New Thursday Evening Running Group

Just about everyone who reads the blog has been out for a Saturday morning run. Several of you have also come for a Wednesday morning run. We are now going to add in a regular Thursday Evening run to the schedule. The hope is by having more runs we can strengthen the club. Here is how these runs breakdown:

Nooners: Just about everyday Monday through Friday, a group is running from the YMCA. We meet in the lobby about 12:10 and start running by 12:15. The distance varies from 3-8 miles, but is most often on the shorter end of the spectrum. Everyone is welcome.

Saturday: Longer and Slower Runs. These runs are designed to increase your endurance. They will gradually get longer over the summer, but you are welcome to adjust the routes to your needs. These currently start at 6:30 am, but could get earlier based on the heat. Most often me meet at the Harris Teeter, but the location can and will move occasionally (YMCA, City Lake, Medoc Mountain, etc.). To see the long run schedule for the summer, check this old post.

Wednesday: Tempo Runs. Wednesday runs begin at 5:45 am on Bell Drive. This run normally is 5-7 miles. The first mile is a warm up, but the pace increases as we go, and often finishes at or near race pace. These runs are designed to push out your lactate threshold, enabling your muscles to use the oxygen you breath in as efficiently as possible.

Thursday: Interval Runs: Thursday runs will vary each week. The plan is to do speed intervals. This is where you run at a pace faster than your race pace for short intervals, taking a break between each one. You do not have to be fast to come. Intervals are set based on your pace. Most often intervals are done on a track, but we will most likely do a "fartlek" workout on the roads, where you use your watch to determine the interval length. These workouts improve your leg speed. Even if you are not looking to do intervals, you can still come out and run with the group at your pace. Some of these days we will do hill intervals as well.

So here are the questions:

• Are you interested in occasionally running on Thursday evenings?
• Would a 7:00 pm start time work?
• Do you know anyone who can get us track access?