Jason Myers aka Dolla Billzzzz in trouble?

Congress considering doing away with dollar bills.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20121130/US.Coins.vs.Dollar.Bills/?cid=hero_media

I think we should start a movement to save Dolla Billzzzz. Say NO to Dolla Coinzzzz!

Saturday Workout

 
From Coach Jerry:

What a great workout last night!  We had several PRs, and numerous near-PRs, on that last rep.  It is surely a sign that we are going to be ready to roll at Clubs when our athletes are so fit that they are able to run a very fast mile, off short rest, at the end of a workout.  I am getting more and more excited about our prospects in Lexington, and you should all be feeling as confident in your preparation as I am.

The penultimate (lawyers love using words like that) step on the road to race sharpness will be the workout at the cell tower field on Saturday.  It was nearly unanimous that a later start is preferable (and I agree--a little extra sleep is definitely a good thing at this point) so we'll get going at 10:30, meaning meet at 9:45 for the warmup.    

We'll be back to BCC on Tuesday for the final, short workout, and then it's game time.

I will send a detailed message to those of you who are making the trip about the logistics in the next couple of days.  The short version is that the bus will pick us up in Bethesda very close to the metro stop, and we'll get on the road at 6:30 Friday morning.  The metro will be a great way to get there, but if you want to drive, there will be a place to park.  More details will be forthcoming soon.

Until then, if you have any questions, give me a holler.

I'll see you Saturday for a 10:30 start.

GRC! GRC! GRC!

Laura Turner was wicked fast

That Laura Turner...

Navy carpetbagger Laura Turner set up shop in Rhode Island and changed the Ocean State's expectations for how high school running is done. She terrorized the track in the late 90s and won seven indoor and outdoor titles, two cross country titles and had three others handed to her by runners who were intimidated by a stoic glance she shot them just to see how they'd react. After years and years of oversight, the Rhode Island Interscholastic League welcomed LTO to join the state's athletic hall of fame, to which she will be inducted in May 2013. We are already scouting New England track meets so the team can witness her receiving this honor and then loot Providence afterward.

11/28 Wednesday Workout

RACES

We had some impressive turkey trotting, including a huge 5k PR from Hilary, a big road 5k PR from Witty, solid 8k PRs from Matt and Colin, and not one but two strong performances from Jake. These and other race results bode well for our success at Clubs.

ADMINISTRATIVE
 
REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR CHECKS FOR CLUBS TO PRACTICE WEDNESDAY!

We will do our final grass workout on Saturday at the cell tower field, time TBD.

Our final workout prior to Clubs will be next TUESDAY, 12-4, at BCC.

Don't forget to mark your calender for the GRC team meeting/holiday party on the evening of December 15, at an inevitably elegant location to be determined.

WORKOUT

As promised, we're going to get after it this week. The men will do 4 x mile with a 3:00 recovery.  On the last rep, you will all have the green light to run faster than the target for the last 800.  For some reason that I do not understand, this approach is known in coaching circles as "Dusening," and I encourage those of you who are so inclined to give it a try.

We'll get going at 7:15 on Wednesday, so plan to meet for the warmup at 6:30.

Sunday Long Run

For those back (or still) in town, Dickson and I will be meeting for a long run at Old Anglers Inn at 10am Sunday.  Comment if you plan to join.

GRC Turkey Trot results

Below are a few of the Turkey Trot results coming into the GRC's glass enclosed nerve center...

Charleston Turkey Trot - South Carolina
Hilary May - 17:45 (4th) - a big PR!

B-CC YMCA 10k in Bethesda - Maryland
Sam Luff - 31:52 (3rd)
Texas Paul - 33:07
Stefan Kolata - 33:59
Beth Young - 37:53 (5th)

Alexandra Turkey Trot - Virginia
Dave Wertz - 26:02
Noodles - 26:03
Dickson Mercer - 26:21
Lavar Curley - 27:38
LDO - 29:43
Nina - 30:50

Winston Salem Turkey Trot - North Carolina
Lauren Woodall wins in 18:21

Cleveland Turkey Trot 8k - Ohio
Matias - 25:45

Garden City Turkey Trot - New York
Matt "Fridge" Hassett - 25:49 (3rd)

We Gather Together 5k - Massachusetts
Jake Klim - 15:26 for the win

Pittsburgh YMCA 5k - Pennsylvania
Maura Carroll - 18:06 (1st)

Carlisle Turkey Trot 10k - Pennsylvania
Catherine Campbell -  36:58


MORE:

- Lisa Chilcote runs 32:41 for 5 miles
- Charlie Ban runs 27:44 for 5 miles in Pittsburgh 

In what might be the race of the day, Ryan Witters blitzed a 14:40 in Indiana to overpower OTQ Jesse Davis.

