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4 to 6 x Stafford Hill

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

The tracks are still snow-creted in, but Stafford street has widened a bit during the recent "Heat Wave," as Coach Andrew scoped things out, and we have a planned TMBC for tomorrow. The group will gather at W&L near W&L track this Thursday, as we think there will be some parking around the school and maybe even the W&L deck where we finish the race on New Year's day. Washington-Liberty High School is located at 1301 N. Stafford Street, Arlington VA 22201, just a couple of blocks away from the Ballston Metro. Hopefully you can gather at the track gate on Stafford by 5:45, and then as a group do a couple of loops of W&L as warm up, then head to the Stafford hill at the corner of the W&L loop. There will be a surprise visit by Coach Emeritus Big Guy, who is coming to DC to be with his Sweetie on Valentine's Day.

Weather should be better than last week, a balmy 32 degrees at the start, with some wind gust and very low humidity. If you have a headlamp, please bring it. There will probably be a little refrozen snow melt in spots, so those up front need to call out the icy patches for those trailing. If there is a stretch of ice, stop, pause watches, and Penguin walk past the ice patch, then restart. Be SAFE OUT THERE!

Workout as follows:

February 12, 2026 – TMBC: 4 to 6 x the Stafford hill in 10k, then jog to the bottom and repeat. Run them up at 10k or better pace, followed by a couple of minutes jogging down.

The Stafford hill is reasonably steep, sometimes at a 30-degree slope, but also has some flat areas, and is almost exactly 800 meters long. We will run up the LEFT side so we face traffic and can react quickly and step aside if need be, after cresting the hill shift to the other side and run down, again facing traffic for safety. Remember when you run up a hill to modify your form to LIFT YOUR KNEES! This will help set your cadence for the hill climb.

... and the Coach Big Guy Club Report –

Greeting TMBC faithful. No race reports from anyone – PLEASE let me know when you are racing so we can encourage you and others! BigGuy at dcroadrunners dot org.

The next Club race is the rescheduled Valentines 8k on this Saturday February 14th – details to sign up or volunteer are on the club website: www.dcroadrunners.org.

Happy Running!

Coach Andrew and Coach Emeritus Big Guy will see you at 5:45 AM to warmup tomorrow!

3 Minutes ON at 8k - 2 minutes OFF jogging x 6

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

The tracks are still snow-creted in, and Stafford street is still pretty narrow, so Coach Andrew and Coach Anna have scoped things out, and we have a planned TMBC for tomorrow. The group will gather at W&L near W&L track this Thursday, as we think there will be some parking around the school and maybe even the W&L deck where we finish the race on New Year's day. Washington-Liberty High School is located at 1301 N. Stafford Street, Arlington VA 22201, just a couple of blocks away from the Ballston Metro. Hopefully you can gather at the track gate on Stafford by 5:45, and then as a group head out to the Custis trail for a mile warm up, plus running on WO&D.

Weather should be better than last week, a balmy 20 degrees at the start, with a little wind and low humidity. If you have a headlamp, please bring it. There will probably be a little refrozen snow melt in spots, so those up front need to call out the icy patches for those trailing. If there is a stretch of ice, stop, pause watches, and Penguin walk past the ice patch, then restart. Be SAFE OUT THERE!

Workout as follows:

February 5, 2026 – TMBC: 6 x 3/2. That is three minutes at 8k pace, followed by two minutes jogging. If possible, stick together so Coach Andrew can call out times. Once you get to the end of the third 5-minute Interval segment (3+2, remember), which should be on the WO&D as you roll up the miles, turn around and get three more 3/2 intervals, followed by a mile warm down to return to W&L.

... and the Coach Big Guy Club Report –

Greeting TMBC faithful. No race reports from anyone – PLEASE let me know when you are racing so we can encourage you and others! BigGuy at dcroadrunners dot org.

The next Club race is the rescheduled Valentines 8k on Saturday February 814h – details to sign up or volunteer are on the club website: www.dcroadrunners.org.

Happy Running!

Coach Andrew will see you at 5:45 AM to warmup tomorrow, while Coach Big Guy is still searching for an open track in Austin!