The Schedule
Yesterday I went for my scheduled sprints. No, don’t get the impression that I keenly follow my schedule, but I have learnt with some surprise that having a written (well, typed and printed) schedule helps me be a bit more consistent in following my exercise regime. Maybe it’s simply the happiness in ticking off something as done, or looking at the progress made so far in the plan. Or maybe it is just that a schedule allows me to focus on one day’s task at a time, knowing that other days and their tasks are catered for.
Time Loss
So, back to yesterday. My schedule says I should currently be doing 30 second sprints with 120 second rest periods. I use a phone’s lap timer to measure my times. I usually start the lap timer when I start each sprint, then count off seconds in my head as I sprint. I then stop the lap timer when I stop sprinting. Many times, probably most of the time, I have found that I stopped sprinting before the lap timer counted off 30 seconds. I think this is partly because perhaps my mind counts off the seconds too fast, in an effort to end the sprint sooner. Sometimes I simply stop because I feel spent, unable to continue sprinting and aware that I probably have not reached 30 seconds. The result of this is that unless I add a sprint or two to the workout session to make up for lost time, so to speak, I end up having sprinted less, at least time-wise, than I was supposed to.
The Idea
I read an article on the Web that gave a suggestion that addressed this problem of doing less than planned. It suggested that instead of running for a predetermined amount of time, you should run a predetermined distance. The reasoning was that during your workout session, as you get tired, you are likely to cover less distance in a given amount of time. By fixing the distance, even if you are running slower, then you will still cover the distance you intended. That means each running session can cover the same distance, even if one day you feel less energetic than usual and therefore take longer than anticipated. For me, that also meant that I would not need to count the seconds in my head. I would simply need to determine the distance I can cover in 30 seconds, and simply run that distance, knowing that I am not stopping too soon. I thought the suggestion was very good. Simple and logical.
Go!
So, back again to yesterday. I decided to follow this bright idea. So I made my way to the road where I sometimes sprint. I say ‘made my way’ because there seems to be no official route nearby from the more-used road to the target road. People on foot pass through what seems to be other people’s land, and sometimes sections of the route are inconveniently muddy. Anyway, I jogged to the road and chose a starting point, where I took a break to catch my breath and get ready for my sprints.
I started the first sprint. After some seconds, I glanced at the timer, saw 30 seconds were not up and sprinted a little more. I then took note of where I was to stop. Unfortunately, I had not marked precisely where I started, (imagine that!) but this was good enough for guidance. I walked back to the starting point. As I neared it, I found that the 120 seconds rest period was nearly up! I did the remaining sprints using my new knowledge. It was tough! I thought that if I had not actually seen weight loss results on the weighing scales, I may not have sustained this sprint routine.
How Did It Go?
The plan worked quite well. In fact, of the eight sprints I did, five exceeded the 30 seconds I was aiming for, and two were 29 seconds each. So my total sprint time was more than the target 240 seconds.
Thoughts
A few thoughts that occurred to me (Yes, I do have thoughts):
- Have a plan. I have mentioned this before. A plan helps you think through the steps to your goal, helps you track progress and can help motivate you.
- Where possible, it may be better to plan and later measure tasks by fixed, specific outcomes, than rely on changeable, subjective criteria.
For example, it is better to plan “I will peel fifty potatoes, rather than I will peel potatoes for an hour.” (Don’t ask me under what circumstances).
Or “I will write two chapters” rather than “I will write for 2 hours” (I know, sometimes the intended writing just does not come out as smothly as hoped).
Or “I will write the program to add up and display the figures” rather than “I will work until I feel tired.” - The Web has some good information. Well, it also has conflicting information sometimes, but it has lots of good information.
Baba Amor's Thoughts 