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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.
Track Workouts for Summer 2011
All --
We are back on the track for the summer, all "home games" on Wednesday evenings being completed for the spring. As of June 8, we will be welcoming participants in the DCRRC Fall Marathon Training Program -- please make these folks welcome! As with every summer, we can expect a crowd on the track. We will continue to aim for a 7:15 start; on nights when the track is very crowded, we may push back to 7:20 or 7:25 just to let the earlier groups finish up. But do plan on that 7:15 start. As always, workouts may be altered at the discretion of Coach Ed in case of extreme weather conditions.
The post above this has a bit more to say about summer workouts in the Washington heat/humidity. To summarize the most important point: The number of repeats stated here is generally a maximum suited for our most fit runners. Keep track of the total time you spend running the "fast" (repeat) portion of the workout. For example, if you are running at a true 5K pace effort, and it takes you 4 minutes to complete an 800M repeat, you are running 33% longer at that pace than the runner who takes 3 minutes. Adjust your number of repeats accordingly, especially on the hottest nights. And to make the even more obvious point, hydrate well before, during, and after the workout! Finally, these workouts are challenging, and meant to be so. If they seem to be too much, talk to Coach Ed and/or your MTP coach.
PACES: "Interval" ("I") = 5K race pace
"Cruise" ("C") = 10K race pace
"Tempo" ("T") = 10M to Half-Marathon race pace
See McMillan Running Calculator -- link above -- to calculate YOUR workout pace. Also, keep in mind that weather conditions would affect your race pace, so they should also affect your training pace.
Finally, it a good idea to finish all workouts with a cool down run that includes some fast-pace "striders" between 100M and 200M. You can start with 1 or 2 striders and work up to 4. Good recovery technique; also forces you not to over-exert during the workout.
| DATE | REPEATS | RECOVERY | COMMENTS |
| June 1 | 8 x 500M @ 5K ("I") Pace | 300M Jog | High Heat Predicted -- Hydrate! |
| June 8 | 8 x 600M @ 5K ("I") Pace | 400M Jog | MTP "Beginners" should do 4-6 repeats. |
| June 15 | 4 - 5 x 1000M @ 5K Pace | Slow 400M Jog | Recovery jog in far outside lanes. |
| June 22 | 12 - 16 x 400M @ 10K ("C") Pace | 100M Jog | Tempo work w/breaks -- a classic! |
| June 29 | 6 x 400M; Recover; 6 x 200M | 200M Jog | FAST work; start at 5K pace, work down |
| July 6 | 6 - 8 x 800M @5K ("I") Pace | 400M Jog | Gives you strength! |
| July 13 |
4 x 1-Mile @ 10K ("C") Pace Finish with 2 x 400M @ 5K |
400M Jog | Weather permitting! |
| July 20 | 8 - 10 x 500M @ 5K ("I") Pace | 300M jog | You should be feeling faster by now! |
| July 27 | TRACK RACES -- Time and Place | TBD | |
| August 3 | 14-18 x 400M @ 10K ("C") Pace | 100M jog | Keep the 100s steady! |
| August 10 | 4 x 1-Mile -- Same as July 13 | 400M jog |
Weather permitting, you can aim for a 5th mile repeat. |
| August 17 | 2 x 12:00 @ Tempo ("T") Pace | 2:00 recovery | We will build up to 2 x 20:00 by October |
| August 24 | 5 x 1000M @ 5K ("I") Pace | 400M slow jog | |
| August 31 | 6 x 400M; Recover; 6 x 200M | 200M | More blazing speed! |
See you at the track!
Coach Ed
Track Workouts for May 2011
Friends:
We will once again have a "split month" for our workout locations. On May 4 we will be at Yorktown HS; on May 11 and 18, we will be at Washington-Lee HS, both in Arlington. The Yorktown HS track is located in Greenbriar Park, behind the high school itself. There is a parking lot as well as on-street parking, but do plan some time for finding a space. Easiest route is north on George Mason Drive, left on N. Yorktown Blvd., and left again 28th Street.
Please note potential location change for May 25 -- we will not know until closer to the date which high school tracks are available for that date.
May 4: 10 x 500M @ 5K pace. 300M jog interval. Optional 700M jog after first set of 5.
May 11: 3-4 x 1-Mile @ 10K pace; 400M jog interval. After 5-minute jog, finish with 2 x 400M @ 5K pace, 200M jog interval.
May 18: 4 x 5:00 @ 5K pace, 5:00 rest interval.
May 25: Due to soccer tournament, Yorktown track is closed. We will meet at Washington-Lee and run on Custis Trail. Worjkout is 8 x 3-minute repeats, with 2-minute rest.
See you at the track!
Coach Ed
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).
Track Resources
Upcoming Events
| Alexandria Turkey Trot Thu, Nov 28th, 2024, @9:00am |
| DCRR Gar Williams Half Marathon Sun, Dec 1st, 2024, @9:00am |
| DCRRC Bread Run 10K & Gingerbread 2-Miler Sun, Dec 8th, 2024, @10:00am |
| Book Club Sun, Dec 8th, 2024, @4:00pm |
| DCRRC New Year's Resolutions 5K Wed, Jan 1st, 2025, @12:00pm |
| DCRRC Al Lewis 10-Miler and 5-Miler Sun, Jan 5th, 2025, @8:00am |
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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. |