Wildcard Run (Reach The Beach-6 miles)-06/13/19

Every trail run is a mini-adventure and the physical and mental benefits are many of trail running are many. Come join us tonight for a Run Club favorite!

Golden Gate Park is great for picnics and museum visits, but did you know it’s also one of the best places in the Bay Area for trail running? It boasts miles of single track and groomed dirt road trails and is relatively flat, which is almost unheard of in our neck of the woods. If you are new to trail running, tonight’s out and back route to Ocean Beach to catch the setting sun is the perfect primer.

Please review the route map via the link below. This is a simple out and back, east to west/west to east course. Road running shoes will work perfectly fine for this run but feel free to ear your trail kicks if you have them. 

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2018643478

Directions:

-Exiting the stadium’s west entrance, we’ll cross Kezar Drive at the traffic light and head into Golden Gate Park on MLK Jr Drive.
-Stay on the paved pedestrian path to the right of MLK. MLK will intersect Bowling Green Drive just shortly after we enter the park.
-Cross over Bowling Green (on right) and turn left to stay on MLK.
-Continue on the right side paved path on MLK all the way to 19th Ave/Crossover Drive. This is a multi-lane traffic light controlled intersection. Be alert.
-Cross safely through the intersection and continue on MLK.
-Immediately thereafter, MLK will intersect with Transverse Dr (right side).
Make a LEFT here at the pedestrian crosswalk to transition over to the paved path on the left side of MLK.
-After crossing MLK turn right and immediately look for a dirt trail entrance on your left. We’ll try to put some chalk down here for you.
-You’ll run along this trail until its very end. It runs parallel and in-between Lincoln Way (on the left) and MLK (on the right). You’ll cross over 25th Avenue at Lincoln Way, Sunset Blvd, and Chain of Lakes Drive.
-The trail ends at Lincoln Drive and MLK Jr. Drive. From here, continue west to the Great Highway, cross over the Great Highway at the stoplight, and run up the dunes to greet the Pacific Ocean. Grab a selfie or two and say goodnight to the setting sun before heading back to Kezar Stadium.

Enjoy!

Wildcard Run (HILL hath no fury-Stanyan Street Hill Repeats, 3.5-4ish miles)-03/28/19

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 2 mile warm-up, we’ll do hill repeats at Stanyan Street, running from its base at Fell St up to Fulton St and returning to Stanyan. Coach Toby will provide guidance before the run on how to best execute the workout.

Workout:
-2M warm up
-.2M hill repeats
-1/2M cool down run back to Kezar

Route: Please review!

2M warm up:

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2262804211

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 as a group to the Panhandle 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 Street 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.
-Running along the Fell Street side, cross Masonic Ave, continue to the end of the Panhandle, making a right on Bake Street. Right on Oak Street, back to Stanyan Street.
-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 (3.5 mile Fartlek Workout)-03/21/19

Tonight we will be doing a fartlek run. Fartlek (a Swedish word for speed play) workouts are really quite simple. After an easy-pace warm-up, you’ll ease into a pattern of alternating between a normal running pace and a faster pace for a prescribed amount of time or distance.

I’ll provide a short fartlek running primer and will also review the route prior to the workout. The route will also be marked with chalk. No headlamps will be needed tonight, but do continue to wear bright and reflective clothing if at all possible. Looking forward to enjoying the park with you!

Workout:

- 1-mile warm-up
- 2-mile fartlek (60-90 seconds fast, 60-90 seconds easy/recovery)
- Cool down run back to Kezar Stadium
(Approximately 3.5 miles total)

Tonight’s route. Please review...

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2106032191

Thursday Night Wildcard Run (The Sunset Secret Step Stair Circuit, 3-4 miles)-03/14/19

From Coach Toby......

Stair workouts. I often refer to them as a runner’s “secret weapon.” Powering up steps strengthens our core, legs and hips. Stronger muscles let us run faster, and set us up to successfully run farther and longer on flats and hills alike. For the cardio hungry runner, stair workouts are also a must.

After a 10-minute warm up at Kezar Stadium, we’ll do an easy run over to the Sunset District’s Hidden Garden Steps (location: 16th Ave and Kirkham St) for our stair workout.

After we are done, we’ll cool down retracing our steps back to Kezar Stadium. Join me, Matt and the rest of the team for post run bites and drinks.

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 approximately one block to 15th Avenue.
-Turn left, heading down the steps back to Kirkham Street.
-At the bottom of steps, make a left onto Kirkham Street and head back to 16th Avenue along the sidewalk. Repeat 3-5x.

