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20:00 Tempo + 2 - 4 x 400m in 5k, 200m jogs

Fellow Endorphin Junkies -

TMBC practice tomorrow is at Yorktown track, in Greenbriar Park around the corner from the school entrance. Tomorrow's weather will still be cold, with temps rat at freezing (watch for ice!), low humidity at 72%, and a little wind. With these conditions, you should still bring water for hydration. Let's let Coach Rich know that we all hope he gets better soon by sending him a text or email. On a personal running note, I was DLBF on Sunday's Club Half Marathon for the TMBC Crew (Dead Last, But Finished) – still, I was awfully proud of Anne Coia who has been stalking me for a couple of years and finally discovered how to beat me – attack early in the second half, create a gap, and don't try to outsprint me at the finish – hearty congrats to Anne! The proudest day in a Coach's life is when his trainees kick his butt! ;-)

December 7, 2023 – TMBC: 20:00 at Tempo, followed by Sharpening 2 to 4 x 400m in 5k Pace, with 200m jogs between

Stallions: 6:00 to 6:45 Pace on the Tempo

Wolf Pack: 6:45 to 7:30 Pace on the Tempo

Gazelles: 7:30 to 8:30 Pace on the Tempo

Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 8:00 to 10:30 Pace on the Tempo

Tempo Pace is still a mystery to me – slower than 10k pace, but faster than marathon pace – maybe somewhere between 10 mile and half marathon pace? Anyways, this is not the quick interval pace we usually do, but let's still focus on form, knees up, on our toes, and not crossing over! I will start and then call out the end of the 20 minutes Tempo, we will rest and drink some water for a couple of minutes after jogging to the start line, then move right into the 400m sharpening runs – only the Stallions should do 4, the rest of us should focus on 2 or 3 and make those count – Last Intervals/Best Intervals!

... and the Coach Rich Report –

Hi Everyone. Reminder that there will be NO Thursday morning track practice next week on December 14. Instead, we encourage all of you to go to next Wednesday night's DCRRC Holiday Relays. These are held at Washington-Liberty HS Track and start at 7PM. The relays are hugely fun and we always have a great showing from our Thursday morning crew. The relays are a 2-person relay of 10x400 per person. Runners are paired as fastest runner with slowest runner and so on till all are paired. Happy hour will follow. Please come out and join the fun.

It was a busy weekend of running, locally and internationally!

At the Fletchers Parkrun 5K Paul Ryan ran 26:03 for his 80th Parkrun!

Lisa Towel did a half marathon in her 26th state at the St. Jude HM in Memphis. Her time was 2:24.32. She got to meet Boston Billy himself, Bill Rodgers and Joan Benoit Samuelson.

Valencia Marathon

2:39:29 - Rodrigo Vellon, PR, BQ

2:57:30 - Christie Wetzel, BQ

3:08:04 - Arielle Weiner, BQ

Gar Williams Half Marathon

1:31:31 - Ken Strazzeri, 1st AG

1:35:28 - Elise Mulleniex, 1st AG

1:36:54 - Hope Seck, 1st AG, PR

1:53:13 - Yuko Takakusaki, 2nd AG

2:09:14 - Anne Coia, 3rd AG

2:10:42 - Big Guy, DLBF

Congrats to all of you who raced.

The next club race is the Bread Run 10K. To register to run this, any of the Snowball Series races and of course for the Predictions & Resolutions 5K at noon on New Year's Day, go to dcroadrunners.org.

Given I will still be in a brace and on crutches for the Predictions & Resolutions 5K race, I sure could use a lot of extra volunteers. If you can help, please sign up to volunteer at this link: https://www.dcroadrunners.org/volunteer/pr5k

Happy running!

Coach Big Guy will see you at the Yorktown Track tomorrow!

3 to 4 x 1600m in 10k, 400m jogs

Fellow Endorphin Junkies -

TMBC practice tomorrow is at Yorktown track, in Greenbriar Park around the corner from the school entrance. Tomorrow's weather will be cold for the first time, with temps in the mid-20s, low humidity at 60%, and a little wind. With these conditions, you should still bring water for hydration after every interval before you start the 400m jog rest interval. On a personal note, please keep Coach Rich in your thoughts and prayers as he recovers from his surgery today that we all hope will allow him to resume running!

November 30, 2023 – TMBC: 3 to 4 x 1600m in 10k Pace, with 400m jogs between

Stallions: 5:45 to 6:30 Pace, 4 Intervals

Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:15 Pace, 3 to 4 Intervals

Gazelles: 7:15 to 8:00 Pace, 3 to 4 Intervals

Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 8:00 to 10:00 Pace, 3 Intervals

First thing to remember – please start slower in that first interval – say 10-mile pace, then gradually increase pace until you are running at 10k pace. You could even run the entire first interval at 10m pace, just getting faster – remember "last set, best set." Second, when your track intervals lengthen to a mile, it is sometimes difficult to remember that you really want to change your form, style, cadence, etc. from your standard runs, but you really should. It makes a big difference if you switch your form from long distance form to speed work form – focus on lifting your knees, getting up on your toes, and using your arms in sync to lift the opposite leg. Don't fall into the trap of lengthening your stride (aka "Overstride") – cadence should increase measurably on the track as opposed to the road and trail. Instead, keep your core still and relaxed, and do not cross your arms over your body mid-point – this will swing your core (thus not still) and throw your stride off. On these longer intervals, mentally break them down – for example, on Lap 1 focus on form – "Am I up on my toes and lifting knees?" Lap 2 – "Am I relaxed – am I pushing while not getting to tense?" Lap 3 – "How is my breathing – through my nose and mouth - deeply?" Lap 4 – "Let's Finish strong" – but remember to pace yourselves so your final interval is quicker than your first interval – remember to work towards negative splits!

... and the Coach Rich Report –

Greetings all. I hope you and your families had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. Lots of racing over the holiday weekend ...

Paul Ryan ran the Anacostia Parkrun 5K in 24:54. Good for 2nd OA.

Kenneth Strazzeri ran the City of Fairfax Turkey Trot in 19:59 which was good for 2nd AG.

Loads of peeps racing and best of all having fun at the Club's Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M:

29:20 - Anna Staats
29:53 - Yared Addisu
31:39 - Tatyana Steis
32:26 - Dexter Steis
35:00 - Hope Seck
34:00 - Elise Mulleniex
45:15 - Eunja Rau
45:48 - Big Guy
51:26 - Lisa Towel
1:00:21 - Kimberley Sweeney
1:00:22 - Graham Magill
1:03:29 - Mary Kusler

As a spectator this was a blast to watch. I especially liked seeing Hope finishing 1st amongst those wearing Tutus. Mary and friends in these amazing Turkey hats was another great sight. So many turkey costumes and just a whole lot of fun had out there.

Congrats to all of you who raced this past weekend.

The next club race is the Gar Williams Half Marathon. To register to run this, any of the Snowball Series races and of course for the Predictions & Resolutions 5K at noon on New Year's Day, go to dcroadrunners.org.

We really need a lot of volunteers for all these races and I especially need a lot of extra help for the Predictions & Resolutions 5K. Go to dcroadrunners.org to voluteer.

Happy running!

Coach Big Guy will see you at the Yorktown Track tomorrow!