Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday Workout
PJ and I will be doing 9 miles with pickups of varying distances/speeds. Alternative speed workouts also welcome...
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Weekend Results - Preliminary - Comrades
Breaking News - Gareth Coville finishes Comrades Marathon in 9:18, receiving a bronze medal! Congratulations Gareth!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Week 1: Farah and Brian's Bike Trip
We started our bike trip from Van
couver and headed north into British Columbia. So far, we've taken 5 ferries, cover about 250 miles by bike and a few miles by foot. The views have been amazing and the biking has been challenging and super-exhilarating (almost 40 MPH on some of the downhills!) Despite the rain, EVERY day, we're having an awesome time. Check us out on the ferry, Brian being a wizz at the campstove and Farah topping our first major climb - the view at the top was the reward. Until next time...
Monday, May 23, 2011
Weekend Results
HB Woodlawn Trail 5k -
Geoff King adds in his own compelling case for 2011 Dojo MVP, finishing 5th and winning his age group at the HB Woodlawn Trail 5k. Geoff faced some stiff competition, so swinging a 5th is mighty impressive. All the more impressive is Geoff battling in a race that is outside his wheelhouse.
Run for Freedom 5k -
Wigglesworth wins another one outright, and maintains his place as one of the 2011 MVP favorites. Henry reports that the course was a little long, but he is now the proud holder of a $15 Lids gift certificate, as well as a card for $50 at Strosnider's hardware. If you need an Anaheim Angels alternate hat to go with a quart of Glidden all-purpose primer, shoot Wigglesworth an email.
Congrats to Geoff and Henry
Geoff King adds in his own compelling case for 2011 Dojo MVP, finishing 5th and winning his age group at the HB Woodlawn Trail 5k. Geoff faced some stiff competition, so swinging a 5th is mighty impressive. All the more impressive is Geoff battling in a race that is outside his wheelhouse.
Run for Freedom 5k -
Wigglesworth wins another one outright, and maintains his place as one of the 2011 MVP favorites. Henry reports that the course was a little long, but he is now the proud holder of a $15 Lids gift certificate, as well as a card for $50 at Strosnider's hardware. If you need an Anaheim Angels alternate hat to go with a quart of Glidden all-purpose primer, shoot Wigglesworth an email.
Congrats to Geoff and Henry
Tuesday Workout - Mile Repeats
PJ and I will be doing a whole mess of mile repeats tomorrow at the Point. Those interested are welcome to join us for all nine, or any variant thereof. 12th & Penn @ 6:50 am, Hains Point @ 7 am.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Brian and Farah's bike trip - day 1
The trip started out better than we expected. Our bikes made it to the Vancouver airport undamaged and on schedule. We walked out to the ground transportation section and assembled our bikes while listening to the constant whistle blowing of the person directing traffic.
After an hour or so of hard work, we were on our way. We rode 10 miles into downtown to our hostel, much of it on a bikelane along the highway.
All is well and we have a couple days of exploring the city before the tour starts.
Until next time...
Farah and Brian
Friday, May 20, 2011
Saturday Long Run
Anyone interested in doing a Saturday morning long run, email Dan. The plan is to head out relatively early and do 18 miles at Burke Lake Park (about 4 loops around). Pace will be pretty easy, starting at 7:30-45/mile, finishing likely around 6:50/mile.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tempo Thursday
The Grandma's Crew will be doing an 11 mile tempo tomorrow, leaving 12th & Penn @ 6:50 AM, Hains Point @ 7 AM.
Alternatives are also welcome for anyone not in race prep mode.
Alternatives are also welcome for anyone not in race prep mode.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Brian's Great Adventure
As most of you know, our resident vegan baker / actuary is about to embark on a 6 week long bike trip down the Pacific Coast. The silver lining to Brian's extended absence is that he has agreed to provide a running series of updates, published on the Dojo blog. So over the next couple months, stay tuned in to learn about Brian's latest adventure.
Weekend Results - Updated
PVTC Track Meet:
Wigglesworth had a fantastic meet. In his first event, Henry ran 4:56 for the mile, good to second place overall. One hour later, Henry tossed in a 10:42 two mile, taking the overall win in that event. Not too shabby for a guy who is banging around the 50-54 year old age group.
James River Scramble:
Geoff missed out on the James River Scramble after lightening and rain pounded the Richmond area Saturday night and organizers delayed the event to Sunday. No doubt Geoff would have unleashed the beast were he able to race on Saturday, but that will have to wait until next time.
Wigglesworth had a fantastic meet. In his first event, Henry ran 4:56 for the mile, good to second place overall. One hour later, Henry tossed in a 10:42 two mile, taking the overall win in that event. Not too shabby for a guy who is banging around the 50-54 year old age group.
