Fellow Endorphin Junkies
Tomorrow's weather will be chilly and windy, upper 30s to mid-50s with 20 to 30 mph winds and humidity. W&L and Yorktown are essentially closed according to the County website, but Yorktown and some of the Fairfax County HS tracks (McLean and Falls Church apparently) are open for track work, but you could do this workout anywhere on flatter trails where miles are marked off if you cannot find an open track.
Coach Big Guy will be sending out an email this week discussing the possibility of opening back up track workouts but would like some input from our regular track attendees – with the hope to gather a select group as early as next week. As usual, Coach BG and his pod, as well as some others will be at Yorktown in the AM – this week starting the intervals at 7:30 AM.
April 22, 2021 – No TMBC - ON THE TRACK ON YOUR OWN: 3 x 1600m in 10k Pace, with 400m jogs between, then 2 x 400m in 5k pace with 200m jog
Stallions: 5:45 to 6:30 Pace, 15 to 30 seconds faster on the 5k Pace
Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:15 Pace, 15 to 30 seconds faster on the 5k Pace
Gazelles: 7:15 to 8:00 Pace, 15 to 30 seconds faster on the 5k Pace
Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 8:00 to 10:00 Pace, 15 to 30 seconds faster on the 5k Pace
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 – Finish strong, – but remember we are doing the traditional 2 x 400m in 5k Pace to finish, so let's try to leave a little in the tank for those.
And now the Coach Rich News!
Greetings Thursday morning faithful. One really nice result this week. Arielle Weiner decided to shake off the racing cobwebs and ran a Cherry Blossom 10M down at Hains Point. She had some great weather and took full advantage of the flat terrain uncorking a PR time of 1:04:29. A fabulous time for Arielle and well the PR speaks for itself. Running over the pandemic time has been good to her. Huge congrats Arielle!
Happy Running!
Coach Big Guy will be out doing the workout at W&L tomorrow, hoping to lure Coach Rich to visit!
