FLASH: Wiggy Engaged!

Weekend Preview

This Sunday, Frances will race the two mile at the USATF Indoor Championships at the Reggie Lewis Track in Roxbury, MA.  Judging by the following from Coach Jerry, she's ready to roll: "After her low key tuneup at Princeton, Frances is ready to get after it in Boston.  She has not shown what she can do indoors yet this season, as she was sick in New York, and Princeton was a workout, but it should be all systems go on Sunday.  Frances has run indoor nationals several times, so she knows what to expect. Although the winter weather has been less than ideal for her preparation, she's looking forward to giving it a go."  Frances' race is live on NBC Sports Network at 5:09pm on Sunday, so you can follow along from home.  

Also on Sunday, Phil will race the Indoor Heps alumni mile at Harvard's indoor track, and there will be a big GRC crew in action at the Pacers St. Patrick's Day races in D.C.  Shauneen, Dave O., Stewart, Fridge, and Cabell are currently slated to run the 5k, and Mary Grace, Sean O., Charlie, Zak , and Breezy are slated to run the 10k.  Cabell and Zak will be racing in the GRC singlet for the first time.  

Best of luck (of the Irish and otherwise) to all GRC athletes racing this weekend.  

 

Report: new jackets good in snowy weather

The Capital Weather Gang retweeted this photo by a Nathan Jones this morning

Coach Jerry's Recap: GRC at Princeton

While the weather precluded our team debut at the RRCA 10 Miler, the conditions were perfect indoors for individuals at Princeton.  It's a special day when every race goes the way we planned it, and we were 4 for 4 on Sunday.  Dickson ran a humungous 11 second PR of 8:52 in the 3000, and to put into perspective just how big a breakthrough that was, consider that Dickson is a marathoner who is not known for his leg speed, and who has not raced seriously on the track for 10 years.  He decided to take a break from the long stuff on the roads and run a full track season, and to say he's thrown himself into it would be a gross understatement.  Dickson ran with total commitment on Sunday, and he has set himself up to run times outdoors that would have seemed impossible two months ago.  On the women's side, we had an excellent GRC debut from Chelsea, who ran 10:27 for 3000.  This was Chelsea's first track race in 7 years, and her first serious race effort in almost as long, and she executed her race plan perfectly, and finished with a very hard final 200, proving that there's a lot more gas in the tank.  Chelsea is going to be an outstanding addition to our track group, and she will be setting her sights on GRC top 5 times in the 1500, 3000, and 5000 this spring.

The other two races that went according to plan were from Frances, who ran the mile and 3000 as a tuneup for the USATF indoor champs 2 mile on Sunday.  Frances started with a very controlled 4:53 mile, and followed that with an equally controlled 9:41 3000, closing in 33 for the last 200.  What impressed me most about Frances's day was not that she crushed the club record in the 3000 in what was nothing more than a workout for her, but that in both races she enthusiastically agreed to pace Division III athletes looking for NCAA qualifying times, and then spent time with both of the athletes afterwards to give them the benefit of her experience.  Frances's willingness to give back to the sport on a day when she would have been fully justified in worrying only about herself showed me why she's a perfect fit for GRC.  She's going to let it rip on Sunday, so be sure to watch the live broadcast (5:09 pm on NBC Sports Network) of what is sure to be a great performance.

FLASH: GRC throwing it down at Princeton

MILE
Frances - 4:53.86, about 13 seconds ahead of second-place finisher

3000m
Frances - 9:40, a controlled victory
Chelsea - 10:26 (GRC debut)

Dickson - 8:52.7 (huge PR, was in the mix for the victory with a lap to go)

The Mobot

Fosbury's Flop.  Bannister's Mile.  Shorter's Gold Medal. I, for one, would put the invention of the Mobot among these seminal track & field achievements.  

Cell Phone Field No More?

GRC SPECIAL REPORT --- The fate of the WMAL Towers Field, known affectionately in GRC circles as "Cell Phone Field," rests with the bigwigs at Cumulous Media, the owner of the property. According to local news reports, the "75-acre transmitter site in Bethesda was placed on the market earlier this week, the first step in what will likely be the area's largest redevelopment project in years." 

