap. Just wearing on your legs. Accelerate. Decelerate. Accelerate. Decelerate. It is the same thing as city miles per gallon vs. highway miles per gallon. The city is all stop and go, draining your gas, but while you are on the highway, you can float along at steady pace.

This is the first time I had seen Rebecca on the track in about 4 years. Not because she hadn’t been running, just because our paths hadn’t crossed. After seeing the first two workouts, I was excited to see how she would handle this one. The other two demanded continual hard running, while today’s session would alter between race pace and slightly above tempo pace, 37/47. As you remember from the first video, Artie said Rebecca fluctuates between two motivational levels, motivated and highly motivated. He is also mentioned one of his chief jobs as coach, is to keep her reigned. The nature of the in and out 200s, punishes those who are two aggressive at the start, similar to how one would be in a race if they started out over their head, and someone throws in the penultimate surge.

In her first time on the track this season, Rebecca ran well. As expected a few of the race pace 200s were too fast, most of the recovery 200s were too fast as well, and a few were too slow as she tried to overcompensate under the yells of her coach, who is always there to urge on her on to greatness. Over the coming sessions, you will start to notice, Artie is more than a coach for Rebecca. He’s her biggest fan, pushing her to her greatest efforts and picking her up when she has a misstep (such as the broken arm). He’s always there for her, through thick and thin, which is another reason why this combination of coach and athlete is virtually unstoppable and able to accomplish the goals they have set for themselves.

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