SDR Time Change, or Race, and Party

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Sunday Distance Run Time Change to 8:00 a.m.

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.

Good luck to Parks Half Marathon racers

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!

Don’t miss the Cookout and Pool Party!

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?

Morning Becomes Elliptic

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A crescent moon winked above a slumbering campus. Fever dreams brewed about new classes, past fun warmed by summertime sun, or perhaps about roaming free as black bears do. The savory bouquet of velvety catmint along the tended footpaths grew heady in the moist air, almost but not quite still. Even in the longest darkness, something westerly stirred.

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 →

Ok, we will go first!

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k9436980We 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

Cool down with a WRC cookout and pool party! Sunday, September 8th at 4 pm

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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 →

Node to Self

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Official Course Marker

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.

Labor Day Eve 20 Miler

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Whether training for a fall marathon, rehearsing the finish for next week’s Parks Half, or just wanting to try your luck at finding a balloon on a nice run, please consider joining in for a 20-miler for SDR this Sunday, Sept 1. In addition to Labor Day, we also get to celebrate the last scheduled 7am start until next summer (the calendar has the SDR moving back to the regular 8am start time next week – Sept 8th).

The planned route will be the Rock Creek Park – Capital Crescent Loop, done counter-clockwise. This will take us through Rock Creek Park to East-West Highway where we connect with the Georgetown Branch Trail and the Capital Crescent Trail.

See everyone on Sunday!

Volunteer at the Roosevelt Run 5K

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Let’s once again lend a hand next Wednesday evening, August 28th, at a low-key summertime race held on our stomping grounds.

Meet just before 6 p.m. at the trailhead of Mt Vernon Trail near the Key Bridge, across from Arlington Gateway Park in Rosslyn. This is also the eastern terminus of the Custis Trail. The race itself goes along the Potomac River.

Club treasurer James Scarborough needs volunteers from WRC for the following positions:

  • one or two people to help with registration
  • one or two people to run a water stop at the south end of Roosevelt Island
  • one person where the runners pass UNDER Memorial Bridge
  • one person at the turnaround
  • can also use a person at the finish line (actually, it will take two, one pulling tags and one recording numbers on Time Machine)
  • help with carrying and setting up things and helping clean up are also very much appreciated!

If you can lend a hand, please let James know in advance. And for more information, please see the event’s website.

WRC-map. Calendar. Course Map.