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Track Nov 16 - 3 x 1600, 400 rest

Fellow Endorphin Junkies -

The weather tomorrow morning will again be nice - very cool at 43 degrees and very humid at 88%, with little breezes of 4 MPH and little chance of rain (although the track will likely be damp from overnight showers).  It is easy to forget to hydrate in the fall and winter, but our bodies still need it for active recovery, so you should definitely still remember to bring fluids!  Accordingly, the Thursday Morning DCRRC Track Practice in Arlington will begin at the Yorktown High School track tomorrowat 6:00 AM sharp, with announcements before 6 - so please get there early to warm up.  The workout as follows:

• Stallions: 6:00 to 6:30 Pace
• Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:00 Pace 
• Gazelles: 7:00 to 7:45 Pace
• Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 7:45 to 10:00 Pace

For those recovering from Richmond, either skip the workout or do these real easy with Big Guy.  Everybody else - except Philly runners - should do these at pace or a slightly easier pace, depending on your personal level of recovery from fall marathons or races.  For those of you running Philly, do these today at marathon pace - or join us in the morning for three at MP or easier to stretch out.  Everybody should take some time tomorrow during these runs to focus on those form issues I continue to stress - lifting knees, keeping your core still, slight lean from the ankles, and no crossing your arms over your chest - wide hips or not!  ;-)  Anyone looking for some great inspiration and instruction on form, look no further than the videos on the Web of Shalane Flanagan at New York - particularly from Mile 24 to the finish - she looks like the 10,000 meter champion runner she was in college with that high knee lift and easy stride - best running form perhaps in the world!

Here is Coach Rich's Race Report and Club News this week: 

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Lots of great racing to report on this weekend from our Monday/Thursday regulars.  Read it, smile and congratulate everyone. 

Freezing temps in Richmond were great for our runners.  In the Marathon, Andrew Simpson ran a a sizzling 3:02:56.  Pretty darn close to a PR which I am sure will come another day before too long.  In the half marathon ...

1:30:23 - Allan Ng, PR

1:31:25 - Carrie Dunn, PR, 2nd 40-44

1:31:41 - CaSandra Degrauwe Williamson, PR

1:34:30 - Bonnie Harvey, PR (by 3 minutes!)

1:36:01 - Eric Waskowicz

At the Charlotte Marathon Lindsey Baine got a 16 minute PR and broke 4 hours for the first time with a 3:56:50.  

At the Pacers Veteran's Day 10K Kevin Cunningham ran a real strong 44:59.  I suspect this could be a PR but I am not certain.  Kevin will have to let you all know.

Our Turkey Trot 5M is coming up quickly on Thanksgiving Day.  Would love to see you there running or volunteering.  If you are in town please consider signing up.  It is the clubs single biggest source of revenue each year so we would love your help one way or another.  Here is a link to the race registration page.

The Snowball Series Kicks off with the Bread Run on December 10.  Here is the link to the all the Snowball Races.  Hoping many of you will run but if not please consider volunteering.

Mark your calendars and come on out to Washington & Lee High School Track on Wednesday December 13th and get in the holiday spirit with our annual Holiday Relays.  Starting time is 7PM and happy hour will follow after the relays at ATown Bar & Grill in Ballston.  As is the tradition, this is a two-person relay.  We pair fastest and slowest runners together to make teams so all club member should feel welcome.  It is a fun event that everyone enjoys.  Prizes for fastest teams and costumes.  Food will be provided at happy hour.  The holiday relays replace the club track workout for that night and for Thursday morning.  

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I will be out to coach in the morning and hoping to be back to easy 1600s tomorrow after slowly coming back from back spasms over the past two weeks!   

Track Nov 2 - 4-8 x 800, 400 rest

Fellow Endorphin Junkies -

The weather tomorrow morning will again be nice - very cool at 42 degrees and very humid at 90%, with little breezes of 4 MPH and little chance of rain, but you should definitely still remember to bring fluids!

Accordingly, the Thursday Morning DCRRC Track Practice in Arlington will begin at the Yorktown High School track tomorrow at 6:00 AM sharp, with announcements before 6 - so please get there early to warm up.  The workout is as follows:

4 to 8 x 800m in 5k pace - with 400m jog recovery in between

• Stallions: 5:45 to 6:15 Pace
• Wolf Pack: 6:15 to 6:45 Pace
• Gazelles: 6:45 to 7:30 Pace
• Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 7:30 to 9:30 Pace

For those recovering from MCM, you could do 4 to 6 of these, perhaps in 10k pace rather than 5k Pace.  For earlier Fall marathon runners, run 6 to 8 of the 800s at 5k or easier pace, depending on your personal level of recovery.  For those of you running a marathon in 10 days or further, such as Richmond, this is a good final speed workout - just make sure you are stretched and don’t push too hard - 6 to 8 are fine.   Remember that 800s in 5k are tough, so use the entire 400m is to fully recover.  As this is a tough workout if you are doing a full slate, you want to pace yourself through these, not going out too fast on the first couple.  last week the most common form error was not using your arms to lift your knees sufficiently to increase cadence - watch that, and try not to cross over your chest - keep the core still!

For those of you running Richmond - good luck, and email Coach Big Guy (bigguy at dcroadrunners.org) so I can give you a little inspiration.  If you Richmonders are going to run, do some Tempo miles today at Marathon Pace, or a few of these 800s tomorrow at Marathon Pace

Here is Coach Rich’s club news for this week:

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Congrats to our Savannah Marathon and Half Marathon participants.  Sadly these ladies had to deal with very warm conditions but still turned in fine performances. 

• 4:29:12 - Eunja Rau
• 4:36:00 - Virginia Reynolds
• 2:21:11 - Anne Coia (Half)

Our Turkey Trot 5M is coming up quickly on Thanksgiving Day.  Would love to see you there running or volunteering.  If you are in town please consider signing up.  It is the clubs single biggest source of revenue each year so we would love your help one way or another.  Here is a link to the race registration page.

The Snowball Series Kicks off with the Bread Run on December 10.  Here is the link to the all the Snowball Races.  Hoping many of you will run but if not please consider volunteering.

Mark your calendars and come on out to Washington & Lee High School Track on Wednesday December 13th and get in the holiday spirit with our annual Holiday Relays.  Starting time is 7PM and happy hour will follow after the relays at ATown Bar & Grill in Ballston.  As is the tradition, this is a two-person relay.  We pair fastest and slowest runners together to make teams so all club member should feel welcome.  It is a fun event that everyone enjoys.  Prizes for fastest teams and costumes.  Food will be provided at happy hour.  The holiday relays replace the club track workout for that night and for Thursday morning.  

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I will see you at the track in the morning.  I hope to do some light jogging as I try to overcome back spasms from earlier this week!

Big Guy