Widener Track Meet – February 24, 2013

So there comes a day when, as a distance runner, you say... I need speed.

I can't recall remembering much about my high school outdoor track, although I am most certain I do remember my high school “coach” screaming at me at the end of the 2 miler that if I had enough energy to sprint the last 200 yards that I didn’t utilize my energy correctly.. thus is born what I still continue to do today.. my ending sprint. It's fairly epic.. and it's probably terribly inefficient, but heck in 95% of the races I do, of any length, I end up sprinting the last 100 or 200 yards.. and very rarely do I get out paced from that point on. Inefficient?  Probably...

In high school, I was an immature, unwilling runner. I only joined cross country because they canned my ass off the field hockey team. Never mind that I scored a goal in try outs and that I was an exceptional runner as the left wing but my motor coordination needed work.. X gets the spot.. off to join the cross country team I go.

I don’t know.... maybe if I actually trained and applied myself I could have been good... but I was still sulking about being cut from my beloved field hockey. Something that I had played since the 3rd grade and now in 10th grade i'm getting cut, that’s just crazy talk.

So I would have to say that when the coach sent us out for a nice "long" run in cross country practice, of maybe 6 miles, we on more than one occasion cut the course.. seriously who really runs that far anyhow and WHY!?

This was back in the day when you didn’t hear much about road racing and it wasn’t until my graduation year of 1984 that the women's marathon was allowed in the Olympics... but again no one in my realm of existence spoke of THAT kind of distance. Ever.

So back to the track.. so given that I was now a “runner” in high school, I opted for something I thought would be more fun.. short and fast... I will do TRACK!

We didn't really have much of a girl's track team, again this was back in the day, and i was one of three girls who tried indoor. 

We didn’t have a girls indoor team and I thought perhaps maybe I could learn something new and the track guys were kinda hot... so heck im going to run with the guys!

The guys were so great, they didn’t see us girls as something of a nuisance, they embraced their new “sisters” and helped me become who I am today.

After my first official indoor meet I was in love, in love with speed. The smell of bengay, watching the way the muscles moved when the men ran as fast as their legs could take them, I wanted to do that.

I remember they allowed me to run, even though there wasn't another girls team to compete against at this particular meet.. and I don’t recall if I did the 400 or the 800 or what, but it was fantastic, I felt part of a great team and all the guys made me feel special. This solidified my love for track.

Fast forward 20+ years and I stumbling upon the Philadelphia Masters Track and Field Association. A team for people (men and women) over 40... I just had to join. And have worn their colors ever since.

On Sunday, I was running indoors for the first time in a long time and I was nervous. Nervous because I would be competing against women who are really good, exceptionally good and I knew I would be one of the slowest runners out there .....but I was so thrilled to be a part of something that I loved, and was so welcome by the young, the old, the men and the women of the track circuit. This just solidifies my feelings about track and the people who do track, they truly are a blessed bunch of peeps.

Perhaps, track people are considered more friendly because they are stuck together all day in a small space as they wait for their event, or perhaps the people that are drawn to competing in track are a different breed, but whatever it is, track people are some of the nicest people out there.

My first event on Sunday was the 400 meter and I was assigned to lane one and didn’t have to worry about breaking.. (meaning I didn’t have to worry about waiting until the prescribed spot to move to the inside lane, I could just stay in lane 1)... so the 400 went well for about the first 200 meters. Then I totally forgot about the monkey.. the monkey that jumps on your back .... and it was a heavy monkey... and OMFG speed kills. I finished in 1:23 and was thrilled that my legs were still attached to my torso.

So back to my rest spot to check on my friends and to silently cry because I was so freaking tired... irongirl can only do 400 meters and she crys!

I kinda screwed myself by saying I would do the 200 meter.. since it was the race directly before “MY” race of the 3000 meter... but my skewed logic was maybe it will make me tougher...um Yeah?

The 200 meter is a rocking fun race.. you just go out as fast as your little leggies take you until you drop over dead.. k?

So I am in lane 4... and since it’s the 200 meter you are instructed to stay in your lane... lane 4 is no good.. this means that.. YUP wtf.. I just get passed by a rocket ship... dude its only 200 meters.. and I am almost spinning around in a circle as lanes 2 and 3 pass me... OH HELL that hurt.. 36 seconds... and the old lady still has it. MY GOD that 3000 meter race is going to F-n HURT in a few minutes.

So its now time for “my” race.. yeah the 3000 meter.  Which is a little less than 2 miles.  OH, I can tell you the names and specs of at least 4 of the 7 runners I am running with.. and I am going to tell you..

Its GOING TO BE A ROMP FEST.. i I am going to get romped... I am a 13-14 min 3000 meter gal and these gals run in the 11’s... uh oh..

We get our final instructions.. and off we go... it will be 18-1/2 laps on this tiny indoor track.. and they informed us to keep count just in case they mess up the laps... oh and you count backwards.. yeah... ok.. 18 to go.. 17 to go.. and so on... round and round and OMG i think i am going to die... I stay with a group of three until about 5 laps left... the front pack has already lapped me too many times to say.. but I keep these other gals in my sight until I feel like I cannot run one step more.

I can run for 24 hours.. but I am now thinking I may NOT finish a less than 2 mile race...!!  it took every bit of concentration to convince myself that I could actually make it to the finish line.. and then I was done... one of my worse 3000 meter times ever 14:38 but I tell you.. I get a button and a gold star for that one. I think I will lay down and die now... speed kills.

So lets go back to the "I love track" thingy.. because it's now three days out and well.. my quads feel like hamburger.. and I can't wait until Sunday for my next meet!

So the Madness continues...

SWIM ANALYSIS

Trust only what you know..

