The Devil’s Turn launch point is a lonely and desolate place at 4:45 am. Not even the early rising RFYL’ers are crazy enough to start that early.
At 5:15, a crew of 10 had assembled to get the #F3DevilsTurn party started. After a brief discussion and a threat of outright mutiny, it was decided to abandon the plans to go to the track and instead head to the #DangerZone for the morning constitutional. It wasn’t until well into the workout that YHC realized that any latecomers would not know where we were. However, we were committed at that point.
At COT, we learned Mall Cop and an illusive Wolfman had run the course to the track and back after arriving 5 minutes late. They seemed ok with it though.
It was a fairly standard day at the ‘Turn once the plan was ironed out. After navigating the dark and dangerous sidewalk up to 51, we were in the clear to open up all cylinders on the bike lanes and rolling hills of Rea between 51 and Colony. Mr. Brady took off once there and was mysteriously missing at the turnaround to come back toward 51. Was he that fast that we completely missed him heading back? Nope, it turns out there was a Johnny on the Pot that captured his fancy on the way out. At least he didn’t pull a Mr. Bean or Frehley’s move out there.
One Niner visited DT for the first time today. It is a fur piece for he and YHC coming from the likes of SC to run with the faithful. He seems to be a natural for DT though as he was leading the PAX for the duration of the workout. Welcome my IL brother.
Ironsides made his second trip out to DT today to avoid the muck and mire. We are glad he did. Strong runner that Ironsides. Although he was feared lost at the end, he made it back to port with no dents in the armor.
Huggy Bear continues his push toward faster paces and has his eye set on half marathon greatness come Spring. There is no doubt whatever race is chosen will be dominated. The man is on point. (he is also from GT, so there’s that too)
Gumbo is also hitting the running workouts hard and looking strong out there. It is good to have him out there pounding the pavement again.
O’Tannenbaum, Marvel, and Mistaflex were pushing each other out there and looking strong. It is great to see our regulars out week in and week out. Thanks brothers!
Prohibition is back in stride after his first Marathon in Chicago. After achieving greatness in his first, he is now ready to go for that next one. Too early? Well you will get that itch again brother. It will happen.
No announcements today. That’s what Twitter is for right?
6 men were not deterred by the confusing and convoluted preblasted plan for todays Devil’s Turn. Either that or they didn’t read it and showed up blindly trusting the Q for an effective running workout. Regardless of the circumstances, they were there and it was good. It was greenway day.
The day actually started at 4:45 with Frasier joining YHC for some extra credit. This credit consisted of 2 miles Easy pace, 9 minutes out and 11 minutes back of Threshold pace, and 5 minutes rest/jog to meet the rest of the PAX at mile marker 0.5 near the Johnston road entrance.
There was significant ciphering involved in finding out how to meet the PAX precisely at mile marker 0.5 at the right time. However, the run went down with military precision and Bratwurst joined Frasier and YHC for couple more intervals of Threshold pace alternated with 3 min rest.
The remaining 3 PAX (Huggy Bear, The Mouth, and Cheddar) proceeded with pushing to new limits today. The Mouth and Cheddar were observed far from home (>3.5 miles to be exact) at the midpoint. Talk about full commitment. They made it back just after 6:15 so that the bet paid off! Strong push men.
Although not confirmed (PAX split up at the end), Huggy Bear likely also pushed to new limits today. Running in with Bratwurst may have triggered some PR’s in the speed department. To be confirmed in the comments section.
Overall a great day on the greenway. As it is at most Devil’s Turn workouts, it is really painful while you are doing it, but when you are done, the sense of accomplishment is well worth it. Thank you men for coming out and sharpening iron.
Announcements:
Come to Devil’s Turn this week to get a little Threshold Pace in your life. Like last week there will be a 4:45 am option and a 5:15 am start time. All options will end at 6:15.
We will start in the greenway parking lot at the corner of Rea Rd. and Bevington Place. Prior to showing up, find your “Easy,” “Marathon,” and “Threshold” training paces at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator
Option 1 (5:15 launch with Bratwurst): Start at an easy / warmup pace for a mile, run 1 mile at “marathon” or “threshold” pace, rest jog for 2 min, repeat this one more time watching for 5:45 where you should turn around to come back, repeat the intervals 2 more times, then cool down pace into COT.
