Approaching Week 7 (4/7 Fletcher's Boathouse), week 6 in review

(Week 6: Fletchers Boathouse! Last year's Director Coach Kristin leads the runners on a fifty minute run along the scenic C&O Canal Towpath last Sunday in ideal running weather. Photo credit Jeanne.)

2007 DCRRC 10K Training Program, APPROACHING WEEK 7

Remaining 2007 SCHEDULE–9 am Every Saturday:

7. 4/7–Fletcher’s Boathouse http://www.fletchersboathouse.com/directions.htm
8. 4/14–Bluemont Park, Arlington
9. 4/21–Bluemont Park, Arlington
10. 4/28–East Falls Church Metro Parking Lot http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/Stations/station.cfm?station=100
11. 5/5–Stanton Square in DC (near Union Station at Mass & Maryland Aves., C & 4th St.) http://www.capitolhillclassic.com/info.html#Map
12. 5/12–Stanton Square in DC (near Union Station at Mass & Maryland Aves., C & 4th St.)

13. CHC 10K RACE is Sunday 5/20/07 at 8:30 am at Stanton Square.

NEXT WEEK (Week 7):
On Saturday, 4/7/07 at 9 am, we’ll meet at Fletcher’s Boathouse next to the Capital Crescent Trail and the C&O Canal. For Metro access, take the Orange or Blue Lines to Rosslyn and run over the Key Bridge, turn right and gain the C&O Towpath by going towards the river, and then run westbound a little over a mile and a half on the Towpath to Fletchers Boathouse.
Coaches Gary, Arnetta and Kristin dispense running advice at Fletcher's Boathouse.)

Gary and Arnetta's run/walker group is doing a 5K race in Belle Haven Park (VA) this Saturday (4/7) at 8:30 am instead of meeting with the regular TKG group. The registration for this Easter Classic 5K/10K race opens at 7:30 am. Belle Haven is just south of Alexandria off the GW Parkway.

LAST WEEK:
In WEEK 6, about 20 athletes showed up at Fletcher’s Boathouse in perfect weather for a run westward on the hard dirt C&O Canal Towpath. Gary and Arnetta took out the beginner’s group for almost an hour.


(Coach Gary and a runner went out for an hour on a run along the soft surface of the C&O Canal Towpath last Saturday. It was a great day for running. (Photo credit Jeanne.)

Kristin and Peter took out the more advanced runners to Milepost 6 and back, about five miles in about 51 minutes, a negative split, 26 minutes out and 25 minutes back.
(Peter and Amanda hit the trail. Photo credit Jeanne.)

Everybody’s form looks so much more natural since the first week. Tremendous progress is being made!


The 35th Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Race was Sunday April 1st at 8 am in DC and Virginia, starting in West Potomac Park, a world-class race. No fooling. Congratulations to everyone who ran it or went to support it. This year an Ethiopian man, Tadesse Tola, won the race by a mere 3 seconds in 46:01 (4:37), breaking the stranglehold that Kenyan runners have put on the race in recent years. He missed a cash bonus for breaking 46 minutes by two seconds. An Ethiopian woman, Teyba Erkesso, won the woman’s race by over a minute in 51:44 (5:11) She broke 52 minutes and got her bonus. A week after running the National Marathon, Mayor Fenty ran the race as well, finishing in 1:08:47 (6:53). Now that’s fast! Two graduates from last summer’s 10-Mile Training Program, who sometimes run with us, ran and improved their time from the Army Ten Miler in the fall by several minutes each. Sasha ran a 1:20:58 and Mindi ran a 1:21:28. Way to go! (The Cherry Blossoms are at their peak right now! If you live or work near the Mall, use the conditioning you all have been working so hard to acquire or maintain and jog down to the Tidal Basin to view them. Here's what they looked like on Sunday, April 2nd.)

RUN ON YOUR OWN: (A runner enjoying the solitude of the trail. Photo credit Jeanne.)



This week you should run three or four times on your own, 30 to 40 minutes each time. On Saturday, each coach will take you out on a route they choose that is a little further than we went last week. Our goal race is the Capitol Hill Classic 10K (CHC) on 5/20/07 which has a serious hill in the last mile. We’re more than halfway there now so it’s time to step up your training! If you want to run the race in the spring at the conclusion of the program, you must sign up at the CHC website for the race and pay the entry fee on your own. http://www.capitolhillclassic.com/

CLUB TRACK WORKOUT:
In the meantime, go to the club’s website and look at the Wednesday evening track workout schedule at 7:15 pm every Wednesday at the Washington & Lee High School Track in Arlington. Speed workouts will make you better.

Also consider a club Hill Workout, also posted on the club’s website. I will be hosting the Hill Workout on Sunday, April 29th at 9 am and I hope to see some of you there getting ready for the hill at the CHC.

MORE INFORMATION:
Visit the program’s Forum link on the club's website. There is much interesting and pertinent information there each week.
Feel free to comment on this blog, also.

REGISTRATION FOR THE ARMY TEN MILE RACE (ATM), held on Sunday October 7, 2007 starting at the Pentagon, is now open. Undoubtedly, the club will offer a 10-Mile Training Group (TMG) Program starting in mid-summer, with the ATM as its goal race, just as it has done in the past. Last year a dozen or more TMG participants ran the ATM and did well. A 10-mile race is a natural progression from a 10K race, so consider this training program offering when it is presented. Keep checking back on the dcrrc site. In the meantime, be aware that the ATM FILLS UP. Registration closed early last year. This year the race promoters are registering 26,000 participants for the race, and in only a few days, almost a third of those spots have been taken already (over 8100). If you think you will run this race, you should consider signing up for it soon.

TRAINING HELP:
Here is a link to John Bingham’s site, aka The Penguin or Penguin running. He’s said to be a back-of-the-pack guru, but he does have a lot of training tips on his site, which is popular, and it’s laced with wit.

See you Saturday. Dress in layers, and no cotton!