Off this morning (at far too early an hour) to UC (that's the University of Cincinnatti for those uninitiated) to be an accompaniment to an LAX camp. Let's not get too fancy, I was going along simply to keep others awake (which is entertaining since I had to be in the car at 6:15a) and to possibly get in a run while we waited. I believe that the Coordination Gods would be duly appaled and all should/would run for cover if I EVER tried to play lacrosse. Lord, I can only imagine the things I would break or the fights I would cause. But...I can make a really good cheering section (all by myself!) and when someone is pouring coffee down my throat I can make good attempts at conversation at ungodly hours in the morning. We were informed that, "weather permitting", the girls would be outside - which meant WE would be outside. So I thusly packed nearly every piece of running stuff I own in preparation to be warm OR cold OR dry OR wet....and away we go....
The goal was between 8-10 at a comfortable pace. The Pig is months away, but laying down good base miles and getting both the lungs and legs accustomed to some suffering is the name of the game. T was informed that there's an "indoor track" at the fieldhouse in case the girls had to be inside, we would just need to be prepared for flying lax balls...entertainment while we run!
Today dawned cold and miserable. It pretty much continued that way, I'm sure, long after I was home, clean and snuggled on the couch. After a few minutes wandering UC (picking up other stragglers as we went - apparently we look like we know where we're going, or we at least carry enough technology to incite followers) needing a bathroom so bad I couldn't breathe and about 15 flights of stairs later, we walked into the gnarliest fieldhouse I think i've ever seen (date apx. 1500 years ago). The clinic started without much fanfare, we changed clothes and pondered about how long the track really was - too short for a 400m, too long for 200m, marked with all sorts of distances. Then out of nowhere - VOILA! While we were shuffling round the track admiring the assorted equipment (from sand pit for long jump to pitch guard for batting cages to pole vault equipment and a gymnastic ring hanging from a low ceiling) I actually noticed the sign on the wall....in the 3rd "lane" (which averaged about where we spent most of our time) a mile was 8.5 laps. UGH....
We shuffled, we sweated, we cussed a bit and we went round, and round, and round, and round. to the tune of about 68 laps...or about 8 miles. We had to guess a bit because we started running on time (since we had NO clue about the distance) and didn't really count for the first 20min...given our normal pacing tendencies we're being safe with 2mi. So...1:22 and some change for 8 miles (give or take). Not too bad.
The soft surface of the track, however, which really wasn't so soft after finishing and sitting down on it, did a NUMBER on both of us as we suffered and were quite sore and cranky by the end. But...we gutted it out. early-season training is about suffering, right?? Hmm...it's in the books anyway.
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