Interval Writing and Running

Interval writing. It's all the rave. In my classroom. 

As far as I know, I am the only English Composition teacher in the country, in the world, who teaches hoopnet fishing, pulpwooding, and interval writing. My students hate it, the interval writing, which I figure means I must be doing something right. Like in the world of physical training, if you hate a certain exercise then there is a better than 90% chance that you need to do that one. Often.

It works in the world of endurance athletics, running and swimming and cycling, interval training that is. Logically, it should work in the intellectual world also. I am determined to find out. So I have been busily plotting in-class writing activities that force my students to modulate between writing at 65% of maximum brain wave activity (MBA) and writing at 85% MBA. I hypothesize that this should make my students at least as smart an an MBA (see what I did there?).

We did our first interval writing session in all my Comp I classes this week. The workout went like this:

5:00 warm up (listing topics they could grab and go with)
1:00 hard (writing like they were mad at the paper)
2:00 easy (slower but steady pace writing)
1:00 hard
2:00 easy
1:00 hard
2:00 easy
1:00 hard
2:00 cool down.

My students were sweating, groaning, and clutching their wrists as if they were on the verge of cramping and collapse. I loved it. 

To make it all better, I went for a run that afternoon (Tuesday) and did a simplified version of some intervals. After a long warm up of 3.2 miles, I did a sub 8:00 half mile. That had me huffing pretty hard so I shuffled along another 2.31 miles before I hit 1.17 miles at current 10K race pace. Amazingly, the 10K pace was not too difficult. I believe the two 5Ks last week tuned me up a bit. After the 1.17, I slowed to a mere shoe scoot for 2.86 more miles, finishing with 10.03. Then it was to Plate City Gym and some light squatting. Afterwards I went inside for a bath, some easy TV viewing, and some pondering over Friday's plans. I have my Friday unencumbered this week. What to do? I have not yet decided.