Wednesday Track Workouts

Welcome to the DCRRC Wednesday Night Track Workouts. In conjunction with our year-round distance-specific training programs, and our regular Saturday Long Runs, these workouts aim to give runners of all abilities the fitness to reach their goals. For the novice or casual runner, these workouts will challenge you to a higher level of running fitness. For the competitive runner, track workouts are an essential means to reaching personal bests and to succeed at whatever level you are competing.

Where & When

Unless otherwise noted, workouts are held on the track at Washington-Liberty (formerly Washington-Lee) High School in Arlington. We meet near the concession stand (northwest corner) at 7:10pm and start the workout at 7:15pm. Warmups, drills, etc. are on your own.

Philosophy

Our workouts focus on two of the three forms of speed work used by distance runners from the 5K to the Marathon: Stamina Training (10K race pace or slower) and Interval Training (around 5K race pace). We also do a limited amount of Speed Training (faster than 5K race pace) especially during the summer.

Do not worry if this is new to you, and especially if you feel that track workouts are for "fast" runners. Our posted workouts are suggested "maximums," and can be individually tailored to your current level of fitness and specific running goals. Our coach, Ed Grant, has been leading these workouts for 20 years, and is happy to customize a workout plan to meet your needs.

Paces

To get a sense of how fast you should run during these workouts, we encourage you use the McMillan Running Calculator. You can plug in a recent race time and a goal race time, and the Calculator will churn out Training Paces (click on that term) for everything from long runs to speed paces. We recommend applying Mark Hadley's temperature + dew point adjustments in warm and humid weather. Temperature and dew point forecasts are available from the National Weather Service.

The Track Is Back!

Written by Edward Grant

Wednesday, 25 May 2022 10:36

The W-L Track is now available, as of May 25, and we will return to workouts on the track. The May 25 workout will be 1K repeats, starting at 10K pace for first repeat, then at 5K pace for the remainder. Aim for 4-6 repeats. Full lap recovery in Lane 8. See you at the track. Coach Ed

 

Wednesday Night Track Schedule for Winter-Spring 2022

Written by Edward Grant

Wednesday, 29 December 2021 18:48

Members & Guests:

Happy New Year, with high hopes for a relatively uninterrupted 12 months of access to the W-L Track, and restoration of a normal race calendar. Our workouts will commence with a "fitness-check" tempo run workout on January 5, then a steady build-up of variable-paced intervals desgined to get us in shape for spring races. To give us a common goal, look to the Fort Hunt 10K, Sunday March 13 at 8:00 AM (unfortunately, the morning we lose an hour of sleep due to Daylight Savings Time). The course is flat, easily divided into five 2000M loops. A special welcome to all participants in the spring Marathon Training Program. Remember that all posted workouts are *suggestions* as to number of repeats and pace; consult wirth Coach Ed to customize the workout to your specific level of fitness and other needs.

TIMING: it is CRITICAL to success that you accurately time your splits for both the fast intervals and recovery jogs. Depending on "pace" readouts on your watch will give you inaccurate results, as such readouts are notoriously imprecise. Learn how to operate the split function on your watch. Any questions on converting your 5K/10K/10M pace to shorter intervals? See Coach Ed.

NOTE: The W-L Track will not be available March 23, April 6, 20, and 27, and May 4 and 11. I have posted tentative workoiuts for those dates. We will discuss as a group how best to meet our workout goals as this period of interruption approaches. This is typical for this time of the year; the important thing is not to lose our momentum individuallly or as a group.

JANUARY: Keep in mind the need for a good warm up on colder nights -- at least 10 minutes, and do not forget fluid replenishment.

January 5: 2 x 20:00 Tempo Run, with 3:00 recovery. Pace is your 10M-13.1M race pace. OK to do just one repeat depending on level of fitness, recent illness, etc.

January 12: 8-10 x 500M, 5K race pace, with 300M jog recovery.

January 19: 6 x 800M, 5K pace, 400M jog recovery.

January 26: 4-5 x 1200M, 10K pace, 400M jog recovery.

February 2: ~12 x 400M, 10K pace, 100M jog recovery.

February 9: 3-4 x 1 Mile, 10K pace, 400M jog recovery.

February 16: 5 x 1000M, 5K pace, 400M jog recovery.

February 23: 5K Time Trial. Details to be announced.

March 2: 2 x 20:00 Tempo Run. 3:00 recovery. 10M-13.1M race pace.

March 9: 3-4 x 800M, 5K pace. 400M recovery.

March 13 (Sunday): Fort Hunt 10K

March 16: 400M-800M-1200M-1200M-800M-400M "Ladder". Pace at your discretion, but should accelerate through the workout. 400M recovery jog after each segment.

March 23: Track Closed. 1000M repeats on sidewalk/streets around W-L campus. 10K race pace.

March 30: 12-16 x 400M, 10K pace, 100M jog recovery.

April 6: Track Closed. Mile repeats, 10K pace, on Custis Trail. Details to be announced.

April 13: 8-10 x 500M, 5K pace, 300M jog recovery.

April 20 through May 11: Track Closed for HS games. Specific workouts TBD, mostly likely using a combination of sidewalks around campus and Custis Trail.

May 18: 6 x 800M, 5K pace, 400M recovery.

June 1: 500M-1000M-1600M-1200M-800M-400M "Ladder". 10K pace going up, 5K pace going down. 400M recovery after each, except for the 500M (300M).

June 8: 12-16 x 400M @ 10K pace, 100M jog interval

June 15: 8-10 x 500M @ 5K pace, 300M jog recovery.

June 22: 1200M-400M-800M-1600M Ladder. 400M recovery after each. 10K pace on 1200M/1600M; 5K on 400M/800M.

June 29: 8 x 600M @ 5K pace. Alternate recovery jogs of 200M and 400M.

 

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Directions to Track

Track workouts are held on the track at Washington-Liberty (formerly Washington-Lee) High School.

From Washington DC: take I-66 east to the Glebe Road exit, turn right on Glebe, right on 15th Street for about 0.4 miles, to Stafford Street, turn right and cross over I-66 and the school is on your left.
From Vienna and points west in Virginia: take I-66 east to the Fairfax Drive exit, follow Fairfax Drive for about 0.8 mile to Stafford Street, turn left for about 0.3 miles and the school is on your right.
From Alexandria: take Glebe Road going north until turning right on 15th Street, and proceed as from DC.
Metro: Washington-Liberty is a short walk from both the Virginia Square and Ballston Metro stations (Orange/Silver lines).

 DCRRlogotypeRRCA member

The DC Road Runners Club is a member of the Road Runners Club of America and is also affiliated with USA Track & Field. We provide a year-round schedule of running events that offer everyone a chance to participate regardless of age, gender, or athletic ability.