North Brooklyn Runners: A Community Running Group Serving Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, and Beyond!

Thursday PM Track workout

Details:

Time:	7:30pm
Distance:	Various
Pace:	Open
Effort:	Comfortably Hard to Difficult
Led by:	Jen, Linda, & Ken
Meet:	South West side of McCarren Park Track

Since the beginning of NBR, we have had the privilege to lead speed workouts every Thursday night. It is based on a weekly workout that is repeated every month. The workout has stayed the same during these 2 years for several reasons. The first is to keep it simple. As a runner, It is easy to remember- after a few months at least- which workout to expect. As a “coach” it is easy to learn how to time each workout, how to break up runners into specified heats, how to phase in recoveries after each rep. The second is to keep speedwork as a somewhat diluted workout that can accommodate all runners of all skills and running intentions. It has worked well, and we have enjoyed leading all the runners that have committed to coming out.

Now, with a new year, a new club points schedule, and perhaps a more developed and grown NBR, we are wanting to move forward. I can believe that this has the possibility to create an exclusive workout. With that in mind, I would like to define the exclusivity we are aiming for. First, I must make this clear: we do not limit speedwork to only fast runners. We understand that everyone has different talents and experiences, and rather than honing in on the fastest of the group, we do want runners to come out with the fullest intention of getting faster. In this sense, Thursday night is different than other scheduled NBR runs. It has always been our goal to have the workouts make our runners faster, and we have been able to see this pay off.

So with that preface, we will be introducing a new way of leading Thursday nights. The workouts will be seen as monthly ‘training sessions’ that are geared toward racing the distance of the upcoming club points race. I am compelled to do this for several reasons. First is because I am competitive. I hate to project this onto the group, but that is what interests me, and I will exploit my leading a run to fulfill my desires. Second, I believe in the group as a whole. I think we need to preserve the diversity of runners that represent us, especially at the club points races. And I want us to be confident in doing it. Thirdly, I know we are fast. And I know there is a lot of potential for us to get faster. I would rather work on the people I run with and love to get faster than wait around to recruit the one that will bring home the bacon (although that would be nice too). This is where we might seem exclusive: don’t expect to run Thursdays without getting faster. I am not a certified coach, nor have I ever had and official experiences beyond one season of high school cross country. I see running as pretty simple. But after running my first marathon (and taking the months of training beforehand a little more seriously) I am starting to believe that there is a little bit more to training for a race than just running fast or long.  So with the help of other runners that I have much respect for, we are structuring each weekly workout to get you in shape for the next club points race.”

Even more demanding in these workouts will be the dictated pace of each rep and the recovery times between. The generalized concept behind these workouts is to build up a tolerance of running at faster speeds than what you are usually running during your other daily runs, (There is actually a science to it, i am learning, where you are building up your body’s lactic threshold which allows you to run harder with less fatigue…basically, your body learns to run more efficiently, which will help you regardless of what type of runner you are. Sounds like a pretty good deal.) While I mentioned that I am not thoroughly qualified to assign specific workouts, I would encourage runners to see Thursday night workouts as only part of a 5k Training program. There are several sites with great workout plans for all types of runners, and pretty much all of them encourage speed enhancing workouts.

We hope this change isn’t seen as offensive, as our intentions are only to encourage everyone to strive for their desired potential. We love NBR and what it stands for, and love seeing you guys get fast.

All paces are encouraged to come out, and times are recorded for your benefit (and posted on the google group).  Goal times can always be discussed before each workout, but if you are curious as to your pace per workout, check out this calculator to look up your “SPEED WORKOUTS” pace.

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