2 May speed: 1k repeats in Riverside Park!

We are roaming outside Central Park again this week — without needing the 1 train. This week’s workout is 1-kilometer repeats and the venue is the flat and fast Serpentine Promenade of Riverside Park.

Seriously, people, you do not want to miss this one after such a horrible winter (and last week’s foggy subway switch snafu). We have every promise of short-sleeve temperatures and a beautiful sunset over the Hudson, which is visible from the Promenade.

MEET at 730p Wed at RIVERSIDE DRIVE AND W83 STREET entrance to the park! There are plenty of ways to reach this intersection:

—Take the 2 or 3 express trains to 72nd station, run west across 72nd and then up Riverside
—If you are brave, take the 1 train to 79th, with a shorter warmup on Riverside
—CitiBike (two nearby docking stations on Riverside and others within a few blocks)
—M79 or M86 Select Bus Service crosstown to Riverside

If you are late, meet us ~740a at the southern end of the Promenade: Enter the park and after passing the playground head north for a block-ish.

During the workout I will happily hold bags, extra layers of clothing, electronics and other stuff you don’t want to lug around while running. (Tasty snacks may be in danger!) There should working drinking fountains nearby, but you may want to bring a bottle.

This workout has been designed to support ALL runners with an angle for the 65+ Res Dogs training for BKN Half (only two workouts after this week!). We offer variations on the base workout to serve all capabilities and experience levels, if you have never or rarely run speed, or races aren’t your thing, a track is an excellent location.

OPTION A is the baseline for all runners, especially suited to anyone new to speed: six 1k repeats on hard effort with one-minute jog recoveries or one-minute standing recoveries (your choice)

If you are looking for a somewhat more challenging workout:

OPTION B is seven 1k repeats at half-marathon goal pace with one-minute jog recovery.

And if you want a bit more than that:

OPTION C is eight 1k repeats at half-marathon goal pace with one-minute jog recovery.

Although many weeks we have a separate SHORT RACE workout option, this time it’s the A option. And fast!

If you need a refresher on calculating goal paces, see this post:

How do I determine a workout speed or race goal? Pace calculators!

See you Wednesday!
Brett