It's estimated that the green space could accommodate upwards of 300 homes and that the property, reportedly worth "hundreds of millions," is amongst some of the most coveted residential real estate in the entire country.

Of course, the property is also a major playground for dog walkers, neighborhood children and cross country aficionados.

Sean O'Leary, GRC harrier and lifelong Bethesda resident, remarked, "I can't even begin to estimate how many times I've run around that field. It's such an ideal training resource, with a great balance of soft terrain and gently rolling hills. I don't know who is more heartbroken from this news - me or the seemingly countless number of dogs that utilize the area as a communal bathroom."

Understanding the magnitude of the situation, Coach Jerry Alexander lamented, "we may have to find other options (for workouts) in the not too distant future."

To read more about the history of this field, please visit:

http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagsere/se1/se5/036000/036300/036389/pdf/msa_se5_36389.pdf

UPDATE: The GRC Treasurer notes that the club's coffers lack the necessary funds to place a realistic offer on the property.

DEVELOPING...

Weekend Preview:

GRC Athletes Hit the Grass, Road, and Track

Tomorrow in the thin air of Boulder, Colorado Sean Barrett will race the USATF Cross Country Championships as a member of the Marine Corps team.  Sean, a cross country ace who has twice qualified for and competed in the World Military Cross Country Championships, has battled through injuries recently but is getting back into shape.  According to Coach Jerry, "Sean is not expecting miracles on Saturday but he certainly will give it his absolute best effort, as he does every time he races."  In advance of tomorrow's race, running legend Kenny Moore wrote an article on cross country racing that not only features a picture of Frances competing in the GRC blue and white, but will probably get you pumped to run some cross country next fall if you read it.  Check it out here.   

Much closer to home, GRC will have a big crew at Sunday's Love the Run You're With 5k on the Arlington roads.  Sara, Shauneen, Kevin, Jake, Kyle, Charlie, and Sean O'Leary will all race.  It will be Shauneen's first time racing in the GRC jersey, and Coach Jerry had this to say about her debut: "Shauneen is Division III royalty, having won 4 NCAA titles at Amherst, including the amazing steeple, 5k, 10k triple outdoors in 2007.  Her expectations for Sunday are modest, as she gave birth to her daughter in November, but as she returns to full fitness, she will be a major contributor to our women's team." 

Last but not least, Wiggy, Dickson, and Stewart will race the mile on the indoor track at the Prince George's Sportsplex this Sunday.  It will be Stewart's first track race for GRC, and all three athletes will be aiming for high places and fast early-season times.  

Wednesday workout, February 4

RACES

Congratulations to Frances for her club record 10:06.2 2 mile at the Armory Invitational, which qualifies her for the USATF indoor championship in Boston on March 1. Frances's goal going into the meet was to get a nationals qualifier, and what seemed like a sure thing at the beginning of the week became an epic struggle when the head cold she had been fighting off took a turn for the worse on Friday. Despite being far from 100 percent, Frances got after it against a national caliber field, and even with severe difficulty breathing during the second mile, she fought to the finish and got her qualifier. With the mission accomplished, Frances will take some time to get healthy, and then it's back to work as she gets ready to roll at Nationals. Well done!

WORKOUT

We caught a break on the weather and not only will the track be clear on Wednesday, it should be relatively warm, so don't miss the fun. We'll get going at 7:15 as normal, so meet for the warmup at 6:30.

Looking ahead, we will have practice on the track Saturday for those of you who are not racing on Sunday.

I'll send the women's workout separately.

See you Wednesday at BCC.

Jerry

NEWSFLASH: Frances Qualifies for USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships!

Yesterday at the Armory, Frances ran 10:06.2 in the Two Mile Run to punch her ticket to the USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston later this winter, despite fighting a head cold all week and having trouble breathing before the race. 

She was through the mile in 4:56 and ran solo the second half of the race, before throwing down a strong last lap to hit the qualifying standard.  Here's Coach Jerry's take on Frances' achievement: "Frances proved her toughness once again by achieving her goal of qualifying for nationals under very difficult circumstances.   At full strength and with four weeks of training under her belt, she will be ready to make some noise at nationals."

