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Hi, everyone,
Hope you’re all as excited about this coming Wednesday’s group run (5/26) as much as I am. It’s been way too long and now, with everyone vaccinated, I’m feeling like we can once again have a safe, productive and socially and physically meaningful experience. As always my main goal, as your coach, is to bring folks together in a welcoming environment to safely enjoy one another’s company while improving your personal running times. We will meet at 5:30am at the Albemarle High School Track (see enclosed map). I know many of you are biting at the bit (Anne Chapin will like that phrase) to get going on “speed” again but, because it’s been so long since we ran together as a group and because we will have many new folks joining us, we’ll be spending the first few Wednesdays forming our pace/zip code groups. Plus, there’s no rush to get too much speed going yet, as we are only just now starting a new training cycle. I’ll also be getting you familiar with the excellent variety of different venues, close by to the AHS track, that we will be using for our upcoming speed workouts (see enclosed map). Our daughter Annie graduated from UVa yesterday and, like all of my fellow parents with recent graduates, we are so very proud. It never gets old as to how big an accomplishment it truly is. And speaking of big accomplishments, our fellow running friend Jim accomplished something no other past president had before: he gave speeches at several different UVa graduations, not only over the past three days, to the class of 2021, but also to several groups from the class of 2020 last weekend. Whew...talk about a marathon effort! Way to go, Jim! Happy Birthdays to Bob J. (today), Will M. (Wednesday) and William S. (Friday)! And congrats to Leah on completing 50K on her 50th earlier this week and a big thanks to Sean S., who paced her along the way! I hope to see as many of you as possible this coming Wednesday for our first group run in 15 months! Cheers, Coach Mark 434-962-1694 (text) WEEK of MAY 24 *SPEEDSTERS = 20-30 miles or more total (all at AHR) *BB October marathon = 40-45 miles or more total (all at AHR) *BB November marathon = 35-40 miles or more total (all at AHR) MONDAY May 24 *Speedsters = 4-5 miles with 6 x 12 second hill form surges focusing on using your upper body core to lift your knees. Find a moderate hill to lightly surge up (no sprinting) and take a slow 48 second recovery, back down the hill, in between each. Do this in the latter portion of your total run, after you’re fully warmed up. *BB October = 6-8 AHR miles with 5 x 12 second hill form surges focusing on using your upper body to lift your knees. Find a moderate hill to lightly surge up (no sprinting) and take a slow 48 second recovery, back down the hill, in between each. *BB November = 5-7 AHR miles WEDNESDAY May 26 **Meet at 5:30am at the Albemarle High Track (see map) Easy AHR Group runs (based on pace) to get familiar with your zip code partners. So, no speed yet. SATURDAY May 29 *Speedsters = Add one mile to your most recent long run (~7-11 miles). All at AHR and on a rolling course (not flat) *BB October = 15-16 miles all at AHR (~60-90 seconds/mile slower than your MP). Hydrate and nutrition throughout! Rolling course *BB November = 12-13 miles all at AHR (60-90 second/mile slower than your MP). Rolling course. SUNDAY May 30 ***Come join us for 4-5 relaxed and social AHR miles at 6:45 at Greenberry’s in the Barracks Road Shopping Center. All paces welcome!
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*****IMPORTANT: If you’re planning on training for a late summer or fall event(s) please fill out the following questionnaire ASAP (by Friday at the latest). This helps me be a better and more efficient coach. Thanks!
