Big thanks to our host, and former club president, Tris Kruger, for enabling yesterday’s Potomac poolside shindig. Thanks also to current vice president Carla Freyvogel, who coordinated and promoted everything. What a turnout! and what a fine array of foods arriving from kitchens, gardens, and ovens all over this land.
After going for a splash in a toasty pool that even Esther Williams would envy, one was left to choose between ice cold beverages under the gazebo on deck one, grilled patties and Tsukune on deck two, and sweets and fruits on deck three. This was one line, stretching around the deck and into the pool, for Nelson Paz‘s game-ending carrot cake.
Of course the reason for the turnout and the refueling probably had something to do with either a little grand prix race earlier in the day, or Lauren’s Race, or the regular Sunday distance run; there was a lot of news to digest. Results from the former are summarized below.
Parks Half Marathon September 8, 2013, Bethesda, MD Results: Men, Women, Teams 50 14/170 2561 Andrew Killian 34 Lorton VA 1:26:19 6:36 52 10/165 2025 Paul Karlsen 35 Bethesda MD 1:26:43 6:37 318 54/165 2559 Jesse Frantz 38 Washington DC 1:45:43 8:04 358 37/130 2204 Jerold Paulson 54 Washington DC 1:47:41 8:13 1135 finishers 41 5/186 2641 Julia Taylor 42 Arlington VA 1:39:24 7:35 77 8/161 2577 Christine Hackman 49 Arlington VA 1:45:13 8:02 322 62/209 2027 Fiona Karlsen 36 London 1:59:23 9:07 791 125/186 2380 Liz Lambert 41 Washington DC 2:20:20 10:43 1140 finishers
Sunday is going to be a perfect day, so to embrace the moment we will start our Sunday Distance Run an hour later, effective Sunday, September 8, 2013. The 8 a.m. start time will be in effect through spring of 2014, as reflected on WRC’s calendar. Watch out for triathlon-related traffic.
Julia Taylor is captain of the squad headed up to Rockville to squiggle their way down to Bethesda. Some of the marathoners rehearsed the final two miles of this course last weekend. This race is part of WRC’s 2013 Grand Prix series. Good luck to them all!
If you haven’t already done so, let Carla know you’re coming to the Cookout and Pool Party! You didn’t think we’d let the remaining good weather go to waste, did you?
We were not the first, or even the second, persons to use Greenberg Track this morning. Some phantoms commenced their running without even inviting their shadows (the sheltered track and infield are unlit). Closer to the edge of twilight, Jerry and Carla arrived together, so I joined them for a couple miles of chatty warm-up and helped to pace the first two of their 800m intervals.
As we did this, Paul and Jesse filtered onto the scene, now illuminated by Carla’s leggings, and made their own preparations. For Paul, this meant shaking off the rust from Sunday’s successful 20-plus miles, shucking his shirt, and waiting for me to slip into my Jurassic-period cross country waffles. As for Jesse, preparation required a bit more guts. Continue reading
We may be two of WRC’s more master-esque members, but Jerry Paulson and I are not shying away from posting our intended workout for tomorrow morning. Perhaps you will be motivated to join us.
Maybe you will choose to tweak the workout to meet your own goals and fitness levels. Or, we just might be inspiring you to check in with a WRC member who is about your level and post YOUR workout. Whatever works for you.
In any event, this is what Jerry and I are doing, after a suitable warm-up.
4 to 6 800s, @ 3:40 – 3:50, 400 jog between
then 6 200s, un-timed, fast but relaxed, 100 jog between
then, a nice cool-down jog
We hope to be seeing others at the AU track tomorrow morning.
REMEMBER: NO spikes
Thanks to the generosity of our favorite running dentist, WRC will be having a cookout on September 8th. We hope to see many many faces there, blobbing in the pool and swigging beer.
For those of you who are running the Parks Half Marathon, we will especially welcome you with extra blobbing time and promises to listen to your riveting race reports.
WRC is supplying beer and wine. The rest is up to us. The event is potluck. Someone has already offered to bring fried chicken and our favorite running pastry chef has promised a carrot cake. What would you like to bring?
So, here are the details: Continue reading
Runners often consider race courses to be gem-like objects of perfection, possessing a logic to their geometry’s purpose.
However, out in the real world and away from the track, we have to cope with what we’ve got, often with components that can be charitably called “chunky.” Sure, your map might promise you taut curves and pert points. But where the road happens to zig, the racers must zag.
Those lat-lon nodes you used to mark the start, finish, and the intermediate kilometers? They manifest as strips of day-glo duct tape, annotated, plastered atop an epoxy stripe, roughly down the middle of the waffling macadam.
For the purpose at hand, it’s usually good enough. And sometimes there’s a Rothko-esque beauty to be found underfoot. It helps to know where to look.
Mr. BlurryCam took some pictures at the 2.5K turnaround point of this evening’s Roosevelt Run 5K.
Thanks go to Fiona and Paul Karlsen, el Prez Kirk Masterson, Treasurer James Scarborough, and Jay Wind for contributing both their time and effort, to pull off a thrifty and competently executed mid-week race.