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 -- January-March 2012

Written by Edward Grant

Tuesday, 03 January 2012 22:53

Happy New Year! 

We are back on the track Wednesday January 4, 2012.  To accommodate a range of training programs -- from the relative novices in the Half-Marathon program to the veterans who have qualified for Boston -- there will be multiple tiers of workouts for each week.  Some weeks, the entire workout will be different for these groups.  Other weeks, it will simply be a matter of a differing number of repeats or different paces.  

The workout for "regular" (non-marasthon-training) attendees will generally be the same as that for the Boston trainees.

As always, consult the McMillan Running Calculator for your appropriate workout pace.  In ascending order of speed. 

TR = Tempo Run (Approx half-marathon)

TI = Tempo Interval (Approx 10M)

CI = Cruise Interval (Approx 10K)

I = Interval (Approx 5K)

January 4, 2012

Tempo-Pace Miles

Half-Marathon:  6 x 400M at 10-Mile race pace.  400M recovery.  

Marathon:  3 x 1600M at Tempo Interval pace. Slow 200M jog/walk recovery. 

Regular/Boston:  4 x 1600M @ TI pace.  Slow 200 jog recovery. Hydration break after 2 repeats.  

January 11, 2012

Phoenix Park 400s

Half-Marathon:  6-8 x 400M @ CI (10K) pace.  200M jog recovery. 

Marathon: 12-14 x 400M @ CI pace.  100M slow jog recovery. 

Regular/Boston: 14-16 x 400M @ CI pace.  100 jog recovery.  

January 18, 2012

 1000s

Half-Marathon: 5 x 800M @ TI pace.  400M jog recovery. 

Marathon: 4 x 1000M @ CI Pace.  Slow 400M jog recovery. 

Regular/Boston: 4-6 x 1000M @ CI pace.  400 jog recovery. 

January 25, 2012

800s.  Note varying paces. 

Half-Marathon:  6 x 800M @ TI pace.  400M jog recovery. 

Marathon:  6-8 x 800M @ CI pace.  400M jog recovery. 

Regular/Boston: 6-8 x 800M @ I pace.  400M jog recovery. 

February 1, 2012

Tempo Runs

Half-Marathon: 2 x 10-minute run @ TR pace.  2:00 recovery

Marathon: 20-minute run @ TR pace. 

Regular/Boston: 1 x 20-minute run @ TR pace. 3:00 recovery. 4 x 600 @ CI pace. Slow 200M recovery. 

February 8, 2012

Descending Ladders

Half-Marathon: 1600M -- 800M -- 400M.  All @ TI pace.  400M recovery. Repeat. 

Regular/Marathon:  1600M -- 1200M -- 800M -- 400M.  All @ TI pace.  Break.  Repeat 1200M -- 800M -- 400M 

Boston:  Same as Regular/Marathon, but do include 1600M on the "repeat" set. 

February 15, 2012

1600M repeats

Half-Marathon: 3 x 1600M @ TI pace.  400M recovery. 

Regular/Marathon: 3-4 x 1600M @ CI pace.  400M recovery. 

Boston:  4-5 x 1600M @ CI pace.  400M recovery.  Finish with 2 x 400M.

February 22, 2012

 Phoenix Park 400s

Half-Marathon:  12 x 400M @ TI pace.  100M jog recovery.

Regular/Marathon:  16 x 400M @ CI pace.  100M jog recovery.

Boston: 16-20 x 400M @ CI pace.   100M jog recovery. 

February 29, 2012

Tempo Runs 

Half-Marathon:  20-minute run @ TR pace. 

Regular/Marathon: 2 x 15:00 @ TR pace. 2:00 recovery. 

Boston: 2 x 15:00 @ TR pace.  2:00 recovery.  After break, 3 x 300M.

NOTE:  March workouts subject to change due to track availability. Location also may change. 

March 7, 2012

800s

Half-Marathon:  6-8 x 800M @ TI pace.  400M recovery. 

Regular/Marathon: 8 x 800M @ CI to I pace. 400M recovery. 

Boston: 8-10 x 800M @ CI to I pace.  400M recovery. 

March 14, 2012 

Pre-Race:  3-4 x 800M @ CI pace for March 17 racers.  Good luck! 

Regular/Boston: 5 x 1000M @ I pace.  Slow 400M jog recovery. 

March 21, 2012 -- AT YORKTOWN HIGH SCHOOL TRACK!!

Regular: 2 x 1200M @ CI pace. 400M recovery.  2 x 800M @ I pace.  400M recovery. 2 x 400M @ I pace. 200M recovery. 

Boston:  3 x 1200M @ CI pace. 400M recovery. 3 x 800M @ I pace. 400M recovery. 3 x 400M @ I pace. 200M 

March 28, 2012

Regular: 8 x 600M @ I pace. Slow 200M recovery. Break at 4. 

Boston:  8-10 x 800M @ I pace. 400M recovery. 

 

 

 

 

 

Track Workouts -- December 2011

Written by Edward Grant

Tuesday, 06 December 2011 19:48

Following are the track workouts for December 2011: 

December 7:   20-Minute Tempo Run.  (Weather will be inclement, so this will keep you moving).  Optional:  After a brief rest, finish with 2 x 400M at 5K pace, with a slow 200M jog recovery. 

MTP participants are encouraged to break the Tempo Run into 2 x10-minute segments, with a 2:00 recovery. 

Coach Ed will not be at the workout.  

 

December 14:  "DMR Interval Sets":  Based on the classic distance medley relay, the interval sets are as follows:  1200M, 400M, 800M, 1600M (4000M total).  All distances are run at "cruise interval" or 10K pace. Recover with 400M jog after each interval.  Two sets are recommended, with a slow 400M jog after the first set.  

MTP Participants:  "SMR Interval Sets":  Based on the sprint medley relay.  Interval sets are 400M, 200M, 200M, 800M (1600M total).  Recoveries here are shorter -- a 200M jog.  Take a 400M jog after completing the first set, and aim for 2 or 3 sets.  

 

December 21:  Annual Christmas/Hannukah Relays:  Teams of two, sorted by time, each running 10 laps alternately.  

 

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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.