After 18 months of basically mooching of the F3 program today I lost my virginity. Not that virginity, I lost that before many of you were born, but as a Q. I think for a VQ I did OK, giving myself a solid 6.9 out of a 10. Definitely room for improvement.
Promptly at 05:30:37 we circled up.
Warmup
- SSH x20IC
- Willie Mays Hayes x10IC
- OYO Calf Stretch
- 30 Seconds of OYO stretching
ME
I announced the workout for the morning: we would be running the 5 mile loop that I call the Cricket 5 miler, only we would run backwards. Not literally backwards, but clockwise rather than the traditional counter clockwise direction. This was for a few reasons. 1. It is challenging to change directions, even on a running loop. 2. The reversed hills would serve to build strength for the speed portions and 3. I wanted to confuse RG3 which was accomplished within the first 10 meters.
So off we ran. Not living in Briar Chapel, I don’t know the street names or clever lingo, just suffice it to say, we ran that loop from 5/10 Tuesday’s backwards. I do know you have to run down the parking lot to start the loop in either direction and now so does RG3. (It is always the smart ones)
On the road the plan was simple. Don’t lose Jingles and break the run up into 5 equal segments. (That would be 5 1 mile segments for the challenged, but then again at the end my GPS said 5.28.) We would run at fellowship pace for 1 mile, then pick it up for a race pace type 1 mile segment, then back to fellowship for a mile, a second race pace type effort, then finish with a fellowship pace back into to the Club House parking lot.
The goal was to fully recover between speed miles, run the miles in a way that when you finished you weren’t spent, but ready to go again a mile later. This builds strength more than speed, but what good is speed without endurance? This could be good relationship advice as well.
My experienced eye tells me the group mastered the concept. Most of us ran at about a 5K pace, Cricket more like an 800 meter Olympic effort. Big man can move. I am pretty sure Jinx made it to the mile mark both times, but it was hard to see that far ahead, but seeing him jog back was a great way of knowing the end was near.
I appreciated the fellowship and support from the group today. Even though I have run all my life, for a time at a high level, it is still a bit nerve wracking to get in front of people you have grown to respect and don’t want to disappoint. What got me from mooching to leading was simply the thought that I enjoy running with this group so much, I wanted to offload the burden just a bit. Being old was becoming an excuse and not a good one. Besides, I like it when the dog walking crowd spins around as a group of large men pounds down the street.
Special shout out to Jingles who has our six covered with a smile and a positive presence. Geez, I don’t mean to make it sound like he is that far behind, but I know he is working his ass off out there and he will be right in the mix soon. Running with others is intimidating when you are out of shape, but motivational in that you know you will push that much harder and the guys are there waiting for you. Besides, if you can do 100 Burpees, running is a piece of cake.
BOM
And finally, my message at the end was very average. I can improve that. Basically I am all for goal setting, but like business planning and strategy it is not a finish line, be ready to adjust your goals as you get closer to them. More importantly, running slow at times is the key to running faster when you want to. If you can run 8 minute pace for 1 mile, try a few runs at a 10 minute pace. (Dang, should have used that one today).
Announcements:
- F3 Christmas Party (Dec 22nd ?) at the Clubhouse
- Gear Order is linked on slack, order now. Great Xmas or Holiday gift idea.
- The Frost Rabbit is happening, earn your badge this winter by making 10 runs at the Rabbit between Dec 3rdt and February 25th. You can double credit for one 10 mile Tuesday and as of today we are including the #Jag into the mix and will plan a convergence or two
- Turkey Bowl this Thanksgiving @0900 at the fields across Andrew Store Road from Woods Charter School