James River Scramble:
Geoff missed out on the James River Scramble after lightening and rain pounded the Richmond area Saturday night and organizers delayed the event to Sunday. No doubt Geoff would have unleashed the beast were he able to race on Saturday, but that will have to wait until next time.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Weekend Results - Preliminary
Lots of action this weekend, with Savitch at the Run for Animals 5k, Wigglesworth at the PVTC Track Meet, Geoff at the James River Scramble, and Jen and me at the Capitol Hill 10k. Results are in from Savitch and me; still waiting for posting of the PVTC meet and the James River Scramble.
Run for the Animals 5k:
We all know that Savitch loves two things. Running and animals. And animals may even take priority!!! So it is no surprise that Savitch laced them up this weekend for the Run for the Animals 5k in Wheaton, to benefit the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary. Held over a tough course and featuring a distance that is far from Savitch's main focus, the power of orphaned baby birds compelled him to a 2nd place overall finish, behind Andy Sovonick from the GRC racing team, and just ahead of Jon Torrance. In the process, Savitch picked up a tidy check for $100, which he immediately handed back to the animal sanctuary as a donation.
Capitol Hill Classic 10k:
This was kind of a good news/bad news race. This morning, the original plan was to pace oft-absent Dojo member Jen through the race, click through around low 40s, and get in 8 total miles (between the race, warmup, and cooldown). Unfortunately, those plans were nixed when I couldn't find Jen in the swarm at the start or within the first half mile of cruising after the gun. At that point, I looked ahead of me and saw that while the top three guys had broken away, a big chase pack of 10 to 15 guys remained within about 100-200 meters. I decided to see how many guys I picked off by maintaining a steady tempo-like effort.
The good news: I ended up catching a fair number of folks, placed 7th place male, and ran 36:39, which I think is the fastest I've ever run on this particular 10k course. Jen ran a great race, placing 9th among women with a 41:14 on almost no speedwork.
The bad news: Yesterday, PJ and I rolled through a fairly challenging 22 miler, we are looking at a huge training week coming up, and at my advanced age I can't afford to crank on too many easy recovery days. While I didn't completely empty the tanks for this one, it was far far from an easy run. So I'm going to be a bit careful to not overcook this week.
Stay tuned for updates from James River Scramble and the PVTC Track Meet
Run for the Animals 5k:
We all know that Savitch loves two things. Running and animals. And animals may even take priority!!! So it is no surprise that Savitch laced them up this weekend for the Run for the Animals 5k in Wheaton, to benefit the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary. Held over a tough course and featuring a distance that is far from Savitch's main focus, the power of orphaned baby birds compelled him to a 2nd place overall finish, behind Andy Sovonick from the GRC racing team, and just ahead of Jon Torrance. In the process, Savitch picked up a tidy check for $100, which he immediately handed back to the animal sanctuary as a donation.
Capitol Hill Classic 10k:
This was kind of a good news/bad news race. This morning, the original plan was to pace oft-absent Dojo member Jen through the race, click through around low 40s, and get in 8 total miles (between the race, warmup, and cooldown). Unfortunately, those plans were nixed when I couldn't find Jen in the swarm at the start or within the first half mile of cruising after the gun. At that point, I looked ahead of me and saw that while the top three guys had broken away, a big chase pack of 10 to 15 guys remained within about 100-200 meters. I decided to see how many guys I picked off by maintaining a steady tempo-like effort.
The good news: I ended up catching a fair number of folks, placed 7th place male, and ran 36:39, which I think is the fastest I've ever run on this particular 10k course. Jen ran a great race, placing 9th among women with a 41:14 on almost no speedwork.
The bad news: Yesterday, PJ and I rolled through a fairly challenging 22 miler, we are looking at a huge training week coming up, and at my advanced age I can't afford to crank on too many easy recovery days. While I didn't completely empty the tanks for this one, it was far far from an easy run. So I'm going to be a bit careful to not overcook this week.
Stay tuned for updates from James River Scramble and the PVTC Track Meet
Friday, May 13, 2011
Saturday Long Run
The Grandma's Crew is going on a 22 mile long run tomorrow. Meeting at 9 am in front of PJ's in G'Town. Any takers, email Dan or PJ...
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Thursday Tempo
PJ & I will be targeting a 10 mi tempo at PMP tomorrow morning, 6:50 @ 12th & Penn, 7 am @ Hains Point. Alan, Jared, & Savicious will be doing 4 X 4 mi on bikes.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Tuesday Workout - 4 X 2.5mi
A true challenge on tap for tomorrow. 4 X 2.5mi (though others can modify and limit the number of intervals as desired).
