Running inside the curve

Windy and very cold this evening, a perfect time to hit the indoor track at the Murphy Center.

I felt I needed to do a good hard workout today but I didn't have the stomach for it tonight. Maybe Iska wore me out this morning? One thing for certain, I wanted to run some fast turns and see what it would feel like on a fast indoor track. The Murphy Center track at MTSU is confusing. There are a plethora of markings and tape, I had no idea for certain what distance I was running.

And... I've changed my mind, It is not a fast track. It is hard, smooth, and worst of all ... 75% of it is on the curve. It goes something like this: first 55m is a 45º turn, then a short 10m straight and then another 55m 45º turn followed by a 30m straightaway. Repeat, and there you have it. Approximately 220m in 4 wide sweeping 90º turns and 80m on brief straightaways - 300m total. I'm not sure about this but I think it is 300m not in lane 1, but in lane 4. I started with what I felt was a fast but relaxed 300 - once around in lane 3 with a stagger and I ran it in 37 sec. - definitely not a 300. More like a 275. I felt a little nervous sprinting the curves because of the smoothness of the track. Like running on linoleum. Once, with my spikes on, I came down on my heal after a leap and slipped.

So, I ran 4 long sprints with 85-90% effort and did my first starts from blocks this season. All felt well. It was great to workout there... not a soul in the entire complex but me, so I enjoyed running shirtless. Here it was:

900m warmup, stretches, drills

275m - 37

2 x 200m - 27.5, 27.5

400m - 66

I felt sluggish and slow. But, I feel healthy in regard to aches, pains and injuries. No problems. I've made a decision to enter the meet Saturday 1/7: the Ed Temple Classic at TSU. I may even consider running more than one event. I'll register for both the 400m and 200m. The 200m may be less than an hour after the 400m - that would be hard. I could always scratch. I don't think I'll try the 55m until the 1/29 meet.

I will likely return to the track tomorrow for a more extensive workout. Hopefully, I'll see Dean Hayes or someone on the track team to explain the Murphy Center track markings to me. I feel like I need to do two things this week: a few starts at 100%, and some tempo endurance intervals.

Purging from holiday eating but not too much damage. 141.4 lbs after workout. Was 148.4 on New Years Eve evening. Great lobster dinner ... thanks Mom!