DC Road Runners - Enter your slogan here

10 to 12 x 500m, 300m jogs

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

The Yorktown track resurfacing continues, so we will again move TMBC to the W&L track this Thursday until Yorktown reopens – probably in early August. Washington-Liberty High School is located at 1301 N. Stafford Street, Arlington VA 22201, just a couple of blocks away from the Ballston Metro. We usually enter from the Stafford Street side, as the track is literally next door to and contiguous to W&L, but when I went on Tuesday morning for speed work, the Quincy Street side, directly opposite from Stafford was again open at 5:30, and the Stafford gate did not open till a little after 6 AM for some reason. Last week even the Quincy street side was open a little later, but most of you hopped the fence on the Quincy street gate VERY easily and got your warm up laps in – hopefully as with Tuesday we will have one gate open by 5:40.

Please arrive at W&L Stadium Track early so you can warm up prior to our 6 AM start of speed intervals. The weather will be better than later in the day this week - with temps in the high 60s, high 85% humidity and a little bit of wind – so the "Misery Index" Number will be 133 (69 degrees plus Dew Point 64), so just be cautious and monitor your heart rate! When conditions are like this, bring plenty of fluids to hydrate! I expect heart rates in the high-80 percent range, and if it gets higher, slow down!

June 20, 2024 – 10 to 12 x 500m in 5k pace, with 300m jog recovery in between

· Stallions: 5:30 to 6:30 Pace, 12 Intervals

· Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:00 Pace, 11 – 12 Intervals

· Gazelles: 7:00 to 7:45 Pace, 10 to 11 Intervals

· Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 7:45 to 9:30 Pace, 10 Intervals

This is another speed workout guaranteed to build both strength and stamina for your Summer races – Like Friday night's and July 4th's 4 milers! If you are racing Friday night, I believe 8 to 10 intervals are more than enough. 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 Big Guy ...

Still only hearing from a couple of you, so please send me your race results!

In those I saw on Strava, or got an email for, here are the results:

Alum and Occasional TMBCer Liz Ozeki ran a 19:41 in the Suds and Soles 5k Saturday night. Our own Admiral, Paul Ryan, ran a 24:11 5k at Anacostia, 4th OA – great job by the Ageless Wonder! New TMBC stalwart Ken Stazzeri did a same-day double while on Vacation (?!?!) in New Jersey at the Cape May Point 2 and 5 Miler ran on Saturday June 15th, where in the First race – a 2 Miler – Ken ran a 13:10, good for First in the 40-49 AG, 12th overall. The Second race ended differently, with Ken getting a Coach Big Guy "wrong turn on the course" user error after only 40 minutes between races, where in the second race 5-Miler he ran 33:05, 4th AG, 25th overall, despite going a tenth of a mile off-course and allowing two Age Group runners to pass him. Despite the error, still an excellent result – way to go Ken!

The Next two races are the Hugh Jascourt 4 Miler this Friday at 7 PM, followed by the always amazing fun July 4th Age-Handicapped 4 Miler – which will be the TMBC workout that week as it is run on Thursday morning. Detail for both on the Club website https://www.dcroadrunners.org/.

Happy Running!

Coach Big Guy will be at W&L in the AM, although just running easy miles as he is on the DL!

3 to 4 x 1600m in 10k, 400m Jogs - AT W&L Track!!!

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

As it turns out, last Thursday WAS the last TMBC at Yorktown until August, as Arlington County started the Yorktown track resurfacing this past Monday. As a result, we will temporarily move TMBC to the W&L track starting this Thursday morning until Yorktown reopens – probably in early August. Most of you have run at W&L for the Christmas Relays or even Coach Ed's Wednesday night track practice there. Washington-Liberty High School is located at 1301 N. Stafford Street, Arlington VA 22201, just a couple of blocks away from the Ballston Metro. We usually enter from the Stafford Street side, as the track is literally next door to and contiguous to W&L, but when I went on Tuesday morning for speed work, the Quincy Street side, directly opposite from Stafford was open at 5:30, and the Stafford gate did not open till 6 AM for some reason, but the track was open – YAY! – and very filled with runners – as TMBC regulars Paul Ryan, Anna Staats, Carrie Dunn, Ze, and Coach Big Guy were flybys. In addition, you can always hop the fence on the Quinch street gate VERY easily if the track hasn't yet opened.

