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Distance Ladders - 1200/400/800/1600

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

Good News/Bad News about tomorrow morning is that it will be cooler than this morning's temps at about 66 degrees tomorrow, but we will likely have rain with high humidity (100%), so dicey weather at best. Given the humidity, make sure you bring a big bottle of water and hydrate often during this workout with long intervals, as you may not realize it with the rain, but you WILL be sweating.

June 23, 2022 – Distance Ladders – 1200m/400m/800m/1600m, all with 400m easy jogs – 400/800 in 5k Pace, 1220/1600 all in 10k Pace

This is an interesting variation on the workout from three weeks ago, but you still do NOT want to go out fast, as the benefit to this sort of workout is increasing your speed, cadence and pushing past your lactate threshold, particularly on the 400 & 800in the middle of the workout. At these medium to long distances, correct speed form is the key. 8 to 12 degrees lean, lifting knees higher, core still, no crossover with your arms, and do not clench your fists. Make sure you are up on your toes, and increase speed by increasing cadence, which counter-intuitively may involve shortening your stride.

And now the Coach Rich Report!

Greetings Thursday Morning Track Fans. I hope you all enjoyed the last few days of beautiful weather as it was a glorious end to Spring. Summer racing has now begun but first a few last Spring races.

A tough day for both Eunja Rau, 4:18:46 and Anna Staats, 3:24:53 at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota this past weekend. Eunja did complete a marathon in her 22nd state but she wanted to stop at mile 15 when she passed her hotel. She said it was a good thing she didn't have her room key. Sadly, after some great training, Anna had knee and IT band issues during the race. Still, anytime you finish a marathon it is a great accomplishment. Congratulations ladies!

Up in New Jersey this weekend, Marty McCormick ran a solid 16:41 at the SGT Nutter 5k. This was good FTW though Marty noted two long stretches of headwinds that really slowed him down. Strong work Marty and congrats!

Over in Spain, Rodrigo Vellon ran the Villa de Piedrabruena 10K plus a few extra tenths in a time of 39:38. This was a very hilly course and took place at 10:00PM ["aka "Dinner Time" in Spain" saya Coach BG]. Rodrigo was happy with a very hard training run with lots of good friends. Well done, Rodrigo!

And some nice results from our first summer race last night, the Hugh Jascourt 4M. Congrats to all...

26:14 - Liz Ozeki, 1st OAF
30:34 - Paul Ryan, 2nd 70-74
30:37 - Yuko Takakusaki, 1st 50-54
31:34 - Mike Cannon, 2nd 60-64

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow morning on the track.

Happy running!

Coach Big Guy and Coach Rich will be at the workout at YHS tomorrow!

12 to 16 x 400m in 10k pace, 100m jogs

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been laboring with the higher temps and humidity this week. Tomorrow will be more of the same, with temps in the low to mid-70s, high humidity, some wind, and a good chance of rain, including lots more that is predicted for late morning. Dress accordingly, and definitely bring fluids to hydrate – you will need it! I expect heart rates in the mid-80 percent range, and if uours gets higher, slow down!

June 16, 2022 – 12 to 16 x 400m in 10k Pace, with 100m jogs

Stallions: 5:45 to 6:30 Pace, 12 to 16 Intervals

Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:15 Pace, 12 to 15 Intervals

Gazelles: 7:15 to 8:00 Pace, 12 to 14 Intervals

Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 8:00 to 10:00 Pace, 12 Intervals

As Ed always says, the focus here is on 10K pace – actual 10k pace, not what you WISH your 10k pace was or should be. The first couple of 400s should feel downright easy. Keep close tabs on your time for each 400 and for each recovery 100. If you find yourself slowing down appreciably, either stop the workout, or at least adjust your pace so that you can finish at least 12 repeats. If you need to, slow down your jogs until you can maintain a good, steady, similar time for the 100m jog intervals, and you will find these are much more helpful to your training. You should also focus on your form – get up on your toes and Lift your knees!

... and the Coach Rich Report –

Greetings Thursday morning faithful. Your roving reporter has returned. Vicki and I had an amazing time away in England with our highlight being the Coast to Coast Walk of 192 miles from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. It was a journey 3 years in coming (thank you COVID) but it exceeded all expectations. Of course, it's also great to be home ...

Just one race to report on this week. Paul Ryan took 1st OA in the Anacostia Parkrun 5K. His goal was to get back under 22 minutes for 5K after a 2.5-year hiatus where he came close several times. Mission accomplished with a time 21:54. It was also his fastest time on that Anacostia 5K course by 15 seconds. Much more to come from this young 71-year-old. Huge congrats Paul!

There is a club happy hour tomorrow night at Ireland's Four Courts at Courthouse from 6-8PM. There will be a Snowball Series award ceremony and a Special Membership vote on a couple of capital equipment purchases. Per the club bylaws we need 50 members in attendance to vote so please come out and enjoy the camaraderie, the beer, the food and of course, vote.

The Hugh Jascourt 4M will be next Tuesday June 21 at Fletcher's Boat house. This is the 2nd race of the summer Bunion Derby series. We still need volunteers. To register to run or volunteer go to the club website at http://www.dcroadrunners.org.

I am only a maybe for seeing you all tomorrow morning but will definitely be at Happy Hour tomorrow night.

Happy running!

Coach Big Guy and hopefully Coach Rich will see you at 6 AM after warmup tomorrow!