Track Etiquette

I am taking a much-deserved coffee break to provide you all with a brief look at how my past two days has gone.  I have a humongous knot in my right trapezius muscle that makes me look like Quasimodo… or so I think.  It led to a horrendous tension headache last night, so I wasn’t able to do my dreaded ladder workout.  Knowing that my readers demand more running and more intense running at that, I decided to push my ladder workout to this morning.  So I went to bed just after 9, skipping out on my reality tv and facebook fix, and when the alarm went off at 5:45, I was almost as chipper as I’d be after a twelve hour hibernation.  I think that SuperDad was astounded I actually rose when I pledged I would, as I have made morning workouts a goal on at least 79 occasions and have lived up to my goal perhaps 2% of the time.

As planned, I did the ladder workout.  I started out with an easy 2 mile jog (about 16 1/2 minutes) then proceeded to 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min at 5k pace.  Afterwards, I finished with about a 1.5 mile jog, for a total of 7.5 miles.  The total time was just over 58 minutes, so I was pleased.  And it did not hurt nearly as bad as last week, probably because my body prohibited me from averaging faster than a 6:55 pace on the sprints at such an early time of day. 

I had some issues with the geriatrics on the track, as I typically do with teenagers wearing flourescent colored leggings and Uggs walking the track in the evenings.  Apparently, the older crowd come out in droves at the crack of dawn.  It’s like a bus loads them all up at Sharon Towers at 5:30 a.m. and they proceed to hobble around the indoor track for hours.  I guess it’s because the malls aren’t open yet.  I am not trying to alienate my octagenarian readership, but I get angry when I am attempting to raise my pulse above 60 and there is a wall of 85 year olds gabbing about what they had for supper at 4:30 the “night” before, traversing at a pace of no more than 2mph. There is a sign displayed in several places which says “walkers please use outside lane.”  Maybe the residents at Sharon Towers think it means “if you use a walker on this track, use the outside lane,” so they think they are allowed to use the inside lane because they have left their walkers behind with their rehab nurses.  I don’t know, but I try very hard to be polite and speak loudly, and no one listens.  So I spent a good deal of time weaving in and out, trying not to knock anyone over, because I applaud anyone who wants to exercise…  Although it might be amusing to hear a “help, I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!”

I plan on doing an easy 5 or 6 mile run tonight if the weather permits.  I don’t know if I can deal with the Justin Bieber fans walking the indoor track tonight, and we all know how I feel about the treadmill.

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5 thoughts on “Track Etiquette

  1. Tough it out and GO OUTSIDE. Nobody really gets much out of a workout on an indoor track, especially if you’re trying to crank one.

  2. I started my run on the same infamous track at 5:13pm. The problem this evening was kids who wanted to stop and talk in the running lane by the exercise machines. Very annoying. I run slow enough as it is and don’t need extra obstacles in my path.

  3. WillRunForBiscuits, have you heard about Raleigh’s Krispy Cream run where you do a two mile run, eat a dozen donuts, then run back to the start. Maybe Bojangles will sponsor a similar one for you.

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