Approaching Week 4 in the 2008 10M/10K Program

Last week the approximately thirty assembled runners from the Program benefited from learning three beneficial stretches from Chris Graf, a premier runner (47:19 at the 2001 Cherry Blossom 10-Miler) and leading proponent of Active Isolated Stretching. He gave a lecture at Gotta Run on injury prevention and counseled individual runners both before and after our Saturday run. The run was 5 miles for the 10M Group, to Lincoln and back, and 2.8 miles for the 10K Group, a run along Ridge Avenue. It wasn't a bad workout for the third week.

(Right: Coach Jeannie leads out a group of athletes near Dangerfield Island in last summer's Program.) On Tuesday evening, July 29th, Rachel & Katie offered the Program's Alternative Track Workout at Yorktown in Arlington. 8X300 was on the schedule.

For Week Four, Saturday August 2, 2008, we are changing time and location! We are meeting at 7:30 a.m. in Bethesda for one week, right by Ourisman Honda at 4800 Bethesda Avenue a couple of blocks west of Wisconsin Avenue, across the street from the Barnes & Noble. There is a public metered parking lot, which is free on Saturdays, right there next to the Capital Crescent Trail. Plans are for the 10M Group to run 5-6 miles and the 10K Group to run 3-4 miles.

You all should be running 2-3 times a week in addition to the Saturday runs, 2-4 miles each time. One run should be a fast-paced run, or a track workout. There will be the Program's Alternative Track Workout at Yorktown on Tuesday evening, in addition to the Bluemont 5K Club Race at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Bluemont Park in Arlington at the far pavilion past the soccer field. That race (it's free to club members) would be an excellent opportunity for athletes who are handling the Saturday runs well to get in a little racing experience. The club's regularly scheduled Wednesday evening track workouts at Washington & Lee High School in Arlington resume this Wednesday with 4X1600. If you couldn't make it to the W&L Track, you could go to a place (near your house) with a known, measured mile (find a safe 10-block route leaving and returning to your house by driving it first in your car and measuring it) and run it fast. Four times, with a recovery jog of completely around the block between miles.

The Program schedule has been published here. Weekly updates are here. Next week (week 5) we'll be at Fletchers Boathouse for two weeks (August 9th and 16th). The time for Saturday has been changed to 7:30 a.m. until further notice.

See you all in Bethesda. After our run, for anyone who wants to, we'll go get coffee and a bagel at the bagel shop a few doors down from the B&N.