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This page includes a video of the running clinic by Danny Abshire.

Fitness Testing

One of the goals of the course is to improve your fitness during the term. To help gauge this, we will do pre- and post-course fitness tests. These tests will be done at the MIT Zeisiger Center and are called fitness assessments.

The tests will consist of the following:

• Age
• Resting heart rate
• Resting blood pressure
• Weight
• % body fat using calipers to measure skin folds
  • For females - tricep, hip and thigh
  • For males - chest, abs and thigh
• Flexibility: sit and reach
• Push-ups
• Aerobic conditioning VO₂: bike test

The pre-course test will establish your baseline fitness level. See how your training program can improve it during the term, as determined by the post-course test.

Training Schedules

You will need to select a training schedule appropriate for your goal event and fitness level. We will work with the schedules in this book:

Fitzgerald, Matt. Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide: Plans, Scheduling Tips, and Workout Goals for Triathletes of All Levels. New York, NY: Warner Wellness, 2006. ISBN: 9780446696760.

Read chapters 1 and 2 for background. Then go to other chapters and fitness levels for your specific event.

Baseline workout schedule (PDF)

Training Journals

Part of research is to document your experiments. Since you are using your own body as the experimental device, you need to document how the experiment is going. You will keep a training journal throughout the term.

Things that you want to think about for your training journal:

• Think about the entire term as preparation for the race at the end of the semester.
• Write down distance, time, intensity of each of your workouts for each day.
• Indicate how the workout went for instance felt great, was unable to focus.
• Keep track of your eating habits and how it relates to your physical performance.
• Keep track of the amount of sleep you get.
• Keep track of hydration.
• Review on a weekly basis to gauge how your training is going.

Mooseman Triathlon

To earn additional PE credits, students can complete the Mooseman Triathlon, scheduled for the first weekend of June. You can choose from two distances: International (aka Olympic) or Half iron.

International (Olympic) distance

• 1.5 km (.93 mile) fresh water swim in Newfound Lake
• 44 km (27.25 miles) bike, a one-loop course on the shores of Newfound Lake
• 10 km (6.2 miles) run, an out-and-back course along the shores of Newfound Lake with rolling hills
• Fee is $90.00

Half iron distance

• 1.2 mile fresh water swim in Newfound lake
• 56 mile bike, a two-loop course on the shores of Newfound Lake
• 13.1 mile run, a double out-and-back course along the shores of Newfound Lake
• Fee is $175.00

Newton Running Shoe Study

Students may choose to participate in a running shoe study sponsored by Newton Running. The goal of the study is to evaluate the running performance effects of the Newton shoe design. There will be scheduled 3 running workouts a week. Upon completion of the study, the students may keep their Newton running shoes and will earn 2 PE points.

Detailed description of the study (PDF)

Video of Running Clinic with Danny Abshire

To begin Phase II of the study, Danny Abshire of Newton Running gave a clinic on running technique.

Free video downloads:
iTunes U (MP4 - 74MB)
Internet Archive (MP4 - 74MB)

Free streaming video:
VideoLectures.net