This week, we will reprise last year’s hugely fun pursuit workout. We’ll be running 5 or 6 reps of an 800m loop around the fields and paths at Stewart Park—see the map below—with everyone aiming for I pace (not all out!). Everyone will start together for the first rep, and I’ll record finishing times (hopefully with help from @laurenmilano and Theo). Then, for the second rep, we’ll do a staggered start from slow to fast, forcing the faster people to run in pursuit of the slower people. If the offsets work out properly, everyone should come in together at roughly the same time. For instance, if Tonya runs a 4:30 800m and Patrick a 3:00 800m on the first one, Tonya gets a 90-second head start over Patrick on the subsequent ones, with others slotting in somewhere in between. I may adjust the offsets as people get tired or to account for someone sandbagging early on. 
Recoveries will be 3 minutes of walking or jogging around the field. The faster people will get more rest, but I’m also expecting them to be incapable of not pushing the pace faster because they are starting so far behind. Part of the goal of this workout is to teach you how to race from a different spot in the pack, with slower people learning what it’s like to lead and faster people forced to play catch up.
Note that we’re pausing workouts for two weeks after Tuesday. You should plan to run the Twilight 5K instead of the June 11th workout, and our track meet instead of the June 18th workout. We’ll return to Stewart Park on June 25th. And if you don’t want to race, please sign up to volunteer using the buttons on the race pages!
We meet at the Stewart Park bocce pits near the big pavilion, with the warmup starting at 6:30 PM. All are welcome, but you must be an FLRC member and sign the FLRC Training Programs waiver once for 2024.
Resources
- Administration: You must be an FLRC member and sign the 2024 waiver!
- Location: All workouts take place at Stewart Park in downtown Ithaca
- Parking: There’s lots of free parking in Stewart Park.
- Warmup: Jay Johnson’s Lunge Matrix and Leg Swings, then 10 minutes of jogging
- Cooldown: Jogging until everyone’s done, then Jay Johnson’s Strength and Mobility
- Pace Calculator: Jack Daniels’ VDOT Running Calculator