Weekend Preview: 

Koons to Race Two Mile at Armory Track Invitational

On the heels of her stellar showing at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country Run, Frances will contest the Two Mile Run at the Armory Track Invitational in New York this Saturday.  She'll be up against a high quality field, and will be aiming to qualify for the USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships by hitting the 10:07.00 qualifying standard.  Her race is at 4:48pm and will be televised live on NBC Sports Network, so tune in and support her from afar if you can.  Here's the word from Coach Jerry: 

"When I told Frances that there was a meet at the Armory on January 30 that I thought she could run, she was under the impression that it was an all-comers meet where she could make a low key return to indoors.  The field is a tad better than an all-comers meet, but our miscommunication will work to her advantage, as she's fit and ready to take a shot at a qualifying time for nationals."

Good luck Frances!  

Wednesday workout, January 28

RACES

Congratulations to Beth for her second place finish in the Miami half marathon in 1:22:28. Beth had Olympic Trials qualification written all over her when she ran 1:17 in Houston last January, but her ascent to greatness was interrupted by a serious injury in the spring. Beth is now fully healthy and she is rapidly making up for lost time, and if I were a betting man, I would go all in on her joining Teal on the starting line at the Trials next February.

WORKOUT

Being the eternal optimist, I am holding out hope that we will be able to get on the track on Wednesday. If we can't safely use the track, we can make our joyful return to the tunnel. I have something in mind for that scenario, which I will make known in the event we have to avail ourselves of that less than ideal but viable option.

Either way, we'll roll at 7:15, so meet for the warmup at 6:30. I'll do a recon on Wednesday morning, and if it's clear at that point one way or the other, I'll let you know. If it's a close call, we can make a game time decision.

I'll send the women's workout separately.

See you Wednesday.

Jerry

Young Earns Spot on Podium in Miami

Breuters Wire Services --

Elizabeth Young took her talents to South Beach this weekend and finished second in the Miami Half Marathon with a time of 1:22:28. Although conditions were a touch on the humid side, she enjoyed the course and the race.

(photo credit Rishi Bagel)

Young had good things to say about the race and the generosity of its organizers, who provided accommodations at a local hotel. Although Beth had trouble communicating with her Ethiopian roommate, it it did not take fluency in Amharic to understand the import of the words "2:32" and "marathon." Said Coach Jerry Alexander, "Beth was in great shape last year before an injury to her plantar and she's more motivated than ever to take the next step in her progression to a true national class marathoner. Today was the first step on her journey and I am confident that journey will take her to the Olympic Trials."

The State of the GRC 2015

As we look into 2015, we are in the fortunate position of starting even higher up the climb to the pantheon of greatness than we were last year at this time. We've developed our athletes, brought in promising recruits ... and had a lot of fun along the way!!!!!

We had six men's team-record-setting performances, wins for both teams at Cherry Blossom, a women's title at the Army Ten-Miler and 10th and 13th place finishes at Clubs for the women and men, respectively.

We gained and lost some comrades in legs: Sean Barrett, Erik Anderson, Breanna Deutsch, Heather Jelen, Dave Burnham, Mike Cotterell, Hiliary may Brian Faherty, Scott Koonce, Dave Roche all departed for other running opportunities. Or, in Burnham's case, a thrilling life as a father of two in Connecticut. We gained Kyle Cooke, Kristin Johnson, Patrick Kuhlmann, Sean O'Leary, Matt Rand, Stewart Reich, Frances Koons, Tina Morrison, Phil Royer and Sara Patterson.

The state of the GRC is strong to quite strong. You might even say we're top dogs. No? You don't want to say that?

January

Beth ran 1:17:18 at the U.S Half Marathon Championships in Houston for 42nd place.

Heather Jelen received a proposal following an indoor track race. Her fiance, Dean, demonstrated that girls dig guys who work at running stores.

February

Fridge overcame all challengers at the Have a Heart for Boston-Hoffman Elementary School 5k. (photo not from that race)

The Blond Whale leds the men to the RRCA Club Challenge under 40 championship. They lost the men's overall title to Falls Road by one point. Matt Rand made his GRC debut... or did he?