Wildcard Run (Hill hath no fury-4 mile progressive hill workout)-03/07/19

From Coach Toby:

This is an excellent workout for runners of all abilities and will help notch up your overall endurance and strength. For those new to running the hills of San Francisco, this will provide a nice place to start. 

Each of the first three miles will progressively include more incline and climbing. 

Mile 1 – flat, then a gradual climb - 100 ft elevation gain
Mile 2 – the gradual climb continues then becomes a little more challenging – 150 ft elevation gain
Mile 3 – save some gas for this one – 200 ft elevation gain. Your reward: enjoy the amazing views from atop Tank Hill
Mile 4 – This recovery mile is mostly downhill. Enjoy.

This four miler includes park, city streets, and a very short trail diversion at Tank Hill to capture a nighttime panoramic view of the city.  Headlamps recommended.  

Directions. Please review the route map:

Route: https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2287961389

-Exiting Kezar Stadium’s west entrance, turn right and cross Kezar Drive at the traffic light at MLK Jr. Drive into Golden Gate Park. 
-Stay on the paved sidewalk on the right. MLK will intersect with Bowling Green Drive just shortly after we enter the park. 
-Cross Bowling Green and turn left to stay on MLK. Continue on the right-side paved path on MLK for less than a ¼ mile to 7th Ave. 
-Turn left onto 7th Avenue. You’ll be exiting the park here, crossing over Lincoln Blvd and continuing straight on 7th Avenue
-Turn left onto Clarendon Avenue (traffic light, busy intersection!)
-Stay on the sidewalk on the left side of Clarendon
-Steady climb all the way to Tank Hill. 
-Turn left onto steps up to Tank Hill. Take the dirt trail to the top. Enjoy the view and let’s get a team pic if we can!
-Return back down onto Clarendon. Clarendon will turn into Twin Peaks Blvd. 
-Turn left onto Clayton St
-Turn left onto Frederick St
-Turn right onto Arguello Blvd (after passing Kezar Stadium) to get back to Kezar’s west entrance/our start.
-Done. Nice job!

Wildcard Run (Buena Vista Park After Dark, 4.5 miles)

Welcome to our second Wildcard run! We’ll transition from the flats of last week's Panhandle workout to some of the most scenic views of the city's Haight District. Get ready for some hills and the opportunity to focus on building strength and endurance for your running.

Workout:

-3/4M warm up (easy pace)
-3 laps around the perimeter of Buena Vista Park (clockwise, counterclockwise, clockwise) – each approx 1M
-3/4M cool down

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 to Buena Vista Park
- This is your start and finish for each loop around the perimeter of the park. 3 total: clockwise, counterclockwise, clockwise
- Run each loop along the paved sidewalk, and not on the street
- Return to Kezar Stadium the way you came, via Frederick St

Wildcard Run (3ish mile Progression Run)-02/21/2019

We’ll ease into the season with a very simple and fun wildcard run. As with all of the wildcard workouts, runners of all levels can enjoy and benefit from tonight’s offering.

Progression runs employ the simple concept of gradually increasing our pace during a workout. There are many different flavors of the progression run. Tonight we’ll do one called “thirds”.

As its namesake points to, we’ll break up the run into three equal segments, each approximately 1-mile in length. You’ll run the first at a slow/easy pace, steadily increase to your normal running pace for the second, and then gently “shift up a gear” to your 5K or 10K race pace for the last.

Don’t worry if you don’t know or don’t have a 5K or 10K race pace. That’s not important. You can also simply go by your perceived effort – from easy, to moderate, to hard.

Why do this kind of workout? Progression runs are a great way for beginners to develop stamina and strength. By training our bodies to run faster in the latter parts of a run, they can also help produce big payouts for all runners on race day.

Workout:

PROGRESSION RUN (THIRDS):

After a 10 minute warm up, runners will do 3 approximately one-mile loop repeats - first mile slow, second mile normal, third mile “comfortable hard”, with a cool down run back to Kezar stadium (location: Panhandle)

Warm up/Cool down (approximately ½ mile each way):

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2405335045

Progression Run Loop (to be completed three times. Each loop is .91 miles length):

https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2405339311


Directions:

-After a short warm-up session at the stadium, we will run as a group from the stadium to the Panhandle on the paved sidewalk that runs along the right side of Kezar Drive.
-This will take us to Stanyan and Oak. Cross Stanyan and then Oak to get onto the Panhandle. Run forward along the Panhandle paved path to the start of the loop. Look for chalk markings on the ground.
-Loop directions are simple. Run along the paved Panhandle footpath in a clockwise direction.
-Fell Street to Masonic. Right on Masonic. Right on Oak. Back to Stanyan. Repeat 3x.