We had a fabulous showing at the PGXC race on Sunday—more details coming soon, but it included an overall win for women from Hailey Whetten, the first men’s Open team overall win since one in 2019 (and who knows when before that), wins from the women’s Vets, Super Vets, and Ultra Vets, and lots of individuals taking home podium chocolate.
With many of us having run the PGXC race on Sunday, we’re going to stick with a simple workout: Pond Loops, which work out to nearly 800m of effort at 5K race pace and about 300m of recovery. Start on Arboretum Road by the first parking area, run a hard pickup around the ponds (blue line below), and then job a small loop on the trail (red line below). Slower runners may take the shortcut back to the parking area in front of the ponds (orange line below) to make the amount of pickup time approximate the faster runners’ times. During the jog back to the start, pace groups should regroup so you’re running with people on each one. Do 4 to 6 repeats, depending on your weekly mileage and how you’re feeling after the race.
Dirk Swart will be leading the workout, so look to him to get started with the lunges and leg swings and to explain the loops. It might be useful to run the loops as part of the 10-minute warmup jog so you’re sure of where you’re going.
Meet on Tuesday night at 5:30 PM at the parking area in the bowl of the F. R. Newman Arboretum in the Cornell Botanic Gardens (Google Maps pin) and be ready to start the warmup at 5:45 PM among the sculptures. Invite your friends!
Any questions?
Resources
- Administration: You must be an FLRC member and sign the 2025 waiver!
- Location: All XC workouts take place at the F. R. Newman Arboretum in the Cornell Botanic Gardens east of the Cornell Vet School
- Parking: There’s plenty of parking in the Arboretum; latecomers have to park farther from the warmup area.
- 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
