When too good to be true is really true.

“Train 2 miles to run 100.”  This is the claim of a new Crossfit Endurance training plan.  When I saw this I felt it was heresy.  I appreciated the shock value but I didn’t believe it.  I didn’t believe it for two reasons, first, it sounds too good to be true and second, it violates everything I ever learned about endurance training.

After college I started running because I wanted a way to stay fit.  I was never a runner so I did some research to learn about how to train.  There was a wealth of information available and it was consistent.  One of the key aspects of every training plan was the long slow runs.  The theory is that the long slow runs build your aerobic capacity.  This plan worked for me.  I significantly reduced my race times from middle-of-the-pack to 95th percentile levels.  I qualified for the Boston marathon and could run a 5K in under 20 minutes.

Fast forward to today.  I haven’t run a race in three years.  In fact I haven’t run at all.  For the last year, all I’ve done is train at Hyperfit.  There is some occasional running in the workouts but never more than 400 meters at a time.  After seeing the Crossfit Endurance claim, I decided to try it out.  I ran the Evans Scholars 5K trail run.  I did it in under 20 minutes.

I’m 7 years older, I barely run at all, and I can race just as fast as I could when I did nothing but run.  Too good to be true.  How is this possible?  The answer is high intensity interval training.  I found that since I had done my initial research on running, much more has been discovered about the effectiveness of high intensity interval training.  It is still far from mainstream but word is getting out.  The Crossfit Endurance site does a nice job of listing the pros and cons of traditional aerobic training and interval training on their FAQ page.

Sometimes, too good to be true, is really true.  If you are still skeptical, I challenge you to try it.