March

Greta O'Hara is born, delighting everyone, including her two brothers, Prince and Fergie.

In New York, Frank Michaelson broke the team record for 3k with a 8:17.01, smoking Ryan Hanson's 8:23. Not to be upstaged, Witty assaulted Wiggy's mile record, running 4:12.4, shaving off .3 the same way he shaved his legs for aerodynamic purposes. Or so he tells himself. It got him really fired up.

Dave Roche defies my, and doctors', predictions following a torn labrum and races the Four Courts Four Miler.  Then he skipped town.

Kerry finished second at the Rock 'n' Roll USA half marathon in a 1:19:46, one minute PR. Matt Rand made his official debut, finishing third.

Dickson was honored with a hat bearing his likeness.

Sam Luff made his return to running, winning the Race to End Poverty in like 17 something. (photo not from that race)

April

Luke finished at the US 10 mile championships at Cherry Blossom in 48:45, a team record. Both the men's and women's team won the metropolitan elite competitions. 

The club's media relations team worked overtime in advance of the Boston Marathon. Kerry was featured in Roll Call and Dickson had an entire page of the American University magazine.

Matt Rand led the men's team, and Julie led the women, at Boston. Meanwhile Patrick Reaves ran 2:29:48. He might have run faster if he had looked where he was going.

Frank Michaelson and the Blond Whale went 1-2 at the Penn Relays 10k. Michaelson set a team record. (photo not from that race)

May

Susan got married to NATHAN, following a close wedding party DMR. They would soon welcome a puppy, Delta, into their home.
. 

LDO finished in the top 10 at the Broad Street Run and Evan PRed.

Johnny Running came back into the fold to win the Germantown 5 Miler (photo not from that race)

David Wertz ran 15:11 at Swarthmore. Chew on that for a while. His peers will, with their dentures.



Teal earned her doctorate in neuroscience. She's available for all of your neuroscience needs, weddings, birthdays and bar mitzvahs.

Hilary moved to Southern California with her fiancee Graham. Who knows if she'll fit in there.

June

Witty won his third consecutive Fathers Day 8k title, and Kristin "Snakes" Johnson debuted with a win, too. She went on to win women's newcomer of the year.

Evan ran 2:27 at Grandma's Marathon. Jesus... (photo not from that race) Also he's a burglar.


Cecilia ran 2:02.14 for 800 meters to qualify for the USATF 800 meter final.

July

Breezy married Liz.

August

August mostly belonged to Kieran, who won the Leesburg 20k and then got married to Zyra.

JR married Emily Norton Number Two, who is now promoted to being the primary Emily Norton

September

Outlaw finished second at the Navy 5 Miler, Sara made her GRC debut, I think.

Tom Kelly continued his development into a long distance runner, and won the Run for the Schools 5k.

Patrick Kuhlman ran pretty well at the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. (photo not from that race)

October 

Chilly Balmer ran 2:35 at his first serious shot at a marathon in Portland.(photo not from that race)

Charlie won his third straight Great Allegany Run 15k title, strengthening his grip, one weekend a year, on the Western Maryland racing scene.

Chris Bain got the impression he might soon have additional time commitments, so he ran the Hartford (2:39:50) and Baltimore (2:39:58) marathons seven days apart. It was enough to give you the impression he's done that before.

Big City proposed to Kate.

Witty repeated as the Glory Days XC champion, and Emily Young won the women's race, but the real story was Dave "Roger" O'Hara running just a few seconds slower on a muddy, messy course than he did on the perfectly fast Crystal City Twilighter course.

Blur, the men's newcomer of the year, had a solid distance debut at the Army Ten-Miler, where the women defended their team title. Blur's addition to the team meant that redheads became the preponderance of regular bloggers on the team.

Justin Snair married Megan shortly after a bee consummated a relationship with his hand.

Dutch Paul won the Dutch marathon championship. In other news, Disco Stu likes disco music.

November

Witty won one of the most rigorous cross country races in team history -- the Happy Runner 5k -- before Murph and John's wedding. Then he did the worm and didn't break his feet. It's safe to say Witty had a good November.


