Week Ten, April 26th, at Haines Point

Week 10, April 26, 2008:

Three weeks of training left! We will meet again on Haines Point in the Golf Course parking lot at 9 AM for a run of up to seven miles. Here is a 6.8 mile route that replicates the sixth, and then the first, mile of last year's race course. I recently received information from the race director that the course has been changed, due to security concerns. There is still a run up Capitol Hill, however.

For weeks 11 & 12, we'll meet at Stanton Square by Union Station and practice on the actual course of our target race, the CHC, which starts and finishes at Stanton Square. It's a five minutes walk from Metro at Union Station (Red Line), or there is street parking around the square.

Last week (week nine) John, Kristin, Peter and Bob led a small band of dedicated runners on a six mile run around Haines Point and along the Mall. It was a wonderful morning to run.

Afterwards a group of runners met at Whitlow's on Wilson (WOW) Boulevard in Arlington (Clarendon) and enjoyed brunch with some coaches and participants from the Reebok SunTrust National Half-Marathon Training Program and the dcrrc club president. (Right: TKG runners gather before the run from Roosevelt Island on a beautiful Saturday morning.)

Track was offered on Wednesday evening at 7 pm at Washington & Lee High School in Arlington as usual. The workout was 4 one-mile repeats at 10K race pace on the nearby hilly Custis trail (there was a lacrosse game so the track was closed) with quarter mile recovery runs in between. My splits were 7:26, 7:40, 7:49, 7:51. What were yours? Track work is the fastest way to get better and what you're going to have to do, probably, if you ever want to run a sub-50 minute 10K. The runner in the Reebok SunTrust National Half Marathon Training Program, who always went to track workouts, who went from wishing for a 1:50 to running an actual sub 1:40 half marathon in the race, was there. Go here to find out the track workout schedule.

You all should run three more times this week, at least 12 more miles total for the week, not counting Saturday's long run.