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 Workouts January-August 2024

Track Workouts for the Winter, Spring, and Summer of 2024 follow below. After a survey of Wednesday Night participants, we will aim to start the workouts closer to 7:00 PM as opposed to 7:15. So, please arrive to warm up before 7:00 to warm up as you can. The schedule reflects track closures which will have their greatest impact during March 2024. I have posted workouts for those weeks both for those who have access to a track and can work out on their own, as well as group workouts that will take place near W-L at our regularly scheduled time. As you will see, during April two workouts are moved to TUESDAY night due to the track being closed to us on Wednesday. As always, some deviation and flexibility from the posted workouts may be necessary depending on weather conditions and other factors. Thanks for your participation in the workouts, invite others to join us, and see you at the track. Coach Ed

Wednesday January 3;6-8 x 800M. Start at 10K pace, work gradually down to 5K pace. For those doing 8 repeats, final two repeats at 3K race pace or faster. 400M jog recovery for all.

Wednesday January 10:;3-5 x 1-Mile. 10K pace, 400M recovery. 3-5 minute recover, and to finish, 2-4 x 400M at 5K pace or faster. 200M recovery. Adjust number of 1 Mile repeats to leave energy for the 400s.

Wednesday January 17: 12-16 x 400M, 100M recovery. 10K pace. Optional: Increase pace to 5K or faster for final 4 repeats.

Wednesday January 24: 20-Minute Tempo Run (10M race pace). 3:00 break. Then 6-8 x 400M @ 5K pace. 200M recovery.;

Wednesday January 31:;3-5 x 2000M @ 10K pace. 400M recovery. Option: drop to 5K pace or faster on final 2K repeat.

Wednesday February 7:;Ladders. 1200M @ 10K pace (400M jog); 400M @ 5K (200M jog); 800M @ 5K (:30 standing rest); 200M @ 95% effort. 5:00 break, repeat sequence. Two sets, three for more advanced.

Wednesday February 14:;10 x 500M @ 5K pace, 300M recovery.

Wednesday February 21:;4-6 x 1000M @ 5K pace. Slow 400M jog recovery (use outside lanes).

Wednesday February 28:;400M repeats. 200M recovery. 5K pace, faster for more advanced group. Aim for 10-12 repeats.;

Wednesday March 6: Track Unavailable. Thorough warm-up. Hill repeats. Specifics TBD. Track alternative: 600M repeats at 5K pace, alternating 200M and 400M recovery in between repeats.

Wednesday March 13: Track Unavailable. 1000M repeats using sidewalks/roads around W-L campus. 10K pace. 4-6 repeats. Track alternative: 1000M repeats, 5K pace, slow 400M recovery.

Wednesday March 20:;Track Unavailable. Mile Repeats on Custis Trail. Track Alternative: Mile Repeats, 8K-10K pace, 400M recovery. Option: Drop to 200M recovery!

Wednesday March 27:;Back on the Track! 6-8 x 800M repeats. 5K pace. 400M recovery. Option: Close with 4 x 200M @ 1-Mile race pace, 200M recovery.

TUESDAY APRIL 2: 12-20 X 400M, 100M jog recovery. 10K pace. Option: Drop pace to 5K or faster on later repeats.

Wednesday April 10: 10-12 x 500M @ 5K pace. 300M jog recovery.

Wednesday April 17:2 x 20:00M Tempo run. 3:00 recovery. Finish with 2-4 x 400M @ 5K pace, 200M recovery.

Wednesday April 24: Ladder. 1200M-400M-800M-1600M. 1200 and 1600 at 10K pace, 400 and 800 at 5K pace. Two sets, 3:00 jog in between.

TUESDAY APRIL 30: 400m repeats. 200M recovery. Pace 5K, faster for some. 10-12 repeats.

NOTE: WORKOUTS DURING MONTH OF MAY SUBJECT TO TOURNAMENT GAMES AT W-L. TBD. 

Wednesday May 8:;3-5 Mile repeats. 10K pace. 400M recovery. Finish with 200M repeats (2-4, at your discretion).

Wednesday May 15: Ladder. See February 7. 1200(400 jog)-400(200 jog)-800(:30 rest)-200. 1200 at 10K pace. 400, 800, 200 all at 5K pace or faster. Two sets for most, three for some. 5:00 rest between sets.

Wednesday May 22:;4-6 x 1000M @ 5K pace, 400M jog recovery.

Wednesday May 29: 300M repeats, 100M jog recovery. 5K pace. Do these in sets of 4-6 repeats, with slow 400M jog between sets. Aim for 3 sets, but stop when no longer able to hold 5K pace.

