Track is Wack

The university whose track we've been using for our speedwork sessions for the past few months started classes this past week and with the start of classes comes the start of sports practices. Two weeks ago the track had signs at all the entrances indicating it would be closed to the public for the next two weeks. Last week we showed up and, although the signs were still out, the track was wide open and no one kicked us off.

Last night, though, was a different story. The men's soccer team was practicing and their coach unceremoniously and unequivocally told us we couldn't use the track. Thankfully, our coach had a back-up plan.

The park across the street from the university has an asphalt path that connects up with the sidewalk making a loop that's just over a quarter mile long. Actually, our coach originally thought that it was just under a quarter mile and had us do 4 laps to a mile instead of the 3 laps it actually took. He figured it out when our first "mile" times were WAY too slow.

Of course, the rest of my "mile" times look really fast since 3 laps on the path and sidewalk was just shy of a mile. And when we switched to "400s" they all look a little slow since we were really running 500s.

1 mile - 8:18 + .23 - 1:56
1 minute rest
.94 - 7:31
Full recovery
.94 - 7:41
1 minute rest
.94 - 7:32

.31 - 2:25
30 second rest
.31 - 2:24
Full recovery
.31 - 2:18
30 second rest
.31 - 2:31

Total: 5.29

I thought we were only doing 3 "400s" so I pushed it really hard on the third one. Imagine my surprise when I found out we were doing a fourth! I didn't push it quite as hard on that one. My left quad felt super tight and my left knee was a little achy. I guess that's what happens when I run hard two days in a row.

My Garmin also informed me about halfway through the workout that my lap data was almost full! I thought I had it set to delete the old workouts when I uploaded them to the computer but apparently I don't. Thankfully there was enough room for the rest of this session but I promptly deleted all the old ones when I got home. However, the Garmin keeps a running tally of the total number of miles you've run while using it. Since I didn't realize that I'd never looked at it before. I noticed last night and decided to check it out.

My total mileage (according to the Garmin) since December 2008? 1223.78. It also told me that's over 200 hours of running. Amazing.

Anyway, back to "track". Running the path instead of the track had some pluses and minuses. On the one hand, it's slightly more realistic with minor elevation changes and terrain to watch out for. On the other, the left hand turns were annoying and the mosquitoes were worse. Strangely, though, running three 3 laps to a "mile" instead of four seemed easier. It was essentially the same distance and yet mentally it didn't seem like it.

Our little diversion was fun and better than I'd expected when I realized the track was closed. And, oh yeah, did I mention I rode my bike to and from the track? It makes for a nice warm up and cool down. Too bad the sun is setting earlier and earlier. Not sure I want to ride home in the dark.

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Note: Track stats are usually boring which is why I don't typically post them (plus Bones in Motion screws the splits all up anyway) but I liked the pace and elevation charts for this one. So, enjoy.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 627 ft Location: -- Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 08/25/10 Up/Downhill: [+55/-55] Time: 06:24 PM Difficulty: 2.0 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 5.29 miles Time: 0:42:43 Speed: 7.4 mph Pace: 8' 04 /mi Calories: 617 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)

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