Today was designated for "speed work" which I am still pretty new to. Today was a ladder where you run 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 mile followed by 1 mile, 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4. Between each is a 1/4 mile jog. For some reason I was nervous about the goal times but they ended up not being a problem. If there is one thing that motivates me, it's meeting those quantitative goals! I had to kick myself out of the house today and I headed for the VT track, where I discovered there was a massive High School invitational track meet at the fieldhouse's indoor track.
The kids were warming up on the outdoor track, and luckily the assistant coach for BHS was the kids' preschool director. I asked her what the rules of etiquette were for the track - do you use certain lanes for certain directions? Are slower runners to the outside? According to her, there were no hard and fast rules. Apparently! Whole herds would stretch across all lanes, then fold into just a few. Runners would plop down mid-lane and start stretching. I chalked it up to the 14-18 year old brains that aren't so good at thinking about others. Fortunately, the track never got prohibitively crowded and I got my work done...successfully I might add!
One fun thing was when a group would jog the ends and sprint the straightaways. I'd pass them on the ends, allowing myself a delusional moment to think I was actually faster than them, then they'd reciprocate by blowing past me!
I have to say overall it was a respectful, quiet, and focused group, and without their energy, I don't think my workout would have been quite so successful. Fun!