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3 - 4 x 1600m, 400m jog

Fellow Endorphin Junkies -

MOVING PRACTICE TO W&L!!!

The weather tomorrow morning will be very cold, with temps at 24 degrees and lower humidity at 68%, with little wind at 3 MPH, so dress accordingly, and as always you should still bring fluids. The Yorktown Track however, is covered with snow and ice, so we are forced to change venue to the Washington-Liberty (formerly know as Washington & Lee) High School track in Arlington, fairly close to Yorktown and where the main DCRRC track group holds practice, as it is in better shape.

W&L is at 1301 North Stafford Street, and the track is connected to the school building a little closer to Washington Boulevard on Stafford Street. We were just there for the Club Holiday relays.

Washington-Liberty High School


1301 North Stafford Street
Arlington, VA 22201

here is a map link:

W&L is within a couple of blocks of the Ballston Metro. Try to give yourself a little extra time to find it and park. We will meet on the far side of the track from Stafford Street, where the bright light is and we usually put our things when we moved track practice in the past

Accordingly, the Thursday Morning DCRRC Track Practice in Arlington will begin at the Washington-Liberty School track tomorrow at 6:00 AM sharp, with announcements before 6 - so please get there early at about 5:40 on the track to warm up for the workout at 6.

January 9, 2020 - 3 to 4 x 1600m in Cruise Interval Pace (10k pace) with 400m easy jogs in between

Water breaks are important ALL year round, even when it cooler like tomorrow, so remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs - tomorrow after each interval!

NOTE: I expect to see your heart rates in the Mid 80% of Maximum range, and if your rates are higher, you need to slow down!

Stallions: 6:00 to 6:30 Pace, 4 x 1600m Intervals

Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:00 Pace, 4 x 1600m Intervals

Gazelles: 7:00 to 7:30 Pace, 3 - 4 x 1600 m Intervals

Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 7:30 to 10:30 Pace, 3 x 1600m

This week's workout is base workout, aiming at building strength and endurance for your spring marathon, especially if it is Boston. If you are running the Club 10 Miler on Saturday, you might skip this workout or come and do some strides and easy miles. As always, don't go out too quick on the first couple, and try to make each interval a bit faster than the last. Mentally divide each 1600 in 4 parts - first 400, settle into a good rhythm, second 400 focus on form - knees higher than long runs and up on the toes, third 400 make sure you are relaxing and using your arms to lift the knees, not crossing over your body, and last 400, accelerate slowly to finish strong! Remember to leave something in the tank for your last interval, as these segments can be very challenging, even at 10k pace.

Here is the Coach Rich Club News this week:

Congrats to all who ran the annual Predictions & Resolutions 5K on New Year's Day. Also, many thanks to you crew members who volunteered; Jill, Emily, Kenneth, Paul R and Paul W, Will, Kevin, Liz, Keith and Eric. The race could not have happened so successfully without you!

17:51 - Rodrigo Vellon, 3rd OA
19:10 - Christie Wetzel, 1st OAF
19:47 - Brian Young
20:17 - Arielle Weiner, 2nd OAF
20:42 - Kyle Edgerton
20:47 - Katie Stilling, 3rd OAF
22:22 - Kate Scott
23:00 - Yuko Takakusaki, 1st OAF Master
23:08 - Mark Bourgeois
25:40 - Dara Shulman
28:14 - Big Guy
32:51 - Clara Lau
34:31 - Li Fang running with her son Kyle
35:23 - Jill Brasky
36:13 - Elizabeth Humphrey

The Al Lewis 10M is on Saturday. If you are racing, stay in bed and skip today's workout or come out and do some easy jogging and strides with me.

Next Saturday, the 18th are the JFK 20K and 5K races at Carderock. To register go to this page. We also need volunteers and lots of them. To volunteer you will see a link on the registration page.

The Club Challenge 10M is now open for registration. We really want to again make a great showing at this annual RRCA 10M championship race. To register, make sure and do it through this link so you get free registration. If you go direct to the Howard County page you will get asked to pay a fee. Needless to say, you need to be a current club member or your registration will simply be deleted.

See you all in the morning. Dress warm!

Coach Big Guy and Coach Rich will be there at track practice tomorrow.

Distance Medley Ladder + 2 x 400m

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

The weather tomorrow morning will be cold, with temps at 29 degrees with high humidity at 87%, and almost no wind at 2 MPH so, dress accordingly, and as always you should still bring fluids.

The Thursday Morning DCRRC Track Practice in Arlington will begin at the Yorktown High School track tomorrow at 6:00 AM sharp, with announcements before 6 - so please get there early at about 5:40 on the track to warm up for the workout at 6, which is around the corner from the school, at the intersection of North 28th and Greenbriar streets.

January 2, 2020 – Distance Medley Ladders - 1200/400/800/1600m Ladder at 10K ("Cruise Interval") Pace, 400m easy jogs in between, followed by 2 x 400m in 5k Pace with 200 meters in between

Water breaks are important ALL year round, even when it will be cooler like tomorrow, so remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs - tomorrow each time we finish at our usual start place!

NOTE: I expect to see your heart rates in the Mid 80% of Maximum range, but if your rates are higher, you need to slow down!

Stallions: 5:40 to 6:30 Pace (Faster for 5k, slower on 10k)
Wolf Pack: 6:20 to 6:45 Pace (Faster for 5k, slower on 10k)
Gazelles: 6:40 to 7:15 Pace (Faster for 5k, slower on 10k)
Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 7:15 to 10:00 Pace (Faster for 5k, slower on 10k)

This week's workout is for a bit of fun – your Coaches used to run these in high school and college, including at the Penn Relays. Of course, back then we only had to run one of four legs! ;-) This is another a good base interval workout, with sharpening speed, and since you will be going fairly all out at times, be especially focused on good form - up on your toes, knees lifting, core sill, slight lean, eyes forward, and perhaps most importantly, hands at your side to help smoothly lift your knees - no crossing over or chicken wings. Also, no fists, imagine Pringles or an egg in your hand and you don't want to crush them! For those of you who ran the 5K today, you want to either skip the workout, run some easy laps around the track, or do this VERY easy – maybe at marathon pace for you Stallions and Wolfies – everybody else needs to run easy laps or skip it.

In Club news from Coach Rich & Coach Big Guy -

No Resolutions & Predictions race news yet but many thanks to the many TMBC volunteers, and to all the TMBC regulars who ran the race. Admiral Paul Ryan ran yet another All-American status qualifier 5k in the Potomac Valley Track Club Christmas 5k at Hains Point in 22:04 – winning his age group yet again! We REALLY need volunteers for the AL Lewis 10M on Jan 11 – details on the Club Web Site. Coach and Mrs. Big Guy would like to know which date works best for most people for the Annual Winter Solstice TMBC party at Chez Big Guy – options include Saturday January 25 (Lunar New Year!), Sunday the 26th, Saturday February 1, or Sunday the 2nd. Event will be early, kid friendly, and over soon enough for later dinner or party plans for the youngsters. Please let Coach Big Guy know if one of the dates does NOT work. Annual Coach Rich & Coach Big Guy Awards will be handed out, along with great fellowship, a few beers and some wine and light snacks.

Holiday Greetings –

Coach Big Guy and Mrs. Big Guy, and Coach Rich and Vicki, all want to wish everyone a Wonderful, Healthy, Happy and prosperous New Year!

Coach Big Guy and Coach Rich will be at track practice tomorrow!