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10 x 500m in 5k, 300m jogs

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

We will be at the Yorktown track tomorrow, in Greenbriar Park around the corner from the school entrance, someet us for warm up around 5:40 AM for a 6 AM sharp start. Tomorrow's weather will be cold but clear, with temps in the Upper 20s, lower humidity at 75%, with much less wind than today, so good winter weather. Despite the nice conditions, you should still bring water for hydration after at least every other interval after you finish the 300m jog rest interval.

I wanted to add a note – I had a great 5k race on Saturday, qualifying me as an All-American – I was a High School and College All-American, and ran a qualifying mile time in my 40s, but this was my first Road Race All-American finish – by 23 seconds, and I won a Cherry Pie as the fastest 65-69 guy! ;-) Seriously, this result belongs not to me, but to all of you. I would never have gotten here without the support and assistance of the TMBCrew and my fellow DC Roadrunners – Jill, Eunja, Admiral Paul, Tatyana, Rodrigo, and especially Anne Coia, amongst many others, who have run with me, trained me, raced me, urged me on, and picked me up and pushed me across the finish line more times than I can count. Without your support, your Coach – and all your fellow runners – could not do what we do. On that note, I want to urge you all to gather as a team for the Club Challenge 10 miler next Sunday – registration closes tomorrow, and the Club not only pays your entry fee, but they also give you a party bus to get to the race and back – please sign up! Details on the Club website and in President Ben's email yesterday. In the meantime, tomorrow's workout is a great tune up for the Club Challenge!

February 15, 2024 - 10 x 500m in 5k pace, with 300m jog recovery in between

· Stallions: 5:30 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 9:30 Pace

This is another speed workout guaranteed to build both strength and stamina for your winter/spring races! Tomorrow, I believe you should start at 10k pace on the first couple of intervals, increasing pace each interval quickly until you are running 5k pace. These are tougher than they look, so try to finish strong - push that last 100, and make sure you focus on form, so you run efficiently, effectively, and injury-free. Biggest area of improvement needed for most is to lift your knees higher, while dropping your arm swings to your waist. Be careful about crossing your arms across your chest, as this rotates your core and slows you down. Running every interval just a little faster will help you learn to control your pace, which is very important in shorter races from 5k to the half marathon – and essential tool in your repertoire.

In Club news from Coach Rich ...

Hi Everyone. A few races to report on this week as Spring marathon training is getting into full gear.

Big Guy ran the By George 5K down at Hains Point in a time of 25:08. This was good for 1st M65-69 and a return to All-American age group status in the M65-69 AG category. Way to go Coach!!!

At the Mesa Marathon in Phoenix some beautiful racing and pacing (by Tatyana). Congrats to Walter and Dexter on chasing those BQs and getting them.

3:10:09 - Walter Barrett, BQ by 9+min

3:12:41 - Dexter Steis, BQ by 12+min

3:12:08 - Tatyana Steis, 3rd 45-49

Paul Ryan is back from his cruise around South America and ran his first 5K of the year. A fine time of 25:04 at the Fletcher's Parkrun 5K.

Langley 8K

33:08 - Brian Young, 2nd 45-49

33:57 - Elise Mullenniex, 1st 30-34

34:41 - Hope Seck, 1st 35-39

44:40 - Anne Coia, 1st 55-59

45:10 - Eunja Rau, 3rd 50-54

46:06 - David Meeks

50:05 - Lisa Towell, 3rd 55-59

The next club race is the Club Challenge 10M on February 25th – the Club pays your entrance fee and provides a bus – sign ups close Thursday (tomorrow)\. Additionally, award nominations for the 2023 year are now open for submission. And lastly the Club's annual banquet is set for March 10 and registration to attend is now open. Details for all of these is on the DCRRC Homepage at dcroadrunners.org.

Happy Running!

Coach Big Guy will be at Yorktown in the AM!

Distance Medley Ladders, sort of

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

TMBC practice tomorrow is at Yorktown track, in Greenbriar Park around the corner from the school entrance. Tomorrow's weather will be cold, with temps in the upper 20s, higher humidity at 85%, a slight breeze, and no chance of rain. Even with these decent conditions you should still bring water for hydration after longer intervals before you start the rest intervals. I would add something to Coach Rich's note – the Club Challenge 10 Miler is a lot of fun, and the only whole Club team run – please think about signing up to help the team score well!

FEBRUARY 8, 2023 – TMBC: – 1200m in 10k, 400m jog, 400m in 5k, 200m jog, 800m at 5k pace, 30 seconds standing rest, 200m at 95%, followed by 5 minutes rest w/hydration, then repeat sequence – plus a third time for Stallions

Water breaks are important ALL year round, even when it cooler like tomorrow, so remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs - tomorrow after each interval!

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

Stallions: 6:00 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

This week's workout is a speed/stamina workout, aimed at building strength and endurance for your Spring marathons. Ease into these, and be careful on the track, especially the 200s, if it is slick again - and it will probably be slick. The 200s should be in 3k to 1k speed and be careful as you finish not to come to a quick stop – slow down over 20 to 30 yards and avoid pulling a muscle, then hydrate! This is not really the Distance Medley, as the last leg of that is 1600m, not 200m, but you will be thanking Coach Ed you are only running 200 meters when it finishes! ;-)

Here is the Coach Rich Club News this week:

Greetings Thursday morning faithful!

Many thanks to Rodrigo for giving me one race to report on this week. He is over in Spain and ran the Villarrubia de los Ojos 10K. He finished 3rd in the "Senior" division and this was the first time he made the podium in this series of races. His time was a very nice 35:08. Rodrigo hopes to be dipping under 34 minutes in a couple of months. He current PR is 34:05.

Good luck to Dexter Steis and Walter Barrett who are both heading out to Phoenix to run the Mesa Marathon this coming weekend. I believe they will have expert pacing duties from Tatyana as well. Run smart boys and good things will happen!

The next club race is the Langley 8K this Saturday February 10 – and there will be no SLR. After that is the Club Challenge 10M on Sunday February 25th. Sign up closes in a week on February 15th – don't forget to sign up for the free bus trip to the race in Columbia. Additionally, award nominations for the 2023 year are now open for submission. And lastly the club's annual banquet is set for March 10 and registration to attend is now open. Details for all of these is on the DCRRC Homepage at dcroadrunners.org.

Happy Running!

Coach Big Guy will be at Yorktown tomorrow!