https://forms.gle/iSv8CkqgyxwA7j466 Hi, everyone, I’m so very appreciative to all of the many of you who joined us for Trackville Talks last Tuesday. That meant a lot to Coach Vin and to Carla. Well, thanks to everyone getting fully vaccinated, we’re still on target to get back together as a group next Wednesday morning! I’m thrilled that this is finally going to happen after such a long period of time of not being able to cheer for you in person. Golly, have I ever missed you! The UVa track will remain closed until well after they resurface it this summer, as it will need several weeks to cure and set-up properly. I have had several discussions with our friends at UVa and it’s looking very much like the gates will be open and lights on every morning at 5:30, after the resurfacing and once we get back to normal again. We are so grateful to Coach Vin, Carla Williams and Jim for their continued hospitality. So, until then we will meet at the Albemarle High Track, unless you hear otherwise from me. This is an excellent track and it also has several options for close by safe warming up in our smaller pace groups and for fartlek, hill and pace style workouts. It’s also very close to town and has plenty of parking. We are grateful to Athletic Director Deb Tyson for opening the gates to us. We won’t be doing any formal workouts for the first few weeks, although I will be offering 2 mile time trials for the first two weeks back. If you already know what your current fitness level is, then feel free to skip the 2 mile trials but it sure is an excellent gauge as to what your current potential is for any distance up to the marathon. Just saying… My focus for the larger group, for the first few Wednesdays, is to initially just to simply get our pace zip code groups acquainted with one another for some relaxed AHR runs, as we slowly ease our way out of this wild last year. I do hope all of you will consider joining us. Happy Birthdays to Deric P. (Monday), Jake and Matt T. (Wednesday), Jordan (Thursday), Terri G. (Saturday) and to Bob J. (Sunday)! And a special call-out to our Leah, who, along with her twin sister Mindy (a.k.a. Malinda Ann), turns the big 50 this Tuesday! We can never thank Leah enough for the countless ways she keeps things humming in our running community. From keeping up the CTC website and designing cool race and event logos to directing marathons and helping to coordinate our training programs, she truly does it all...and on a volunteer basis to boot! Let’s all give her a huge round of applause, on this special occasion, for all she does throughout the year to help enhance our local running world. THANKS, Leah! I can’t wait until next Wednesday! Coach Mark 434-962-1694 (text) *****IMPORTANT: If you’re planning on training for a late summer or fall event(s) please fill out the following questionnaire ASAP (by Friday at the latest). This helps me be a better and more efficient coach. Thanks! https://forms.gle/iSv8CkqgyxwA7j466 With changes in safety guidelines, we've just added 25 more slots to the Bruce Barnes Mile (June 12). We're anticipating a record crowd with over 131 registered as of today! https://runsignup.com/brucebarnes  Hi, everyone,
First off, a great big Happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful moms in our group! I continue to be in awe of how all of you so beautifully keep your life scales in balance, as you somehow find the time to be both great mother’s and great athletes. Here are a few things of note for the week… I know I’m pushing you hard to join us this Tuesday but I can’t tell you just how important it is for us, as a running and walking community, to show Carla Williams and UVa how much we really appreciate them keeping the Lannigan Field track open in the future (with the lights on to boot) early every single morning (the only athletic facility at UVa open to the general public). The more of us on the Trackville Talks zoom call this Tuesday, the more it demonstrates to her (and UVa) just how much that means to us. Coach Vin is pushing for 200 folks and I think if our Speedsters and BB crews show up in force we can make a huge impact on that number. Plus, the talk with her and Margaret Groos (UVa’s first ever female scholarship athlete) is going to be so interesting, as these two historic “firsts” compare notes in conversation with each other. Thanks so much! https://www.eventbrite.com/.../virginia-track-fieldcross... The Bruce Barnes Mile (June 12) is quickly filling up (we’re already over 100...a record crowd), so enter ASAP. https://runsignup.com/brucebarnes I’m still aiming to get us back together for our first Wednesday Group workout, in over a year, on May 26. Looks like everyone in our two groups I’ve talked to, over the past several weeks, has either been fully vaccinated or is heading there. This