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3 to 5 x 1600m in 10k pace, 400m jogs

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 ideal, with temps in the low-50s, lower humidity at 81%, and a little wind! With these nice conditions, you should still bring water for hydration after every interval before you start the 400m jog rest interval. Good luck to those running Marine Corps on Sunday – tomorrow you should just warm up/down easy and run some easy marathon pace 400s with 200m jogs in between, and for the rest not running MCM, your number of intervals tomorrow should be based on race preparation and recovery from earlier races – any questions – just ask me tomorrow – otherwise – follow the recommendations below.

October 26, 2023 – TMBC: 3 to 5 x 1600m in 10k Pace, with 400m jogs between

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

First thing to remember – please start slower in that first interval – say 10-mile pace, then gradually increase pace until you are running at 10k pace. You could even run the entire first interval at 10m pace, just getting faster – remember "last set, best set." Second, 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 Rich Report –

Greetings Thursday morning track fans. It was fun seeing everyone last week. Congrats to our 5K time trial athletes. Heck of a kick by Andrew! Well done guys.

18:50 - Andrew Golden
19:03 - Brian Young
20:44 - Will Hernandez

Lauren Firey 5K ran the Children's National Race for Every Child 5K in 22:23 celebrating with the stroller in hand. Well done Lauren.

Christie Wetzel and Rodrigo Vellon ran the Emmaus 5K 16:38 3rd AG and 18:40 3rd OAF. Nice little tuneup for Rodrigo who is taking on the 50K this weekend along with Jack. Congrats and good luck.

The next club race is the Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M on Thanksgiving. We need lots of volunteers for this race. It is also super fun to run in this race. To sign up to run or volunteer, go to https://www.alexandriaturkeytrot.com/.  

Make sure and see all the club activities for MCM this weekend at https://www.dcroadrunners.org/. 

Happy running!

Coach Big Guy returns from ATX music and F1 and will see you at the Yorktown Track tomorrow!

5k Time Trial at TMBC

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

The weather tomorrow morning will again be great, with temps in the upper 40s, a bit more humid at 91%, and only a bit of wind at 6 MPH, and air quality. Despite the relatively nice weather, you should bring plenty of fluids. We will meet at Yorktown HS track, around the corner from the school on Greenbriar street (the track is technically in Greenbriar Park) – warm up at about 5:40 am, before the 6 AM start time for instructions. A couple of people had asked for a 5k time trial to help measure fitness, and since a time trial would be relatively close to the 2 x 20 minute Tempo runs workout Coach Ed planned, this seemed a good week to slightly deviate. Unfortunately, I will be in Austin until next week, but Coach Jill will be at Yorktown tomorrow.

October 19, 2023 – 5k time trial, at – surprise 5K ("Interval") Pace

Water breaks are important ALL year round, especially when it is warm like tomorrow, so remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs – after each interval, if possible, but at least every other interval!

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

Stallions: 5:15 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 10:30 Pace

This week's workout is a great speed workout, but given the distance, also an endurance workout. With a 5k time off this time trial, you can then use the McMillen Calculator to better predict your fall race times. After warmup and any announcements, Coach Jill with take everybody over to the other side of the track at the 200m mark, and start the workout, then head quickly to the regular start point to call out times throughout the 12 and a half loops around the track. For those of you who aren't up for a race-paced run, you could do 30 to 40 minutes around the track (preferably in Lane 2) at Tempo pace to approximate the planned workout while the speedier types are racing in Lane 1.

In Coach Rich Club News –

Hi Thursday morning faithful. Some really strong racing this past weekend.

Paul Ryan was supposed to be on vacation in Israel, but a safer place for him was definitely at Anacostia Park, running his fastest 5K of 2023. His time was 23:35 while running strong and feeling good while running negative splits. He is an ageless wonder! Congrats Paul.

Eunja Rau and Lauren Firey took on the Detroit Free Press Marathon. Eunja ran 4:14:15 for state # 28. Lauren Firey ran 3:12:26 in her first marathon. BQ by 17+ minutes. Impressive!!! Congrats to both of you ladies.

Ken Strazzeri ran the George Mason Thriving Together 5K in a PR time of 20:48. He was the first overall master. Fun story here is Ken ran this race after his wife gave birth to their 3rd son earlier that morning at 1:07AM. Crazy but impressive. Next up for Ken is an assault on the 20-minute mark! Congrats on the PR and new baby Ken!

Victoria Anderson competed in the Blue Ridge Sprint Tri. She was first overall female and third overall. Way to go Victoria!

The next club race is the Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M on Thanksgiving. We need lots of volunteers for this race. It is also super fun to run in this race. To sign up to run or volunteer, go to https://www.alexandriaturkeytrot.com/.

Happy running!
Rich

Coach Big Guy will be in ATX for Formula 1 racing, but Coach Jill will be at Yorktown tomorrow morning!