Sorry, but I couldn't resist the play-on-words headline.
On Wednesday, we did a "Bleep test" with the Teens group in a coned off area of the Watermoor School car park.
Using all the lights we have, plus the Club's new 30W bluetooth speaker, a recording from an Aussie website, the 26 Teens ran up and down a 20m strip, to the 'strine' of "Level 4; 2".
All but a a handful got beyond level 5, in dark, cold but thankfully dry conditions.
Six Teens got to level 10 (~5m 20s per mile), so seriously moving at speed after 10 minutes of effort, and as everyone who went to one of Bob's sessions at Deer Park will know, you lose a lot of time turning round at each end.
In the end, three under 13 boys (our XC team - see link) got to over half way through Level 11, with Joe just hanging on for one rep more than Ben.
Well done to all who took part, and much thanks to Andy, Mike and Tim for helping ensure it was a success.
The Bleep test provides a good indication of running fitness and we will repeat it in the spring, not to see who is best, but to check that our training programme is actually delivering improvement in all the children's fitness levels. A little bit like the "Tempo Run" done around the Chesterton loop a few weeks ago.
How a Bleep / Beep test is done (courtesy of Trek Education):
The test involves running continuously between two points that are 20 m apart from side to side.
The runs are synchronized with a pre-recorded tape, which plays beeps at set intervals.
As the test proceeds, the interval between each successive beep decreases, forcing the athletes to increase their speed over the course of the test until it is impossible to keep in sync with the recording
The recording is typically structured into 21 ‘levels’, each lasting around 62 s.
The interval of beeps is calculated as requiring a speed at the start of 8.5 km/h (~11m 20s per mile) increasing by 0.5 km/h (40s) with each level thereafter.
The progression from one level to the next is signaled by 3 quick beeps.
The highest level attained before failing to keep up is recorded as the score for that test.
Comments