Last Week!

It's here. The last week of training. The payoff, the Capitol Hill Classic 10K, is right around the corner!

Saturday May 10th we'll meet at 9 am at Stanton Square in DC by Union Station. I'll lead a pre-race strategy discussion, covering such things as:

Go out slowly. Perhaps once you circle around RFK, you can assess how you feel and pick up the pace if you feel strong. Don't fight the downhill in the fourth mile and don't be intimidated by the uphill in the fifth mile. Save some energy running in front of the Capitol for the upcoming uphill. Don't keep looking all the way up the hill as you travel up it. Check the horizon, then focus on the roadway 12 feet in front of you and concentrate on keeping moving. Lean slightly forward and use plenty of arm action. Glance up at the horizon only occasionally and only for a moment, to check your progress. Once you achieve the top of the hill, it is a level one-half mile to the finish line. The roadway will bear off to the left in a fork as you approach the final leg of the race. Water will be handed out during the race. Go to the website for packet pickup information. There is race morning packet pickup (and registration). Don't forget to wear your timing chip! Arrive early. Parking is difficult. Consider Metro, Union Station on the Red Line (8 minute walk) or Capitol South on the Blue/Orange Lines or Archives/Navy Memorial on the Yellow/Green Lines (20 minute walk). Study the course map beforehand. Last year's race map is contained in last week's post also.

After the discussion, Program t-shirts will be handed out to all attendees and then we'll go out for a run on the course.

Last week Kristin directed the show and John, Renee and Guest Coach Sasha took everyone out on a run around the CHC course. (Right: Coach Sasha leading runners around RFK (in this case, during the SunTrust National Half-Marathon, in a sub-8 time). Photo credit Matt.)

CHC: Sunday May 18, 2008 at 8:30 am at Stanton Square.

Last Week of Training (5/12/07 in DC)

2007 DCRRC 10K Training Program
APPROACHING WEEK 12 Remaining 2007 SCHEDULE–9 am on Saturday:
12. 5/12–Stanton Square in DC (near Union Station at Mass & Maryland Aves., C & 4th St.)http://mrdda.dc.gov/activities/default.asp?linkMode=walk&event_id=847&event_date=3/18/2007
13. CHC 10K RACE is Sunday 5/20/07 at 8:30 am at Stanton Square. http://www.capitolhillclassic.com/

NEXT WEEK (Week 12): Next Saturday, 5/12/07 at 9 am is the twelveth and last week of training before the race. We’ll meet in DC at the actual starting point of the race, at Stanton Square a few blocks east and south of Union Station down Mass Ave. For directions, go to a prior post to click on location or go the the Capitol Hill Classic 10K website. That is our goal race and you should study the course map anyway before you run it. http://www.capitolhillclassic.com/info.html#Map You'll just have to find parking along the street or pay for parking at Union Station and walk over (an 8 minute walk) or take the Red Line to Union Station. Give yourself some extra time. Program tee-shirts will be handed out next week, so make sure you come. I think you'll like them. Jeanne put a lot of time into selecting them, designing them and ordering them. They are technical shirts. (Below: Look out behind you! Jeanne and another athlete conquering EFC in week 10.)

LAST WEEK: In WEEK 11, about twenty athletes showed up at Stanton Square. Kristin ran there from Virginia. The runners were led by Kristin and guest coach Ashley as they ran the race course, 10K in about an hour. They ran to RFK, circled it, ran down to Pennsylvania Avenue, back to E. Capitol Street, down Capitol Hill, up Capitol Hill and back to Stanton Square. The run/walkers, led by Arnetta, went down to the Lincoln Memorial and back. Everybody looked great and Amanda blazed the pace at about 8:40 minutes per mile. (Right: Guest coach Ashley led the running group around both RFK and the Capitol.)

Afterwards we enjoyed refreshments in the park and chatted about running and things for twenty minutes. I went off to attend the first post-fire flea market at Eastern Market and Arnetta and some runners went off to Starbucks on Pennsylvania Avenue SW. (Below: Thirty million dollar blaze. Eastern Market two days after the fire.)

Don’t forget there will be a Ten-Mile Training Program offered by the club starting on Saturday, July 14 at 8 am on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (the steps that face the Washington Monument). The cost is $35. I hope to see all of you there. The goal race will be the Army Ten-Miler on Sunday, October 7, 2007 at the Pentagon. It’s a fun, albeit jinxed, race, fast flat and full (almost). There are less than 3,400 slots still available out of 26,000 slots originally, so sign up now if you’re going to run it! (Last week there were over 8,000 slots still left.) (Below: Eastern Market was open for business on Saturday, five days after the fire.)

Notable Upcoming Run: The Arlington YMCA’s Mother’s Day 10K on Sunday, May 13, 2007 was last year’s program’s goal race and is a worthy race to run. It is challenging and it runs over the very same hills we did last Saturday. It has a fee hike on May 1st, so if you’d like to run it, sign up early.

There are many fine running products out there. The many fine area running stores, like Fleet Feet in Adams Morgan http://www.fleetfeetdc.com/ or http://www.dcneighborhoods.com/fleetfeet/, or Metro Run & Walk in Falls Church, Springfield and Rockville, or Pacers in Old Town and Arlington, or Gotta Run in Pentagon Row and Annapolis, or others, stock reputable products at fair prices. Go to a store and check out your racing needs. (Left: It wasn't a pretty sight inside Eastern Market after the fire.)

RUN ON YOUR OWN: You really better!! I can tell who is! This week you should start to taper and run three times on your own, 30 to 55 minutes each time, with one of the runs at a ten or eleven minute per mile pace or better. On Saturday, each coach will take you out on a route they choose. Our goal race is the Capitol Hill Classic 10K (CHC) on 5/20/07 starting at 8 am which has a serious hill in the last mile. We’re within two weeks of the race now so it’s time to concentrate on your training! If you want to run the goal race 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.

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.

Visit the program’s chat room on the Forum link at the club's website for more information. There’s lots of interesting and pertinent information there. Feel free to comment on the blog or the forum link.

Coaching tips: What are you going to wear for the race? Pink or blue? How about: Sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, a shirt (prefereably not cotton, 100 % polyester is good), good running shoes not broken down and properly broken in, shorts or a skirt, bodyglide for any spot that might chafe and men should consider some protection for their nipples (nipguards, sold at running stores, or vaseline, works for this). Your bib will be your ID for this run. Carrying one or two packs of Gu or the equivalent for consumption during the race might be a good idea. Water will be handed out during the race.

See you Saturday!