An Audience at the Track

The stands were full.  Everyone was there to cheer us on.  Matt and I slowly jogged our warm-up laps on the track, smiling and waving at our adoring fans.  Then we began our 800 meter repeats.  They watched our smooth strides glide along the track’s white line.  We moved like gazelles.  I reveled in their glances.  I enjoyed the swift beating of my heart, the expansion of my lungs with each respiration.  My legs danced along, strong yet light.  It was rush to have an audience.

Or at least that is what I tell myself when I ran my fastest set of 800m repeats ever.

Our track session began just 10 minutes before a walk/run class did at the CR track.  As the students began to arrive, we thought that we would be asked to leave.  They told us that we wouldn’t get in the way.  Turns out they weren’t our adoring fans after all, darn.  Some walked the outer lanes of the track; others jogged the trails of the nearby disc golf course.  It was fun running on the track with others.  Even though we all were doing different workouts, it was fun to have someone to chase (even if he was walking) a few 100m ahead.  It turned out to be my best track workout to date.  

Matt also felt the same way.  His repeats were in the 2:47-2:50 range (usually 2:55).