Workout on the Georgetown Track

It’s time again – Spring Track! The weather’s warm, the daffodils are out in full force, and my team is working out in Georgetown.

Usually we practice in Ballston, but thanks to Wash- Lee High School’s sports schedule, we have been relegated to the tiny Georgetown track. Commuters hate it, but I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s conveniently located 2 miles from my house – a built-in warm up and cool down.

If you go to the Georgetown track and run a lap, you my notice that your time is insanely fast. I hate to burst bubbles, but that is because the track is smaller than standard. Most tracks are 400 meters around - 4 laps to the mile, but Georgetown is 320 meters - 5 laps to the mile.

I really like the smaller distance - the laps go by quicker, and I spend the repeat trying to figure out where I am in the distance (a nice distraction from the work of the workout).

If you want to run 400 meters, run 1 lap plus 1 quarter of a lap. It can be confusing for shorter distances, but this track is ideal for longer workouts.

Last night I warmed up by running to the track. When I arrived, I did a few drills and strides, then stretched out and psyched myself up.

The workout: 


2 miles (3200m)
4 laps recovery 


1 mile (1600m)
2 laps recovery


2x800m
1 lap recovery between them

Translated into Georgetown track language, that’s 10 laps, 5 laps, 2x2.5 laps.

That initial 10 lap-er sounds intimidating, but it’s really not! The repeat is long, so it’s not as fast. Plus, you do the longest rep at the beginning, meaning the rest of the workout is “downhill” from there.

I called it quits after the mile (no 800s for me!). I was feeling a bit of a twinge in my hamstring and didn’t want to put myself out of commission for the rest of the week. 

My total mileage for the night was 8 – a good solid evening of track!