Worst track workout I've ever done....

by K Helm
(New York)

It was a track workout in college and originally I wasn't supposed to be part of the group doing this workout but my coach threw me in at the last minute.

First you start off running a two hundred meter sprint at a pretty fast pace... 85-90% effort. Then by the time you finish and and are able to turn around to walk back to the start line you have to be ready to go again. This is about a 15-30 second break.

Next you run a four hundred meter sprint as fast as you are able to go... pretty much an all out effort. Again you get a 15-30 second break and you're back on the starting line to run another two hundred meters with whatever you have left.

After thinking that that was terrible enough we got a fifteen-twenty minute break and did it all over again.

It's supposed to replicate an eight hundred meter race.

When all was said and done a teammate and I did 800 sit-ups or some variation of a sit-up before cooling down and resting our legs for the next few days. (Lots of pool workouts!)

It was by far the hardest workout I've ever done but I got the satisfaction of finishing it even when others couldn't.

This workout made me a tougher competitor and runner and improved not just my physical capabilities but greatly improved my mental ability to hang in there when all I wanted to do was stop. It proved to myself that I am stronger than I ever gave myself credit for.

I'd recommend this workout for anyone who wants to mentally become a stronger athlete... You don't even have to be a mid-distance runner because it's only as fast as you can go... no set time you're trying to hit... (well there kind of was for us but nothing too definitive!)

When you're finally ready to lose weight...