Welcome to Week 7, runners! We are approximately half way through the spring training program (can you believe it!?) and only six weeks away from the start of taper for Rock and Roll DC Marathon. Kudos to those of you who came out to run last weekend with the group or did a long run on your own. It was one of the toughest runs many of us had done in a long time and tested our mettle.
This week we are running the newly re-opened Normanstone-Klingle loop. Instead of the old abandoned road at Klingle, you now get to run down a brand new paved trail! The published route is just shy of 13 miles and represents a break in long run volume after last week's 16-miler. There are parts of the route that may be new to you, but a good portion of the run is on the Rock Creek Park trail, which is familiar territory. Full route details, including cue sheets, GPS tracks, and Mike's notes, are located on the DCRRC SLR page.
This week, while the temperatures will be about 25 degrees warmer at start time (and the rain will have stopped :-)), the wind will be blowing and the temperature will drop as the run progresses. Start time temps will be in the mid-30s, falling to the low-30s by the end of the run. Anticipate 15-20 mph wind with gusts as high as 30 mph. The areas around Rock Creek and the Zoo should provide some shelter from the wind, but it will still produce a wind chill that is about 10 degrees colder than the actual temperature. As with last week, dressing in layers, blocking the wind, and using clothing with zippers will be your friends. Hourly weather details from NOAA/NWS for Saturday morning are located at this link.
A few announcements to close out this week's email:
- We need more SLR post-run drink volunteers. Many thanks to Bonnie Harvey for her support this week and over the past month. We will not have post-run drinks after this week until folks volunteer. As you know, all marathon training program participants have a volunteer commitment to fulfill. Email mike@dcroadrunners.org to sign up.
- Saturday, February 10, is the DCRRC Langley 8K in McLean, Virginia. Volunteer information is available on the link.
- Sunday, February 18, is the annual DCRRC George Washington's Birthday Marathon and Relay. We need a lot of volunteers for this event, so please consider signing up on the race page if you're not running. You can also race this event using up to a 3-person relay, with legs of 9.7, 7.3, and 9.2 miles -- it can serve as a good tune up.
- Registration is now open for the RRCA Club Challenge 10M Race on February 26. This is a great event where you can represent our club among the other RRCA chapters in DC and Maryland, while testing yourself on a challenging course! The club will pay your $10 entry fee, but you must be a current DCRR club member or else your name will be removed from the roster. We'll also provide bus transportation to the race, with pickup and dropoff at Courthouse and Dupont Circle, which will have separate registration to be announced soon.
See you on the roads!
Jonny and all your friendly DCRRC volunteers
