ah.. wednesday evenings..

I suspect that no one else looks forward to 5.15 pm on wednesday as much as I do. Because that is the time I get to get up from my cube at work, change, and head down to track. Wednesday is "general workout" night at the Santa Cruz Track Club (SCTC)

Hmm, where do I start with the track club? I ve been running for nearly 3 years now, and have been with the track club for the past 2.5 years. It is a big part of how running has become a key part of my life.

"Track" is actually a rubberized asphalt athletic track at Soquel High School here in Santa Cruz county. Every wednesday at 6pm, members of the track club gather here, to do a "speed" workout. The group of folks is quite a mix - young (as well as old) speedsters/sprinters, some of the fastest in the county, middle-aged marathoners, ultra-runners who'll run 50 miles without thinking twice, etc. But they are not all. It also includes folks interested in running but looking for someone to run with - a new runner trying to run their first 10k, a 10k runner aiming to run a first marathon, someone coming back to running after a year mired in injury, a group of runners who are not known for winning or being fast, but just for running, year after year, mile after mile. Anyone who's running for whatever random reason, and at whatever speed, and whatever age, will find something to like at the track club. The club is all-welcoming, and there is no judging of anyone based on how fast or how slow or how smooth or how cumbersome they are.

This assorted crowd of around 30-40 people every wednesday is presided over by Coach Greg Brock. Every wednesday Greg comes up with a prescribed workout that's designed to just push you to almost your maximum thresholds, while guaranteeing that you won't go over. And each week he comes up with a different way to do that. Each week you think - ha - this sounds easier than last week! But by the time you are done with it, you are forced to have second thoughts. Another thing - Greg insists that you are running with/against yourself. The workout prescriptions always indicate that we should "run this at *your* 10k pace for the first lap, and *your* 5k pace for the second lap", etc. And over the weeks, as one figures out what "your 10k pace" actually is, one also finds a group of runners that's at his/her speed.

Oh, and before we actually start running, there's a whole routine - stretching for 10 min, followed by push-ups (15-20 depending on who's leading the group), followed by a jog around the track, followed by more stretching, followed by more of those god-awful push-ups. Then we do a couple of sprints around track to get really warmed up. And then, we come together and go through the rest of the community ritual - new faces get to introduce themselves, people who raced the previous weekend share their exploits. News gets shared, birthdays celebrated. And then, finally it's time to run.

This wednesday we had to do 3 sets - each set consisted of a 600, 400, 300, 200, and 100m run, with 200 m jog in between each of them. The goal was to run the 600 at current mile pace, and pick the speed up a little above that for the 400, a little bit more for the 300, and so on. The idea also is to do a 'net negative split'. In this case it translates to doing each set faster than the previous - i.e., when you are ready to run the 600 the second time around, run it a little faster than the previous 600. Sound confusing? So did it to me for the first 3 months...

I have been running lately with John, (who's in his late 40s/early 50s) and Marla (who's in her late 20s/early 30s). Their speeds are more or less similar to mine. Plus, John is one of the most steady people I've run with. He can announce what pace he wants to run a lap before he runs it, and nail it down to the second. Kinda like in a game of pool where you have to name your ball and pocket and send it exactly where you said you'll send it. And given that my watch has been out of commission, it was an especially good choice - this would prevent me from going too fast in the early sets and being unable to finish the workout.

Sticking with John and Marla turned out to be a good idea. We were pretty steady throughout, feeding off of each other. In the last set we tried to go all out, and I tried to run the last 300 faster than I should have, and ended up feeling like my legs were jelly for the last 100. Man, how far can 100 m seem sometimes! But overall, I felt pretty good about myself, feeling like I m finally back to nearly 100% after spending nearly 6 weeks in July/Aug fighting "walking pneumonia". We ended the day with 'Carl's cool-down technique" - which is a formula suggested by Carl, a fellow track clubber - running slow for 3 loops around the track does wonders for avoiding pain, stiffness and soreness after the workout. Not two, not 4. 3 loops exactly.

Regardless, I ended up feeling just a tad sore than usual - atleast one of my legs felt like lead throughout thursday. I suspect it's just a product of my increased mileage these days.

I m getting ready to move apartments in the next few days so won't be writing much - but am looking forward to this weekend - for our 18 mile long run. Obviously, this will be the longest distance I'd have ever run. That's the beauty of marathon training - every week you break your own personal record. Will report on how that goes...