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.

Wednesday Night Track CANCELED For March 15

Written by Edward Grant

Wednesday, 15 March 2017 10:03

Due to track and weather conditions, the Wednesday Night Track workout for March 15 is canceled.  

A reminder that the track workouts for March 22 and 29 will take place at Yorktown HS track (Greenbrier Park), due to scheduled high school games at Washington-Lee.  

Coach Ed 

 

 

Track Workouts January - April 2017

Written by Edward Grant

Wednesday, 04 January 2017 12:07

Members & Guests: 

Happy 2017!  We hope you included regular track workouts as part of your New Year's Resolutions, and stick to it!   

The posted workouts are for all runners. The number of repeats and suggested paces are the "maximum," but can and should be adjusted to suit your level of fitness and training.  As always, ask Coach Ed (or the Thursday morning coaches) for advice.  

Workouts also are geared for all training programs, and will particularly take into account the "long run" scheduled for the following Saturday. Given the varying dates of marathons and half-marathons that folks are training for, workouts were not designed aorund specific race dates. Consult coaches regarding workouts close to race dates.  

A reminder that Wednesday workouts begin at 7:15 PM (warmup beforehand) at Washington-Lee HS in Arlington. Thursday morning workouts start at 6:00 AM at Greenbriar Park (Yorktown HS) in Arlington.  

All workout dates given are for Wednesdays. 

January 4:  12-14 x 400M @ 10K pace.  100M recovery.  

January 11: 4 x 1600M @ 10K pace.  400M recovery. 

January 18: 20-Minute Tempo Pace Run; short break; 2 x 400M @ 5K pace, 200M recovery.  

January 25: 4 x 2000M @ 10K-Tempo pace.  400M recovery.  

February 1: 6-8 x 800M @ 10K pace.  400M recovery. 

February 8: 2 x 15:00 Tempo Run. 2:00 recovery. Short Break. 2 x 400M @ 5K pace, 200M recovery. 

February 15: 12 x 400M @ 10K pace, 200M recovery.  ("Break" week; 20-Miler scheduled for weekend.  Those who want to do more repeats/faster pace can do so). 

February 22: 6 - 8 x 800M at 5K pace.  Slow 400M recovery.  

March 1: 2 x 20-Minute tempo run. 2:30 recovery.  Short break.  2 x 400M @ 5K pace, 200M recovery. 

March 8: 3 - 5 X 1600M @ 10K pace, 400M recovery.  

March 15: 5 x 1000M @ 5K pace.  Slow 400M recovery. 

March 22:  12-20 x 400M @ 5K pace. 100M recovery.  (20-Miler scheduled for SLR). 

March 29 : Ladder: 800M - 1200M - 1600M - 1200M - 800M.  All @ 10K pace , except final 800M @ 5K pace.  400M recovery between all repeats.  

April 5: 6 - 10 x 800M @ 5K pace, Slow 400M recovery. 

April 12: 3 -5 x 1600M @ 10K pace, 400M recovery. 

April 19: 10 x 500M @ 5K pace; 400M recovery. 

April 26: Ladder: 1200M - 400M - 800M - 1600M. 400M recovery, 800M recovery after the 1600M, then repeat set.  All repeats at 10K pace except the 400M, at 5K pace.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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.