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.
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.
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.
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.
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Rather than give a Cassandra-like forecast for conditions for this Wednesday's workout, I'll simply say that whatever the conditions, the proposed workout of 400M repeats with a full 400M recovery will work well. These repeats are designed for speed - faster than 5K pace, although you might want to start the first one at 5K pace and work down. Depending on your level of effort, number of repeats can be between 8 and 12.
Also, advance notice that all are invited to post-race refreshments this week! First Down on Fairfax Drive is a good close spot. Please join if you can!
Finally, as annouced at last week's workout, we will have an end-of-summer and post-20 miler gathering on Saturday August 31 at the Quarterdeck on Fort Myer Drive in Rosslyn. Let's plan to gather at 5:30. Please let me know if you would like to attend so that we can give the restaurant a heads-up.Â
See you at the track!
Coach Ed
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The Washington-Lee Track is scheduled to be open on May 22 and May 29! So we are back on the track.
Workout for May 22: 6-8 x 600M. Recovery alternating between 400M and 200M. 5K pace.
See you at the track!
Coach Ed
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).
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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. |