473 Float

It was a Saturday afternoon with perfect weather, although a storm was fast approaching, when we headed to the mountains for the workout. Lesley, Devon, and I met Artie, Rebecca, and Tim at Whipple Dam in the heart of Rothrock State Forest. If you have never been, I suggest you go. The setting is absolutely breath-taking, even more so when you are climbing the mountain. The workout scheduled was 4×7 minutes hard with a 3 minute float between the interval aka the “473 Float.”

Coach Groves used to bring us here often. It was known as the Shaver’s Creek Loop. It’s an amazing place to have at your disposal. The whole course is “hard roads” which I call packed dirt and some loose gravel. But this was a place where you could get lost in it. By “it” I mean just the joy of running. Running in the mountains with friends, there are few better ways to spend a Saturday or Sunday morning, and add in the views on this run, it just can’t be beat.

This would be the second “time” workout for Rebecca. When I say “time” workout I mean she is running hard for a certain length of time as opposed to a distance. Some people struggle with workouts such as this, because they can’t unlock what it is inside them to get them to push when they don’t know how far they are going, but only how long. I always felt you needed to be able to nail the time workouts to get to the next level. Because you are able to disengage, and put yourself in pain for length of time not just distance. Both elements are needed to be successful and to get the next level, but having one without the other limits your success.

On this day, we would see a great workout from Rebecca. Not only did she battle the terrain, but she had to battle the elements. And if you have ever been to the State College area, you know that means almost anything at anytime. But today, for our sake, it was just a thunderstorm with heavy rain.

As Artie mentioned in the first workout, they are on a “Krush program.” So he needed to add more elements at different times so they could accomplish multiple goals in a session. Mother Nature is something he can not control, but was an added bonus on this day and a few others.

Also new to the mix was Tim Murphy, Rebecca’s training partner. Tim starred for Don Bosco Prep (NJ) in High School and went on to compete for The College of the Holy Cross. Tim was a great addition to the group because he was able to help carry the load in the workouts and just added to the socialization of the atmosphere.

When I watched this workout after I filmed it, I just shook my head in amazement. Because Rebecca absolutely drilled it and looked great as she did it given the terrain and weather. If you are keeping score at home, after this day, the “Krush Program” was 2 for 2.

Music By: Ian Stringer, Greg Lackey, Gregg Davis, Public Enemy, and The Chemical Brothers