I'm looking for a place in upper NW (close to tenleytown, cleveland park area) DC to do some interval work. Ideally, a flat 1 to 2 mile loop with little to no traffic and well lit.
I don't do intervals well on tracks because of knee issues and the turns. I would do Rock Creek park but all my running is at night. National mall and Hains point would be perfect but too far for an interval workout.
Can anyone help me out?
whats wrong with the mall its dirt and easy on the legs?
Sorry, no help here. I just wanted to say you deserve a cookie for doing intervals in this weather, because I feel like my legs are going to shatter every time I run faster than 5k pace.
yuipjojko wrote:
whats wrong with the mall its dirt and easy on the legs?
It's a 5 mile run for me just to get there so it's too far.
Move closer to somewhere better for running.
I live near Cleveland Park and do intervals at East Potomac Park (Ohio Drive). It is a 3 mile flat loop, well paved and has lights every 15 feet so it is well lit even at night. Traffic is minimal. It is a 4.5 mile run from the zoo.
dude, I assume you are joking here. you live in one of the hilliest areas of the city, and there's traffic in all directions from cleveland park. And you won't run on a track? You have no options. You could just go up and down Mass Ave on the east side, minimal traffic but a substantial grade.
help a dc runner out wrote:
I'm looking for a place in upper NW (close to tenleytown, cleveland park area) DC to do some interval work. Ideally, a flat 1 to 2 mile loop with little to no traffic and well lit.
I don't do intervals well on tracks because of knee issues and the turns. I would do Rock Creek park but all my running is at night. National mall and Hains point would be perfect but too far for an interval workout.
Can anyone help me out?
east potomac park would be perfect also except it would be a 6 mile warm-up for me.
Is the Capital Crescent lit? That has a bit of an incline, but might be your best option.
Other options include a head lamp or the treadmill.
The Ellipse does not have too much traffic at night.
East-west streets (Albemarle - Brandywine - chesapeake ) are remarkably flat (by DC standards) between Western ave and Wisconsin, up by Tenleytown. You could put together a rectangle (would give you the loop you want) that is 1/2 to 1mile long. YOu may have to limit it to 400m fast sections.
If i were you, w/ all the restrictions you have, i'd look into that. Traffic and parked cars are an issue, but you don't give us any choice. Those are relativel quiet neighborhoods.
Let me know what you think of that are.
I'm in cathedral heights near where glover park and cleveland park collide. Not much open non pavement around. I use massachusetts avenue to nebraska to new mexico to cathedral and then to idaho leading back to mass ( a big circle ). There are some trails mixed in around the area in the few wooded areas.
marshall McLuhan wrote:
East-west streets (Albemarle - Brandywine - chesapeake ) are remarkably flat (by DC standards) between Western ave and Wisconsin, up by Tenleytown. You could put together a rectangle (would give you the loop you want) that is 1/2 to 1mile long. YOu may have to limit it to 400m fast sections.
If i were you, w/ all the restrictions you have, i'd look into that. Traffic and parked cars are an issue, but you don't give us any choice. Those are relativel quiet neighborhoods.
Let me know what you think of that are.
thanks, that might work. Residential areas aren't so bad depending on how quiet the neighborhood.
I've been checking out the area around fort reno park. It look's like there are some quiet roads around the perimeter and maybe a few dirt trails that go into the park.
the mall is too crowded even for a slow jog. why cant you just do it on hains point. run you 1-2mile interval. stop there. then come back. out and backs
Albemarle-Brandywine-Chesapeake do get fairly steep 3-4 blocks from Wisconsin, so that loop would only be flat paralleling Wisconsin.
I don't know how well-lit Fort Reno is at night, but you can make some pretty good 1200 meter loops there. The footing can get a little tricky though; I've had a friend twist an ankle in the daylight. And as a male runner I think you'd be fine, just watch out for all the teenage kids conducting their funny business.
I know you said no tracks, but the St Albans track is cinder, over 400m long, and basically square, so the turns might not be as bad. I wonder if the best thing would be to simply take the metro out to the Mall though.
Cap Crescent isn't lit, but one can usually see OK for running at night as long as there is no black ice. Another similar option is the C&O Canal towpath outbound from Key Bridge. Not a loop, but a flat, packed dirt surface with enough light from Canal Road to see fine. It would be fine for out and back intervals.
From American U., if you ran down Nebraska past Sibley Hospital and across MacArthur, you could pick up the Capital Crescent close to the top of the long grade coming up from the river. Assuming a straight mile is ok, you could turn right and do that from the next 1/2 mile marker. Probably fairly dark, but you get ok light from the street. If you turned left and went down the hill to the canal towpath, you would have much better visibility but the footing would be worse.
firefly wrote:
the mall is too crowded even for a slow jog. why cant you just do it on hains point. run you 1-2mile interval. stop there. then come back. out and backs
Try reading the OP's OP:
" National mall and Hains point would be perfect but too far for an interval workout"
Yeah, I used to do five mile threshold runs on the Cap. Crescent when I worked down that way. It would be great for interval workouts too. There is a very slight grade to it. You don't even notice it when you are running, but it shows up on your watch. If I recall, the mile markers are fairly accurate...better than the towpath anyway.
Big John wrote:
Yeah, I used to do five mile threshold runs on the Cap. Crescent when I worked down that way. It would be great for interval workouts too. There is a very slight grade to it. You don't even notice it when you are running, but it shows up on your watch. If I recall, the mile markers are fairly accurate...better than the towpath anyway.
Towards the Georgetown end, the Cap Crescent is marked with chalk lines every quarter mile -- as far as I can tell, those are very accurate. I've often used the Cap Crescent between Fletchers and Georgetown for speedwork. The C&O also is marked with little stakes every quarter mile near Georgetown (or it was, at least -- I broke my foot and haven't run it since later October -- those stakes might have disappeared).