Want To Do A Track Workout But Don't Have Access To A Track? ...Improvise!

Many runners do their faster training on the track because running on a track helps to improve your racing speed by giving you the ability to monitor your pace.  Running on a track also gives you a  good sense of maintaining that pace for a certain distance or an extended period of time, but what do you do if you don't have access to a track?



Maybe your schedule doesn't coincide with the time your local track club is working out.  Many tracks are fenced in and locked, leaving you with the only way to enter is by scaling the fence, which may get you in to trouble, or maybe you are so busy that you just don't have the time to drive the distance to get to the track to workout, or possibly you are just too intimidated by all the super fast runners at the track and would rather do the workout by yourself. Whatever the reason, there are ways for you to still reap the benefits of a track workout, without the track.

Here's what you'll need to do an un-track, track workout...

1) A relatively flat and not so busy area.  This can be an out and back section of road, a loop through a neighborhood or a business development.
2) A Garmin watch, or car or bike odometer to measure distance.  We measure distances at 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, and 1 mile.

Keep in mind that measuring with a Garmin watch or car odometer, the distances will be approximate.  They will not be completely accurate, but it will be measured pretty close.

Here are a few examples of where we run our un-track, track workouts...  Remember to always be aware of your surroundings and watch out for traffic!

This is at a Professional Park very close to our home. We run here after business hours.
1 mile= 2 x following the red loop and 1 x following the blue loop

This example is in a beautiful quiet neighborhood.  Traffic is never a problem.  You can't tell from this picture, but we run around a very pretty pond!
1 mile= one loop from start to finish

This example is of the upper portion of our community. Gotta watch out for traffic here!
1 mile=10x following the red line around  both cul-de-sacs.

Okay, so you've seen our examples and hopefully this will give you some ideas.  Now get out there and measure a course, pick out a work out and have some fun!

Happy Running!

Eve and Bart