The Joy of Hills

Disregard 107th and Nall Location

Hills can feel really good in a race if you are prepared for them! We are training with hill repeats on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. RSVP is required by Monday at info@roadrunnerskc.com. 

We will start with warm-up and strength work on the hill. For running hill repeats, you should know your targeted 5K time. If you do NOT know your target, please contact coach Amy by Monday morning info@roadrunnerskc.com. 

Meet at Nall and Indian Creek Parkway on the trail. You can park along Indian Creek Parkway West of Nall or on the East side in a small lot and take the trail under the bridge to our meet up spot. For an image of our meet spot go here Do not go to 107th st. The caption in the image is incorrect. 

Long Run Deets

We are still on the climb! Our course distance this week is 20 miles. Meet at Shawnee Mission North High School at 6:30 a.m. Your goal is to run the middle 50% of your long run at goal race pace. Continue to practice race conditions such as not lingering at the water stops, testing out clothing and race day nutrition. 

RRKC Increases Speed with Plyometric Drills

Why are we doing jump squats, lunge jumps and other plyometric drills at speed sessions?

Researches studying running science (e.g. Paavolainen et al at KIHU Research Institute for Olympic Sports in Finland) have shown that runners can improve their speed through plyometric training, even if it replaces an endurance run once per week.

In lay terms, explosive drills teach your nerves and muscles to fire more quickly. This will increase the rate of your stride purely by increasing the power of each push off. This makes you faster for each stride you take without increasing your stride length. Pretty powerful stuff! 

Speed Sessions Start THIS Tuesday, August 16th

photo courtesy of Jennifer Wolf

Feeling the need for speed? Our first speed session starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 16th at Roe Park. Bring your own water bottle/sports drink and timing device.

Our workout this week will consist of a warm-up, run specific strength training, running drills and a few intervals or time trial. Let us know by Monday morning if you are attending: info@roadrunnerskc.com. 

Important: If you don't know your interval goal pace, please contact Coach Amy by Monday with a recent race time in a 5K, half or full marathon info@roadrunnerskc.com so she can calculate it for you. Tuesday morning or at the speed session is too late! If you don't have recent race time we recommend an 800 or 1600m time trial at this week's interval session. 

See you there! 

Your Running Mind Matters!

image taken from http://thepersonaldevelopmentshow.com/exercise-your-brain-building-brainpower/

A quote from 43 year old gold medal cyclist Kristin Armstrong, "It’s everything between your ears. It’s your mindset. If you can keep positive and believe in yourself and surround yourself with people that believe in you, it’s amazing the energy that it actually gives you." 

Long Run Deets for August 13th Run

We bumped up our run distance this weekend for your pleasure! Thanks to Allison, David and Howie we were able to extend our course to 14 miles. We are starting at Olathe Hyvee at 119th street at 6:30 a.m. If you need to run further than 14 miles, please plan to come early and get in as much as you can before the group starts. 

Know your goal this weekend! Is it to push your distance as you are on the long run climb? Is it to NOT linger at the water stops because you can't do that during a race? Maybe it is to run the middle 50% of your long run at goal pace as coach Amy suggests. Is is to enjoy your surroundings and your friends? Maybe it is all these things! 

Visualize your goal before your come to the run. The mind plays a big part in your success as runners and it needs a little training too. 

See you Saturday!