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.

August-November Workouts: Update

All:  

Based on information on the Washington-Lee website, we msy not hasve thr track on August 21, and almost certainly will not have the track on August 28, September 25, October 9. and October 23.  August 21 is a FH scrimmage; usually we can run when the event is a scrimmage.  Given past years, this level of interruption is not too bad.  Alternate workouts will be planned and posted for these dates. And, of course, the schedule is always subject to change.  Coach Ed

 

Wednesday Night Track Workouts for August

All:  

Following are workouts for August 2013.  September workouts will depend in part on schedules of high school games at Washington-Lee. 

August 7:  4 or 5 x 1600M at 10K (Cruise Interval) pace.  400M recovery jog.  Finish, if possible, with 2 x 400M at 5K pace (after a 3-5 minute break).  Coach Ed may be absent from this workout. 

August 14:  2 x 400M @ 5K pace, 200M recovery.  Then, 4-5 x 1000M at 5K (Interval) pace. Slow 400M recovery jog -- use outside lanes. 

August 21:  Ladder Sequence:  1. 800M @ 10K pace, 400 jog. 2. 400M @ 5K pace, 200M jog. 3. 200M @ <5K pace. 30 second standing rest.  4. 1000M @ 10K pace.  3-4 minute break.  Repeat once.  If you can, repeat a second time, for a total of 3 sets. 

August 28: 16-20 x 400M @ 10K (Cruise Interval) pace.  100M jog recovery. 

September 4 (Tentative): 4 x 2000M @ 10K pace, 400 jog recovery.  

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).

Upcoming Events

DCRRC Women's Distance Festival 5K and Run After the Women 5K
Sun, Jun 9th, 2024, @8:00am
Book Club
Sun, Jun 16th, 2024, @4:00pm
DCRRC Hugh Jascourt 4-Miler
Fri, Jun 21st, 2024, @7:00pm
DCRRC Age Handicapped 4-Miler
Thu, Jul 4th, 2024, @8:00am
DCRRC Bluemont 5K
Wed, Jul 24th, 2024, @7:00pm
 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.