Option 2 (4:45 launch with YHC): Start at easy / warmup pace for 1.25 miles, 1 x 20 min at threshold pace (10 min out/back to 0.5 mile marker), 3 min rest periods, run 20 min at threshold pace, rest 3 min, run 10 min at threshold pace, rest 3 min, 2 mile Easy
Option 3 (5:15 launch with Bratwurst): Begin with Option 1 and join Option 2 after the first 20 min threshold pace at mile marker 0.5. Continue with the rest of Option 2.
Complicated enough? An alternative is to show up and run for 60 minutes on the greenway with a great group of guys. Anyone can get into that.
Bring your headlamps since the greenway is very dark and the sun doesn’t come up anymore.
There were options on the table today at Devil’s Turn. Option 1 was the standard track day format and Option 2 left 30 minutes earlier to add an additional 4 miles to the standard.
One person (Frasier) was crazy enough to join YHC for Option 2 at 4:45 am in the greenway parking lot and we set out for a 2 mile warmup, 3 x 1 mile T-pace intervals, 1 mile easy, 3 x 1 mile T-pace intervals, and 2 mile cool down back to the parking lot.
The 8 PAX who chose the more sensible option (although still quite aggressive) met at 5:15 for one hour of running excellence. The work consisted of 2 miles to track, laps at track to each person’s liking, and 2 miles back to the parking lot. This distance typically ranges between 4.5 and 7.5 miles.
Actually, upon leaving the parking lot, the PAX were 7. MistaFlex rolled in a bit late this morning after an early morning feeding session with the new 2.0. Luckily he forged ahead out to the track to meet the others and got in the work this morning.
The remaining 2 PAX (Mall Cop and Wolfman) to make a total of 12 for the day were observed turning off of Bevington Place onto Colburn headed TO the track at approximately 6:00 am. This means there is an apparent new (unsanctioned) start time at Devil’s Turn at around 5:48 am. We will count them in our numbers though.
Welcome back Joker after seemingly many years away from DT. It did not seem to be cold enough for the signature wooly vest though. Come back in a month or two to show it off. Butter Maker has also been away from DT for a while. Welcome back brother.
Also, welcome to Ironsides who is a regular at Fast Twitch, but was his first time out to DT. It was good to see a new face and we hope to run again with you next week.
Unfortunately, all the separate groups and the dark nature of the track made it hard to recognize and socialize this AM. Hopefully everyone had a running buddy and had some fun out there. My running buddy ran me into the ground (and smiled while doing it) but you’re supposed to run with people faster than you right? (I hear that’s how you get faster)
Due to YHC being fully involved in marathon training at this point, the plans are dictating a very solitary existence. However, in the off chance someone else out there wants to join in the pain that is a Jack Daniels training plan, an alternative is being offered this week. Accept at your peril.
Option 1: Standard Devil’s Turn track week. Meet at 5:15 am, warmup run out to track, run around track as many times as tickles your fancy, return to greenway parking lot for COT around 6:10 – 6:15 am. (since YHC will be doing Option 2, there will need to be a Q to start things and possibly for COT – step up if you so desire)
Option 2: Meet at 4:45 am in greenway parking lot (std location) for the following workout.
– 2 miles warmup (all the way to track)
– 3 x 1 miles at Threshold Pace with 1 min rest
– 1 mile Easy Pace
– 3 x 1 miles at Threashold Pace with 1 min rest
– 2 miles cooldown (all the way back to parking lot)
If you do not want the full 11 miles, but still want some of the pain. Join in whenever you get to the track.
Go to http://runsmartproject.com/calculator to find your Threshold Pace in preparation for tomorrow.
See you at the track one way or another!
Yes, this is the first backblast in a looooong time. Cobains! Besides writing timely backblasts, YHC also commits to learning how to Google calendar on Google docs or something like that. Wing_Man will be so proud.
The 10 PAX at Devil’s Turn today decided the preblast didn’t sound so bad and showed up for a good time. Stump Hugger chose wisely with his 2nd half marathon this weekend to take it easy and taper a bit. We wish you the best on Sunday and hope your foot ailments subside before then.
The remaining 9 picked their way up Rea over jagged pavement, large mud puddles, and downed branches to arrive at the true “Danger Zone” between 51 and Colony. While the sidewalks and ample biking lanes may not seem dangerous, the challenge of the day was.
The idea was 4 minutes hard (interval pace from Brat’s fancy calculator) and 3 minutes jog recovery for 4 to 6 miles (after the 1 mile warmup). Haggis talked us into a dynamic stretching session also.
