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.

Track Workouts for May-August 2016

Written by Edward Grant

Wednesday, 11 May 2016 09:09

Members & Guests, 

Despite the incessant rain, the calendar says that summertime and sunshine should be right around the corner.  Following are Wednesday Night track workouts through the end of August.  

Important Notes: As always, these workouts are suggested ranges for experienced runners.  We will always help more novice runners to customize a workout based on their level of experience.  This holds true expecially for trainees in the Marathon Training Program -- we will customize a workout to your needs.  Finally, workouts may be adjusted in light of weather conditions (extreme heat/humidity). 

May 11: Distance Medley Ladders: 1200M - 400M - 800M - 1600M.  All at 10K (cruise interval) pace, except for the 400M (5K pace) with a 400M rest between.  Take a 2-3 minute break, then repeat the set.  Total distance of repeats = 8K.  

May 18: 4 - 5 x 1000M @ 5K pace.  Slow 400M recovery (use far outside lanes).  (Club Race: DCRRC 1-Hour Track run on Tuesday May 17). 

May 25:  12 - 16 x 400M @ 10K pace.  100M jog interval. 

June 1:  4 x 5:00 @ 5K pace.  5:00 recovery.  

June 8: 6- 8 x 800M @ 5K pace.  400M jog interval.  

June 15: Ladder: 400M - 600M - 800M - 1000M - 800M - 600M - 400M.  All at 5K pace.  400M recovery after each repeat except for after the first 400M, which is a 200M recovery.  (Club Race: Women's Distance Festival, Tuesday June 14). 

June 22: 12 - 18 x 400M @ 10K pace.  100M jog interval.  (Club Race: Hugh Jascourt 4-Miler, Tuesday June 21). 

June 29: 8- 10 x 500M @ 5K pace. 300M jog interval. 

July 6: 8 x 600M @ 5K pace.  Alternate 200M/400M recovery jogs.  (Club Race: 4-Mile Age-Handicap, Monday July 4). 

July 13: 6 x 800M @ 5K pace.  400M recovery.  (Club Race: Bastille Day 4-Miler, Thursday July 14). 

July 20: NO WORKOUT: BLUEMONT 5K. 

July 27: 4 - 5 x 1600M @ 10K pace.  400 recovery. Finish with 2 x 400M @ 5K pace.  

August 3: 12 - 20 x 400M @ 10K pace.  100M jog interval.  (Club Race: Steve Thompson/Burke Lake, Thuesdya August 2). 

August 10: 6 - 8 X 800M, 5K pace.  400M recovery. 

August 17: 4 x 5:00 @ 5K pace.  5:00 recovery.  

August 24: 3 -4 x 1600M @ 10K pace.  400M recovery.  

August 31: 5 x 1000M @ 5K pace.  Slow 400M recovery (use far outside lane) 

 

 

 

 

Revised Wednesday Night Track Schedule for March-May 2016

Written by Edward Grant

Wednesday, 09 March 2016 16:59

Fortunately, the *posted* (but always subject to change) Spring Sports schedule for W-L High School shows that we will lose "only" four workouts between now and the end of May. Better than recent years.  

Those dates are: March 16, March 30, April 20, May 4.  

For March 16, we will do 800M repeats on the Custis Trail.  We'll start at Mile 1.5 and decide at "game time" whether to run back and forth to Mile 1.0 or Mile 2.0.  (Both are hilly, but to and from 2.0 might be a bit easier. 

For March 30, we will do fast-Tempo 4-miniute repeats on the Trail, with slow 3-minute jog recovery.  Six repeats.  

For April 20, we will do fast-tempo 3-minute repeats on Trail, with 2-minute jog recovery.  Eight repeats.  

For May 4, we will do Mile Repeats, 10K-10M pace, on Trail.  4 repeats (with option for 3).  

May-August workouts will be posted in early May.  

Thank you.  Coach Ed 

 

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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.