You know in those horror movies where you scream at the stupid person (usually a woman), “DO NOT LOOK DOWN THE OLD ABANDONED WELL!!!!”...

Well, it was something like that… I had scheduled a swim analysis on Saturday and was anxiously waiting in the lobby of the corporate office of Endless Pools in Aston, Pa for my turn when a (I am sure had too much coffee) middle aged man with a jovial ski hat comes barreling in...

“Sorry I am late”….he is wildly exclaiming in his NOT INSIDE VOICE… pointing his arm left and right as he explains to the receptionist and everyone now watching him in the lobby his tale of woe that his car broke down, that it was actually not his normal car he had loaned out his car to one of his workers and had taken the work truck, and that thank goodness a friend lived nearby… that he made it..whew… because he lived an hour or so away.. above Marsh Creek he says..

UH OH.. my ears perked up.. So let’s go back to the point where you scream.. “DO NOT LOOK DOWN THE ABANDON WELL!!!..”. Of course if I could control what comes out of my mouth I may actually get a gold star but no.. of course I say.. THAT’S where I LIVE!!! I live out there near Marsh Creek too! (Like I was suppose to win a prize by announcing to everyone in the lobby where I live.)

This stops the jovial man and he gives me a nice nod.. i shrink and look away as this really served no purpose in the grand scheme of things.. um yeah.. little peanut I am … just going to sit over here and … next group… they call my group for our analysis… whew.. oh no.. guess who’s in my group.. yeah.. ok.. sh-t… .

So it’s me, LIVELY MAN (L Man), Mary (a middle aged woman like me), and the kid (thinking he was like 12?)… we are a group and we headed to the back for our swim analysis. Two to a pool they say and Mary and I quickly pair up leaving the kid and L Man to attend to themselves.

Mary and I put on goggles, a swim cap, she her nose plug and me my ear plugs.. and in the pool we go.. I SAY KINDA LOUDLY to our two analysis people that I have ear plugs in (pointing to MY ears)… and I MAY TALK TOO LOUDLY (still pointing to my ears).. so IF I AM YELLING I AM SORRY I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HEAR...sorry… WHAT WAS THAT!??

I get the big sigh…

HMPH… the endless pool has a mirror on the bottom and cameras positioned on the side, top and bottom so you could see yourself swim… we get to do a test swim so they could calculate our pace. I think the one analysis man enjoyed much too intensely hitting me on the head with the swim noodle while yelling STOP... Yes I HEARD THAT.. EVERYONE HEARD THAT..

So now was the time to actually record our strokes and Mary went first. Two minutes later it was my turn…OK>. MY TURN! Swim, Swim.. and..the bastard is hitting me on the head again with the noodle… STOPPPPPPPPPPP.. I CAN HEAR YOU I AM NOT DEAF!!!! ..I smile and they say there is a problem ..the system is locked up… it appears that mid MY swim the computer system filming just LOCKED UP.. froze..

I think about this for a second and told them it MUST BE MY ELECTRO MAGNETIC PERSONALITY… oh yeah and then I remembered I still had my earplugs in… so now EVERYONE in the next room and down the hall heard that too. OOPS sorry.. inside voice..

So I sit in the pool with just my little head sticking out of the water… doe eyed… fahlahaalhaahlaaa… I float on my back.. I look back over and then float on my side.. and back over… So they bring in the big guns.. the owners and such and the analysis dude says it’s her fault.. pointing to me… she’s trouble.. and they proceed to then all look at me....:( Mary at this point had given up ALL hope of ever getting back in and proceeded for her towel.

They did the best they could. They got the machine back and running and told me that I could finish my swim session, that I had great cadence, that it looks like I learned some swimming skills from Total Immersion (not that that was bad but just different) and they gave me a few pointers to help… and off to the drill pool Mary and I go… oh.. that’s it?

HMPH… so we are reunited with L Man and the kid and all four of take turns doing the drills prescribed… ….OH yeah forgot to mention right before our analysis we had to sit for a 10 min demo on endless pools.. a pitch for the sale of the pools and L Man asks loudly over the table if I can drive him home since I live near him.

F- me … why did I open my big old mouth!!. I hope he didn’t see my head go down and sigh.. UGH! Of course I said smiling in my nice voice…. SO L Man says to me after our drill session I will see you out front! Great..cant wait.

As we are walking out the owner of the midatlantic multi sports is there talking with us and I said to the owner….. OH btw if I end of dead.. he (pointing to L Man) has killed me.. I just met him and now I have to take him home… EEP

If they at Midatlantic multisport and/or Endless pools don’t remember me I don’t know who ever will… … I just wish and pray that my hand stays over my mouth in the future..

JUST KILL ME NOW…

I have to admit, there was something that I liked about my passenger… during the hour ride home he proceeded to tell me a bit about himself but not in an arrogant bullish way but just casually answering my questions which you all know are all centered around racing, training, and pace and such…

I personally don’t believe much of what people say until I look up their results because people tend to have a habit of over exaggerating a bit so when he said he was a 7:30ish pace runner, almost placed in a half ironman, and biked to his NJ beach house I was like sure.. cool.. (thinking you know damn well I am going to look this up)

But what I found out later after my curiosity got to me that not only was he truthful, he underestimated things, not only did he almost place in a very large half ironman, in fact did it in a time that surpasses many age groupers I know and he didn’t just build houses he OWNED the company that built the houses.

Funny… when he stepped foot into my car he had to move stuff off the passenger seat including a pheasant feather and he said to me.. a pheasant feather? I said yup…

Trust only what you know..

I hope that the life I live makes an impact on people.

PS: I am sure there is a reason that I met this unique individual and perhaps one day he and his family will cross paths with me and my family.. and perhaps maybe in a way that will reshape our lives...