DEVELOPING...

Philly HM Results

Flash: Andy Sovonick ran a ~40s PR in the Philly Half Marathon this morning in 1:14:44.

UPDATE:  Brian Young finishes the HM in 1:17:47, about 90s shy of a PR.  GRC frenemy Chris Sloane finishes the full marathon in 2:35:14.

2nd UPDATE:  Drea ran 36:13 at the Eun for Shelter 10K

Sunday Long Run @ 9am

I am planning to run looooong, but not hard at "Duel Ferries" on Sunday.

I know it's a hike, but does anyone care to join? I am happy to drive people from the Starbucks at the Falls Rd/River Rd intersection.

Weekend Recap from Coach Jerry

While we had many fine performances this weekend, the clear winner of the coveted GRC Athlete of the Week is Jason, who ran 25:17 for 8k at Richmond, which was an astounding PR of 1:05. That was, by far, the best race of Jason's life, and the breakthrough was well-earned. Jason has been training with me for more than 3 years, and during that period he has experienced some tough times, including a serious injury in the summer of 2011, but throughout it all, he has worked hard and maintained confidence in his ability. It's extremely gratifying for me to see his hard work and dedication pay off in such a major way.

There were several other notable performances this weekend, including:

Dave O'Hara's PR of 32:59 at the Veterans Day 10k. Dave told me that he's been trying to break 33 minutes for 16 years, so it was a huge achievement for him. This will be the first of many PRs for Dave with GRC.

Jerry Outlaw made a long-awaited return to high level racing, leading the way for our men's team at Vets Day in 31:45. Outlaw has been dealing with nagging injuries for months, and his return to race fitness will give our A team a huge lift at Clubs.

Alex and Matt both ran solid PRs of 32:09 and 32:11 respectively. And new man Colin proved he's going to be a strong addition, running a very nice PR of 32:27.

On the women's side, Lauren continued her streak of PRs, knocking 40 seconds off her previous best to finish in 36:35. Teal also ran a solid PR of 38:05.

Our women's pack stayed together for most of the race, resulting in solid performances from Beth, Maura, Catherine, and Susan. Lindsay tweaked her hamstring, and had to back off on Sunday, but she will be ready to lead the charge for us at Clubs.

And last but not least, Murph won the MMRF 5k for the 4th consecutive year.

To the Point

(C) Brian W. Knight/Swim Bike Run Photography

Outlaw ran his best race in more than a year to lead the GRC men at the Veterans Day 10k in 31:45.

 Luff followed in 31:41 and Witty in 31:59. Vike, Fridge and Noodles ran their first 10ks for the team in 32:08,  32:11 and 32:27. Wertz hit 32:45 and Dave O'Hara PRed in 32:58, reaching a sub-33 goal he had held for 16 years. Lavar ran his fasted 10k in over a decade at 34:16 and Scott cruised in at 36:27 to help pace Bitz, who ran 36:26 to lead the women, with Skittles (36:30) and Woodshed (36:34) close behind. Chatty Cathy (36:49) Susan (37:38) Teal (38:04) and LDO (38:05) followed, with Nina taking her leave of the race at somewhere around 5k, though the course lacked a marker.

Meanwhile, Murph breezed to his fourth consecutive MMRF Race for Research 5k.

BILLZ BREAKTHROUGH IN RICHMOND: 25:17!

Charlie: Jason picked it up after a conservative first 5k and just powered through it down to the finish.When he passed me in mile four, it was clear he was doing some of his best work.
I stopped racing after about 4k when my shins cramped. Chilly ran 31:30.

Life moves pretty fast, but so does Dolla Billzzz

On a personal note, everyone on this team should try one of these races in Richmond- the full, half or 8k. All fantastic.

Shannon O'Neil finished the half in 1:35:01, not too shabby.

