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No TMBC - 2 x 15:00 in Tempo Pace 3:00 rest

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

Tomorrow will be a blast from the past couple of months, with Temps from the 70s to 90s, with mid 70s in the morning, and lots of humidity (100% at 7:00 AM), so get out early! Again, tracks are open, but no "organized" activities may take place. A few of us will be at Yorktown at 7, and last week we had some TMBC members before and after the 7 AM workout, so I expect we might see some of you tomorrow at Yorktown, while others will head to W&L or even Falls Church HS for track work. Even though we are not together physically, we are all remain together in our hearts!

September 3, 2020 – NO OFFICIAL TMBC – BUT ON THE TRACK ON YOUR OWN: 2 x 15:00 runs in Tempo Pace (or faster), with walk back to start, water and 3:00 recovery

I always have trouble describing Tempo Pace, although you can go to the Macmillan Running Calculator, add some data, and calculate what your pace should be, but here it is from the Macmillan Horse's mouth:

"Tempo Run
The Tempo Run is a medium effort run that improves your lactate threshold – the point where lactic acid begins to build up. Tempo Runs usually last 10-40 minutes and breathing is fast but under control. Training partners can usually speak in short sentences during a Tempo Run. Running too fast is a common error so remember to keep a Tempo Run at a medium effort and never lose your breath.

Tempo Intervals

Tempo Intervals are simply broken up Tempo Runs. They usually last 5-20 minutes and include short recovery intervals between. Effort may start at medium on the first few repeats and build to medium-hard by the last few repeats."

For Keith and I, we've been running our 10k pace around eight and 5k in the low sevens, and I've calculated our Tempo at a bit over 9 minute pace – so if you add a minute to your 10k pace you won't be too far off!

And now Voices from the Crew!

Since Coach Rich did not have a Club News report this week, I thought I'd call on one of our Stallions to tell us the story of how he and the speedy Kristie Wetzel met and got started – Dating AND Running – here is Rodrigo's version:

Coach asked how Christie and I met...

People might think Christie and I were always a fit couple who were already runners when we first met. It was quite the opposite - we actually met at a party when we were studying in Malaga, Spain, at a time when we had pretty typical college student habits that didn't prioritize exercise. For 5 years, we were long-distance, traveling to visit each other every few months (and Christie spent a year and a half in Spain for grad school).

It was when I finally moved to the USA that we started running on a treadmill, mostly to lose weight, but also with the motivation of the Rock n Roll DC Half a few months away. Over time, we realized that real runners also run out on the street and/or on the track! I didn't like running, but we started racing and our competitiveness made us faster. Still, Christie was always faster than me and kicked my butt every race!
Now we feel lucky to have met such nice people to run with and be part of this great group!

Thank you!

Coach Big Guy will be out doing the workout at YHS tomorrow, but Coach Rich will probably march to a different drummer! ;-)

No TMBC - 3 x 1600m in 10k Pace + 2 x 400m in 5k

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

Tomorrow will be more of this week's same – low 70s to mid 90s with high humidity, so a morning workout with lots of fluids is better. Tracks are open, but it still seems that no "organized" activities may take place in Arlington. Nevertheless, the Yorktown track has seen some "TMBC regulars" on Thursday mornings (as well as Tuesdays), and last week it was a mini-TMBC reunion with 7 or 8 of us working out between 6 and 9 AM, so while we will not be doing the workout in sync, we can still say "Hi!" Three of us at least will be at Yorktown at 7 tomorrow, while others will head to W&L or even Falls Church for track work.

August 27, 2020 – NO TMBC – BUT BACK ON THE TRACK ON YOUR OWN: 3 x 1600m in 10k Pace, with 400m jogs, followed by 2 x 400m in 5k Pace, with 200m jog in between

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 to speed work – 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 – cadence should increase measurably on the track as opposed to the road and trail. 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, 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 too tense? Lap 3 – how is my breathing – through my nose and mouth - deeply? Lap 4 – let's try to finish strong, accelerating slowly but purposely to pick it up!

And now the Coach Rich News!

Greeting fellow Thursday morning faithful. Hope you all got out and enjoyed this morning's weather. It was glorious compared to the last 2 months but hopefully it will all start getting better soon.

Only one item to report this week and that is congratulations to Ze Dagher on a successful fundraising event, Run4Beirut. Over $4000 was raised for the Lebanese Red Cross in support of those in need after the horrific explosion in Beirut. Really great job Ze and all that supported the event!

Coach Big Guy and Coach Rich will be out doing the workout (or a variation) somewhere tomorrow