Wildcard Run (Winter of Love-The Haight's Buena Vista Park, 3.7-4.7 miles)-12/5/19

From Coach Toby....

Thousands flocked to San Francisco’s Buena Vista Park for 1967’s Summer of Love. Amidst the artists, dreamers, students and activists, there had to be some runners too!

The city’s oldest park was originally known as Hill Park and provides the perfect location for tonight's workout. Get ready for some hills and the opportunity to focus on building strength and endurance for your running.

I’ll share the benefits of long hill repeats and how to approach the workout before the run. See you soon!

Workout Type: Long Hill Repeats

-3/4M warm up (easy pace)
-2 or 3 laps around the perimeter of Buena Vista Park (clockwise, counterclockwise, clockwise) – each lap is approx 1.05M with 200 feet elevation gain – run at comfortable pace
-3/4M cool down back to the stadium

Map Links

Warm Up/Cool Down

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2330532064

Buena Vista Park Perimeter

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2330533051

Directions
- Exit Kezar Stadium's west entrance and turn left
- At Frederick St, turn left
- Run to the very end of Frederick St, where it intersects with Buena Vista Ave West
- Cross street and climb steps up to Buena Vista Park
- This is your start and finish for each loop around the perimeter of the park. clockwise, counterclockwise, and if you are running three, another clockwise
- Run each loop on the paved sidewalk that circles the park - not on the street
- After your last loop, return to Kezar Stadium the way you came, via Frederick St

Wildcard Run (HILLS! 3.5-4.5 miles)-11/21/2019

WILDCARD WELCOME – TONIGHT’S WORKOUT & A TASTE OF WHAT’S AHEAD...

From Coach Toby.....

Welcome! I am looking forward to running with and getting to know you all this season. As a complement to Matt’s Thursday evening track workout offering, wildcard runs will focus on developing our overall strength as runners and adding some spice to our sometimes less than exciting winter running routines. Wildcard runs are accessible to runners of all levels. You can expect the workouts to be both fun and challenging. Don’t be afraid to get wild!

Why run wild? Regardless of why we run and train (for speed, endurance, leisure), strength is core to making us better and keeping us healthy. Whether it’s tapping into our reserve tank in the final stretches of a race to chase down and pass a competitor, or kicking our body into overdrive to cruise up a San Francisco hill or Bay Area mountain trail, we need power.

Secondly, running provides a vehicle to explore ourselves and our surroundings. Through running we can push our comfort zones, share experiences with friends and community, and discover new places. That’s another goal I hope to help you achieve through these wildcard runs.

Each workout will cover 3-5 miles, warm-up included. Headlamps or other illumination is a must, and reflective running gear is encouraged. I’ll review the route and workout right before each session, and when and where possible, we’ll mark the routes with sidewalk chalk. Be on time and please always review the route before the run. You can also print a copy or keep it handy on your phone to reference during a run.

Week 1-HILLS!

Running hills will make you not just stronger, but also faster. Lucky for us, San Francisco provides the perfect playground for this type of training. Climbs are almost always rewarded with grand views and fun descents are almost always sure to follow. Contrary to what many of us have heard, downhill running is actually good for your knees so let’s bust that myth right away this season.

We’ll start with a one mile warm-up run, followed by block-length hill repeats in the Inner Sunset. Depending on how many hills you complete (3, 4, 5 or 6), the run will be approximately 3.5-4.5 miles long. Our final climb will be to Grandview Park (enjoy the views, fog permitting), before we coast back down and over to Kezar Stadium to finish up the workout.

Warm up and hill repeats (course map):

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2788910215

Cool down from Grandview Park back to Kezar Stadium (course map):

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2788914910

Wildcard Run (Stow Lake, 3.3 miles)-10/31/19

Thursday October 31st Wildcard Workout (3.3 miler)
Golden Gate Park’s Stow Lake

Thanks for another great season, wildcarders! Captain Emily will lead the charge tonight with an easy three miler through Golden Gate Park.

Course Map & Directions

Course Map- https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2757529258

Course Directions:

-Exit Kezar Stadium’s west entrance
-Turn right and run to the stoplight at Kezar Drive
-Cross Kezar Drive and proceed on the paved path along MLK Jr Drive
-At intersection with Bowling Green Drive, cross street and turn left to stay on MLK Jr Drive
-Cross Nancy Pelosi Drive, Music Concourse, and Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
-After Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, turn right onto Stow Lake Drive East
-Climb up the short hill via the road and then proceed onto the paved pedestrian path that runs alongside the lake
-Complete a full counter clockwise loop around the lake, staying on the paved pedestrian path
-After completing the loop, exit the lake the way you entered (on Stow Lake Drive East)
-Turn left onto MLK Jr Drive and retrace your steps back to Kezar stadium

Wildcard Run (Stanyan Street Hill Repeats, 3-3.5 miles)-12/26/19

Hills. Love them or hate them, running in San Francisco we can’t avoid them. The great news – running hills builds strength, improves speed, and develops mental fortitude, aka what I like to call GRIT.

