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.

4 to 5 x 100m in 5k Pace, 400m jogs

Written by Stephen Easley

Wednesday, 12 May 2021 15:25

Wednesday Night Hawks

The weather tonight will be lovely, with temps in the mid 60s, very low humidity, and little wind. W&L Track is still technically closed tonight, although some will jump the fence, but you are welcome to run at Yorktown and it seems that McLean and Falls Church HS tracks are also open.

May 12, 2021 – 4 to 5 x 1000m at 5K ("Interval") Pace, w/400m easy jogs in between

Water breaks are important ALL year round, even when it will be nice like tonight, so remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs - tonight each time we finish at our usual start place!

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

Fastest Runners: 5:30 to 6:30 Pace, 5 x 1000m Intervals

Fast Runners: 6:15 to 7:15 Pace, 5 x 1000m Intervals

Intermediate Runners: 6:45 to 7:45 Pace, 4 to 5 x 1000m Intervals

Others/MTP Trainees: 7:45 to 10:00 Pace, 4 x 1000m Intervals

This week's workout is a strong speed workout, but given the distance, also an endurance workout. Focus on form, eyes front, knees higher, arms at side lifting the knees, hands relaxed, on toes. This is about a 5k race for most of you, so take it easy on the recovery jog/walk/water legs of 400m, and if you are feeling frisky, put it into the last 1000m interval, perhaps in 3k pace.

Happy Running!

Coach Big Guy

 

14 to 18 x 400m w/100m jogs

Written by Stephen Easley

Wednesday, 05 May 2021 16:21

Wednesday Night Hawks

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Before the tequila and Corona, let's get in some speed work! Tonight's weather will be nice, with temps in the High 60s, but windy at 15 MPS and gusts over 20 MPH. Dress accordingly, and still hydrate! W&L is still closed pretty much all the time, so perhaps your best bet would be to run at Yorktown HS in north Arlington (aka Greenbriar Stadium), which is generally open 6 AM to Dark, or even Falls Church or McLean HS, which from the look of things on Strava, seem to be generally open at those times.

May 5, 2021 – ON THE TRACK ON YOUR OWN: 14 to 18 x 400m in 10k Pace, with 100m jogs

Fastest Runners: 5:45 to 6:30 Pace, 16 to 18 Intervals

Fast Runners: 6:30 to 7:15 Pace, 15 to 18 Intervals

Intermediate Runners: 7:15 to 8:00 Pace, 15 to 17 Intervals

MTP Trainees/Others: 8:00 to 10:00 Pace, 14 to 16 Intervals

As Coach Ed always says, the focus here is on 10K pace – actual 10k pace, not what you WISH your 10k pace was or should be. The first couple of 400s should feel downright easy. Keep close tabs on your time for each 400 and for each recovery 100. If you find yourself slowing down appreciably, either stop the workout, or at least adjust your pace so that you can finish at least 10 repeats. We decided to actually run these the way they are supposed to be run the last time we did this workout, by slowing the 400s and jogging – not walking (I Admit it, it's my fault, I'm the walker of the group!) – the 100s, and I must say – the workout was a lot tougher but I realized that running it this way will lead to much better fitness – so slow down until you can maintain a good, steady, similar time for the 100m jog intervals and you will find these are much more helpful to your training. You should also focus on your form – get up on your toes and Lift your knees!

Coach Big Guy

 

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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.