Week of August 2, 2021

Hi, everyone,

Hope you’ve been enjoying these cooler mornings. Looks like the next several mornings are going to be more of the same but even cooler. Yippee!!

IMPORTANT: At the first sign of pain on one side of the body (one Achilles, one knee, one arch, one hip) stop running and consult with me (text or stop by) ASAP. The sooner we consult with each other the faster we can get you going pain free again. And when you stop by, please bring your training log and your running shoes, as almost all injuries can be traced to something with your shoes or training.
I’ve had several good examples of this in the past few weeks, where folks stopped running and got in touch with me right away, so we were able to quickly get to the source and get them back training again.

As many of you already know, if you’re looking to run a fast half or full marathon this fall, we’ve got two LOCAL options:
Rivanna Greenbelt I on Sunday October 3rd
Rivanna Greenbelt II on Sunday December 5th
Both events will be run very early in the morning on a super flat certified course with chip timing. Leah is known for organizing top quality events and she and I had a lot of fun hosting two of these races during the pandemic. We received lots of positive feedback from our participants, of which many qualified for Boston or ran fast p.r.’s!

And I’ll be writing the late summer and fall programs to prep you for these two events, in addition to my normal training regimen getting you ready for Richmond in mid-November. So, you will have three close-by options for fast times in the full and half.

**Sneak preview: Our August “Dawnbreaker 5K” is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday August 18 but, if it looks like it’s going to be hot that morning, I may end up moving it to another date. Stay loose...

NEW and feeling lost? Then please get in touch with ASAP, so I can help get you engaged with the right pace group.

Big happy Birthdays to Rick K. and Bronwyn (Monday) and Jason B. (Thursday)!

And speaking of Rick, a huge round of applause to he and Leah for organizing a very successful CTC Summer Track Series. We broke all previous attendance records with over 125 kids racing each Tuesday throughout July and folks had a great time! More kids races on the way this fall with another Track Meet (date TBD) and at “JackFest II” at Foxfield on October 24th!

I hope to see a bunch of you on Wednesday morning!
Coach Mark
434-962-1694 (text)
p.s. For the first time ever, an Italian is “The Fastest Man in the World”. How cool is that?!!


WEEK of AUGUST 2
***Please try to do some sort of upper body strength training at least 3-4 days/week. 10 minutes/day of pushups, situps, planks and hand weights gets you a long way in helping with your ever important core.

*Speedsters who are training for Summer and Fall 5K-10K’s = 22-30 miles or more (~80% AHR/20% faster)

*Speedsters who are training for a Fall Half Marathon = 28-35 miles or more (~85% AHR/15% faster)

MONDAY August 2
*Speedsters = 4-6 AHR miles with 6 x 12 second FLAT terrain form surges focusing on using your upper body to lift your feet and knees. Take a slow 48 second recovery in between each.

WEDNESDAY August 4
***Aren’t able to join us at the AHS track at 5:30am? Then please do your best to find similar terrain and a track, so you can simulate this off/on workout (the off section should be rolling but not too hilly).

**And if you’re just looking for some AHR running company we’ve got some folks doing just. Come join us!

It’s “PATRIOT Circuit” time! This popular workout comes courtesy of my son Adrian, who used a version of it to prep his Albemarle athletes for their long distance races. The idea is to have your body experience what it feels like to have to drop the pace after getting your legs tired on the off section.
-Start with about a mile off the track at HMP-10 mile pace (~104-106% of MP or 98-100% of 10 mile pace). This off track course will basically be two of the loops we used for the workout last week.
-Upon finishing the second loop, slow down as you ease onto the track and then, as soon as you step foot on the actual track, immediately start running a faster 1200 (3 laps) at around 109-110% or faster of MP or 103% or faster of 10 miler pace.
-Take a 4 minute slow recovery and repeat the circuit but run the second (or third, if you’re a BB October) Patriot faster than the previous.

*Speedsters = 2 x Patriot Circuits

SATURDAY August 7
Long run Saturday for everyone

*Speedsters 5K-10K crew = 9 miles total as follows (rolling course):
-7 miles at AHR
-finish with 2 miles faster (~93-98% of 10 mile pace or faster)

*Speedsters Half Marathoners = 12-14 miles total as follows (rolling to flatter course):
-10 to 12 miles at AHR
-2 miles faster (~93-98% of 10 mile pace)