Please arrive at W&L Stadium Track early, say 5:40, so you can warm up prior to our 6 AM start of speed intervals. The weather will be a bit warmer in the morning – hasn't it been great running this week! - with temps in the lower-60s, high 90% humidity and a little bit of wind. When conditions are like this, still bring plenty of fluids to hydrate! I expect heart rates in the mid-80 percent range, and if it gets higher, slow down! If you really want a Mile Time Trial, you can still probably make tonight's Wednesday night track group at W&L at 7:15 PM, but since we are a smaller group, we are just going to run 1600s (just short of a mile) in the AM.

June 13, 2024 – TMBC: 3 to 4 x 1600m in 10k Pace, with 400m jogs between

Stallions: 5:45 to 6:30 Pace, 4 Intervals

Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:15 Pace, 3 to 4 intervals

Gazelles: 7:15 to 8:00 Pace, 3 to 4 intervals

Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 8:00 to 10:00 Pace, 3 intervals

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 from long distance form to speed work form – 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 (aka "Overstride") – cadence should increase measurably on the track as opposed to the road and trail. Instead, 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, mentally 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 Finish strong" – but remember to pace yourselves no your final interval is quicker than your first interval – remember to work towards negative splits!

... and the Coach Big Guy Club Report –

So finally, a lot of results to report! Many of you ran the Women's Distance Festival/Run After the Women 5k, and as usual, the TMBC Gals brought the Heat in a near sweep, finishing 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th overall, and several other great performances by both the Women and the Men!

Women's Distance Festival 5k

Anna Staats - 2nd Overall Female in 19:17, 1st Age Group

Elise Mullinex – 3rd Overall Female in 19:49, 2nd Age Group

Liz Ozeki – 4th Overall Female in 20:35, 3rd Age Group

Hope Seck – 6th Overall Female in 21:34, 4th in Age Group

Yuko Takakusaki – 14th Overall Female in 24:02, 3rd in Age Group

Dara Shulman – 29th Overall Female in 28:35, 4th in Age Group

Run After the Women 5k

Kenneth Strazzeri – 5th Overall Male in 19:36, 1st in Age Group

David Meeks – 10th Overall Male ion 20:34, 1st in Age Group

In New York City, there was a Mini-Marathon 10k, and some nice times on a scenic route!:

Deborah Margraff ran 1:21:00

Anne Sea ran 59:26

Assistant Coach Eunja Rau ran, but I don't have her time

In Spain, Rodrigo Vellon ran a 10k, but wouldn't tell me his time as he'd run a 10-mile workout that morning, but while I cannot read Spanish, it sure looked like he still ran well and placed! Our Assistant Coach Jill Brasky ran a Trifecta of Half-Marathon races on successive days (6, 7 & 8) last week- !!! – and placed 7th in her age group twice, and 10th in the third – way to gut it out Jilly!! In sadder Jill news, she is sadly leaving DC (although she will never leave us!), so she can stuff the ballot box in a Swing State – Ohio – this fall. Former Club President Debra Margraff and the Club are hosting a going away party for her right after SLR on Saturday morning – details below:

For anyone who has not heard the sad news, our beloved Coach Jill Brasky is moving to Ohio in July. You are invited to come by and wish her well after SLR. We will have coffee, tea, bagels and some baked goods. Feel free to bring anything else. We'll be in the party room where there is plenty of space to bring kids and other family members and friends. The building gym locker rooms are available if you need to freshen up.

Where: Williamsburg Condominium

1276 N Wayne St Arlington

Enter #522 in the lobby directory to be buzzed in

Party room is just to the right as you come in the door

Date: Saturday June 15th

Time: 9AM-12PM

See you there,

Your host committee (Deb, Lisa, Anne, Eunja and Big Guy)

Coach Big Guy will see you at W&L Track at 6 AM after warmup tomorrow!