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3 x 1600m in 10k Pace

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

For those in good health, tomorrow will be a warmer and humid July day - between the high sixties and the low nineties, and since it will warm up quickly, consider a morning workout. Tracks are open, but it still seems that no "organized" activities may take place in Arlington, so we are going to suggest you run in your self-organized small groups until we get further clearance. The Yorktown track has seen some "regulars" on Thursday mornings (as well as Tuesdays), so while we will not be doing the workout in sync, we can still say "Hi!" Three of us will be at Yorktown at 7, 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. If you worked any Speed or Tempo work over the last few weeks, feel free to try this week's 1600s, otherwise I'd run these at slower than 10k pace to get yourself back in the track habit (a habit I've never been able to break! ;-) ).

July 2, 2020 – NO TMBC – BUT BACK ON THE TRACK ON YOUR OWN: 3 x 1600m in 10k Pace, with 400m jogs

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 to 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!

Greetings crew. As the pandemic continues, some small amount of real racing took place this past week. 41 runners participated in the Hugh Jascourt 4M. I am happy to report nice performances for the two TMBC crew members who took part. Alex Cooke was 2nd overall in a sprint to the finish with Bobby Beasley. His time was a strong 23:10 and he ran every mile faster than the one before. Melinda Metz was the 1st OAF with a time of 29:11. Congrats to both of you!

The #dcrrc1milechallenge is back for July. This is a virtual One-mile event run solely on track this time. It starts on July 13 and finishes on July 18. Once again, this will be the TMBC workout for that week. All the details are at https://www.dcroadrunners.org/ and on the club Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/2808709242748723/

Also in July, TeensRun DC is holding their QuaranTeens Run DC Virtual 5K. The race is free but you do need to register in advance. We are sponsoring the race so you can sign up on our website. They are also taking donations to support their efforts to mentor kids in underserved areas in DC. Even if you can give just $1 it would be appreciated. If you donate $35 you do get a nice race shirt but again the race is free to participate in so set a 5K goal and go out there and get it! For more about Teens Run DC go to: https://www.teensrundc.org/

Happy running!

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

4 to 5 x 1000m at 5K ("interval") Pace to 10K Pace, w/400m easy jogs in between

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

The weather tomorrow morning will be as nice as it will be this week, with cooler temps at high sixties through low 80s and lower humidity at 85% down to 50%, little chance of rain, and only 6 to 7 MPH winds, and as always you should bring plenty of fluids.

We continue with NO FORMAL Thursday Morning DCRRC Track Practice in Arlington, although some will run at the Yorktown High School track tomorrow at 7:00, while others will be at W&L and Falls Church HS at various times, due to the on-going Coronavirus restrictions. We hope to be back soon, but until then, self appointed small groups can do our scheduled workouts on their own.

June 25, 2020 – 4 to 5 x 1000m at 5K ("interval") Pace to 10K Pace, w/400m easy jogs in between

Water breaks are important ALL year round, particularly when it will be warm like tomorrow, so remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs - tomorrow each time we finish at our usual start place!

NOTE: I expect to see your heart rates in the mid to high 80% of Maximum range, but if your rates are higher, you need to slow down!

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

Wolf Pack: 6:15 to 7:15 Pace, 5 Intervals

Gazelles: 6:45 to 7:45 Pace, 4 to 5 Intervals

Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 7:45 to 10:00 Pace, 4 Intervals

If you are just getting back to track work, aim for the slower end of the ranges and lesser numbers of intervals!

This week's workout is a strong speed workout, but given the distance, also and endurance workout, particularly with the summer heat and humidity. Focus on form, eyes front, knees higher, arms at side lifting the knees, hands relaxed, on toes. This is about a 5k race for most of you, so take it easy on the recovery jog/walk/water legs of 400m!

In Coach Rich Club News –

Greetings fellow Thursday faithful. In the news this week is the completion of both the Snowball Series and the #dcrrc5Kchallenge.

Snowball Series results are finally finalized :) Complete results can be found at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vRSnYvhtxwX_1lkhqD0dYikF1OhB3OxkSTpqeB-nOz4M4t5GbiDAXwnija8UbXc_ExyF6YEYM84w1B6/pubhtml

Several podium finishes amongst our crew:

Mikala Whitaker 1st 20-24
Liz Ozeki 1st 30-34
Christie Wetzel 2nd 30-34
Dara Schulman 3rd 40-44
Yuko Takakusaki 1st 50-54
Alex Cooke 1st 25-29
Chris Walsh 2nd 25-29
Will Hernandez 3rd 30-34
Steve Peterson 3rd 50-54
Rich Mendelowitz 1st 60-64
Keith Campbell 3rd 60-64

Congrats to all who participated in the Snowball Series and Three Cheers for our podium finishers!

We had several folks participate in the #dcrrc5kchallenge which was a virtual event. Since the mile in May showed that times varied wildly based on course selection we chose not to score time for this event and instead let you challenge yourselves on time. The scoring was on some fun photo categories and Strava Art. As you might have guessed we had a a few of winners and you have to check out the links to their winning efforts:

Most Creative Strava Art Female - Liz Ozeki with her self portrait

https://www.facebook.com/DCRoadRunners/photos/a.3957012381040388/3981904311884528/?type=3&theater

Most Creative Strava Art Male - Alex Cooke with his Cat

https://www.facebook.com/DCRoadRunners/photos/a.3957012381040388/3973623576045935/?type=3&theater

Coolest Face Covering Male - Will Henandez

https://www.facebook.com/DCRoadRunners/photos/a.3957012381040388/3977522482322711/?type=3&theater

Though we did not score time awards for this event, once again Ze Dagher chose to run an exact 5K on the track and got another fabulous PR of 17:38. Way to go Ze. Here is a link to all the fun awards and time results: https://www.dcroadrunners.org/races/race-results/2020-results/4005-dcrrc5kchallenge-final-results-and-photos.html

Also, you should not miss the photo results summary. Just some great pictures to enjoy: https://www.facebook.com/pg/DCRoadRunners/photos/?tab=album&album_id=3957012381040388

Happy running!

Coach Big Guy will be at Yorktown tomorrow, but Coach Rich is on a different Speed workout schedule, having Paced Admiral Paul to a great run on Tuesday!