Leaving 12th & Penn at 6:50 am
Hains Point @ 7 am
Leaving 12th & Penn at 6:50 am
Hains Point @ 7 am
Friday, May 6, 2011
Saturday Long Run
PJ and I will be heading out for a 20 miler on the Capital Crescent starting at 9 am tomorrow morning, for anyone interested. The plan is to run the first 15 or 16 easy, and try to do a few at the end at an elevated effort level.
Dojo NPR Segment
The audio for Kavitha Cardoza's piece that aired on Metro Connection can be heard here.
Frederick Half Marathon Preview
Our own Chris Pruitt will be lacing up the flats this weekend at the Frederick Half Marathon. Chris goes into what amounts to his Spring racing debut having had some success at the half marathon distance before. Last year, he won the Abebe Bikila Day International Peace Half Marathon in 1:13 on a relatively slow course. As the race recap notes, Pruitt cruised to a 4 minute win over some pretty notable competition.
Frederick is typically a tough race. In previous years, it has had some high temps and always seems to draw a strong field. Pruitt's workouts have been going well though (this I can attest from having watched him rapidly disappear into the horizon in front of me during these same workouts), so it will be exciting to see the outcome.
Frederick is typically a tough race. In previous years, it has had some high temps and always seems to draw a strong field. Pruitt's workouts have been going well though (this I can attest from having watched him rapidly disappear into the horizon in front of me during these same workouts), so it will be exciting to see the outcome.
Pemberton Rehab Update
Pemberton sends us this postcard dispatch from the rehab trail...
That is him strapped into an Alter-G treadmill, which allows the user to artificially run much lighter than they really are. I myself am about to invest in an Alter-Speed treadmill, which allows a user to artificially run much faster than they really are.
That is him strapped into an Alter-G treadmill, which allows the user to artificially run much lighter than they really are. I myself am about to invest in an Alter-Speed treadmill, which allows a user to artificially run much faster than they really are.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
NPR / Metro Connection Segment on the Dojo
Tune in to 88.5 WAMU tomorrow at 1 PM to catch Kavitha Cardoza's segment on the Dojo, on WAMU's Metro Connection program. Metro Connection's website is here.
Listen to...the outrageous and controversial musings of Dojo members such as Rainey, PJ, Geoff, Alan, Savicious, and Dan.
Hear...the pitter patter of little feet pounding the pavement as recorded by members of the Dojo.
Enjoy the wonderfulness of radio everybody!
Listen to...the outrageous and controversial musings of Dojo members such as Rainey, PJ, Geoff, Alan, Savicious, and Dan.
Hear...the pitter patter of little feet pounding the pavement as recorded by members of the Dojo.
Enjoy the wonderfulness of radio everybody!
The Wigglesworth Strikes...Again!!! ACLI Capital Challenge 3 Miler
One of the Dojo's named professors of speed, Henry Wigglesworth, ran a great race this Wednesday morning in the ACLI Capital Challenge. On our home turf (Hains Point), Wigglesworth finished in 6th place overall with a 16:25 over 3 miles. See full results here.
Henry's time works out to several ticks under 17 for a full 5k. In addition to battling with some of the top runners around, Wigglesworth also led his team (DOJ's Criminal Division) to a fantastic 3rd place finish in the Executive Branch category.
And courtesy of an interview Henry gave several years ago, here is photographic evidence of why he is so fast:
Congratulations Henry!!!
Henry's time works out to several ticks under 17 for a full 5k. In addition to battling with some of the top runners around, Wigglesworth also led his team (DOJ's Criminal Division) to a fantastic 3rd place finish in the Executive Branch category.
And courtesy of an interview Henry gave several years ago, here is photographic evidence of why he is so fast:
Congratulations Henry!!!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tempo Thursday
Another 2 item menu for tomorrow:
9 mile tempo @ planned marathon pace OR
4 miles @ planned marathon pace + 1 or 2 miles at 10k pace
6:50 am @ 12th & Penn
7 am @ Hains Point
9 mile tempo @ planned marathon pace OR
4 miles @ planned marathon pace + 1 or 2 miles at 10k pace
6:50 am @ 12th & Penn
7 am @ Hains Point
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Wednesday Easy Run
Anyone up for an easy Wednesday run through Georgetown, with TI Island added in?
Tomorrow @ 12th & Penn @ 6:50 am?
Tomorrow @ 12th & Penn @ 6:50 am?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Tuesday Intervals
A two-choice menu for tomorrow:
5 x 1 mile (for the marathon-inclined)
or
400m repeats (for those looking for speed)
meet at 12th & Penn @ 6:50 am
Hains Point @ 7 am.
5 x 1 mile (for the marathon-inclined)
or
400m repeats (for those looking for speed)
meet at 12th & Penn @ 6:50 am
Hains Point @ 7 am.