Track Night in the Heat

All were in attendance tonight. :)  Our little track club is so fun. We need a name. And we all need nicknames. I've decided this.

Christen (aka ABP) and Shaun (aka ultra-Shaun)

Roman (aka Boom Shakalaka) and Greg (aka Runs With Like Kenyans)

OK so maybe we don't need nicknames.

We warmed up a mile and then, as people were trying to decide what to do in the heat, Shaun and I were talking about doing what I know as "Indian Runs" - or something like that. I didn't do track in school, but ask a track person and they will know what I'm talking about. You all run in a single file line. The person in the back sprints up to the front and sets a new pace. As soon as they are at the front, the new person in the back does the same...and so on and so on.  I've done these workouts when I trained with a group at Fleet Feet. We went round and round a neighborhood doing this for a few miles. It was TONS of fun. Tonight, it was TONS of hard.

Here you have Roman, who is super fast. Greg and Shaun who are fast. Christen and I who are, uh, not fast. Christen just started running again, so she's just getting her body used to things again and will soon be fast. And I am just plain slow. Guess who suffered? 

The order, I think, was Christen, me, Shaun, Roman, and Greg. The pace line would get so spread out when the guys were leading and before I'd have to sprint that I probably had to travel double as far to get to the front. Meanwhile the speedy guys bounded to the front, under my recovery pace, with ease. The pace they set was not an easy pace for just running- so basically the only chance I got to recover was when I lead the pack...for a bout 5 seconds! We did this for a mile. It was a brutal workout for me and Christen, but a really good and fun one too! I definitely think Christen and I benefited more from the workout than the guys did. 

After that Christen, Shaun and I ran some more laps to cool down while Greg and Roman did another couple of miles. Now we have two fun change-ups to track night when we feel like it: Stadium stairs and whatever it is we did tonight...I'll call it Line Sprints?