Workouts
Our workouts are geared for all runners regardless of age, experience or ability. We emphasize pacing and heart rate training with a view toward keeping you healthy and happy on the roads. Our members have different levels of fitness and not all run at the same speed. In some workouts we divide into groups according to speed or the distance of upcoming races.
Visit a workout and chat with our coaches about your training. You'll find useful information on the FAQs section but feel free to contact us if you have additional questions.
If you're new to track workouts, we have a short writeup on track etiquette. If you have questions, please ask a coach - we'd much rather explain in advance!
Details
Our outdoor workouts start in April and end in early November. The winter months, we are indoors.
- Monday 7:00 p.m. - MIT outdoor track (Apr - Oct), MIT indoor track (Nov - Mar)
- Speed Intervals: Workouts total about 3 to 4 miles and usually last about 60 to 75 minutes including warm-up and cool-down runs. We warm-up for about 15 minutes (about 1.5 miles). See below for directions to MIT's Athletic Center (Vassar St. and Mass Ave. in Cambridge, MA.).
- Wednesday 7:00 p.m. - MIT outdoor track or along the Charles (Apr - Oct), MIT indoor track (Nov - Mar)
- Tempo: Workouts usually total about 3 miles in length. During the summer, we often move to the Esplanade or Beacon Hill -- announcements of where to meet are sent to the email list.
- Saturday 8 a.m. -- meet at MIT student center
- Members coordinate to run together on occasion. If you're interested, please drop a line to info@communityrunning.org before showing up, just to make sure someone will be there. Interest in this typically picks up over the winter as people start preparing for the Boston marathon. Announcements get sent to the grouprun mailing list, so click on the link to join that list.
Directions to MIT
The MIT Athletic Center is on 130 Vassar St. and Mass Ave. in Cambridge, MA 02139. If you need detailed driving directions use this link to Mapquest. The MIT Cambridge campus is minutes away from Boston, Somerville, Brookline and Brighton. The closest T stops are Central Sq. and Kendall Sq. in Cambridge (both Red Line). You can also use the MBTA's trip planner. Enter 130 Vassar St., Cambridge as the End destination. If you work in the Longwood medical area, the M2 shuttle bus is also convenient. Yet another possibility is to bike to the workout. There are plenty of spots where you can secure your bike.
Once you get there, use the map below to find us. Remember that from April to November we train outdoors. In the winter, we use the indoor track. Note: warmup runs still take place outside (about 1.6 miles). Meet us on the ground floor of the Zesiger Sports Center. The main entrance to the Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center (a.k.a. Johnson Athletic Field) does not face Vassar St., however, there is an entrance to the athletic complex from Vassar St.
If you see a bunch of people in running gear, ask them if they are with Community Running.
For an interactive map, you can use whereis.mit.edu. Here are links to the outdoor track (non-winter workouts), indoor track (winter workouts), and the student center (Saturday start point).
Pacing Chart
MIT Indoor Track
This is a handout that our past coach Brian distributed to his half-marathon and marathon group. It is designed for MIT's 200m indoor track (and not the outdoor 400m track!).
Directions for Use: Find the column that corresponds to your goal marathon time from the first row of the chart. Then move down to the correct row for your intended intensity. The number shown is the number of seconds per lap to achive this pace. For instance, if you are a 3:30 marathoner and you intend to run repeat 800's at 5k pace, you should average 52 seconds per lap (or 3:27 overall).
| 2:50 | 2:55 | 3:00 | 3:05 | 3:10 | 3:15 | 3:20 | 3:25 | 3:30 | 3:35 | 3:40 | 3:45 | 3:50 | 3:55 | 4:00 | 4:05 | 4:10 | 4:15 | 4:20 | 4:25 | 4:30 | 4:35 | 4:40 | 4:45 | 4:50 | 4:55 | 5:00 | 5:05 | 5:10 | 5:15 | |
| Mile | 38.7 | 39.8 | 41.0 | 42.1 | 43.2 | 44.4 | 45.5 | 46.7 | 47.8 | 48.9 | 50.1 | 51.2 | 52.3 | 53.5 | 54.6 | 55.8 | 56.9 | 58.0 | 59.2 | 60.3 | 61.4 | 62.6 | 63.7 | 64.9 | 66.0 | 67.1 | 68.3 | 69.4 | 70.6 | 71.7 |
| 5k | 41.9 | 43.1 | 44.3 | 45.6 | 46.8 | 48.0 | 49.3 | 50.5 | 51.7 | 53.0 | 54.2 | 55.4 | 56.7 | 57.9 | 59.1 | 60.4 | 61.6 | 62.8 | 64.1 | 65.3 | 66.5 | 67.8 | 69.0 | 70.3 | 71.5 | 72.7 | 73.9 | 75.1 | 76.4 | 71.7 |
| 10k | 44.0 | 45.3 | 46.6 | 47.8 | 49.1 | 50.4 | 51.7 | 53.0 | 54.3 | 55.6 | 56.9 | 58.2 | 59.5 | 60.8 | 62.1 | 63.4 | 64.7 | 66.0 | 67.2 | 68.5 | 69.8 | 71.1 | 72.4 | 73.8 | 75.0 | 76.3 | 77.6 | 78.9 | 80.2 | 81.5 |
| Half-Mar | 46.3 | 47.7 | 49.1 | 50.4 | 51.8 | 53.1 | 54.5 | 55.9 | 57.2 | 58.6 | 60.0 | 61.3 | 62.7 | 64.0 | 65.4 | 66.8 | 68.1 | 69.5 | 70.9 | 72.2 | 73.6 | 74.9 | 76.3 | 77.8 | 79.0 | 80.4 | 81.8 | 83.1 | 84.5 | 85.8 |
| Marathon | 48.6 | 50.1 | 51.5 | 52.9 | 54.3 | 55.8 | 57.2 | 58.6 | 60.1 | 61.5 | 62.9 | 64.4 | 65.8 | 67.2 | 68.7 | 70.1 | 71.5 | 72.9 | 74.4 | 75.8 | 77.2 | 78.7 | 80.1 | 81.6 | 83.0 | 84.4 | 85.8 | 87.2 | 88.7 | 90.1 |
