I love night workouts at the track.

Tuesday, July 14, 2010

I stopped in the park yesterday after work to do my run. After taking about a dozen painful steps, I stopped and walked slowly back to the car. I don’t the origin of the deadness I was feeling in my legs – it’s been there for a couple of days, but I just didn’t feel like trying to run through it. I told myself that I would go to the track later in the evening and use the pack to work the bleachers. I knew I would, too.

It was Savannah’s birthday, but we’d done the whole party thing with family and friends the night before. Still, it seemed like we should do something with her. She declined a chance to go to the movies, saying she was tired and just wanted to stay home, but agreed that ice cream at East Coast Custard after the movie would work.

The movie ended around 9:45 p.m. and by the time we made it to ECC, it was 10 p.m. Should I have something and blow off the workout? I have to admit…I wasn’t really even tempted. Strength and Honor. I dropped everyone off and headed for the track.

I pulled the 60-pound pack from the trunk, hoisted it on my shoulders and headed for the bleachers. I’d forgotten my water bottle, but was pleasantly surprised to find the drinking fountain operational. Thank you, Mayfield Schools. My plan was for a little more running and a little less backpack this evening. I had been sore for two full days after last Tuesday’s workout here and didn’t want a repeat.

I started into the bleachers with a plan to do 7 sets. I ended up doing 10 before heading for the track, walking one lap with the pack on, then dropping it to run a mile. I’d done this last week and managed an 8:15 effort, but by the second lap, I knew I’d be faster. And why not? Isn’t that the value…the beauty of the track? It’s this wonderful opportunity to measure yourself…your progress…your metal. It doesn’t matter how you measure up to anyone else…I don’t really care…but I have a long history on the track and I’d kind of forgotten the pure beauty and value of running here.

I did the mile in 7:50 with some effort. Certainly an improvement over a week ago, but so far from what I once used to do. I’m trying to turn back the clock to my prime (not really a prime at all…but it’s still mine) when I was 36 and able to run the mile under 5 minutes. Don had suggested speed work as a way to take my weight loss to the next level…to get competitive again and do road races. At the time, I’d dismissed the idea because I didn’t think running the roads would be good for my calf. I still don’t, but I think running against the watch on the track is the perfect barometer and motivator. I can’t go faster UNLESS I continue to lose weight and improve my fitness. He was on to something good.

I put the pack back on and did another 5 sets in the bleachers before returning to the track and walking a lap. I headed into the bleachers for 2 more sets of 3 repeats with a walking lap at the end of each for a total of 24 sets of bleachers…4 more than last week. Yeah…I know…good job of cutting back to avoid soreness. ‘Do as I say…’ mentality kicks in again. I had been there an hour at this point and decided I needed a cool down mile, which I ended up running in around 8:20. I felt like I could have run all night. It was after 11 p.m. and I’d had the track to myself for over an hour. It was cool and there were some stars out, making it a glorious night. With some light from the school parking lot, the track and bleachers had some illumination, but essentially it’s a workout in the dark. All these conditions combine to make the workout faster, more interesting, and totally enjoyable. I can see this becoming part of a weekly routine.

Backpack duration: 54 minutes. Run duration: 16 minutes
Training Heart Rate: 100-130 with the pack.
Calories burned during workout: 750.