Wednesday June 5: 4-6 x 1200M repeats. 400M jog recovery. Start at 10K pace, drop to 5K pace on latter repeats.

Wednesday June 12:;12-20 x 400M. 100M recovery. 10K pace, optional faster for later repeats.

Wednesday June 19: 10-12 x 500M @ 5K pace. 300M jog recovery.

Wednesday June 26:;4 x 800M @ 5K pace. 400M recovery. Then, 6-8 x 400M @ 3K pace or faster. 200M recovery.;

Wednesday July 3: Ladder Sets. 200M-400M-600M-600M-400M-200M. 5K pace. 200M jog recovery, 400M between the 600s. Slow 400M jog between sets. Two sets for most, three for more advanced.

Wednesday July 10:;4-6 x 1000M @ 5K pace; 400M recovery.

Wednesday July 17:;200M repeats. 3K pace or faster. 200M recovery. Sets of 8 repeats. 2-3 sets.

Wednesday July 24: 400M repeats. 3K pace or faster. 200 recovery. Sets of 4 repeats. 2-3 sets.

Wednesday July 31:;800M repeats. 10K-10M race pace. 200M recovery jog. Aim for 6-10 repeats.

Wednesday August 7: Tempo Runs: Depending on temperature/humidity, either 10:00 or 20:00. Total time, 40:00. Two-minute recovery between 10-minute runs, Three-minutes between 20:00 runs.

Wednesday August 14: 6-10 x 800M, 5K pace, 400M recovery.;

Wednesday August 21: 12-20 x 400M, 10K pace, 400M recovery.

Wednesday August 28: Ladder Workout. Specifics TBD.

 

5 x 1000m in 5k, 400m jogs

Fellow Endorphin Junkies

The weather tomorrow morning will be super, with temps in the upper 40s, a less humid at 80%, and only a bit of wind at 6 MPH, but poor air quality for some reason. Despite the relatively nice weather, you should bring plenty of fluids. We will meet at Yorktown HS track, around the corner from the school on Greenbriar street (the track is technically in Greenbriar Park) – warm up at about 5:40 am, before the 6 AM start time for instructions. Unfortunately, I will be in Austin for the next two weeks, but Coach Jill will be at Yorktown tomorrow and for next week's workout.

October 12, 2023 – 5 x 1000m at 5K ("Interval") Pace, w/400m SLOW easy jogs in between out in Lane 6 to allow recovery.

Water breaks are important ALL year round, especially when it is warm like tomorrow, so remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs – after each interval, if possible, but at least every other interval!

NOTE: I expect to see your heart rates in the mid 80% of Maximum range, but if your rates are higher, you need to slow down!

Stallions: 5:15 to 6:30 Pace

Wolf Pack: 6:30 to 7:15 Pace

Gazelles: 7:15 to 8:00 Pace

Coyotes/MTP Trainees: 8:00 to 10:30 Pace

This week's workout is a good speed workout, but given the distance, also an endurance workout. As with several of our previous workouts, the trick tomorrow is to start at 10k pace on the first interval and to get faster each interval until you are running 5k pace. Focus on form, eyes front, knees higher, arms at side lifting the knees, hands relaxed, on toes. This is a 5k distance race for us (Albeit with 4 x 400m jogs added!), so take it easy on the recovery jog/walk/water legs of 400m.

In Coach Rich Club News –

Greetings Thursday morning track fans. Great racing at the Army Ten Miler and the Chicago Marathon which also hosted the Marathon World Age-Group Championships. You will see Tatyana's time and placing. She proved that 10x800 in 2:55 with 2 min rest on a Thursday morning 4 weeks from race day makes for a predictable marathon time! An amazing result for both her and Yared!!! Huge congrats to all in both races and great performances.

Army Ten Miler:
59:47 - Anna Staats, 2nd AG
1:02:54 - Christie Wetzel, 3rd AG
1:03:21 - Jack Phillips
1:09:40 - Carrie Dunn, 2nd AG
1:45:49 - Jill Brasky

Chicago Marathon:
2:54:54 - Tatyana Steis, 5min PR & 5th 45-49
2:55:46 - Yared Addisu, PR

The next club race is the Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M on Thanksgiving. We need lots of volunteers for this race. It is also super fun to run in this race. To sign up to run or volunteer, go to https://www.alexandriaturkeytrot.com/ .

Happy running!
Rich

Coach Big Guy will be in ATX for music, but Coach Jill will be at Yorktown tomorrow morning!

 

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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.