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 6:45pm and start the workout at 7:00pm. 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.
Back on the Track!
Club Members & Guests:We're back on the track for the entire month of May, and that should continue through the summer.
The Marathon Training Program will join us the first week of june. But if you are joining the MTP, please get a head start and join us this month if you can.
Workouts will progress this month, mostly at 5K pace, with one week of 400s at 10K pace with short rest.
We will repeat the 4 x 5:00 @ 5K pace workout on May 28th, since a number of people missed it in April.
A few reminders. We start warm-ups (on your own) by 7:00 in order to be ready to start the workout proper at 7:15. We share the track not only with each other, but with other groups. So, please stixck to lane 1 when running your fast repeats, and swing out to lane 4 (or use the "lane" inside the track) for your recoveries.) It is strongly recommended that you run easily for at least 10 minutes before the workout, and another 10 minutes afterwards. Preferably, your warm up should be 2 miles.
Please bring your own supply of water/Gatorade/energy gels.
May 7, 2008: 6 x 800M repeats at 5K pace ("Interval" pace on the McMillan Running Calculator), with 400M recovery. Finish with 2 x 200M at 5K pace or faster.
May 14, 2008:5 x 1000M repeats at 5K pace, with 400M to 600M recovery. Your recovery should take about 80 percent of the time it takes to do the 1000M repeat -give yourself sufficient rest on these.
May 21, 2008: 16 (Max) x 400M at 10K pace, with 100M recovery. Divide into sets, with a 1-2 minute water break.
May 28, 2008 4 x 5:00 at 5K pace. 5-minute recovery.
Looking ahead, our summer workouts will be a mix of shorter speedwork at 5K pace, sometimes a bit faster, and sets of the 400M repeats at 10K pace for variety, and a break. We will also be in Bunion Derby racing season starting in June. Workouts will continue as scheduled, except on nights when there is a race.
Marathon Training Program participants who are new to speedwork will be encouraged to do these workouts, at first, at a pace slower than 5K race pace, as they develop a sense for interval training. Marathon Training coaches should plan to attend the Wednesday Night workouts, as they are key to the the training program, and a good opportunity for one-on-one work with the participants.
See you at the track!
Ed
Welcome to the DCRRC Track Blog
Club Members and Guests:Welcome to the DCRRC Track Workout Blog. In conjunction with the Club forum, this will provide a quick, interactive way of getting news out about the Club's Track Workouts. First and foremost, it will allow me to instantly post workouts (not having to work through our website administrator, who has a lot of other work to keep him busy).
This month's sole remaining workout is July 18th. It will be, as posted on the Club's main blog page, 400M repeats with a 100M jog rest. A word about this workout: despite the "short" 400M repeats, the rest interval is also very short. This workout mimics a tempo workout, but run at a faster pace (8K to 10K race pace) and with frequent but short intervals. The goal as your approach your goal race (marathon, half, or 10K, is to be able to do 20 of these repeats and for the rest interval to be at the pace of your warm-up jog.
Nest week, we will host our annual Track Championships, at Wakefield HS -- note the change in location, necessitated by the construction at Washington-Lee. We hope to see you there. And, yes, volunteers are needed.
A final word: I'll have more to say about this from time to time, but our summer workouts are designed to meet the needs of those training for fall marathons. Due to the weather (which resulted in one workout-related hospital visit so far this summer), I am careful to adjust the length of the repeats. As always, we will switch to longer, tempo-pace repeats in August (on the theory that folks have by then adjusted to the heat and humidity) and to 10K/5K pace intervals in September and October.
Track availability, I realize, is not certain during these critical fall months. Unfortunately, we do not get as much advance notice as we like of the stadium schedule. Those wanting to do a workout at an alternative time should let me know -- we will try to accommodate and get as many people there as we can to make it worthwhile.
Run well and stay in touch.
Ed