Week Nine was a downpour

Week nine of the DCRRC 10M/10K Group Training Program had its Saturday long run (9/6) cancelled due to Tropical Storm Hanna, which dumped torrential rain on the DC area that day and caused flooding. Some brave souls went out that morning and ran anyway in the relative calm just before the full fury of the storm hit. On the local news midday, tracking the effects of the storm, some TV reporters conducted interviews with passing runners, asking them incredulously, Why are you out here? (Right: Coach Bob leads the discussion during drier times at Bluemont.)

The run was supposed to have been six (10K Group) or nine (10M Group) miles from Roosevelt Island. Some runners made up for the cancellation by running in the Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K Race at the Pentagon that evening, after the rain had stopped. Coaches Peter and Sasha each finished the race with a time under 25 minutes. On Sunday morning, Coaches Sasha, John and Peter took more than half a dozen Program runners out for 6-10 miles on the hilly Custis Trail, from Roosevelt Island to Bluemont and back. Other Program runners ran similar distances on their own.

On Tuesday evening a dozen Program runners took advantage of the presence of Coaches John, Katie, Matt, Peter and Rachel at the alternative track workout at the Yorktown HS Track and ran between 4-9X600 as they get ready for Army or the Rediscovery 10K next month. On Wednesday evening all Program runners had the opportunity to go to the regularly scheduled club track workout at the W&L HS Track in Arlington.

The next Saturday morning run for the Program (9/13) will be at Roosevelt Island, of 6 or 10 miles length, and will cover a portion of the actual ATM race course.

Week eight was at Bluemont...

Saturday August 30th, week eight, was a nice cool morning for running at Bluemont Park in Arlington. Attendance was affected due to it being the long Labor Day weekend, but still about 16 runners and four coaches showed up and ran about 9 miles (10M Program) or 6 miles (10K Program) eastbound on the W&OD Trail to Shirlington and back again. On Tuesday evening the Alternative Track Workout had half a dozen runners toiling away at Yorktown on their 9X400s with four coaches present. Wednesday evening, of course, was the club's regularly scheduled track workout at W&L of 16-20X400 if anybody didn't get enough speed work in on the prior evening.

Coach Emily ran in the New Mexico Marathon over the weekend and finished twelfth in 3:52 This was a finish for her in the top ten percent of this hilly marathon. Congratulations.

For week nine, Saturday September 6, we are scheduled to meet at Roosevelt Island for a nine or six mile run. However, Hurricane Hanna is currently projected to bring six inches of rain to the region on Friday evening to Saturday morning and possibly cause flash flooding. This is a fluid situation as of Thursday evening, September 4th, but if there are torrential downpours on Saturday morning the Program will CANCEL week nine's run (Saturday, 9/6). Check for a last minute update on the weekly announcement space at the 10K Training Program Log.

This blogger is sorry to report that the gentleman to the right was suspected at the Program gathering last week at Sette Bello to be smoking a cigarette. He kept running outside to check on something, and he would return will a suspicious odor of tobacco around his personage, Apparently some paparazzi were about and they snapped this picture. Perhaps you all will recognize him from his picture, the smoking gun in effect as to his habits when he is not directing the running club or its track workout program. Perhaps we could encourage him to enter rehab. (Photo credit Emily.)