Bain's premonition turns out to be correct, because he and Shannon had a second son, Lazlo.

Susan won the Across the Bay 10k.

Stew ran pretty solidly at the Veterans Day 10k, and, realizing his stock would never be as high, hatched a plan to propose to his girlfriend, Stephanie.

Do you run anything besides 5ks??????? Why yes, Witty runs the 8k too, and quite well at the Rothman 8k, but where he really shined was the Fifth Third bank Turkey Day 5k in Evansville, when he broke the team record in 14:38.

Johnny Running ran a hard last four miles to win the Alexandria Turkey Trot.

December

Wiggy made his return to racing at the Jingle all the Way 5k.

Teal qualified for the Olympic-motherjamming-Trials at the California International Marathon. She was the hands-down women's MVP. Outlaw made his debut in 2:31.

Behind Frances' eighth place, the women's team finished 10th at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships. The men's A team finished 13th behind team MVP Mike Franklin.

Balms drank four frescas and ran 7:20 for a mile.

Murph retired from the board of directors after years of service as a team leader that was instrumental to the team's success. He earned this year's Lauren Woodall Roady award in recognition.

And a non sequitur photo of Jerry

FLASH: another sub 2:30 for Kuhlman

Patrick Kuhlman ran 2:29:4 at the Houston Marathon. It's not a PR, but it's nothing to scoff at for a 43-year-old. Kieran ran 1:06:52 at the U.S. Half Marathon Championships

What Teal Didn't Do Differently

"What was The Secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared, to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with the most un-profound and sometimes heart-rendering process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottom of his training shoes."

John L. Parker, Jr.

After Teal Burrell notched an OTQ marathon by finishing the California International Marathon with a time of 2:42:16, I dropped her a line to see if she made any adjustments this cycle that made the difference. Having talked a bit with Teal about her preparation, I regret to report that there was no magic bullet adjustment that enabled her to shed ten minutes off her marathon PR. There was no game changing special sauce; rather, Teal’s hard training worked more like a marinade, the seasoning of which sunk in over the span of many cycles and many years. While Teal was unable to identify any particular adjustment that made all the difference, it appears to me that there is nonetheless much to be learned from her experience.

CIM was Teal’s 12th marathon and if, in my largely uninformed opinion, I had to point to a single factor that yielded her terrific result, it would be the large volume of marathon-specific work that she put in during the last few years. During this cycle, and the handful that came before, Teal regularly worked in 10-14 miles @MGP into long runs of 20-22 miles total. It’s been my experience that the adaptations necessary to reach one’s potential at the marathon distance develop more gradually than any other distance event. Over the course of years, Teal became very efficient at running that 6:10-6:20 per mile pace. Notably, Teal’s personal bests at the half marathon (1:19:29) and ten mile (60:19) distance, while impressive, pale in comparison to her performance at CIM. To me, this disparity underscores the fact that the half marathon is a completely different event than the full. While a half marathon may serve as a great tuneup opportunity, it requires a completely different type of fitness than the full marathon – Teal focused on MGP at the expense of the shorter events and in the process became a great marathoner.

Although Teal regularly worked 14-mile MGP segments into her long runs, she turned it up a notch this cycle with three big runs that included long marathon effort segments: 10 miles @6:21 pace for 18 total in early October; 13 miles @6:18 pace for 20 total three weeks later; and 16 miles @6:12 pace for 22 total three weeks after that. While the last of these runs was the longest effort at goal pace that she had undertaken, it would not seem that extending a tempo segment by one or two miles would make a significant physiological difference. But Teal believes that grinding out 16 at 6:12 pace – the pace she averaged at CIM – gave her a big psychological boost. She explained that extending the tempo segment by three miles on each successive long run made the 16-mile segment achievable. And she thought that if she could jump from 13 to 16, then in the next workout she could just as easily have went from 16 to 19. And if she could throw down 19 miles @MGP in a workout, then 26.2 miles at that pace on D-Day was achievable. Big Canova-style MGP runs are becoming popular with the GRC marathon corps – Evan Jurkovich, for example, got in 16 @MGP on Beach Drive shortly before his breakthrough at Twin Cities.