Big racing weekend coming up

You want diversity? Saturday morning you'll have middle-distance (especially if that distance is to the wight room) Jason Myers, regular old distance runner Charlie Ban and marathoner extraordinaire Chris Bain all lining up for the HCA Virginia 8k in downtown Richmond -- hometown of Bain, near the alma mater of Ban and city where Dolla Billzzz and his boy Bones likely convene to watch ODU in the CAA basketball tournament every year. A half hour later, Shannon O'Neil will start the American Family Fitness Half Marathon. Seamus Bain will not be racing this weekend, however.

Sunday morning on Hains Point, throngs of GRC runners will give the 10k the old college try. They will include LDO and LTO, Chatty Cathy Campbell, Bitsy Young, Nina Nickname Forthcoming Breckelmans, Maura " Skittles" Carroll, Susan Hendrick, Teal Connor and Lauren "Woodshed" Woodall. Sam Luff Diddy will take a crack at the top spot, with Witty in pursuit, way above his mid-distance pay grade but successful nonetheless, and Outlaw back to that 10k distance he loves so dearly. Rookies Alex "Viking" Benway and Matt "Fridge" Hassett will be close in pursuit, and Dave Wertz, Dave O'hara, Sam Boimov and Scott Koonce, along with new guy Colin Raunig will take it worth the price of admission. Never mind that it's free to watch, for that matter, don't be shy about checking it out at 8 am.

Patrick Murphy will extend his stream of Run for Research 5k wins, this year at the National Harbor. He will celebrate with some hot chocolate.

Check the blog and the team's twitter account for results and possibly splits.

Pops Burnham to start jogging stroller workouts soon

Dave and Sarah Burnham welcomed Adira Marjorie this morning. She possesses a distance runner's build and is doing well!

Election Week Workouts

Don't forget to vote!

We will be back at BCC next Wednesday, and at the cell tower field on November 17.  We’ll then take a break for Thanksgiving, and be back at it for a final hard workout before Clubs on the track on November 28.  We’ll do a final grass workout on December 1, and a light workout the week of Clubs on Tuesday, December 4.  More details about Clubs logistics will be forthcoming soon.

 

We’ll be at BCC on Wednesday for a 7:15 start, so plan to meet for the warmup at 6:30.

The workout for the men will be 6-5-4-3-2-1 (laps), all with a 3:00 recovery.  We’ll start relaxed and then get rolling later.

REMINDER: Daylight Savings is tonight!

Remember to reset your clocks back one hour tonight and make the most of that extra hour of rest before Jerry's XC workout.

Weekend Runs

Let's plan on a traditional "Shop Run" in Georgetown on Saturday morning at 9am since XC Practice will be on Sunday.  Post in the comments if you'll be there.

A few administrative notes from Coach Jerry:


1) If you're going to be in town over Thanksgiving and want to run the Alexandria Turkey Trot, let Coach Jerry know.

2) Please look at your bio and make sure your PRs are updated. When I request comps, the bios usually serve as your resume, so it's important that the PRs are accurate. Also, we want to update the photos to show off our new gear, so if your photo shows you in the old gear, please find a more recent photo. You can send any updates directly to Jimmy Daly via this helpful link on grcrunning.com.

3) We should be fine for practice at BCC on Wednesday 11/7, but there is still the possiblility of a conflict with a playoff game. I'll keep you updated.

4) Because of the heavy race schedule, there will not be practice next weekend. But we will be back at the cell tower field on November 17.

As for this week, we'll be at the cell tower field on Sunday moring for a 9:30 start, so plan to meet for the warmup at 8:45. As Clubs get closer, I want to ramp up the intensity of the grass workouts, so I'm going to get the watch out this week and time the reps. The men will do 4 x loop with a 3 minute rest. We'll run it as a progression, so the first loop will be x, the second loop will be x minus 5 seconds, the third loop will be x minus 10 seconds, and the fourth loop will be x minus 15 seconds.

The women will do 3 x loop, also with a 3 minute rest, also as a progression with a 5 second cutdown on each successive rep.

Got Beets?

Hey team,

Have any of you ever experimented with beets as part of your nutrition regimen?  If so, please help a fellow runner (and good friend of mine) out with a project for business school.  Please contact John Cote (cotejd@yahoo.com, 973-727-4219) and let him know about your experience.  He is planning to develop a beet sports nutrition program product prototype and is exploring user needs right now.

Thanks team,
Karl