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NO TMBC – 12 to 16 x 400m in 10k Pace, with 100m jogs

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

Tomorrow's weather will be pretty lovely, with temps in the high 50s to mid-70s, with some wind and almost no chance of rain! There will still be pretty high humidity in the AM, but with the lower temps it should not be too burdensome. Enjoy this while you can, but still make sure to Hydrate!

Several of us will be at Yorktown tomorrow morning at 7 AM, but others might want to plan to be there either before or after – or at W&L or Falls Church HS - for now, let's keep the groups small, familiar, staggered in start times, and disorganized! ;-) BTW – I am going to be asking Arlington County and then the Board about maybe starting up in small, socially-distanced pace groups for track practice (maybe staggered start times) since everyone else seems to be doing it – I will let you all know.

September 24, 2020 – NO TMBC – ON THE TRACK ON YOUR OWN: 12 to 16 x 400m in 10k Pace, with 100m jogs

Stallions: 5:45 to 6:30 Pace

Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:15 Pace

Gazelles: 7:15 to 8:00 Pace

Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 8:00 to 10:00 Pace

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. I plan on at least 12, and maybe as many as 14, while only the Stallions or someone doing serious training for a planned virtual race should go 16. You should also focus on your form – get up on your toes and Lift your knees!

And now Voices from the Crew (sort of)

Coach Rich had no news this week, but I failed to get a Crew Member to add a voice, so I thought that since people are training without a lot of specific goals due to the Covid shutdown that I would include an interesting Active.com article about building training plans and avoiding "junk" miles:

How Runners Can Avoid Junk Miles and Get Faster
by Marc Lindsay
January 15, 2019

It might seem like common sense — the more you run, the faster you'll get. But there are times when more training miles doesn't necessarily translate into a new personal record. Hitting a plateau in your fitness level eventually happens, and when it does you'll need to evaluate the quality of your training, not just how often you run.
To fine tune your training plan and run smarter instead of harder, you'll want to cut unnecessary mileage out of your training to get faster in the process.

WHAT ARE JUNK MILES?

In short, junk miles can be any miles you run during the week that aren't providing your body with a physiological benefit. In other words, it's not only the quantity of your mileage, but also the quality. While proponents of high-mileage training programs that emphasize total weekly mileage as a means to get faster might argue against this notion, creating variety in your training pace and having a plan for each workout are important factors to consider when training for a specific race or goal time for a set distance.
Where most junk miles come into play is when runners deviate from a predetermined plan. An easy, 3-mile recovery run after a hard day of intervals that speeds up into a 6-mile tempo run halfway through does little else for your body than sabotage your goals.
All athletes need time to recover and adapt to change physiologically. In this scenario, instead of letting your body rest, you've gone moderately hard and may not be able to put your full effort into the following day's hard workout. In addition, you're also setting yourself up for injury by upping mileage when your body may not be ready for the added effort.
To get faster, your hard runs should be hard and your recovery runs should be easy. If you're unable to give full effort during your interval training and conversely intensify your recovery runs, you're only holding yourself back from improving.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR MILEAGE COUNT

There are two things you can do to cut mileage that isn't benefiting you: Follow a training plan or make a training calendar and be as disciplined as you can in following this plan. Making a training plan months in advance allows you to plan your runs with a particular goal in mind, whether it's interval runs to get faster for a pace goal, long runs to build up to a certain distance or recovery runs to give your muscles time to adapt to the previous day's efforts.
If you can stay disciplined, running purposefully pays dividends. Here are a few general principles you can follow to help you avoid adding unnecessary miles and develop a balanced training plan that focuses on quality:
• 75% of your runs should be at a conversational pace. These are your long runs and your recovery runs.
• The other 25% should consist of interval training (once or twice per week), hill work and drills.
• Every 2–3 weeks, include a tempo run. This measures your progress and helps determine necessary adjustments to your training plan.
• Schedule off days. One or two days per week, rest or do another activity that doesn't involve running, such as cycling, swimming or weight training.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU NEED TO RUN

Sometimes you just need to run even when it's an off day. Sometimes running can help you clear your mind, destress after a long day or simply spend time with friends and family. When you find yourself in these situations, follow a few simple rules:
• Run easy. Slow is the key. Don't worry about your pace or time.
• Keep it short. These every-once-in-a-while runs shouldn't be longer than four miles.
Modify. Tell your coach you've added a run to your weekly routine. If needed, tweak your training to accommodate the extra miles.

Coach Big Guy will be out doing the workout tomorrow and so will Coach Rich!

No TMBC, but on Track 6 x 800m w/400m jog in 10k Pace

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

Tomorrow will be a little warmer than the last couple of days, but still getting fall-like early on, with Dew Point + Temp only in the 120s from 6 through 9 AM, so get out early and enjoy it! 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 for track work. Even though we are not together physically, we TMBC'ers are all remain together in our hearts.

September 17, 2020 – NO OFFICIAL TMBC – BUT ON THE TRACK ON YOUR OWN: 6 x 800m in 10k Pace (or faster), with 400m jog

Stallions: 5:45 to 6:30 Pace

Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:15 Pace

Gazelles: 7:15 to 8:00 Pace

Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 8:00 to 10:00 Pace

If you are feeling frisky tomorrow, you could start at 10k pace and move to 5k to push it a bit for the six intervals, but please watch yourself and have plenty of water available to hydrate at least every other interval. You Stallions might even do an extra interval or two, but if you do – keep these at 10k pace. Form at 10k pace still matters – get up on your toes, lift your knees a bit more, and make sure your arms are involved in lifting rather than crossing over and causing you to break stride. At this point in the cycle (as in, when will it ever end?), you still want a bit of speed to build strength and to guard against injury, and focusing on your form will also protect against injury – whether on the track OR your long runs!

And now the Coach Rich News!

Greetings to all TMBC goers past and hopefully future. Hope everyone enjoyed the cooler temps this week. Just glorious!

Last week brought the end to the virtual Boston Marathon. Andrew Simpson turned in a nice performance of 3:18 and had a large supporting cast of many of you along the way [Coach BG note – those TMBC members are a supportive group!]. Congrats to Andrew who admits he had to do it to get the Boston Medal to add to his collection! Of course getting the shirt is nice too.

Swinging to the opposite end of the spectrum Paul Ryan along with 7 or so others in his other club, Athletes East, took on the Virtual 5th Avenue Mile. Paul calls this his Sunday morning old farts group of all Masters runners. They did this on a local track in Maryland that of course did not resemble 5th Avenue but what the heck, it was in the rules. Paul turned in a fine 6:16 which was his 2nd fastest time of the season. Another big hand for Paul! The race was won by Scott Anderson in 4:47. Scott was an outstanding collegiate runner at Princeton back in the late 90s and ran a sub 4 minute mile which is believed to be the 1st sub 4 by an Ivy League runner while competing in college.

Happy running everyone!

Coach Big Guy will be out doing the workout at YHS tomorrow, but Coach Rich is running with a friend tomorrow, so will do the workout later in the week