Base Pace
Annie & Alison Newsletter #13
I’m totally hooked on Orangetheory Fitness. I’ve been a member for over 2 years now, and I can confidently say that not only is it the best workout I’ve ever done, it’s the only workout I’ve truly enjoyed. (This is not a paid #ad, I promise.)
One of the core tenets of OTF is their use of “Base Pace,” “Push Pace,” and “All Out Pace.” The class’s coach will instruct any exercise on the treadmill or rowing machine by asking you to “settle” into one of these 3 paces for various amounts of time. As you move through the paces in random order, your heart rate spikes accordingly, giving your body a thorough workout.
Base pace is supposed to be “challenging, but doable” and “something you can sustain for a long time.” Push pace is faster; it’s where you “build endurance.” All Out Pace is, you guessed it, where you go all out, “empty the tank” and “don’t hold back.”
I used to think an effective workout meant pushing really hard the whole time. Because of OTF, I now understand that it’s more useful to fluctuate between all 3 paces through the hour-long class. Doing so builds my strength, endurance, and lung capacity, and it helps me finish the class well.
I’m naturally wired to approach my life at a consistent Push/All Out Pace. For the last 5 or so years, that’s basically how I ran — I didn’t draw strong boundaries between my work and personal life, and I struggled with saying “no” to things. I moved around a lot, which took massive amounts of energy. I pushed myself to the brink until I completely ran out of gas…
Last November, I decided to finally settle back into Base Pace. A pace I hadn’t let myself run in years. This took practice. Sometimes Base felt uncomfortably slow. But as my OTF coach says, “Base Pace is your active recovery time.” I’ve tried desperately to approach these last few months as such. I’ve really pressed into my Base and found new energy.
Now, I’m feeling ready to push myself again. This time, however, I want to run all three paces, and switch them up consistently. I won’t be able to make it to the end of class otherwise.
After all, if I can’t find Base, I won’t have time for cooking! This week in Base Pace, I made these reviewed recipes:
73 recipes cooked, 152 to go.
During this week of cooking…
I learned… that Meyer lemons are actually a hybrid fruit, joining a regular lemon and a mandarin orange. That’s why they’re sweeter and better for use in desserts. I learned this the hard way. My lemon shaker tart was rather… tart. (Still edible, but a Meyer lemon would have really sealed the deal.)
I listened to… a fabulous playlist on Spotify called “Coffee Table Jazz.” It’s exactly the music you can listen to when you’re craving ambience and focus. No lyrics, no random snare drum beats getting in the way of your mental flow. Just smooth, soulful, improvised musicians playing the soundtrack to the workings of your brilliant mind. That’s right, I think you’re brilliant.
I watched… about 10 minutes of a Minnesota Wild game. (For those who are confused, that’s a hockey team.) I truly know nothing of hockey. There’s a puck and a net and sticks. How long are the games? How many players to a team? Rules? I haven’t the faintest clue. As I watched these heavily padded men fly around the ice rink, it struck me that I rarely feel truly out of my depth about something. I usually have at least a loose idea about a given subject. But I think it’s good to be reminded of my own ignorance sometimes. A healthy checkpoint, if you will. Hockey wasn’t the only time I felt clueless this week. At one point, Jordan brought up Bitcoin… um…
I read… two articles that I wholeheartedly recommend you read too:
“The Long Night of the Soul” by Jonathan Tjarks. A well-known sports writer talks about his cancer diagnosis, grappling with mortality, and surrender.
“Know Your Onions (and Shallots and Leeks and Ramps)” by Melissa Clark. She’s another NYT cook that I really admire (I made her Coconut Rice Noodles with Eggplant and Ginger this week for dinner). This article is an educational lexicon of alliums. It’s highly practical and really fun.
Whatever pace you’re running, or walking, this week, I hope it’s sustainable. If it’s not, don’t be afraid to switch it up.
xo,
Annie
