The “double threshold” workout is taking over the world! From Jakob Ingebrigtsen to all kinds of runners in Flagstaff, they are being applied with a lot of success.
As always happens, with success comes emulation. Other pros and collegiate runners have already picked up on these workouts and they are filtering down through to high school and amateur adult runners.
Is this a good idea, though?
…You may have noticed, times are getting faster. Records that have stood for some time are falling and by no small margin. Track & Field News says they are no longer recording every American who breaks 4 minutes in the mile because so many are now doing it. Races are setting records for number of runners under various time standards.
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I recently wrote about my experiences with my new Garmin. My summary of this watch would be wow, it’s amazing how much data a little device on your wrist can give you in real time.
This, though, can be a double edged sword.
With so much data available, whether with the watch I have or one of a multitude of similar devices, how do you use it?
It’s summer vacation time! In fact, very soon, I’ll be heading out for some family time on the beach.
But I’m also doing a summer racing season so I don’t have to deal with trying to balance my own racing with my daughter’s racing.
So what should I do?
…As I’m writing this, I’m looking out the window at a haze caused by wildfire smoke and thinking what should I do about a workout my daughter and I are planning to do later in the day. I’m hoping the air quality will improve. If it doesn’t, I’m left wondering how good of an idea it is to run in that air. Maybe a single run isn’t such a big deal?
Anyway, that’s a decision I’ll have to make. One run probably isn’t a big deal and research I’ve seen suggests that, health wise, it’s better to exercise in moderately bad (probably not terrible) air than it is to not exercise. But what about long term exposure and how does that affect our running performance?
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