makes your coach very happy, as it will not only keep you, my athletes, safe and healthy but also afford us the “luxury” of a relaxed and “normal” group run (in pace groups of course)! Location is still to be determined... Happy Birthdays to Lauren R. (Monday), Katie T. (Wednesday), Wendy (Wednesday), James C. (Wednesday) and Jason V. (Saturday)! Call on me with ANY questions. Coach Mark 434-962-1694 (text) p.s. I’ve included a short clip of the last lap of the first sub 4 minute mile ever run at UVa’s track (from last week). That’s our Adrian doing the color (and quite animated) commentating for ESPN. Cool stuff! https://twitter.com/UVATFCC/status/1390437468579667969 SPEEDSTERS: As we continue our “break”, please keep working on two key things: 1. Building your AHR base mileage. So, increasing your mileage each week by 10-15% with slow and relaxed miles (all in the 135-140 heart rate range). The slower you go the better! This week (5/10), I’d suggest trying to get in 17-24 miles (or more) with a Saturday long run in the 7-10 range. Adding 4-5 form surges (not sprints) up a moderate hill (12 seconds each with a 48 second slow recovery in between each) to your Monday and Wednesday runs will help with core efficiency. 2. Speaking of “Core”, that’s the other big thing you can be working on. I’d suggest a DAILY regimen of sit-ups, planks, pushups, hand weights and balancing exercises in addition to daily foam rolling. And watch your sitting duration and posture, as the number one cause of back, hamstring and calf issues is sitting for too long and improper sitting posture! Hi, everyone,
I can’t tell you just how much it personally meant to me to see so many of you make the trek out to Free Union on Saturday to support BBBS by running over one of those tough but beautiful courses. And, despite the challenging terrain and footing, many of you ran so well. I was so impressed with your excellent performances over what may have been the toughest course of the entire RaceFest! Here’s just a small sample of those who turned in great races over the grass and gravel of stunningly beautiful Chapel Spring Farm: Linda, Steve L. Emily, Will M., Peter T., Harry, Dan M., George, Mary F., Melissa B., Jeffrey, Larry, Pat B., Bob J., Mark F., Karen T.,Vicki, Kiyoko, Lauren, Andrea and Henry. And how about Craig T., who raced the 10K, crossed the finish line, changed numbers and then went back out and raced the 5K! And, for me, one of the thrills of the RaceFest series has been watching how close the finishing times have been with our “Women’s 60 Crew”. Jerri, Peggy, Bonnie, Cynthia and Anne have competed at every single one of the races and are always closely bunched up in the results but this time around was even close than ever before, as a mere 35 seconds separated the “fearsome five”, with Jerri Emm coming out on top this week. As the race director and as their coach, I love it! And a big round of applause to my stalwart race day volunteer crew, who were once again a huge help at yet another RaceFest event! Megan, Michelle, Marti’, Rick, Tim, Jacqui, Kristen H. and Jaime. And a huge thanks also goes out to Dan Meador and Bill Pritchard, who helped wheel and mark the courses ahead of time with me. And I’d like to publicly thank Dr. Bob Wilder and his wonderful UVa Runners Clinic staff for all the great medical coverage they’ve provided on a volunteer basis at every single RaceFest event! Last up in the series will be a much different experience, terrain and footing wise, as the all paved and ALL downhill Bruce Barnes Mile will most certainly feel like you’ve been shot out of a cannon, compared to what you faced and conquered this past weekend! Come see for yourself on June 12th! And I forgot to give our Katie Pugh a big shout out, as her Western Albemarle Girls XC team, who she coaches, WON (a week ago) the State Cross Country 3A Championship! Congrats, Katie! Please call on me with any questions. I’m always happy to help. Happy Running! Coach Mark 434-962-1694 (text) WEEK of MAY 3 *SPEEDSTERS: We’re taking a break until the later this month, when I hope, if all continues to go well with everyone getting vaccinated, that we can start back up our Wednesday morning (on 5/26), dare I say, “group” workouts. I can’t wait! So, try to keep your weekly mileage in at least the 15-20 mile range and your long run around 7-9 miles over the next few weeks. And all of it should be at AHR (totally comfortable conversational pace….heart rate of 135-140), although it wouldn’t hurt to run 4-5 x 12 second form surges on Monday and Wednesdays during this time. As always, please call on me with any questions or issues. **Planning on running a Half marathon this fall instead of a marathon? Then follow the Speedsters workouts this summer. |
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