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.

May 2012 Track Workouts

All:

Unfortunately, HS sports events will continue to occupy the Washington-Lee stadium for the first three Wednesdays in May.  Therefore, we will move the track workouts to the Greenbriar Park track, adjacent to Yorktown HS.  As updates become available, we will post them here.  

For May 2, inclement weather is predicted.  However, we will meet at the Greenbriar/Yorktown track and plan to do 500M repeats, with a 300M jog recovery. Recommended number of repeats is 8 to 10. 

Workouts for May 9 and 16 will likely be slight variations on this workout, depending on turnout. 

We should be fully back in gear from May 23 forward. 

REMINDER:  There is an "alternate" track workout, coached by Steve "Big Guy" Easley, every Thursday morning at 6 AM at Greenbriar/Yorktown.  All are welcome!  

Coach Ed

 

 

Track Workouts for April 2012

All --

School sports schedules will still play havoc with April workout schedule.  Do keep in mind the Thursday morning (6 AM) track workouts at Yorktown HS/Greenbriar Park Stadium. 

April 4 -- ON TRACK At Washington-Lee:  8 to 10 x 500M at 5K pace.  300 jog recovery.  Coach Ed will not be present.

April 11 -- ON TRACK at Washington-Lee:  4-5 x 1000M at 5K pace.  SLOW 400M jog recovery (outside lanes). 

April 18 -- ON TRACK at YORKTOWN-GREENBRIAR:  12-14 X 400m at 10K pace.  100M jog recovery.

April 25 -- On TRAIL at Washington-Lee:  Mile repeats on Custis Trail.

Things should be relatively back to normal in May, although there may be a week(s) that we need to relocate to Yorktown/Greenbriar. 

REMINDER:  Yorktown HS/Greenbriar Park is in North Arlington.  Easiest route is George Mason Drive; turn left just prior to end of George Mason.  School and park are up the hill.

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.