Once we began, the PAX spread out significantly even though some circling back was attempted. Perhaps next time a different scheme could be used, but as-is it worked alright. Hopefully everyone was within earshot or had the time on their watch to track on and off times.
Haggis decided to do his own thing and attacked his “metrics”. As it sounded, he achieved the 6 mile tempo run metric, so that was nice.
Frasier nonchalantly pulled away on the hard 4 minute durations and graciously circled back during the 3 minute rest periods. The man is fast.
Mr. Brady was in maintenance mode this morning due to his hamstrings having a conversation with him this morning. Not sure what was said, but it seemed angry.
MistaFlex was back this week after a long time off. We found out his wife had a baby and he thought it better for his health to take a break from the running to make the fam happy. This was a good call my friend. Happy wife, happy life. We are glad to have you back though. Marvel also was back out and they matched step for step this morning.
Long Haul and Stone Cold were pushing it hard this morning and looked to be satisfied with the format. Long Haul will be out for the next few weeks due to having surgery next Thursday on his shoulder. We will miss you out there but your swift recovery will be in our prayers.
Huggy Bear is one of the Devil’s Turn faithful now and making huge strides (literally and figuratively). It is awesome to see the transition to a ‘runner’ and I would say he is officially hooked at this point. Great to see you out each week brother.
Due to a late finish, the COT was abbreviated. Great time brothers! Thanks for the good morning.
Sure it may be raining in the morning, but that will just add to the challenge about to be set forth. Devil’s Turn will head back to the ‘Danger Zone’ tomorrow which is the brain child of our own Stump Hugger.
We will leave at 5:15 am from the 4-mile creek greenway parking lot at the corner of Rea Rd. and Bevington Place heading North on Rea Rd to cross 51 and start the work.
While the ‘Danger Zone’ (Rea Rd. between 51 and Colony) does has some grinding hills, that will not be the primary challenge of the day. The real challenge will be to alternate 4 minutes hard (interval pace) / 3 minutes jog after the warm up mile through to the end of the workout. Find your interval pace at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator. If that sounds sporty, it’s supposed to be.
Distance for the day is negotiable. It is ~1 mile from the parking lot to 51 and 1 mile from 51 to Colony. Therefore, any combination of distance can be achieved by doing more iterations of the 51 to Colony stretch.
4-mile workout: parking lot to 51 to Colony and back
6-mile workout: parking lot to 51 to Colony to 51 to Colony and back
Confused? Show up and run. You won’t get lost.
Since the PAX are now weary of hills, it is time to take a scenic tour on our flattest of courses, The Greenway.
We will leave the 4 Mile Creek Greenway parking area (Rea Rd & Bevington Place) at 0515. Bring your headlamp since it stays dark later and the greenway is a dark and scary place.
Running format is negotiable but it is suggested to use Marathon Pace with periods of vigorous Threshold Pace sprinkled in. Find these paces in the calculator at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator
See you tomorrow!
Tomorrow is track day at Devil’s Turn. It has been a long while since we have circled the track and for those who manhandled the BRR last weekend, it may provide a less strenuous outlet of energy.
We will leave the 4 Mile Creek Greenway parking area (Rea Rd & Bevington Place) at 0515. If you are late, meet us at the SCMS track when you can manage.
Running format is negotiable but it is suggested to use Marathon Pace with periods of vigorous Threshold Pace sprinkled in. Find these paces in the calculator at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator
See you tomorrow!
YHC was surprised to find another 2 PAX to run on this week’s Devil’s Turn. The days of 25+ PAX are now gone until next Fall. However, the spirit was still high and we 3 got after it.
The original plan was to head to the SCMS track but since it was a manageable group, we struck out in the opposite direction to check out what lies on the other end of Bevington Place. It did not disappoint.
The format was fellowship pace with some 20 – 30 second strides thrown in. Both Long Haul and Stump Hugger pushed it today. SH might have actually pushed it a little too hard and the shin splints came roaring back. Ouch! This cut his time short and he headed back to notch a solid 4 miles total.
Long Haul was feeling spry and kept inching up the pace on the extra credit loop. The man is back after a ~ 3 month running sabbatical and he is looking strong. Good to have the DT co-Q back!
Great 2nd F fellas and we will see you next week!
Good luck to all our Devil’s Turn brothers tackling the BRR tomorrow/Saturday! You are ready!