Identical to Wednesday night track workouts. This is simply an alternative to those that cannot make Wednesday night or prefer morning running. The workouts each week are designed by Coach Ed who leads the Wednesday night group and can be found on the Wednesday night track workouts.
Group leaders for this workout are Coach Stephen "Big Guy" Easley and Coach Rich Mendelowitz. Both are USATF and RRCA certified coaches. Thursday morning Track Workouts are held at the Yorktown High School track. The Address is 5201 N. 28th Street in Arlington, and the track is around the corner from the school on N. Greenbrier in the Football Stadium. The workout starts promptly at 6:00 AM. Most people arrive to do an easy warm-up together starting around 5:40 and then all do an easy one mile cool-down together after the workout.
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Questions can be emailed to Coach Big Guy or Coach Rich.
Fellow Endorphin Junkies
The weather tomorrow will be a change from the last two days of a Taste of Spring, with temps at about 30 and higher humidity at 70%, and a bit of wind, with the change of flurries or a spot of rain as we wind down practice. We will meet at Yorktown HS track, around the corner from the school on Greenbriar street (the track is technically in Greenbriar Park) – warm up at about 5:40 am, before the 6 AM start time for instructions.
Since many of the regulars will be running the RRCA 10 Mile Challenge race, we are going to have two separate workouts tomorrow. In Lane 1, anyone not running the race on Sunday can be timed, hopefully by Coach Rich, in a 5k time trial. For the race runners, you do NOT want to run a race tomorrow morning before a challenging 10 mile race on Sunday. SO, we will use Lanes 2 and 3 to run 6 to 8 x 400m in 10 Mile Race Pace, with easy 200m jogs in between.
February 24, 2022 – 5K Time Trial – or – 6 to 8 x 400m in 10 Mile Pace with 200m easy jogs in between
Water breaks are important ALL year round, even when it is cool like tomorrow, so remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs – after each interval if possible, but at least every other interval!
NOTE: I expect to see your heart rates in the high 80% of Maximum range (higher for racers), but if your rates are higher, you need to slow down!
Stallions: 5:15 to 6:15 Pace
Wolf Pack: 6:15 to 7:00 Pace
Gazelles: 6:45 to 7:30 Pace
Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 7:30 to 9:30 Pace
This week's workout is a time trial – so treat it like a race, but still focus on form, eyes front, knees higher, arms at side lifting the knees, hands relaxed, on toes. For those racing on Sunday, this is a sharpening exercise to make sure you are comfortable at your race pace as a lot of Sunday's race – especially in the second half – will be uphill. Push tomorrow, but don't tire yourselves out – take it easy on the 200m jogs.
In Coach Rich Club News –
Greetings Thursday Morning Faithful.
Good luck to all running the Club Challenge 10M this weekend. It is a truly great event where we get to represent as DCRRs The Team. I will give all you first timers my usual warning. The 1st 5M are all downhill and significantly downhill. Try to hold back, a lot. The 2nd 5M are all uphill and really tough uphill. My personal experience on the course having run it 4 times was in the first 2 times, I suffered mightily over the last 5M. The last two times I ran negative splits and it felt so good to finish strong. It takes great restraint to run negative splits on this course. If you go out too fast you will pay dearly and hate the last half of the race. Especially miles 6 and 8. So run smart and just remember this warning! Of course, even running smart miles 6 and 8 will hurt. BTW – there are still some places on the Bus so register on the Club website ASAP!
One person at the races this past weekend. Let's hear it for Liz Ozeki who ran the Kensington Parkrun 5K in 20:06. She is definitely back and will certainly be back under 20 minutes in her next 5K. Way to go Liz
The Burke Lake 12K is on March 6 and the Club Banquet is that night. Kiera D'Amato is the guest speaker. The Ft. Hunt 10K is the last of the Snowball Series races and it is on Sunday March 13. You can register for both races and the banquet on the club website: www.dcroadrunners.org.
See you tomorrow. Happy running!
Coach Big Guy and Coach Rich will be at Yorktown tomorrow morning!
Fellow Endorphin Junkies
The weather tomorrow will be challenging, with temps at about 50 and low humidity at 51%, but windy – regularly 14 mph, with gusts up to 21 mph, so for everybody but the Big Guy, the wind will be pushing you around a bit. We will meet at Yorktown HS track, around the corner from the school on Greenbriar street (the track is technically in Greenbriar Park) – warm up at about 5:40 am, before the 6 AM start time for instructions.
As Captain for the RRCA 10 Mile Challenge race, I'd like to thank many of you for signing up – we had over 90 people sign up, an incredible turn-out spurred in part by the massive guilt trip I laid on many of you! ;-) Seriously, this chance to run together as a team is special, and I look forward to sharing it with all who signed up. BTW – there are still about ten or so places left on the bus, which you can sign up for on the Club website, and we are hoping to have some food and refreshments on the return bus ride for celebrating our performances in the race – see you all there!
February 17, 2022 – 5 x 1000m at 5K ("Interval") Pace, w/400m easy jogs in between
Water breaks are important ALL year round, even when it is cool like tomorrow, so remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs – after each interval if possible, but at least every other interval!
NOTE: I expect to see your heart rates in the high 80% of Maximum range, but if your rates are higher, you need to slow down!
Stallions: 5:15 to 6:15 Pace
Wolf Pack: 6:15 to 7:00 Pace
Gazelles: 6:45 to 7:30 Pace
Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 7:30 to 9:30 Pace
This week's workout is a strong speed workout, but given the distance, also an endurance workout. Focus on form, eyes front, knees higher, arms at side lifting the knees, hands relaxed, on toes. This is a 5k race for us (with 4 x 400m jogs added!), so take it easy on the recovery jog/walk/water legs of 400m, and if you are feeling frisky, put it into the last 1000m interval, perhaps in 3k pace.
In Coach Rich Club News –
Hi Everyone. A couple of real nice results from last week ...
Paul Ryan ran a strong 22:39 at the PVTC 5K on Hains Point. He was 1st over 70. His goal for the year is to get back under 22 minutes so he is well on his way for February! Congrats to Paul.
Liz Ozeiki returned to the podium for the first time postpartum. Liz was the 2nd OA Female at the Kemp Mill Chill 10K in a strong time of 42:39.
Next race is the Club Challenge 10M on Feb 27. Registration is closed but you can still get a seat on the bus.
The Burke Lake 12K is on March 6 and the Club Banquet is that night. Kiera D'Amato is the guest speaker. You can register for race and the banquet on the club website: www.dcroadrunners.org.
See you tomorrow. Happy running!
Coach Big Guy and Coach Rich will be at Yorktown tomorrow morning!
The DC Road Runners Club is a member of the Road Runners Club of America and is also affiliated with USA Track & Field. We provide a year-round schedule of running events that offer everyone a chance to participate regardless of age, gender, or athletic ability. |