Tonight’s workout is accessible for runners of all levels. After a fifteen minute warm-up run together, we’ll do hill repeats at Stanyan Street, running from its base at Fell St up to Fulton St and returning to Stanyan.

Workout:
-1.5 mile warm up
-.2M hill repeats
-.5 mile cool down run back to Kezar

Route:

1.5 mile warm up
https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2744532028

Stanyan Street hill repeats
https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2262810670

Warm up & cool down:

-Exiting the stadium’s west gate, we’ll turn right and run on the paved sidewalk path that runs along the right side of Kezar Drive. This will take us to Stanyan and Oak streets.
-Cross Stanyan then make a left to get onto the Panhandle. We’ll do a clockwise loop from here, running along the paved Panhandle path in a clockwise direction.
-At Masonic, make a right, right on Oak Street, and then back to Stanyan Street to complete the loop.
-After completing the loop, make a right and proceed to the corner of Fell and Stanyan Streets.
-This will be the starting location for the hill repeats. After the workout, we will return to the stadium the way we came.

Wildcard Run (Golden Gate Park Tempo Run 4.5 miles)-10/17/2019

From Coach Toby.....

Hey gang, get ready for a “Tempo Thursday” version of our weekly wildcard runs. After a warm-up run together, your task will be to hold a tempo (comfortably hard) pace for at least 20 minutes. We’ll wrap things up with an easy cool down run back to Kezar Stadium.

I’ll review the route and how to approach the workout before we head out on the run. As we’ll see some darkness, pack a headlamp or other light, and do your best to wear reflective clothes. See you tonight!

Course directions-

-We'll warm up together by running to MLK and Transverse.
-From there, you'll run a counter clockwise loop via Transverse, Middle Drive and back to MLK to MLK and Transverse. TEMPO DONE!.
-Cool down by running back to Kezar stadium.

Course map-

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2735382145

Wildcard Run (The Sunset's Secret Steps, 3-4 miles)-10/10/19

Tonight we’ll run over to the Inner Sunset neighborhood’s beautifully tiled Hidden Garden Steps (location: 16th Ave and Kirkham) for a fun and challenging team stair circuit workout. Get ready for some epic ocean and city views too!

Course Map:

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2304607870


Directions:

-Exit Kezar Stadium and turn left
-Cross Frederick Street and turn right
-Frederick Street turns into Lincoln Way
-Left onto 8th Avenue
-Right onto Kirkham Street
-Stop at 16th Avenue and Kirkham at the base of the Hidden Garden Tiled Steps.

The steps circuit begins here!

-Head up the steps. At the top, make a left onto Lawton Street.
-Run along the sidewalk one block to 15th Avenue.
-Turn left, heading down these second set of steps back to Kirkham Street.
-At the bottom of the steps, make a left onto Kirkham Street and head back to 16th Avenue along the sidewalk to the start.
-Repeat 3-5x.

Wildcard Run (4 Mile Fartlek Run-Panhandle/Golden Gate Park)-10/03/2019

From Coach Toby......

Hi Team! If you are looking for a quality workout to improve speed and endurance, this week’s wildcard is for you.

You will have the option to run 4 miles with or without a “fartlek” component. Fartlek (Swedish for “speed play”) is a type of running that involves varying our pace during a run. We highly encourage it for runners of all experience levels. It’s also a fun word to say. Try it. (“Fartlek!”)

I’ll provide instructions before the workout. Tonight’s run is FLAT. We’ll be running along the Panhandle and in Golden Gate Park. It's getting dark out so headlamps and reflective gear are highly encouraged.

Directions and route

Course Map-http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/1999610189

-Exiting Kezar, turn right and run towards the Panhandle on the paved path which runs alongside Kezar Drive. This path will take us to Stanyan and Oak streets.
-Cross Stanyan and then make a left at Oak St to get onto the Panhandle.
-We’ll now do a full counter clockwise loop around the Panhandle. Head east on the paved path that runs alongside Oak St.
-Cross Masonic St and continue on the path to Baker St. Baker marks the very end of the Panhandle.
-Turn left at Baker and then left again at Fell St. Head west on the paved path that runs alongside Fell St, all the way back to Stanyan.
-At Stanyan St, cross into Golden Gate Park on the north side of the street and run west along JFK Drive, passing the Conservatory of Flowers (on right).
-After crossing the intersection with 8th Ave on the right, use the pedestrian crosswalk to turn left onto Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive.
-Run on the paved path, passing the de Young Museum (on right) and until the path ends at MLK Jr. Drive.
-Turn left onto MLK Jr. Drive.
-Cross Music Concourse Way, Nancy Pelosi Drive, and then turn left just before 9th Avenue and Lincoln way stoplight to stay on MLK Jr. Drive.
-Stay on the paved path on the left side of MLK Jr. Drive until the intersection with Bowling Green Drive.
-Turn left to stay on MLK Jr. Drive.
-Cross Kezar Drive to return to Kezar. All done!