Aside from incremental increases in the MGP segments, one lesson to be learned from Teal’s experience is not to be wedded to an exact pace on goal pace runs. You’ll notice that during the first two runs, she was not afraid to dial the pace back to ten to twelve seconds SLOWER than goal pace, which allowed her to finish the entire segment. In my estimation, the lesson to be learned is that, if your goal pace feels a little sharp at the start of one of these goal pace runs and you are forced to choose between speed and volume, then go with volume. It’s about the volume, suka! Rather than sticking slavishly to 6:12 pace and flaming out after only a few miles, Teal dialed it back a notch and stuck it out for the entire segment and the resulting workout laid the foundation to work her way down to 6:12s. The other lesson is to accept the fact that MGP will feel difficult in a training setting and that you will not be able to notch your goal pace each and every workout. Teal’s first attempt at a goal pace run this cycle ended in disaster – she couldn’t even sustain the pace for a few miles – but she was able to get back on the horse the next week and complete her workout. MGP feels hard and you won’t be able to sustain it every week but if you can get in about three big runs, as Teal did, then you’ll be fine.

It’s also notable that, in addition to the goal-pace work, Teal got to BCC almost every Wednesday over the course of the last few cycles for long repeats. The speed work that Teal did during marathon training did not make her into a sub-17 5K runner, but it wasn’t intended to. The marahoner just needs to accept that marathon-focused work will make it very difficult to run well at other distance. The ability to delay gratification is perhaps the most important attribute that a marathoner can have and Teal was able to persevere with the track work knowing that the benefits would materialize far in the future, if ever. And eventually Teal’s time on the oval gave her the strength and turnover to sustain a slower pace for a longer distance.

I’ve heard many a marathon finisher utter the following words: "Things went so well this cycle, I just don’t know what happened out there today." I myself have been such a declarant on more than one occasion. But Teal’s experience tells us that there is not a linear relationship between hard training for any particular cycle and the goal marathon at the end of that cycle. The same type of preparation that preceded Teal’s 2:42 at CIM had also yielded a 2:52 in Boston 2013 and a 2:58 in Boston 2014. The relatively disappointing results at Boston laid the groundwork. At CIM, Teal saw that she had a rare opportunity to run on a fast course on a good day and, to her credit, she went for it. But on every Patriot’s Day, the medical tent on Kenmore Square is chock full of well-prepared runners who set an aggressive yet achievable pace. So why did it all come together for Teal on that particular day? I’m not entirely sure. But I can say that without all the hard work put in over the span of the years that led up to her PR, the story would have ended differently.

Wednesday Workout, January 14

RACES

Congratulations to Frances for a truly spectacular race in Scotland! Frances was 8th overall, 3rd American, and among the world class runners she beat was the reigning European Cross Country champion. Those facts, incredibly impressive as they are, do not do justice to how hard Frances ran, and how difficult the conditions were. For some insight on that, I present Frances's race report.

Definitely the hardest race I've ever run. 50mph wind gusts, ankle deep mud, ice cold creeks and puddles, crazy hills, rolled my ankle on lap 2 and if that wasn't enough, it decided to snow/ice the last lap. I had no idea where I was in the race place wise, and just ran my hardest the whole way. I had to summon a kick the last 100m which was fun. I couldn't feel my fingers or toes for a good thirty minutes afterwards, and the feeling coming back wasn't a pleasant one! The trainer had to cut my laces to get me out of my spikes, which were duct-taped on.

Not to belabor the point, but with Frances's combination of superb talent and dogged determination, there's no telling what she can do in the next two years, and I sure am looking forward to seeing her represent GRC at the highest levels of the sport.

WORKOUT

We will have practice on Wednesday night. The where part of the equation is still uncertain, but with any luck the track at BCC will be clear, and we can get back to our normal routine. I will do a recon tomorrow morning, and once I have a better feel for whether we're likely to be able to use the track, I'll send an update. If we have to find an alternate location, I'll let you know, so stay tuned for workout details.

One way or the other, I'll see you Wednesday.

Jerry